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The Supremecy of Christ in the Christian's Mind and Affections

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• It's a joy to be here, and I'm certainly thankful for the opportunity. And, Brother Meyer, I'm always thankful to come back here. I really am. I appreciate your people, and I appreciate the Lord converting Brother Baker, too. Years ago, he and I had a discussion, and I finally told him, I said, "Look, Brother, if you can be content to be John Wesley, I can be content to be George Whitefield."

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• Well, the subject today, of course, is the supremacy of Christ over the Christian's mind and affections. So, if you'll look in your Bibles to Colossians chapter 3, we're going to read three verses and I hope I will be able to finish these three verses. Notice Colossians chapter 3, beginning there with verse 1. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth, for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is the resurrected, glorified, majestic, supreme and sovereign God of heaven and He deserves all honor, all praise, all glory and all worship. And Jesus Christ must have his rightful place in everything. If you would look back just to Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 through 17, we read this concerning Christ, "who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers.

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• All things were created by him, and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." Every genuine Christian would confess and acknowledge the truth of Colossians 1:15-17. But the question is, not just simply do you confess and acknowledge that truth, but do you apply that truth in your everyday life? What is it that you think about during your waking hours, and what is it that you think about when you lie down at night to go to sleep?

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• What is it, or may I ask, who is it that is controlling your thoughts, your imaginations, and your desires? I understand that especially during the day there are a thousand voices screaming for our attention. But the question is, do you apply the Lordship and the sovereignty of Jesus Christ to every aspect of your life, even in those areas that are crying for your attention? Do you realize that one of the charges that God places against the wicked is found in Psalm 10 in verse 4, where he says, "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all of his thoughts." Notice, if you would, that charge, "God is not in all of his thoughts." You say, "But wait a minute, preacher, I just cannot think on the Lord Jesus Christ 24 hours a day. There are so many things that demand my attention and there are so many things that I must do."

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• And when I work, I have to be very careful that I don't hurt myself. I understand that, but the truth of the matter is this. We can think of whatever we do in reference to Christ, in reference to His kingship, and in reference to His sovereignty. For instance, my wife and I plant a garden, and my job is to take the tractor and harrow it up. The rest of it is her job.

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• You know, the planting, the harvesting, the preserving, and it works well like that. But do you realize, I don't care if you are planting a garden. You can plant that garden in reference to the kingship and the sovereignty of Jesus Christ, knowing that he is King of kings and Lord of lords and God of gods, and you must plant in faith, for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. And the Bible says in Proverbs 21 in verse 4, "An high look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin." So that means if I'm going to plant a garden, I still have to do it in reference to the kingship and the worship of Jesus Christ.

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• And the same truth can be applied to child discipline, to economics, to the home, to education, to any subject that you're concerned with. In other words, Jesus Christ has to have supremacy in our heart and in our minds. So I want us to look at Colossians chapter 3 very quickly. I'm going to give you several points and then I'm going to try to tie things together for you. So first of all, look at the duty enjoined. You will find that in verse 1, "If ye then be risen with Christ." That's the duty enjoined. Literally, it is saying then that you're risen with Christ or since you are risen with Christ. And the Apostle Paul is basing his enjoinder upon the truth that he has previously enunciated in Colossians chapter 2, verses 11 and 12. Look there. Colossians 2 verse 11, "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised

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• him from the dead." You know, the Bible tells us in Romans 6 in verse 4, "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." So just like Jesus Christ was buried and resurrected, even so, we who are in Christ have died in Him, we've been buried with Him, we have been resurrected with Him, and we have also ascended with Him. Ascension always follows resurrection. Our Lord, after He was ascended, sat down on the right hand of God the Father. You know, there's an interesting truth, and I want you to see it in the book of Ephesians chapter 2, because the Scripture teaches us there very clearly that we ascended in Christ. Notice Ephesians chapter 2. Let's begin reading there with verse 4. Ephesians 2 verse 4, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

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• That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. But notice, if you would, the Bible tells us that he has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Jesus Christ. So we have ascended into the heavenlies with Christ. What does that mean? It means that we should also therefore walk in a heavenly manner. It's not the old adage that we're so heavenly minded we're no earthly good. No, it's not that. It is that we are so heavenly minded that we do and are of earthly good because we are applying the truths of God to our everyday life. Our earthly walk, therefore, is controlled by Christ, controlled by His Word, and seeing that we have been raised from the dead in Him, and we've ascended into heavens in Him, we also live as He lived and walk as He walked.

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• Now, the Bible, in 1 John 4:17, makes this exceedingly clear. Listen carefully. The Bible says, "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." As He is, so are we in this world. What does that mean? It means that our minds, our actions, our attitudes, everything is being controlled by the kingship and the lordship of Christ. And so here in Colossians chapter 3, if you'll look back there at verse 1, here's the duty enjoined, "If ye then be risen with Christ." Here secondly is the duty established, "seek those things which are above." Christ sought me as a sinner, now I must seek him as a saint.

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• He came down from heaven to draw his people to heaven. He suffered death that we might live unto him. The classic passage, and you'll hear me quote part of this a little bit later, begins in Philippians 2 and verse 5 where he says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." But notice what he said, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."

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• You know, we're told in Matthew chapter six and verse twenty, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." But then you will say in Matthew six and verse thirty three, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." You remember Philippians three and verse twenty where he said, "For our conversation is in heaven;

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• from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." Now, he said, if we are risen with Christ, or since we are risen with Christ, here is a duty that is established. We must seek those things which are above. The question is, what are those things which are above? How do we seek those things which are above? Let me answer that for you in several ways. First of all, I just want you to look in the book of Acts chapter 1 and verse 3, and I want you to see how our Lord walked and talked after he was resurrected. Notice Acts chapter 1 and verse 3. The Bible says this, "To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs,

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• being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." Well, what did our Lord do? He spoke of things pertaining to the kingdom of God. In other words, He was speaking of those things which are above, so to speak. Seeking those things which are above, would be the same thing as what Abraham did in Hebrews 11, verses 8-10, where the Bible says, "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed;

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• and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." In other words, Abraham's life was basically controlled by the Word of God, by the promises of God. In fact, all of our forefathers in the faith, their lives were the same way. For we are told in Hebrews chapter 11, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."

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• So seeking those things which are above means basically what we're doing is denying our flesh. Denying our own selfishness, and seeking those things which are truthful and eternal, not those things necessarily that are temporal.

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• Now, we know that we have to live. If the Lord allows me to live next week, I'm going to have to eat. I'll have to have clothes. But what did our Lord say? We're not to be concerned about those things. He knows that we have need of those things. He understands that. The way we seek those things above is what Peter admonished us in 1 Peter 2 and verse 11 when he said, "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." Abstain from those things. Why in the world would you do something when you know you ought not to be doing it to begin with?

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• You know, it's just like a person who was trying to lose weight visiting a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop. You know, why would you do that if your real intention is to lose weight? I heard one man say that he had been on a diet and he had done so well. He passed a Krispy Kreme donut shop and he thought it would please the Lord for him to reward himself with a Krispy Kreme donut. And he said that he made it a matter of prayer, and he said, "Lord, if you really want me to have a Krispy Kreme donut, I want you to have a parking place for me right in front of the store."

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• And he said, "Would you believe it? After ten times around the block, he found one." Well, you know, the Bible says that we're to make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. And why in the world would we do something when we know that—listen, there's enough problems that we get in without even trying. Our minds, as I'm going to point out just momentarily, should be controlled by the Word of God. So Peter tells us that we're to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against our souls.

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• What does it mean to seek those things which are above? We seek those things which are above when our minds, and in our minds, we're truly sojourners in this world. We're not bound to it. When we seek a better and a heavenly country, the continuing city which is above in the heavens, whose builder and maker is God, it is when we seek Christ and heaven and trust in Him alone for salvation. Seeking those things which are above is we are living in obedience to Christ and His word and bringing our lives in conformity to that word. Seeking those things which are above means that we live by His righteousness.

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• I want you to stop and think about this. You know, God does command us to pray, but it's not our prayer that's really important, it's Christ who is important. We live by faith, and yet it's not our faith. Faith is merely an instrument. Christ is the object of that faith. Everything revolves around Jesus Christ. He is indeed the center of the universe. And the truth of the matter is, for the child of God, He is the center of our universe. Everything revolves around Christ.

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• So we have the duty enjoined in verse 1, that is true, and the duty established in verse 1. Thirdly, look, if you would please, at the duty emphasized. He said, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." Where is Christ? He is seated at the right hand of God. So the argument here is that since Christ is there, since he is the object of our supreme attachment, we should fix our affections on things above, on heavenly things, and live with Christ now by faith as we are being prepared to live for him in eternity.

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• You know, one of the most blessed petitions of our Lord's prayer in John 17 and verse 24 is this, when our Lord prayed, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." Do you realize, our Lord prayed, that we would be with him, that we may behold his glory? Now, I realize we cannot behold the ultimate and the absolute and the completion of his glory right now, but we can still behold his glory by faith. We may glory in the fact that all authority in heaven and earth is given unto him. We may glory in the fact and the realization that he must rule until he's put all his enemies under his feet. We must glory in the fact and exalt in the truth that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, that he's perfect God and perfect man. We can glory and exalt in the truth that he is our mediator, that he is our intercessor, our savior, our provider, our protector.

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• He is our all in all. We can glory in that and we can glimpse that even now by faith. And the very fact that he's seated at the right hand of the Father means that in him and through him we have full and unfettered access into the Father. I don't know if this thought has ever hit you or not, but you remember in the Old Testament, not only in the tabernacle but in the temple, the high priest went in only once a year and that not without blood. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself, what would happen to anyone who tried to just run into the Holy of Holies on his own? Well, outside of the fact that he would have been killed by God if he had even made it that far, because those Levites were armed and they were charged with the protection of Aaron and that tabernacle and that temple, probably the Levites would have killed him before he ever got in there. But can you imagine? Only Aaron could go in only once a year.

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• And now the Bible tells us in Ephesians 2 and verse 18, "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." Did you know that the Bible says in Hebrews 4 and verse 16, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Let us come boldly. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine Hebrews 10 verse 19, "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh"? Can you imagine that we may boldly come unto God the Father through Jesus Christ? In one sense of the word, He's made it absolutely simple and absolutely easy to get to God the Father. It must be through the merits of Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit of God. But in Him, we may have boldness to come.

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• Why? Do you and I run all of our lives endowed oftentimes in misery, in ignorance, when we may boldly come to our Father through our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ? Since Jesus Christ is God, He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He encompasses us by His power. He knows our hearts. He knows our desires. And He is with us by virtue of the fact that He is everywhere at once in the totality of His person. We're never alone. We're never forsaken. We're always in His presence.

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• Such knowledge should motivate us not only to holiness and godliness, but to greater obedience. And that we may set our affection on things above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

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• Now, notice, if you would, in verse two, here's the fourth thing. The duty exercised. The duty exercised. He says in verse two, "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." So in this verse, we have a positive and a negative. We're to set our affection on things above, positively and negatively, not on things of the earth. So the question is, how do we do so?

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• The word literally means to mind or to think on. Mind or think on things above, not on things of the earth. Let me give you a quote. John Gill, one of the great Baptist preachers, said this. "The word signifies to mind them and think on them, to favor and approve them, to be affectionately desirous of them and concerned for them. For where the treasure is, the heart should be. And as the saints' best things are above, their minds and affections should be there likewise. Their contemplation should be on those things, and their conversation should be in heaven.

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• Nor should they regard anything but what is there or comes from this. For they belong not to this world, but to another and better country. Their citizenship is in heaven, and there in a short time they must have their everlasting residence, and therefore should seek after and highly prize and value heavenly things, and set their affection on them, and not on things of the earth. Not mind earth and earthly things, temporal enjoyments, riches, honor, and food, and the necessaries of life are to be sought after and cared and provided for, yet not with anxiety and perplexity of mind, in an over-thoughtful and distressing manner. Nor should the heart be set on those outward things, or happiness placed in possession of them."

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• I remember hearing about a multimillionaire who died, and one of the men looked to the other who was seated there and he said, "How much did he leave?" And the one man turned and said, "He left it all." And that's true.

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• Now, I want you to notice what Gil is saying. Gil is saying the primary emphasis of our life should be on Christ and his word. Yes, we have daily chores. Yes, we have a lot of things that we must do and concentrate upon. But we're not to be anxious over those things nor distressful upon them. And whatever we do in those areas, we're still to do in reference to the lordship and kingship and sovereignty of Jesus Christ. But I want you to contrast what John Gill just said and what Scripture is teaching in Colossians 3 with what the Scripture says concerning the ungodly. Listen to this. Philippians 3 and verse 19 where Paul talks about the wicked and he says, "Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things." You see, all the wicked have is this life.

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• All that they can have is what they can get here and now. And they mind earthly things. That's where their thoughts are. That's where their hearts are. That's where their affections are on earthly things. In Romans 8 and verse 5, the apostle Paul said it like this, "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh." All the ungodly know to do is to just please their flesh, fulfill their flesh.

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• Setting your affection on things above simply means that you have learned by grace to love heavenly things, to study them, to enjoy them, and to allow your heart to be totally and completely engrossed by them. Just stop and think. If we were as energetic for heavenly things after our conversion, as we were energetic for fleshly things before our conversion, we would probably be wonderful Christians. In setting your affection on things above, you have to learn several truths.

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• The first one is this. Philippians 2 and verse 5, which I quoted earlier, the scripture says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Have you ever prayed, "Lord, help me to think like Christ, to talk like Christ, to walk and act like Christ"? If you have the mind of Christ, then you can't help but think and act and walk and talk like Christ. I like that passage there in Philippians where Paul said, "I beseech Euodia, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord." And sometimes I mispronounce their names and say, "I beseech Odius and Stynchy, that they be of the same mind."

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• Because the two women were fussing. How do you get rid of the divisions? How do you get rid of the hard feelings? How do you get rid of the differences? The answer is very simple. Both of you—each of us—submit our minds to the word of God and we learn to think like Christ. Do you realize the word of God says in 1 Peter 4 verse 1 that we're to arm ourselves with the mind of Jesus Christ? How about that? Arm yourselves with the mind of Jesus Christ. In Romans chapter 12 and verse 2, in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 23, he says, "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind." In other words, our minds are to be constantly renewed in the sense that we're constantly having the mind of Christ.

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• I never will forget hearing about one prayer meeting where one person who was kind of wishy-washy was praying and he said out loud, "Lord, fill us with thy spirit." And another brother said, "No, Lord, he leaks."

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• Now, you just stop and think about that. The problem is all of us leak. We have to be armed with the mind of Christ. We have to be renewed in the spirit of our minds.

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• Now, I want you to turn, please, to Second Corinthians, Chapter 10. Let me show you this. This is one of my favorite passages. Second Corinthians, Chapter 10, and let's begin reading there with verse four. Second Corinthians, Chapter 10, verse four, look at this. The Apostle Paul says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds."

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• Now let me stop there. When Paul says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, he is not dissing riflery, pistol shooting, archery, fighting. No, no, no. All the apostle Paul is saying is, look, carnal weapons will not work in the warfare that we're fighting.

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• Now watch what he said in verse 4. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds."

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• Now let me just stop there because this is a military illustration. You know what your stronghold is? It is your place of defense. That's all it is. So if someone came through that front door shooting, I'm going to duck down behind this pulpit. This pulpit would be my place of defense. It would be my stronghold. You say it's not much. It's better than what you've got. You see what I'm saying? But this would be our stronghold. It's my place of defense. You know what our strongholds are?

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• I want you to watch this. Let's read these two verses together. 2 Corinthians 10, verse 4. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds." Here's your stronghold. Watch. "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Now, here's my question.

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• How many thoughts are you and I allowed that are unbiblical, ungodly and unholy? And the answer is, None. Because every thought is to be brought into captivity in obedience to Jesus Christ. Have you prayed that prayer? Have you asked God on a constant daily basis that you would only think those thoughts that are pleasing to Him? I want to tell you something about our minds. Our minds... I still pray this.

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• One of my prayers is each night before I go to sleep, I say, "Lord, please control my consciousness, my subconsciousness, my unconsciousness." And I thought one time, I was thinking, well, Lord, if you will take care of my subconsciousness and my unconsciousness, I might be able to control my consciousness. And then I got to thinking, I can't even control my consciousness. Do you realize thoughts can fly through your mind in an instant? And you think, what? Where did that thought come from?

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• If you don't believe me, just get out and try praying. And all of a sudden, thoughts will come through. Where did they come from? The flesh and the world and the devil can throw thoughts through your mind so quickly. You see, really and truly, it's not a sin for that thought to come in your mind. The sin comes when you back it up and say, "Whoa, wait a minute, I want to think on that a while." It's not a sin to be tempted, our Lord was tempted. He was tested. Have you ever stopped to think?

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• I'm going to show you this. Have you ever stopped to think? That no matter how hard you try, you can't think about one thing at a time. If I were to reach in my pocket and hold up this little knife, and I ask you what you saw, and you tell me it's a knife, and you tell me it's green, fine. And then I do this, tell me now what you see.

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• And you say a Bible, what cover, black. You realize while you were thinking about this knife, you were not thinking about the Bible. When you were thinking about the Bible, you were not thinking about the knife. No matter how hard you try, you can't think about one thing at a time. And so when those thoughts come in your mind that are unbiblical and unholy and ungodly, you say, "Lord, I refuse those. I will not have those in my mind." And then you purposely and deliberately put your mind on some scripture or some promise of God. Or you say like David, "I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love." And you begin to think, "God said thou shalt not commit adultery" or "thou shalt not steal."

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• Whatever is applicable to your situation. You have to learn by the grace of God to bring every thought and every imagination into captivity to Jesus Christ. That means, listen, I don't think we're talking about economics. There's a biblical economics. I just preached for hours on that subject. There's a biblical form of government. There's a biblical form of child discipline. There's a biblical form of husband and wife relationship. There's a biblical form of everything imaginable. And your responsibility before God is to bring your heart and your mind in conformity to that and think on these things. And let the Word of God control your mind. Why? Because Jesus Christ is King of Kings, God of Gods, Lord of Lords. He is the Sovereign. He is the Supreme. And He has commanded, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Wow. Can you imagine how it would change our lives if we just learn to bring every thought and every imagination in subjection and captivity to Jesus Christ? Our hearts, our minds, our thoughts are to be captivated by King Jesus.

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• One last point, I want you to look in Colossians chapter three at verse three, because here's the duty explained. Colossians 3 and verse 3, he says, "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." The duty explained. Now, how can he say, "If ye then be risen with Christ," or since you are risen with Christ, "seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth"? How can he say those things? Here's why. "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Now, I want you to hold Colossians 3, but go back in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 6. Look in Romans chapter 6, and I want you to see the Apostle's argument here, and I'm going to apply it because it is the same in Colossians chapter 3. But notice if you would Romans chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 1, and we'll read through verse 12.

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• Romans 6, verse 1, watch this line of reasoning. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

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• For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof."

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• Now, go back to verse 2 just momentarily. He says, "God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"

  #53 | 37:51 to 38:00 | cleaned

• Now, this contains a reason for the implied statement of the Apostle as to why we should not continue in sin. The fact of the matter, according to Scripture, we are dead to sin. It is impossible for a dead man to act as if he was alive. It's just as absurd to suppose that a Christian, a real, genuine Christian, would have a desire to live in sin as it would be for a dead man to evidence life. It's impossible, according to what the Apostle Paul is saying. So, when we are dead to something, it is a strong expression of the fact that that something has no influence over our lives.

  #54 | 38:00 to 38:47 | cleaned

• So, for the child of God, now, don't you stop and think about this. If we are dead to sin, here comes a temptation to commit adultery. No. Here comes a temptation to steal. No, thank you. Here comes a temptation to do anything else. No, sir, I will have none of it. You know what Romans chapter 6 teaches? That we are no longer under the lordship of sin. We're not under the kingship of sin. We're under the kingship of Jesus Christ. Sin is not our Lord. For the unsaved, sin may be their Lord. And when sin speaks, they may jump. And when sin tells them to jump, they may ask, "How high?" But when sin comes along and tries to dictate to the child of God, we can say truthfully, "No, thank you, Jesus Christ is my Lord, not you. I will have none of that. Because I'm dead to sin." I want you to stop and I'll cover some of this maybe on Sunday, I don't know.

  #55 | 38:49 to 40:06 | cleaned

• But do you realize there are temptations everywhere we turn? But we have to make it a habit in our minds of saying absolutely no to sin, no to temptation. And you must always consider the biblical alternative, the law of God and what God commands you to do and how you to live. In 1 Peter 2 and verse 24, the Word of God says this, talking about Christ, "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness." We, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. So the fact and reality is that we're dead to sin.

  #56 | 40:07 to 40:53 | cleaned

• It does not have dominion over us. It is not our Lord. And practically speaking, we have to impute or count ourselves dead. Look back in Romans chapter 6, if you would please, verse 11 and 12. Would you watch what he says? We must apply the biblical truth. In verse 11 of Romans 6, he says, "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." Now, he didn't say, "Let not sin therefore be in your mortal body," but he said it's not to reign, it's not to have control, it's not Lord. And what did he say? "Likewise reckon," that is, count or impute yourself dead indeed unto sin. Do you realize sin can do nothing to a dead man. A dead man has no affections for it, no desires for it, no thoughts concerned. He's dead. And God says that's how we must count ourselves. Now, I want you to turn back to Colossians chapter three and look at verse three, where he says this.

  #57 | 40:53 to 42:11 | cleaned

• "For ye are dead," that is, you're dead to sin. You died in Christ. "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." We are dead to sin because our life is hid with Christ in God. The word hid here means to hide, to remain concealed, locked, or locked together with. Do you realize this is a combination lock that no burglar can ever open? Our lives are hid with Christ in God. The language here is taken probably from the treasure which is hid or concealed in a place of security. And the idea is that eternal life is an invaluable jewel or treasure which is laid up with Christ in God in heaven.

  #58 | 42:13 to 43:07 | cleaned

• And that's what he said in 1 Peter chapter 1. And the truth of the matter is, it is absolutely, totally secure. That's why the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 1 in verse 12, "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Oh my, why can we not keep our minds when our life is really hid in Christ and we are dead to sin? I never will forget.

  #59 | 43:07 to 43:44 | cleaned

• Years ago, I was driving home. It was late at night and I was coming through Atlanta, Georgia. And I was doing everything to stay awake. And so I had the radio on and I turned it till I could find some preaching. And I picked up this old black preacher from Atlanta. I don't even know who he was, but I never will forget what he said. The old black preacher was preaching on John chapter 10 and he was using that text there where our Lord says he gives his sheep eternal life and they shall never perish and that they're in his hands and he's in God the Father's hand. The old black preacher said it like this.

  #60 | 43:45 to 44:31 | cleaned

• He said, "Now let me tell you. He said, the Bible say that we are hid in Christ's hand, and Christ is in God's hand." And he said, "If this is true," he said, "now, God the Son, He's not going to pluck you out of His hand. He said, God the Father, He's not going to pluck you out of His hand. And God the Spirit, He's not going to pluck you out of His hand."

  #61 | 44:34 to 45:04 | cleaned

• And come to think of it, them's the only three that can do any plucking anyhow. What did he say? Your life is hid with Christ and God. Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is the supreme, sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. And we owe him absolute allegiance. And we need to submit ourselves and bring every thought and every imagination into captivity to Jesus Christ.

  #62 | 45:05 to 45:52 | cleaned

• Father, bless Thy Word, we pray. Teach us and build us up in the most holy faith. In Thy name we ask. Amen.

  #63 | 45:53 to 46:02 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T19:21:16Z