Set Your Hearts

Colossians 3:1-10

What do you have your heart set on? I’m not just talking about something you want, I’m asking what you really have your heart set on. There’s a difference. For example, once my dad and I were going out to eat, and there was one restaurant I really wanted to take him to. We got there only to find out that it was closed. I had my heart set on eating there, and although we ended up going somewhere else, nothing else really would satisfy. That is a good way to describe someone with their heart set on something; when nothing else will satisfy.

In Colossians 2, Paul makes the case for the new life we live in Christ. When [we] were dead in our sins and in the uncircumcision of [our] sinful nature, God made [us] alive in Christ. (Colossians 2:13)

Remember that this new life in Christ is not because of anything we do; we aren’t good people who sometimes do bad things; we are by nature evil and only by God’s common grace are we even able to do the slightest good thing. But if we have by faith received Jesus’ gift for us, the gift paid for in Jesus’ blood, that old person is no longer who we are. The old person is dead, having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Colossians 2:12)

Because of this exchange, all of the former rules and regulations by which the world lives are revealed as mere shadows of the things to come, but the reality is found only in Jesus Christ.

Now that I’ve set the stage, let’s shift our focus this morning on Colossians 3. 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 minds on things above, not on earthly things.

The old “me” is dead and buried; the “me” who stands here today has been raised with Christ. If you are a Christian, this is true of you as well. So God commands us to set our hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. I remember the old song with the lyric: “you’re so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good” – does anyone remember that song? Well, that song is a lie. There’s a “socially acceptable” amount of Christianity – if you go to church and maybe have a fish decal on your car and if you behave nicely, that’s surely enough, isn’t it? That way you’re “well-rounded” but you can still enjoy yourself; you can work hard enough to have a good career; you have something to talk about at the water cooler; you have a nice car and all the latest toys, and you make it to all the games. And you still have time to read your Bible and go to church and to serve in the food pantry once a month.

All good things, but there is a problem with this approach. God is a jealous God; God isn’t just one among many. God isn’t just part of a checklist or to-do list. God is the list. If your heart and mind aren’t set on him, you are missing the mark.

So set your heart on him.

Many of our problems in this life are really heart problems; we’ve set our heart on all kinds of other things, and when they don’t come through for us, we’re offended. As young people, many of us set our hearts on meeting just the right someone; if you can catch the right one, if you can just find your “soul mate,” then you’ll be fulfilled. First of all, understand that soul mates are made, not found. Love is intentional and requires lots of hard work. But if you’ve been in any relationship very long at all, you’ve already found out that people will fail you every time. You’ve set your heart on the wrong things, and your heart was broken.

Maybe you’ve set your heart on the American Dream; if you work really hard (or borrow way too much money) so you can buy all the stuff that will make you happy. But then the stock market crashed and you lost your retirement. Or you got sick and now you can’t enjoy everything you worked so hard for. Or maybe you got every toy you ever wanted and all it got you was a desire for more, more, more.

You will never be satisfied as long as your heart is set on anything of this earth. This earth, even the best aspects of it, are mere shadows of what is to come. That can be hard to grasp because this world is all we know, but have you ever seen a sunset that takes your breath away? Have you ever stared in awe at a natural wonder like Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon? There is a reason when you see them, your impulse is to praise God; it’s because God made them as a shadow of the things to come.

Set your heart on things above.

Sometimes we can just read over phrases like this. You can read right past this because you’ve heard it before. You read this scripture, then you finish up your Bible reading, say your prayer, then you shut your Bible and go about your day. If that’s you, and you think you’re pretty special because you got your quiet time in today, let me let you in on a secret: It doesn’t mean anything that you “got your quiet time in” if that’s all the time you’re spending with Jesus. The Bible tells us to set our minds on him, not just offer him a nod and get on with what we want.

I don’t say this to downplay the importance of spending quiet time with God; on the contrary, you should spend quiet time with God and you should spend loud time with God. You should spend alone time with God and you should bring God along with you to work and to the game and out with your friends. Your heart should constantly be set upon things above, which just might revolutionize the rest of your time.

What might your work look like if you are setting your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father? Maybe you think you work in a school, but God is calling you to be a missionary there. Many of us have the wrong idea about our careers; your job is your mission field. Sure, it’s a way for you to get money, but really it’s just an avenue for you to glorify God.

Set your hearts on things above.

Maybe this is all new to you, and you’re wondering how this happens. After all, nobody ever taught you how to do it. Someone brought you to church and you’ve been in Sunday School or even a Community Group, but you’ve never been taught how to control your mind or your heart. Here’s a little secret: your heart won’t just go the right way on its own. As Jeremiah 17:9 questions: The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

On my computer, when I create PowerPoint presentations, the default font is one I don’t like, so every time I type a on it, I have to go in and change the font. By nature our hearts are evil; deceit is their default position. Our hearts don’t just naturally go to things above. Don’t expect your heart to go where it’s not trained to go.

You are going to have to train your heart and your mind to go where you want them to go. Otherwise they will wander wherever. Setting your hearts on things above is intentional. Romans 12:2 tells us: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. You’re way more conformed to the patterns of this world than you would ever believe! Renew your mind!

This goes right along with setting your heart and your mind on things above. If you want to think about something, you’re going to have to think about it. You will think about what you are thinking about. I remember when I was a kid, my brother got this cool computer game called Dungeons of Daggorath and we used to play for hours at a time. It had terrible 1982 graphics that I thought were really cool, and it had these roaring sounds to let you know a monster was close. After we’d played the game for a long time, it would be stuck in my head for hours. I’d even dream about it. This was what my mind was set on.

What do you set your mind on? What are you feeding your heart? Statistics tell me that there are some among us who are feeding their mind explicit images. Whether it’s internet pornography or movies, or trashy novels, or indecent television programs, whatever you’re feeding your heart is what your heart is growing into. There is no way your heart is growing into Christ’s likeness if you are feeding your mind something else.

Once when I was a little kid, I went with my neighbors to see the movie Darby O’Gill and the Little People, and it terrified me. I had nightmares about it, and it took me weeks to get over it. Finally the nightmares started to fade and after a time, they were gone. Why did they fade? Because I didn’t watch the movie again.

If you want your mind to be renewed, it won’t happen by filling it with the same old stuff! Continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different result is a good working definition for insanity. That’s why Paul says in Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

This is why setting your heart on things above requires us to have renewed minds. Because without that renewal, we will return to default settings. But if you have accepted Christ, you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:3-4)

This is why Paul tells us (Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature; sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5) to put to death everything that belongs to that earthly nature. He lists out sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, and idolatry. 

Then Paul goes where our culture doesn’t want him to go. (Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. Colossians 3:6) He goes all “wrath of God.” Our culture emphasizes God’s love, and, yes, God is love. We don’t like to hear about a wrathful God. But God is wrath – God will destroy sin and sinners. God loves us enough to not let our sin go unpunished. That’s why Good Friday is so personal to me; Jesus took my punishment, facing the fullness of God’s wrath.  He did that for us, so we don’t have to.

Because of the great exchange, we are no longer the same people we once were. This is why the Bible tells us to rid ourselves of anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips and not to lie to each other. (Colossians 3:8-9a)

A lot of Christians have somehow gotten the idea that all of this is the end goal of Christianity, that to be a Christian, you have to be nice to each other. That’s not how it happens. There are a lot of nice people out there who have no love for Jesus, are not Christians, and are on their way to Hell. Just because someone is nice and doesn’t use bad language doesn’t mean they are on their way to heaven.

Paul explains the reason we are on our best behavior: you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. (Colossians 3:9b-10)

The good news is that when you do set your heart on things above, God is continually renewing you into His image. Everything about you is coming into conformity with Christ. It’s not just about working to keep a New Year’s resolution; God has made you into a new person completely. And so, because of that, God is renewing you in His image. So set your heart on him.

If you are wondering how to set your heart on things above, it all starts with your prayer life. What do your prayers look like? I know this church has some wonderful intercessors in it, people who are always praying for one another. In fact, we put great emphasis on intercessory prayer, having a time for it every Sunday and have a prayer chain that anyone can call to enlist others in intercessory prayer. But that’s only a tiny aspect of prayer. Yes, God tells us to come to him with our needs, so don’t stop! But if you’re not praying in other ways as well, you’re missing out on a transformative relationship with God! Ask God questions, expecting answers. Ask God to speak directly to you through His Word.

Look around you for evidence of God at work. Whether it’s thanksgiving for the beauty of another day in which to serve Him, or praises for answered prayers, make sure you are paying attention to what God is doing and how God is working.

When you read the Bible (not if, but when), read for the big picture, but then go back and meditate on it. Look to see what the application is for you. Start evaluating everything you are doing with regard to its Kingdom value.