Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 645 | Set Your Mind On Things Above

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645 | Set Your Mind On Things Above · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries.
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  Where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus like the woman at the
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  well in John chapter four.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life. Whether you are listening
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  in our app, in your favorite podcasting app, or on our website at watwm.org,
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  we invite you to sit down with us as we look to the scriptures to learn more
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  about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Paul reminds Christians that faith in Christ changes both their identity and their direction.
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  Those who have been raised with Christ are no longer controlled by earthly values.
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  They are to seek the things above where Christ reigns.
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  Join us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries as Kim takes us on a
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  journey through the scriptures, reminding us that our identity is in heaven and not on the earth.
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  Hello, and thank you for joining us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries. Let's pray.
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  Our kind and most gracious, your Heavenly Father, Lord, I just ask that you
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  would just show up in this message.
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  I pray, Lord, that you would walk from heart to heart and that you would clear
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  minds and that you would reveal to each of us what it is that you would have
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  for us to learn from this message.
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  And Lord, I pray that you would give us heavenly vision.
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  That you would strengthen our heart to love you even more.
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  And Lord, that you would be the center of our lives.
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  Lord, I pray that you would remove me as far as the East is from the West from
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  this message, that you would use these lips of clay to impart the words you have for us to hear.
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  Lord, we love you. We praise you and we thank you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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  Our message is entitled, Set Your Mind on Things Above.
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  And we are fleshly creatures. And the devil is walking about as a roaring lion
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  seeking whom he may devour.
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  And he's throwing things left and right, trying to get you to be distracted
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  from what God would have you to be doing, to be thinking.
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  How he would have you to just carry out your life.
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  But there's a simple remedy for that problem, and that is to set your mind on
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  things above, on heavenly things.
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  Our text is coming out of Colossians 3, verses 1 through 4.
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  But I want you to take a moment to hear Micah 6, 8,
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  so that as we look through this passage that Paul gives us in Colossians,
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  this is the lens, the focus we want our heart to be thinking.
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  He says, He has showed thee, O man, what is good.
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  And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy,
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  and to walk humbly with your God?
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  When we set our affections on things above and not on things of the earth,
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  we are able to walk humbly with our God.
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  In Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5, he says he never leaves us or forsakes us.
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  So he's right there with us. But as we walk looking at the things above,
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  as we walk seeking heaven's perspective, we're always going to know that he
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  is God. He is Savior. We are his child.
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  We are part of his family. We're going to understand the hierarchy of that family
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  and that God is in control.
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  And walking humbly will not be an issue because we will fully realize that everything
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  that we have and all that we are is because of him.
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  So when we get to Colossians chapter 3, as I'm getting ready to read in your
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  hearing, you'll have no problem understanding the why Paul is telling us,
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  that we are to seek things above and to set our mind on things above.
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  Because we as Christians, true believers in Christ, we've been raised with Christ.
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  And so we are to live with the heavenly promises and the priorities and hope of God.
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  We can only do that if we are set on him. Let's read.
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  Colossians 3, 1-4 reads like this, If ye then be risen with Christ,
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  seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
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  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
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  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
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  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
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  We're reminded that our identity and our direction changes when we become a child of God.
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  So let's dig into this passage of Scripture and take it verse by verse.
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  Our first point that we want to make is found in Colossians 1,
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  where he says, since you have been raised with Christ.
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  He says, if ye then be risen with Christ.
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  So first thing we want to understand is that we need to remember we have a new position in Christ.
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  Salvation gives everybody a different identity.
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  It gives us a different position. It gives us a different perspective.
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  Salvation changes us because we are new creatures in Christ Jesus.
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  And the old things are passed away and all things have become new.
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  Therefore our life should be different,
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  we share in christ's resurrection as he was raised from the dead we often talk
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  about this when we talk about baptism that we go down into the water we are
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  already saved but it is symbolic of the resurrection of the new life.
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  When we are saved, we are resurrected with Christ.
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  The dead of our soul, the sin of our life is resurrected by the life of Jesus
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  Christ because his blood saves us, washes our sins away,
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  and puts us on solid ground.
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  And sin has no more dominion over us. unfortunately many of us throw up the
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  white flag and and we go ahead and give in to flesh and and we entertain
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  sinful and wicked thoughts and and participates in sinful wicked activities
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  but that's a choice we are making because greater is he that is in us than he
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  that is in the world and we don't have to live like the world because we are
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  not of the world because we have been saved
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  we have been resurrected, we have been changed, and we have a new direction.
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  Our identity is no longer identified by our sins.
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  It's no longer defined by sin or success or possessions or public opinion.
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  It's defined by the blood of Jesus Christ applied to our heart,
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  which has given us heavenly access.
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  Our Christian life begins with Christ because of what he's already done,
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  not because of what we have done, not because of the things that we may accomplish.
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  It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
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  The entire work of salvation was completed on the cross of Calvary.
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  It wasn't of works of righteousness, which we have done, but it was by Jesus
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  Christ and the sacrifice of his blood.
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  The giving of his life. It's his sinless, perfect blood that washes away the
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  sins of every born-again believer when we place our faith fully in him.
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  See, when we are saved, things change.
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  We change, and our direction changes.
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  The Bible tells us that we are crucified with Christ.
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  Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
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  And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of
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  God who loved me and gave himself for me.
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  Galatians 2.20 I am crucified with Christ. My sins are forgiven.
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  My sins have been blotted out as far as the east is from the west.
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  I am a new creature, and I am alive with Christ.
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  So the old things, they don't hold me down anymore. My anchor is in Christ Jesus.
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  It's not in this world, and it's not in the sinful things of this world.
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  So as we begin to look at Colossians 3, verses 1 through 4, it's incredibly
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  important that we remember that we have a new position in Christ.
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  We have a new purpose, a new goal.
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  We are to seek the things above.
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  In the second verse of Colossians 3, he says, Set your affection on things above,
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  not on things of the earth.
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  When we read this passage of Scripture, what comes to your mind?
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  When we seek something, we put some real energy and effort behind it.
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  And when you look at the original wording of this, this word set,
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  it means to seek, to strive earnestly, to give everything you have,
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  to set it like you set cement.
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  When you put a pole down for your mailbox, you set the pole.
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  And you're seeking it to be tight and forever and permanent.
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  You're working to make that thing you have set to stand.
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  And when we look at this verse that says that we are to set your affection on things above,
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  what we're looking at is a commandment to seek and to strive earnestly with effort and passion,
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  to purpose and place,
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  to intentionally pursue that your mind, your desires, your goals,
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  your will are all on heavenly things.
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  If we read this verse, most likely in Paul's intent, what we see is that he
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  is saying that in this world, we'd have a better world if everybody lived by the power of God.
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  If everybody would walk according to the power that God imparts in us and under
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  the ways that God gives us.
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  If we walked in that heavenly realm where we have access to and where he is
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  intended for us to rest, operate, and live,
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  then our life would be better and certainly the life of others.
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  When we seek things above, we're putting Christ first and his ways and his thoughts and his things.
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  Christ is the attention, the center of our attention. Christ is our focus.
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  Christ is our all in all when we are setting our affections above.
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  We are putting our life under subjection to the ways of God and to the will
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  of Jesus, to the commandments of the word of God.
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  We are setting our priorities based on heavenly priorities.
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  We're striving to be holy. We're trying to live the truth and understand the truth.
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  We are seeking wisdom from the Word of God.
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  We live a life that is full of love and distributes love one to another.
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  We worship the one true living God, and we do so with our mouth,
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  with our life, with our service, and especially with our obedience.
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  When we are seeking things above, we don't neglect the earthly necessities.
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  We don't neglect the earthly responsibilities.
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  It means that we filter all of those things through how God would have us to do it.
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  He becomes our complete guide and director.
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  We are living our lives when we are setting our affection above in the boundaries.
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  Of godly ways and heavenly thoughts.
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  We're living here on earth under heavenly authority.
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  In John 4, he says this.
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  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God.
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  Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
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  Friends, he is a jealous God. In Exodus 20, verse 3, he says,
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  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
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  You must put him first.
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  And Colossians 3 begins to give us a very clear understanding of that responsibility
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  that call to set our affections our attention our love our purpose our goals upon him,
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  and allow him to be the supreme authority the only authority,
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  in each of our lives and we don't dabble with the things of the world,
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  when you are seeking things above,
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  God is all that matters and maybe you're just somehow not sure what you're doing with your life.
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  Maybe you don't know where you are.
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  I find that hard to believe to be truly the truth.
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  We may ignore the things that we're doing that we know are wrong,
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  but the Holy Spirit within every believer is going to convict us.
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  But just in case you need to maybe take a survey of your life,
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  we all should do that on a regular basis.
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  If you're wondering whether you're seeking things above, ask yourself these things.
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  What controls your thoughts and desires?
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  Left to your own demise, what would you do? What really matters to you?
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  What do you invest your time, your energy, your attention, your passion?
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  Oh, my goodness. Many of us have hobbies, and hobbies are not wrong.
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  But they can sure eat up a lot of your time. They can sure take a lot of your resources.
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  Peter went a fishing, but he didn't fish every day. He made time for the Lord.
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  Seems to me that some people think every Sunday is the time you head to the
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  boat during church time.
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  I don't know what your life says, but ask yourself this question.
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  Do my decisions reflect Christ's kingdom?
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  Are the people who are following you and walking after you taking footsteps towards the king?
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  Would following you lead them to the feet of Jesus?
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  Things that we like to do on earth we'll spend a lot of time doing but there
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  are sometimes that prayer for two minutes feels like two hours,
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  there's sometimes that reading the bible through a whole chapter can be laborious,
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  or a whole book seems impossible we'll watch that two-hour movie.
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  We'll binge watch that TV show for three hours.
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  See, it matters where you place your focus. It matters where you place your attention.
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  The third thing we see in Colossians chapter 3 and verse 2 is,
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  set your mind on earthly things.
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  Then it says, set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.
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  So the first thing of setting your mind on things above, we spoke about in point
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  number two was seeking the things above.
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  Now we see that we are to redirect our mind, to course correct.
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  When a Christian is transformed, it involves the mind and the heart.
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  When he says that old things are passed away, behold, all things have become new.
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  When Micah talks about pleasing the Lord by walking humbly with him,
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  he's talking about changing our wicked, sinful ways,
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  and throwing them out and heading with every fiber of our body, headstrong, forward,
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  into the ways of God.
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  As i read in your hearing earlier in james chapter 4 and verse 4 which says
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  ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world
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  is enmity with god whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of god,
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  this my friend is warning us.
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  Not to walk the same way after we're saved that we did when we were saved and
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  i submit to you that when jesus as Christ comes and lives into your heart and
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  washes you white as snow,
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  that you will be changed forever, gloriously saved and cleansed,
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  repositioned and redirected, never alone and fully supported.
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  You're going to want to be where he is. You're going to want to do what he does.
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  You're going to want to walk humbly with him.
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  Jesus is more than just fire insurance Jesus is more than just,
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  a helper He is a way of life because He is life and in Him
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  we have life and we have joy and we have peace and we have provision and He
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  is our priority when we love Him and set our mind on things above,
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  We have to redirect our faults.
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  The things that we used to love they no longer attract us the things that we used to do,
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  They try to pull us away from what God wants us to do and what God wants us to be.
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  If they become the ultimate of our heart and our mind, even after we are walking
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  with the Lord, they are dangerously going to send you astray.
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  God is not going to put up with being second best.
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  God is not going to settle for not being the center of your heart,
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  the center of your mind, the center of your life, and the entire,
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  encompassing love,
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  of God will draw you to love Him with your whole heart,
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  your whole soul, and your whole mind.
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  When you fully understand that Jesus loves you, He will be your all in all.
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  We have to redirect our mind because it's a simple truth that our thoughts shape our attitudes.
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  Our attitude shapes our choices, and our choices dictate our conduct.
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  There's a love that Jesus has for us, and when we experience it, we're never the same.
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  But in order to know God.
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  Going to have to seek him. And as he reveals himself to us through his word, he renews our minds.
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  And as we read the word of God, it shapes us and it informs us and it directs
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  us. And the Holy Spirit, as he's revealing its meaning to us,
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  allows it to guide us and show us the way.
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  And it helps us evaluate our life from God's perspective.
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  It helps us survey our steps, our intentions, to shore up our choices and our attitude.
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  Give ourselves fully and wholly to him. Jesus loves me, this I know,
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  and I couldn't be in safer hands when I am fully enveloped in his.
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  So let's evaluate our minds.
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  We need to redirect our minds to heavenly things as we are setting our affections above.
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  We got to replace our anxious thoughts with prayer. We have to replace our worldly
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  values with biblical truth.
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  We have to replace our selfish ambitions with Christ-centered priorities.
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  We need to regularly fill our mind with Scripture.
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  The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 2.15 that we are to study to show ourselves
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  approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
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  rightly dividing the word of truth.
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  The word of God is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. The word of God changes.
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  And then when we read Colossians 3.3, it says these words, For you are dead,
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  and your life is hid with Christ in God.
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  For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
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  You can rest because your life's hidden in God. He's got you.
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  And whatever it is that you're going through, he's got it.
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  David told us in 1 Samuel 17, verse 47, that the battle is not ours, it belongs to the Lord.
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  He's got you. You don't need to fret. You don't need to worry.
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  You don't need to strive.
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  You need to walk humbly with your God. True believers, you've died to your formal life.
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  And all that it is, sin no more has dominion over you.
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  Your life is fully secure in Christ.
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  Two minutes after you're saved, you don't know about Jesus what you know 20
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  years later. Or at least you shouldn't.
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  And it may take a little time.
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  But God is at work in you moment by moment and day by day. And you get all of
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  Him. And as you turn your life to Him, as you give yourself to Him, He gets all of you.
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  Well, what you got to understand is you're hidden in Christ.
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  So the things that you do, the world may not appreciate, the world may not see,
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  and they certainly will not understand.
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  Your worth and your security, it does not depend on recognition from people.
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  It does not depend on approval from people.
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  It does not depend on anything this world has.
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  You are hidden in Christ. And the many wonderful works that you do for God may
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  go unnoticed by everyone here, but he sees them all.
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  You're setting your affection on things above, so you're not looking for man's approval.
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  Because as long as you're walking close to the Lord, you will not receive man's approval.
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  People will ridicule you.
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  They'll look at what you're doing and think it's absurd. They'll think the very worst of you.
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  Will hurt you. They'll betray you. They'll be mean to you.
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  But all of that hits him before it ever hits you. And you live in this world,
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  so you feel the betrayal of those that love you.
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  You feel the betrayal of those that you put your faith in.
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  And you're quickly reminded that our faith has to be put in God. We can't put it in man.
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  But everything they've done to you, every accusation they have made,
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  every trap they have laid for you, every snare they have put around you,
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  and every cliff they have pushed you off of,
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  they hid him first, because you're hidden in him.
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  And woe unto them. vengeance is mine thus saith the lord you are hidden in him.
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  And you may feel the pain but you have the savior and you won't feel,
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  that way forever because under the shadow of the almighty swings there's a peace
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  that passes understanding and a joy unspeakable and full of glory,
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  There's a love beyond explanation.
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  And there's an acceptance that makes everything okay.
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  What is man that thou art mindful of him?
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  And the son of man that thou visitest him. Psalm 84.
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  How about Psalm 118.6? I will not fear.
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  What can man do unto me? The Lord is on my side.
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  I will not fear. What can man do unto me?
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  He can hurt our hearts, but he can't take our soul.
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  He can hurt our feelings, but he can't touch our heart. It belongs to him, and it's hidden.
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  Slander our name, but he can't blot it out. He can lie to our face,
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  set us up for the fall, but in no way and in no time.
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  Can he strip the truth from your heart, your mind, or your life?
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  Trust God, even when the surroundings look bleak.
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  Because when you set your affection on things above and not on things of earth,
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  the realness of heaven, the eternity of God,
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  the grace and love of Jesus washes away the temporary momentary uncomfortableness,
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  that walking humbly with your God gives.
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  As we conclude our passage of scripture, we read verse 4.
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  When your life is hid with Christ and God, when Christ, who is our life,
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  shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory.
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  The best is yet to come.
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  When you set your affection on things above, Christ just isn't part of your life.
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  He is your life. And every fiber of your body, every thought,
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  every attitude, every choice, every work and every service is his.
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  See, he's personal.
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  And because he lets me set my affection on things above, revealing himself to
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  what is to come, helping me to understand that the work on earth is.
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  In eternity with him, that my future is glory because I am with the King of
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  kings and the Lord of lords.
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  See, I live as a pilgrim on a journey,
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  humbly walking with my God to get from here to there, where there is no sorrow,
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  and I'm not hidden in Christ.
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  I'm walking hand in hand with him.
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  See, Jesus loves me, this I know. And this eternal hope, this truth that his
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  scripture gives, it gives me strength.
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  For my present obedience, my obedience tomorrow, and the obedience that it will
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  require all my days, I'm walking with Jesus.
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  I'm walking humbly with my God. Jesus loves me, this I know.
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  And regardless of what happens to me in this world, because I have not anchored
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  my soul and my spirit and my life to the things of the earth,
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  because I have anchored them to heavenly things,
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  heavenly ways, and to the King of Kings,
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  I'll have strength to be obedient grace and mercy to endure the suffering I'm
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  living today looking for tomorrow,
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  let the promise of tomorrow choose your promises,
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  that you hold on to let the promise of life with Jesus forever and eternity,
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  shape the way you live your life.
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  Colossians 3, 1-4 tells us this.
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  That we have been raised with Christ. Seek the things above,
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  set your mind on eternal truths, and rest in our secure identity in Christ,
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  looking forward to appearing with Him in glory.
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  Because Christ is our life, our hearts should pursue Him, our minds should be
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  shaped by Him, and our hope should be fixed on His return.
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  Remember, you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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  Thank you for joining us for today's podcast. You can find quotes and scripture
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  references from this episode in the show notes.
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  Your feedback helps others discover the truth of God's Word.
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  You can connect with Woman at the Well Ministries through our app at watwm.org
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  and on Facebook and Instagram.
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  While you're there, learn more about Bible Bits, Kim's daily devotional delivered
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  Monday through Friday by text message, and the Bible Bit Podcast.
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  Thank you for your prayers and support. Remember, Jesus loves you.
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  You are loved. She's a happy girl.