Rooted In New Life

This episode of All In with Pastor Jordan Easley has been made possible by the generous support of viewers like you. Welcome to All In with Pastor Jordan Easley. Today's message is about to begin, and we invite you to prepare your heart and mind to hear an inspiring message from God's Word. We hope and pray for God to speak to you today as you seek to live your life all in for Jesus Christ. And now from First Baptist Church in Cleveland, Tennessee, here's Pastor Jordan Easley. Listen, today we're continuing our series from the book of Colossians. I wanna invite you to open your Bible with me as we go to Colossians chapter three. We're in the middle of a series that we're calling Rooted, and we're talking about how God has a message for us as believers, a message that says we should have stability under the surface. You know, it's one thing to appear strong, but it's another thing to be strong, and to be strong in the person of Jesus Christ and who He is in our lives. You know, many years ago, I came across a man in our church who, for years, has collected and restored classic cars. Now, he's become a friend, because I like cars, and he has this particular love for restoring vintage pickup trucks, which I love all the same.

Not just polishing the chrome or detailing the interior, I'm talking about he takes a rusted-out frame like this right here, and he makes it like new again. This is his most recent project. It's a 1954 Chevy Stepside, and this is how he began this project, just with an old, rusted-out frame. It was completely gutted. The engine didn't run, the paint was peeling, the tires were flat, and just about every single one of his buddies looked at that and told him, that thing is a piece of junk. Don't waste your time or energy, right? But when he saw this, he saw something different. He saw something more. In a matter of just months, he brought that truck back to life. He added a new engine and fresh paint and new wiring and a new interior. He even gave that 1954 pickup truck an air conditioner. Praise the Lord right now, amen? But at the end of the day, it didn't just look different, it was different. It had been completely transformed from the inside out. It had been restored to being brand new. You know, that story reminds me of what Paul has been communicating to the Church of Colossae over the last couple of weeks. You know, he's been reminding believers that following Jesus isn't about polishing your past,

it's about living in your new identity. You have a new identity in Christ, and that's what Paul's reminding the church of today. He's saying, you are not the same person that you were before Christ. And if you are the same person, then you're probably not saved. So let that be an indication to you. If your life has never changed and you've been going to church and you've prayed prayers, but nothing has ever changed, let that be a red flag. Because Jesus says, if you have been saved, you have been raised, you have been changed, and you have been given a brand new life. Today, we're continuing this series called Rooted, a series from the book of Colossians, and we're gonna be unpacking chapter three in our time together. Now, you remember in chapter two last week, Paul was warning us against a couple of things. He was warning us against deception and false religion. But now in chapter three, the Lord is gonna show us what stepping into your new reality in Christ is really supposed to look like. So I wanna invite you to join me as we begin reading in Colossians chapter three. We're gonna begin in verse one, and we're gonna walk through this text hearing what Paul said to the church then,

but what the Holy Spirit's telling the church today. The first thing that we see is, he says, set your focus on heaven. You wanna get this right? Set your focus on heaven. In verse one, he said, so if you have been raised with Christ, that's talking to us, those of us who know the Lord. He said, seek the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. He said, set your minds on things above, not on earthly things, for you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. So Paul begins with this message, talking to people like us, saying, hey, you have been raised with Christ. That's not just a poetic phrase, that's a spiritual reality. He says, if you're truly saved, you're not the same person that you used to be. You died, the Bible says. You died to that old self, and now you've been raised to live a brand new life in Jesus. You know, you just heard a report that yesterday in the Bradley County Jail, 48 men and women who are inmates, incarcerated, they were baptized as new believers in Jesus Christ. I mean, what a powerful moment that was to see them lowered into the water and raised to walk in newness of life.

And what a beautiful picture of what it means to truly be saved. You know, that's what baptism is. It's a picture of we were dead and now we're alive in Christ. And before we baptized him, I had a chance to share the gospel and to preach God's word. One of the scriptures that I quoted to them yesterday was Galatians 2 verse 20. That verse says you have been crucified with Christ. You've been crucified with him. The Bible says you no longer live, but Christ lives in you. You know, the word crucified is interesting. That word means to kill something. It means to take something and to destroy it. And so I pointed to our old life and I was speaking to a captive audience who had walked through a lot of life. Amen. They had a lot of history. They had made a lot of mistakes and they're admitting to that. But they're saying that person is no longer with us. I have crucified that old person. I have killed that old person. Now I'm new. I'm alive. I'm a brand new creation in Christ built for his purpose and his glory. Hey, that's what Paul was telling the church. He was looking at people who were just like that. People like us. And he's saying, now you've been saved. Jesus has changed your life. And when Jesus changes your life, he changes more than your eternal destination. He changes everything about who you are. And that includes what we seek.

Listen, the Bible says if you've been raised with Christ, your focus needs to change. You can't live a new life with an old mindset. If you agree with that, say amen. You can't live a new life with an old mindset. The Bible says, seek the things above, set your minds on things above. And that word set, by the way, that word set is the same verb used for anchoring something in place. That's what that means. When he says set your mind, he's saying, anchor your mind, keep it in place so that your mind is only focused on that thing. So in other words, Paul is saying, lock your focus on Jesus, even with all the distractions in the world. He's saying, fix your heart on heaven. Hey, let me ask you a personal question today. What has your attention right now? Like if you're thinking about your mind, you're thinking about your thoughts, let me ask, how do you wake up in the morning? What are you thinking about when you first wake up? What is it that's currently capturing your imagination? You say, Jordan, why are those questions even important? Here's what the Bible says. The Bible says they're important because where your mind goes, your life will follow. What you think about is what you care about, and what you care about you chase. So the question is, what are you thinking about? Hey, have you ever tried to walk forwards while looking backwards? If you haven't, try it on the way to Sunday school, just to see how it goes. It's not going to work. It'll be really funny, but it's not going to work. It's even worse if you're trying to drive forwards while looking backwards. You ever tried that before?

Anybody my age remember a classic movie called Dumb and Dumber? Show of hands in church, we want to talk about Dumb and Dumber real quick. When I think about going forwards while looking backwards, I automatically think about one particular scene in the movie Dumb and Dumber. You remember when Lloyd Christmas was driving Mary Swanson to the airport? Do you remember this scene? Shake your head. Stop acting so spiritual. Shake your head if you remember this scene. Here's how it went, if you're going to act like you've never seen the movie. He asked her a question. He's the limo driver, and he says, hey, why are you going to the airport? Flying somewhere? This is a hilarious line that no one ever laughs at, but of course she's flying somewhere. But she says, yes, I'm flying to Aspen. And what does he say? He goes, oh, California. Beautiful. Do you remember this? But then he asked her in this conversation, he asked, are you nervous about your flight? And then he turns around backwards and he starts having a conversation with her while moving forward. Do you remember this conversation? This is where he looks at her and he says, you know, there's really nothing to worry about, Mary. Statistically, you're more likely to die on the way to the airport than you are. And this whole time he's going forward, looking backwards, and stuff is blowing up in front of them. Cars are crashing, explosions are happening, chaos is in front of him. So this is the part of the message, by the way, as a pastor, you need to understand what's

going on in my brain. This is the part of the message where I want to connect Paul's letter to the Colossian church to dumb and dumber. Are you ready? So thinking about that, this is what Paul's telling the church. You cannot move forward into your new life if your mind is pointing backwards at your old life. You can't, you can't move forward while looking backwards. Now let me give you a little. context for this church in which he's writing this letter. This church is operating and functioning in the first century. It's in the city of Colossae which was in a region that was steeped with pagan spirituality. Everywhere you look there were pagan gods being worshipped. It was also a culture that was religiously plural, it had religious pluralism, and so you didn't worship one god, you worshipped many gods. And there were believers in that first century church who were being tempted to blend their Christian faith with cultural and these mystical experiences like everybody else in the world. And because of that Paul knew if these first century believers don't fix their minds on Christ alone, they're gonna be pulled back into those old patterns that Jesus just saved them from. So in this text he's reminding them to avoid spiritual ADD at all cost. And he's saying lock in, alright? Lock into your new identity in Jesus Christ because he alone should captivate your attention. You know when I think about Paul's message here, it kind of reminds me of taking a road trip. Listen, I am terrible with directions. Anybody else just terrible with directions? I cannot read a map. I saw somebody the other day that had an atlas and I was like, are you kidding me? I didn't even know they made those things anymore. I don't know how to read an atlas. So for me a GPS is pretty important. The GPS in my truck, I heavily rely on that. I still use it to get home, alright? I mean it's like I use my GPS all the time. But here's what I've realized. If I'm going on a trip and I don't input a clear destination, if I

don't determine the exact place that I'm wanting to go and I just kind of wing it, guess what? It's gonna take, my truck is gonna take me to places I never intended on going. I will end up who knows where, alright? I'm gonna drift and I'm gonna go to places I had no business being. Here's what Paul is saying. Your life is exactly like that. Remember, he's writing to people that were living in a culture very much like our culture today. There were cultural pressures that were pulling people. There were false religions that were motivating people. There were philosophies being taught like Gnosticism that were moving people. And now you have these first century believers that are like, no, no, I love Jesus. But they're shifting every time the wind blows, they're moving in a different direction. And so that's what he's saying. He's like, these things should not influence you as a believer. He said, you are now in Christ. You've given your life to the Lord. And when you give your life to Christ, you also give your mind to Christ. So from now on, this is what he's saying, you've got to set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. Because if your mind is thinking about the wrong things, your life will naturally drift in the wrong direction. Anybody say amen to that one? Listen, I can tell you firsthand. If I focus on the things of the world, I'm naturally going to drift towards the things of the world. But if I point my mind to Jesus and I'm intentional to point my mind to Jesus and to set my mind on Jesus, I'm naturally going to drift in that direction. You know, when a person gets married, everything changes. All the married people said amen to that. Everything changes. And I also say it this way, when you get married, you don't live like you're single anymore. Not if you're actually married. If you take that marriage seriously, you don't act like a single person. You as a married person don't flirt with everybody that you see anymore. You're not constantly looking for a new relationship with a new person. Why? Because that part of your life is over. You've stepped into a new covenant. And that new covenant shapes how you live your new life. And in that same way, when you give your life to Jesus, you step into a brand new covenant and a brand new season. You've died to your old self and now you are living a brand new

life in Christ. You're a completely different person because of your relationship. That's what Paul's saying to the church. He goes on in verse 4 and he says it this way, when Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. I'm gonna say that again. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. I want you to notice something about this text. I want you to notice he doesn't say, when Christ, who is a part of your life. He doesn't say, when Christ, who is important in your life. He didn't say, when Christ, who is a piece of the pie of your life. He didn't say any of those things. He said, when Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. You see the difference? Hey, that's the promise. God never promised to give you eternal life if you would just... Him a little attention from time to time He never said I'll give you eternal life if you'll be a little bit religious or show up at church when it's convenient That was never the deal not with Jesus. You see Jesus doesn't want to be part of your life Jesus wants to be your life when Christ who is Your life he didn't come to this earth and live a perfect life and die a brutal death on the cross So that he could be your weekend boyfriend He came to be your Lord and Savior and Master and King and he refuses to be one of many little g-gods in your life So the Bible says set your mind on him set your focus on heaven. You're a new creation in Christ So that's the first part of this message. He says set your focus on heaven the second part. He says slay the old self Slay the old self. Let's keep reading in verse 5 He said therefore put to death what belongs to your earthly nature Put to death these things and then he list them sexual immorality impurity lust Evil desire and greed which is idolatry in this verse Paul's gonna get real practical with us He's getting practical with the church and he says this he said you've been raised to a new life So now act like it Act like it You say Jordan, it's not that easy. How am I supposed to act like I've been raised to a new life? How am I supposed to demonstrate that I'm a new creation? Well, he just told you how he said

This is where you should start. Are you ready? He said kill the sin that used to define your old life kill it and Decide personally that God's way is better than your old way It real practical and I want you to notice here. He doesn't tell us to tolerate our sin He doesn't tell us to manage our sin look at his language here. He said put it to death He said kill these things and then he gets specific kill your sexual sin He said kill your immorality kill your lust and your evil desires and your greed and idolatry Don't play around with it kill it In fact, when you look at this word in the Greek, it's a word that means to completely slay or render powerless So this isn't just behavior modification This is spiritual execution when you look at this verse if you want to get really technical the verb he uses is written in the aorist tense and the aorist tense indicates that Indicates a decisive once-and-for-all action that must be taken So you think about this moment? It talks about a moment where you make the decision not to negotiate with your sin, but to execute it He says that we must take decisive and definitive action to destroy the thing that threatens you if you don't address the threat You're gonna have a problem forever In verse 7 he goes on here and he says you once walked in these things But now you must also put away and then he gives us another list here He said you must put away anger and wrath and malice and slander You must put away filthy language and lie Paul says if you're saved Then you've got to choose to put these things to death Why? Because that's the old you That's the junkyard version of your life And Paul's saying you've been restored. So don't go back to the things that broke you in the first place Listen, I read a story this week saw a story online About a man who had a pet Python

And I thought to myself why would anybody in the right mind have a pet Python? But when I read the story, he didn't get this snake when it was already massive. He got it when it was a baby snake And in this story it talked about he he had this baby snake and it started out in an aquarium But then he decided for whatever reason he was gonna start letting this snake sleep with him in bed That's what I said. I was like, why would anybody do that? But he did and and the snake went from a little snake to a little bit bigger snake and before you know it the snake Was massive but there was this moment in the story where where the guy notices something about his pet Python He noticed that the snake stopped eating. So he thought oh no, my snake is sick So he takes this massive pet Python to his vet and says vet. I don't know what's wrong, but something's obviously wrong He's not eating and I'm just worried that he's sick I'm worried that he's dying and the vet took the snake and he does what vets do with snakes and he evaluated this Snake and he's checking him out and he comes back to the man. He says sir. Your snake is a hundred percent fine Nothing is wrong with your snake He said well Why is he not eating any longer and the vet looks at him and said he's not eating because he's preparing to eat something big The man was like, what? He said, what do you mean by that? And the vet told him, sir, that snake is sizing you up. Every single night when you get in bed with that snake, he's sizing you up. He said, you need to get rid of that snake immediately. Listen, I read that story and I thought, you know, the sin in our life is exactly like that. Listen, you think you've got that sin under control. You think nobody knows about this. It's not that big of a deal. You let it sleep next to you because you think it's harmless. But the whole time the Bible says that sin is sizing you up and it's preparing to destroy you. That's what Paul's saying in these verses. He's saying, put your sin to death, make a decision, get serious about your sin.

Don't flirt with the sin that Jesus died to free you from. He sets you free, but ultimately this is a personal decision to do what? To put to death, to slay the old self. That's what Paul told the church, but don't just slay the old self. Look at the next part. He said, suit up in the new self, suit up in the new self. You know, in the Christian faith, you actually win by losing. Jesus said that in Matthew chapter 16, verse 24, he said, if you want to save your life, you got to lose your life. But the question is, what does that really mean? It means that you must be willing to surrender your version of life in exchange with God's version of life. It means that you must embrace his truth and his mission and his way, even when it doesn't match how you feel in the moment or what's popular in your culture. And so think about that. You got to win. You want to win? You got to win by losing. And now read what Paul says in verse 12. He's talking to the church and says, therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and dearly love, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. This is the verse where Paul shifts gears a little bit. He goes from talking about killing sin and taking off certain things in our life that have no business being a part of us. And now he's not talking about taking things off any longer. He goes to talking about putting some things on. And here's the message. He's saying, you have been made new. So put on a wardrobe that reflects that new identity in Christ. Put on that new wardrobe.

Because you're in God's family now. And because you're in God's family, you're no longer on the losing team any longer. Now you're on God's winning team. And when you change teams, you better change jerseys. Put on your new jersey. I love that in this passage, God calls us as followers of Jesus. He calls us God's chosen, holy, and dearly loved. That's who you are. Hey, if you've been saved, you need to understand that's how God sees you. You are God's chosen, holy, and dearly loved. But listen, when God changes who you are, he also should change how you live. And as God's chosen, holy, and dearly loved, he's saying now you should clothe yourself in compassion and kindness. Now you should wrap yourself in humility and gentleness. Now you should fasten yourself with patience and forgiveness. And he tells us, and above all, look at what he says in verse 14, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Put it on. Put it on. He said, Jordan, what does that look like in my life? I want you to think about it this way. You know, getting dressed in the morning is a daily decision. Every single one of you made a decision today. You woke up, went to your closet, you're like, yep, that's the outfit for today. Getting dressed is a daily decision. You don't accidentally end up in the right outfit. You choose it. And in the same way, living out the new self is a daily decision. It's a decision that you make. You wake up, you choose to put on Christ.

You choose grace instead of grudges. That's a choice you make. You choose love instead of bitterness. You choose forgiveness instead of revenge. These are personal choices that we make every single day. You put those things on. You put on the things of Christ. I think about firefighters. You know, every single day, firemen run into burning buildings and they put out fires. Heroes, if you ask me. But no firefighter has ever gone to the edge of a burning building and said, man, I wonder if I should put on my gear or not. No one would say that. Why? Because they always suit up. You know why? Because life depends on it. And in the same way, when you wake up as a child of God and you put on Christ, you are stepping into your mission that day with purpose and protection. And that's why Paul tells us, put them on. Put these things on. Take some stuff off and put him on. You with me so far? Yes. said, set your focus on heaven, slay your old self, suit up in the new self, and lastly he said, saturate your life with Christ. Saturate your life with Christ. Verse 15, let the peace of Christ to which you were also called in one body rule your hearts. Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you. And whatever you do in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. You know, right here, Paul tells the church that, that God's word should dwell among you. That word dwell in the Greek is the word inoikio. It implies

residence not visitation. And that's really important to understand when he says the word of God should dwell among you. That word dwell is talking about a permanent residence, not just visitation. And remember, he's writing this letter to individual believers, not just to a collective body. So he's writing to people like me, people like you. And he's saying the word of God shouldn't be like a visitor in your house that drops in from time to time. The word of God should be the cornerstone of your home. It should dwell with you. It should dwell within your family. It should be the most important thing that you revolve your family around. And here's why when the word of God dwells richly, like Paul's talking about, it influences everything. It influences how you think, how you speak, how your parent, how you, how you suffer, how you serve one another, how you forgive, how you celebrate the word of God. When it's the cornerstone of your home will change everything about who you are and how you operate. And that's what Paul was saying in these verses. He's showing us what a Christ-centered life is really supposed to look like. And in doing so, he uses three verbs to communicate the message. He said, first of all, let the peace of Christ rule your heart. Let the peace of Christ rule your heart. Secondly, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, not as a visitor, but as a permanent resident. And thirdly, he says, do everything in the name of Christ. So in other words, you summarize these three statements, you know what he's saying? Let your entire life be consumed with Jesus Christ. Let his peace rule in your heart. Not, not your anxiety, not your fear, not your worry. Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. He said, let the word of God dwell among you. Not just visit you on Sundays, but man, let it guide your life. Let that wisdom speak, speak into your life every day. He said, let his name be the banner over every single word you say and every single action you take. That was the message that Paul had for the church. You know, one of the most beautiful things about being rooted in this new life is that your entire existence becomes a reflection of the resurrection. When people see you, they see the miracle of Jesus. They see the transformative power of God working in you and through you. If you're taking notes, I want you to write that down today. Personalize this, this statement. You ready? When my life is rooted in Christ, my entire existence becomes a reflection of the resurrection. People see Jesus through you. They see the word of God being lived out through, through your daily life. It affects everything. It affects

your home. It affects your marriage. It'll affect your conversations and your attitude and your generosity and your service and, and how you work and even how you worship. Listen, when he is my root system, everything in my life begins to point to him. But on the flip side of that, when my life is rooted in other things, things other than Jesus, when my life is rooted in things like my pride or performance, my possessions or my popularity, then my identity becomes fragile. Then my purpose becomes shallow and then my fruit becomes temporary. And just like a tree can only produce fat or lasting fruit if it's rooted in good soil, the Bible says our lives can only produce eternal fruit if we are truly rooted in Jesus Christ. Hey, you plant your, your roots in the temporary things of this world. Guess what? You're going to be disappointed at the end of the day. And you have that choice. Every single one of us, we can say, my life is going to be grounded on the things of this world. All the things the world say are important. I'm going to ground my life root my life in those things. You know what that's going to lead to? Temporary results and eternal death. But on the flip side, you plant your roots in Jesus, you know what's going to happen? You're going to live the abundant life that's only possible through Christ and you will live eternally with Him. So the question is yours. Think about this today. What are you truly rooted in right now? What are you rooted in? Corrie Tim Boone said, if you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you'll be at rest. May I ask you a question? Can you say today that you have rest in your soul? Are you able to rest in the person of Jesus Christ? Are you able to to rest in your true salvation? Are you able to rest when you think about that moment of stepping into eternity and coming face to the face, face to face with the God who created you, the God who loved you, the God who chased you every single moment of every single day? Because the Bible says you can be at peace today. You can have rest in your heart. You say, Jordan, how do I do that? Number one, let your roots grow deep, not in anything else but Jesus. Let your mind be set, not on what used to be, but on what is and what is to come. And let your life declare, I have been raised with Christ. I am alive in him. And I am rooted in new life because of what Christ did for me. Listen, the cool thing about all this, you can know the God of the universe. You can be in a relationship with

him, not because of how good you are. You're not good, but he is. He was so good that he sent his one and only son to die for you. And because of what Jesus did on the cross, even sinners like us can have hope for salvation. We can have rest in our soul and we can know that we're going to spend eternity with him in heaven. Have you made that decision? Have you gone all in with Jesus Christ? Have you truly been saved and forgiven and made new? And are you living that new life according to the word of God, being maximized for the kingdom of God every single day? That's the question we've got to address. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? I may be talking to somebody today that says, Jordan, I need to give my life to Jesus because I don't have any rest in my soul. I don't have rest when I think about spending eternity in heaven or hell. I don't, I don't know, but I want to know. Listen, if you want to give your life to Christ, would you just do that right now? Maybe you say something like this, Jesus, I want to be saved. I want to be a child of God and know that I know that my sins have been forgiven and that my hope in heaven is secure. Lord, I don't want to be the same old person that I've always been. I want to be a new creation in Christ. So I'm asking you to step out of heaven and step into my heart and make me brand new. Thank you, Lord, for loving me. Thank you, Lord, for not giving up on me, for doing, thank you for doing what only you could do to make this moment possible where I go all in with Jesus, giving you everything I have to give, asking you to be my savior and Lord. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Are you seeking to deepen your faith and grow in your walk with Jesus? I invite you to visit our online store at goallin.tv right now. Our store offers a variety of resources that are absolutely free to you. You can browse at your convenience, select the items that will benefit you the most, and we'll mail them to you right away. Available items include a free Bible and a year reading guide, a powerful prayer study guide to enhance your prayer life and a guide to the Holy land with incredible photos from various sites all across Israel. Just to name a few. To find the right resource for you, scan the QR code on the screen right now or visit the website. Once again, that's goallin.tv. Click the store button in the menu and you'll be right where you need to be. Thank you for watching today's broadcast. And please know I'm praying for you today as you grow closer to Jesus every single day. God bless you. See you next time.

We never want to end our broadcast without giving you the opportunity to know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. If you'd like to make the decision to trust Jesus and want to know more about what it looks like to follow Jesus, get in touch with me right now. Follow the instructions at the bottom of the screen so that we can pray for you and also put information in your hands right away. Today, we celebrate your decision and look forward to being a part of your personal journey of going all in with Jesus Christ. This episode of All In with Pastor Jordan Easley has been made possible by the generous support of viewers like you. We hope today's message encourages you as you Strive to live your life fully committed to Jesus Christ.