Gloria Furman | Heavenly Focus in Everyday Lives | TGCW18

my name is Gloria Fuhrman I live in Dubai United Arab Emirates on the Arabian Peninsula my husband Dave is a church planter he's the pastor of Redeemer Church of Dubai we've lived there for 10 years now in August will be our tenure sand diver Surrey it's it's wonderful to see what God is doing in the lives of people in the Middle East especially as we see in our global city men women and children coming in from other countries into the UAE and to hear about what God is doing in the other parts of the world I'm a little jet-lagged right now a little more jet lag than my friend from Texas who this morning said she just had a hard time waking up so bear with me this workshop is about having a heavenly focus in our everyday lives so if that's why you're here you're in the right spot if you're not it's too late the workshop description says while we live in the world believers in Jesus longed to have an eternal perspective where our eyes are fixed on the horizon of eternity is it possible to be zealous about what we're going to be zealous about 30 zillion years from now Colossians gives us the perspective we need to live for eternity in the midst of our ordinary lives so one of the primary reasons we come together to study God's Word is so that we can know God this is extraordinary this is not an assumption that other world religions have in other world religions the assumption is God is unknowable you cannot know him he is not interested in you and you cannot find him he is so far above your everyday life he doesn't seek you but the Bible gives us a different picture of who God is God wants us to know him God wants us to know him he says to repentant exiles who longed to know him you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart so we should pray for God's help to know him let's pray father in heaven we are your humble creatures we know you have made us to live by every word that comes from your mouth but we confess that we forget this truth all the time and we try to live apart from your word forgive us God would your Holy Spirit cause our hearts to burn with zeal for your word only with your help can we understand your words thank you for colossians for sustaining paul as he wrote it for preserving ticka cos as he traveled so far to deliver it and for the unexplainable grace you gave to so many brothers and sisters who've gone before us and treasured you through these words and Colossians also we're overflowing with gratitude to you for the sake of your son please help us in Jesus name Amen I love Colossians it's the perfect place to go when you want to renew your mind and strengthen and sharpen your eternal perspective because it's God's word so my main goal this afternoon is to encourage you to dive into Colossians on your own later and let the word of God renew your mind now I make an assumption it's a big assumption I'm assuming that all of us in this room know that this life is not all there is that you know sitting in your seat that there is life after this life there is eternity and it's safe for me to make this assumption because the Bible teaches us that everyone knows that this life isn't all there is we all know it your friends know we know this for a few reasons we know because God has put eternity into man's heart that's Ecclesiastes 3:11 and we know because what can be known about God is plain to all of us because he's shown it to us his invisible attributes like his eternal power and his divinity have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that God has made that's Romans 1 it's safe to assume that everyone here knows there is eternity this life is not all there is our hearts thrilled with hope when we hear Jesus is a leading question when he says isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing and our hearts ache yes yes it is but how hard is it for us to remember that that's why we want to have a strong healthy biblically informed spirit empowered Christ centered God glorifying eternal perspective for our ordinary lives the primary text we'll talk about is Colossians 3 1 through 4 if you will turn to Colossians 3:1 through 4 read with me if then you have been raised with Christ seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God set your minds on things that are above not on things that are on earth for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God when Christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory so seek the things that are above set your minds on things that are above what are you thinking about what's on your mind what are you obsessed with in his brilliance God created us all so differently for some of us you've already told the person next to you exactly what's on your mind you told the ladies at lunch you talked all about it late at bare asked them to evaluate all the things that are on your mind for others of us it's not coming out no one's no one's gonna get any answers about what's on your mind you'll think about it maybe you'll tell someone but you're keeping that one close to you whether you process your thoughts out loud or in writing or just internally all of us have things on our mind and now I have to ask when I read Colossians 3:1 through four just now that we're to set our minds on things that are above not on things that are on earth did any of you say in your heart what really Paul really just another one of those things Paul says you're like really set my mind on the things that are above and not on things that are on earth the things on earth need to be tended to the door bells ringing the laundry buzzers going off there's a deadline at work the kids need to get picked up from practice my split ends are out of control what's for dinner who has time for these things and for the last few years I've had this little piece of metal and plastic in my pocket that shakes and dings and commands my attention to see that my neighbor who went to a birthday party took a picture of the food they ate set my mind on things that are above the things that are on earth are so in your face and in your pocket if that's what you thought at first glance that Paul wants us to check out of reality I think you'll be relieved to hear that we're not being told to check out a reality we're told to see it rightly we're not being told to check out a reality we're told to see it rightly it's quite the opposite actually the main point is that we need to be totally heavenly minded so we can see the reality of our earthly lives if you're taking notes this afternoon that is my main point we need to be totally heavenly minded so we can see the reality of our earthly lives how Paul really what Colossians is imminently useful for us and for our edification in this area so we need context you don't just pluck a piece of scripture out of the context call it the Colossians context he's writing this letter to address heresy that was threatening their faith and the way he addressed his heresy is by teaching doctrine he does this here in Colossians he does this in all of his other letters he knows this is the best way to tackle heresy is to point people back to the firm foundation of the gospel so in Chapter 1 Paul is answering huge questions with rich doctrine questions like what is the relevance of the gospel now that we're saved Paul in 1:6 he says the gospel is bearing fruit and growing all over the world just as it has among you since the day you heard it and came to truly appreciate God's race okay well what's a life that pleases the Lord chapter 1 verse 10 and following that you walk worthy of the Lord fully pleasing to him bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God okay but what do we do with our sin we still have sin how can God forgive us 114 we find redemption and forgiveness for our sins in Christ yes Paul thank you but this life is really hard who's in charge here what's it all for 115 Christ it's for Christ and this Christ is so glorious but who are we Paul 1:21 and following we're former enemies of God who were alienated and hostile in our minds doing evil deeds but now we're reconciled in Christ's body on the cross this is amazing Paul thank you but isn't there's something else I need to do what do I do now now that I'm saved 123 continue in the faith and remain stable and steadfast in the faith and don't shift away from the hope of the gospel you heard thank you Paul yes this world is out of control and crazy what in the cosmos is God doing right now 1:24 and following God is making known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of his mystery which is Christ in you the hope of glory these big weighty doctrines are all crucial for us in understanding what it means to be totally heavenly minded so we can see the reality of our earthly lives and then further in chapter 2 Paul is wearing his pastoral heart on his sleeve so to speak and he says he wants us to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery which is Christ why is he's so eager and desperate for the church to know this because Jesus is the why behind everything he is teaching them he's the why Jesus is the reason like I said I have four kids and it is within my motherly authority to tell them kids put your shoes on we're going now one might go that way another might go that way one might say I don't have shoes and another one might not answer at all you just never know I don't have to give a reason why I could just say get your shoes on it's time to go but what if I told them why guys get your shoes on we're going to Krispy Kreme one kids got my car keys another kid is helping another kid somebody else started the car already and they're already out the door that's why Paul needs us to know why we need to know Jesus our union with Jesus is though why behind all of these things he's teaching us in Colossians do you struggle with the why of your Christian life you find the reason here in Colossians why is Paul eager for the church to know who Jesus is practically speaking Paul's not there he's not there Paul's not there why is he not there he's in prison and second Paul didn't directly plant this church so he hasn't personally met all of these sheep but through his ministry to a Patras a local guy who he taught the gospel to when he was in Ephesus brought the good news back to his hometown Colossae and here is a new church plan and third this young church is being threatened directly by false teachers eternal life and death are at stake if they do not know the why of their Christian faith and why they need to see things with internal perspective the stuff this these false teachers have told them to believe and to live out directly threatens their faith not just their perspective it threatens their faith false teachers are persuading the sheep that being placed in Christ is not enough you need some extra stuff you can't reach all the riches of full assurance and understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery unless you buy whatever rubbish the false teachers are selling that's what the false teachers are expounding to these people and here's the thing about false teachers Paul says they're deluded arguments were plausible plausible believable they're deluded arguments were believable he says later in chapter 2 that they had the appearance of wisdom it's so sneaky how can you tell what is really wise and what just looks like wisdom you need an eternal perspective so Paul reminds them in Christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge and he says I'm saying this so that you won't be fooled by persuasive speech enticing words and smooth rhetoric and these crafty plausible arguments so in Colossians 2:6 through 7 Paul says this therefore as you received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in him rooted and built up in him and established in the faith just as you were taught abounding in Thanksgiving it is our union with Jesus who we are in Christ that we desperately need to know and understand so that we can have a heavenly minded perspective to see the reality of our earthly lives do you understand yourself to be in Christ is that the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of your life to borrow a phrase from one of my favorite books it's made a huge impact on my life it's called the gospel primer by Milton Vincent came to me at the perfect time of course as all of these things do and he says being in Christ is the one great permanent circumstance in your life being in Christ is the one great permanent circumstance of your life who are you where are you from what's your name what's your story who do you think you are funny story we have a membership class at Redeemer and anyone interested in becoming a member of the church or hearing more about what the church is about is welcome to come to the membership class and the elders get up and they teach and near the beginning people are always given opportunity to introduce themselves and usually in our global context is what's your name and where are you from and that usually means my name is this and your country oh my name is this I'm from Ivory Coast I'm from Ghana I'm from Philippines I'm from Lebanon I'm from Egypt every once in a while we'll get some Westerners I went from Scotland I'm from Australia I'm from the US but once or twice someone has stood up and said I'm from Texas that great country we all have places where we're from we all have roles to play hats that we wear jobs we have some of us think we have too many jobs too many roles others of us are seeking actively looking for places to plug in roles to play hats to we're trying to find our roots or we're trying to put down our roots there are so many temporary circumstances in our lives do you see that you are in Christ and that's the one great permanent circumstance what's the primary biggest most important thing about you it's being in Christ this is critically important to having an eternal perspective so flip back over to Colossians 1 cautions 1 verses 1 & 2 Colossians 1 verses 1 & 2 Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and Timothy our brother to the Saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae grace to you and peace from God our Father Colossae is obviously a geographic location that you can look at and point to on a map it's a place you can go and right now sisters in Christ you and I are in Christ at Ballroom 500 indianapolis indiana the united states of america north america on the globe hurtling through outer space at 67,000 miles an hour around the Sun in our solar system in the Milky Way galaxy and on and on if God has placed you in Christ then that is where you will still be 30 zillion years from now if he's placed you in Christ that is where you will be forever you would be just like these Colossians believers in Christ at Colossae in Christ at Abu Dhabi in Christ at malahide in Christ at Durban in Christ in Mindanao in Christ wherever it is he's placed you but he's placed you in Christ at the moment of your conversion you were altered at the very core of your being you were taken out of Adam and placed in Christ question okay how can you be in or out of someone I know this is hard it's hard for us as individuals from individualistic cultures to wrap our minds around this and since we're all here in the West or inside of the world I'm assuming that most of us primarily think of ourselves as an individual who are independent and you know who you're associated with but you're associated with them you're not in them they're just with you and if you don't want that Association you can just choose another one so here's a quick refresher of being in or out of someone think of seeds seeds are neat God made seeds so we could catch a glimpse of what it means to be placed in Christ so in the beginning God said let the earth sprout vegetation plants yielding seed and fruit bears fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed each according to its kind right Genesis yes seeds are incredibly complex did you know that we can make computers and Mars rovers and put them on other planets and take pictures of other planets but we can't make seeds nobody can make a seed it's incredible so you get a pomegranate and you open it and you think everybody else likes it it's kind of cool I'll try it and you eat it and then you realize this is not what it's all cracked up to be and then I have to floss my teeth so you throw the seeds on the ground and what comes out of the pomegranate seeds biology what comes out of the pomegranate seeds pomegranate trees which be get more pomegranates and then when they fall to the ground their seeds beget more pomegranate trees and on and on a pomegranate seed because pomegranate trees which begins pomegranate trees the Bible also teaches us that God created man in his own image in the image of God he created him male and female he created them and God blessed them and God said to them be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and what did Adam and Eve do next we know they disobeyed God and fell into sin so now everyone born of Adam is born spiritually dead just like Adam was when he fell we're all born that way spiritually dead at first Corinthians 15 21 to 22 puts it very succinctly for us by a man came death by a man has come also the resurrection from the dead for as in Adam all die so also in Christ shall all be made alive feel urgent Herman Ritter boss explains that Adam and Christ stand over and against each other as two great figures at the entrance of two worlds two creations in Adams and Christ's actions and fate lies the decision for all who belong to them for all who are in them this is what it means to be in Adam or in Christ you are one or the other everyone you meet is one or the other in Adam or in Christ and this is also where we get the idea that Adam is called the type of him who was to come who is Christ in Adam comes death and an Adam were all dead but in Jesus the last Adam comes the resurrection of the dead and in him we're alive Christians are those who have been born again into Christ we're born again not of perishable seed from our mom and dad but by imperishable seed the gospel of Jesus Christ we cannot expect to think rightly about our ordinary lives our days and nights our jobs and roles friends and family health and sickness suffering and joy and every other thing that we're involved in if we do not know the work of God in him taking us out of Adam and placing us in Christ we cannot expect to think rightly about our ordinary lives unless we start with this one great permanent reality of being in Christ and seeing everything that flows out of this so Paul puts this in his introduction because the Colossians and us we need to be reminded how easy it is for us to forget that we are a new creation in Christ and identify ourselves with him and not with the world how easy it is for us to only think of ourselves according to the flesh as Paul says elsewhere to think primarily of ourselves in terms of our nationality or gender or role or job or where we're currently sitting in traffic how easy it is to only see these earthly that he's referring to in Colossians 3 we need to stop living on autopilot do you want a heavenly perspective for your ordinary life I do I know I need it badly but hell Paul how of course to answer our desperate yes I want that but how Paul gives us the why he points us back to Christ Colossians 3:3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God we set our minds on things that are above because we have died to our old self our sin nature we've died to those things that held us in bondage in this world it's the lust of the flesh the perversity of a broken mind the course of this world that we were following like consumeristic animals just buying more stuff and buying more stuff to fill ourselves to feel full we need to see ourselves in Christ it may be that you feel empty maybe you feel empty in some way you didn't get to talk to somebody you wanted to talk to you some plans you made didn't pan out you woke up in the mirror and you're like oh man you're wondering about what's going on at home or you know what's going on at home and you can't control it you find yourself lacking in some way what are you going to do about those thoughts well you find something on earth to try and stuff in that feeling of emptiness some power idle control idle comfort I don't what do you put in the egg to make you feel better it's different for all of us isn't it or we could remember that our life is a hidden with Christ in God so context again who is Christ remember who he is did you wake up in the morning and you tell yourself I'm awake thank you Jesus the synapses in my brain are working oxygen in my lungs are going my heart is beating without me thinking about it praise You God for holding my life together with your very word I'm placed in Christ you tell yourself you are placed in Christ who is this Christ Colossians 1 Colossians 1:15 through 20 here's the Christ whom Paul is pointing the Colossians and us to here is who you are in he is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of all creation for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth visible and invisible whether Thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him and he's before all things and in him all things hold together and he is the head of the body the church replaced in him he is the beginning the firstborn from the dead that in everything he might be preeminent for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven making peace by the blood of his cross it is this Christ whom God has placed you in believer this Christ you were circumcised in this Christ with a circumcision made without hands you were buried with this Christ in Baptism and you were raised together with this Christ through faith in the powerful working of God who raised him from the dead and you were dead in your sin but God made you alive together with this Christ and forgave your sin the world might be spinning around the Sun at 37,000 miles an hour and you can't make it stand still to save your life but thankfully you don't have to because the Bible says that your life is hidden with Christ in God and if you are in Christ now that is where you will be 30 zillion years from now no one can change this this is something God has done for you not because you deserved it not because you've done anything to keep it this is Grace you can today in the midst of your ordinary life wherever you are in and whatever roles and circumstances and pains and aches and Joy's or prosperity in which God has placed you because you're in Christ now then you can be zealous about what you're going to be zealous about 30 zillion years from now and what are you going to be jealous about 30 zillion years from now is Jesus you can be zealous about him now if you are placed in him Paul wants the Colossians and us to understand who Christ is and what it means that we are identified with Christ associated with Christ that we belong to Christ that we are in Christ that our life is hidden with Christ in God if we understand who Jesus is and what it means that we were in him then we won't be diluted with whatever persuasive arguments from false teachers that were hearing we won't be taken captive through whatever empty deception were tempted to believe and we won't allow anyone to pass judgment on us or disqualify us this is how he is arguing to the Colossians rather we will be totally heavenly minded so we can see the reality of our earthly lives it is so tempting to see my life as something that is defined by earthly circumstances I live tweet myself to myself do you ever do that I'm going to the store oh yes don't forget that I need to do this I've got my list this is where I'm going and I'll narrate myself to myself just to keep going not forget because I'm the type of person who walks in the room and forgets why they were there but I'm holding like six coffee mugs in the laundry basket where was I going what what is this huh and it takes a minute that's just that's what I do it's so tempting to see my wife is something that's defined by earthly circumstances temporary things that are going on a heavier way to your thing that's a temporary circumstance in my life is my husband is disabled he's physically disabled so day in and day out we're living our ordinary everyday lives struggling with his chronic pain and disability in his arms he has all her nerve dystrophy lives and chronic pain has for a decade now tried all of these things and we've been so tempted to see our lives as defined by how that's going it's the only life our kids have ever known so this is for them something that they see as part of their lives I remember what my husband's life was like before he was disabled so I have all of these pictures in my mind it's very tempting to see that as the primary way to see myself and to see him and to see what's going on in our lives but it is a fleeting temporary earthly circumstance it's not always going to be that way but I need reminders because the everyday ins and outs are so in-your-face I need this perspective from Colossians who is this Christ I'm placed in what in the world is God doing he's putting all the cosmos back together and somehow these fleeting circumstances are part of his plan to hasten the day of his coming and if that's the case can I find joy yes I don't know what it is for you I don't know what fleeting temporary earthly circumstance is struggling is making you struggle with an eternal perspective it might be your role as a wife or mom your income your back pain cancer your social media your car your town whatever temporary earthly circumstance it is whatever you feel defines you look at this in light of what you read in Colossians that this life is not all there is you know that we all know that God has put eternity in man's heart but we have to do the hard work of remembering that our life is hidden with Christ in God your life is hidden with Christ in God verse 4 in Colossians 3 verse 4 what does it say when Christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory maybe you're happy today happier than you've ever been you too sister even in your happiness now you still haven't seen the radiant glory of your life in Christ like it will be when he is revealed on that last day and friends who are suffering the world definitely doesn't see your victorious brilliant glorious life in Christ either to the life you look to the world you look like a fool you might have heard what job's wife said to him and his pain and suffering curse God and die this is what job's faithless wife said and this is what the world says to you in your suffering but the eternal perspective we see in Colossians tells us something different is going on that our life is hidden with Christ in God and when Christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory be assured of this the final day of resurrection is now 42 minutes closer than when I started talking praise God all the dead will hear his voice and those who have been raised spiritually with Christ already will be raised totally together with one another to dwell with Christ forever including the Colossians by the way that hasn't happened for them yet either we will be raised together with them in glory when Christ who is our life appears if we're going to live in this world with an eternal perspective we need to know this Christ and we need to know that Christ in whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through whom we have been reconciled we need to understand what it means to live in Christ now if we want to see our ordinary lives rightly what difference does this make throughout the rest of this letter Paul is spelling out the difference that it makes very particularly if you've been familiar with Colossians read it before you know that what's coming after Chapter three is some nitty gritty specific stuff he gets down in our junk no stone is left unturned we take this eternal perspective of being placed in Christ and looking forward to seeing our lives revealed with Christ when he appears in glory and he gets to talk about your job your money issues your relationships your anger problem sexuality issues your words your attitude and your ministry this is very practical application he takes what it means to be in Christ and he applies it to all of these ordinary circumstances for our ordinary lives and he does this for not just you as individuals but for all of you remember Paul is writing to a local church the user plural the translation from the Greek into Spanish is aesthetics it's a Farsi it's Shema French whew in the southern US it's all y'all when Christ who is all y'all's life appears then all y'all will also appear with him in glory together raised together with Christ Jesus is renewing us into his image a new humanity the new man Paul calls it we don't live the old way any longer we don't see our earthy circumstances in this way any longer we see them rightly with an eternal perspective because that's not who we are anymore we've been taken out of Adam and placed in Christ forever so we worship the Lord Jesus in spirit and in truth and Jesus says behold I am making all things new he's making it new and this new is coming true in the global church everywhere right now you won't read that in the news you read it in Colossians so when you look at your life or the news reel your earthly life and the world around you the explanation is this if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation the old has passed away behold the new has come Jesus walked out of his grave he walked out of his grave literally physically really he walked out of his grave the first man in the new creation so if you're in him in this Christ you're raised together with him and you are not just like a new creation you are a new creation and new creations live out their ordinary lives with a heavenly perspective there's a battle for our minds a war so we take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ and we do it together in our local churches we do it by feasting on a steady diet of God's Word with all y'all and slowly slowly slowly ever so slowly it seems sometimes we will live like people whose lives are hidden with Christ in God if then you've been raised with Christ Paul says seek the things that are above set your minds on things that are above like I said at the beginning my mingle in this workshop is to encourage you to dive into Colossians and let the word of god renew your mind slowly slowly over time don't walk away from this workshop and think oh I got Colossians in my pocket now go back into Colossians and spend significant time soaking in this eternal perspective Paul is giving us go home study for yourself bring your sisters around you and pass it on Colossians is a perfect place to go to have our minds renewed so that we are totally heavenly minded so we can see the reality of our earthly lives let's pray and ask for God's help to see things the way he sees them father thank you for your word for creating us to be word dependent creatures who live by every word that proceeds from your mouth and I pray that the word of Christ would dwell in us richly that we would teach to admonish one another in all wisdom singing Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in our hearts to you thank God that whatever we do in our earthly lives in word or deed that we would do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and whom you have hidden our lives and in whom our lives will appear with him in glory god we long for that day pray that it would come soon in Jesus name we pray amen

Channel: The Gospel Coalition

Views: 9,920

Rating: 4.8870969 out of 5

Keywords: the gospel coalition, the gospel, gospel, coalition, Christ, Christian, Christianity, spiritual, teaching, heavenly, heaven, earth, earthly, mundane, normal, life, living

Id: zF5zHPJUtTk

Length: 48min 22sec (2902 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 01 2019