Seek The Things That Are Above

Series 15

Episode 4

Prologue

Brothers and sisters, in today’s Treasures for the Soul, we will continue with the message series on “Understanding how our spirit works and being heart to heart with the Lord continuously.” And today’s topic is “Seek the things that are above.” After we believed in the Lord, not only were our sins forgiven, we could also enjoy the Lord’s love and live with Him. However, wrong concepts and teachings will affect our pursuit, as written in Colossians 2: 20-23. In Colossians 3: 1-4, Paul tells us the right way, which is to seek the things that are above, and set the minds on things that are above. Above all, it’s important for us to see Christ seated at the right hand of God; He is the center. We are new creations, but we need the nourishment from the Lord, and to live by faith in the Son of God.

Message

It’s truly precious that when we accepted the Lord, our sins were forgiven. This enables us to enjoy the Lord and His love, and we can also love Him and live with Him. The Lord desires us, wants to be the closest to us and live with us day and night, sharing the deepest union with us. We should also desire the same: to love Him and live with Him day and night. In fact, it’s impossible for us to live our lives without living with Him. To live with Him is the same as to abide in Him, as the Lord said on the night before His crucifixion. He also said when we abide in Him, He will be in us, and we are united. He lives with us by living in our hearts. So, the Lord living with us is actually the same as Him living in our hearts. If we don’t live with Him, we are like lost children in a shopping mall, separated from the parents. Psalm 73:23-24 say, “…You hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel…” We should never let go of His hand!

Colossians chapters 2 and 3 should not be divided as such. In chapter 2, Paul talks about the wrong path of pursuit in the Church in Colossae. They strayed to the wrong path. They pursued after many outward things and were much affected by the wrong teachings. Wrong teachings enter through the mind and have a great impact on a person. It’s good to have a fervent heart to pursue, but following the wrong path is detrimental. We must follow on the right path which the Bible has already told us about.

Let’s read Colossians 2:20-23: “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch (referring to things that all perish as they are used)— according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom…”

These are man’s wrong teachings. They seem to make sense, but in fact, they are misleading and are of no value.

Let’s look at one of the verses in this passage: “in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, …”

Physical self-denial is no use. Of course, we should not indulge our flesh, but following the wrong way is useless. We must walk on the right path.

This is what the Bible says about man’s own ways of overcoming sin: “but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”

They are of no value because the path is incorrect.

Paul corrected them in Colossians chapter 3. The content of this chapter is of foremost importance. Without it, we cannot continue.

Let’s look at Colossians 3:1-4, Verse one reads “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above,”

This is different from the things that are on earth or under the sun. The passage continues with, “Where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

This is the only way.

Verse three reads “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Even our lives are hidden with Christ in God, who is in heaven. That means we are connected to heaven and we don’t belong to this world. Worldly things cannot help us. Otherwise, if they had helped us, there would’ve been no need to believe in the Lord. The help provided by this world is very limited.

The passage ends with “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

This is very important. We have already been raised with the Lord and have become a new creation. Our baptism declares that we were baptized into the death of the Lord and His resurrection. We have life.

“Seek the things that are above,” Being a new creation, we are totally different from before. However, this new creation needs nourishment. Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20) This new creation cannot live on his own or by relying on his own ways, He can only live by Christ who lives in him.

Paul continued that he lived in the flesh by faith in the Son of God. Therefore, the new creation must use faith to rely on the Lord so that he can truly live. Otherwise, there is no way we could live out the life that the Lord intended for us. We must live by faith in the Son of God, count on Him, and we will not be ashamed. It’s not complicated at all to trust in Him! When we first believed in Him, we didn’t know much about Him or the Bible, but we were still able to rely on Him. This is nothing else but faith. Now that you’ve known Him more deeply, you can enjoy more, and your faith can increase. It’s not complicated, or else you wouldn’t have been able to believe in the Lord. On the day you believed in Him, you simply accepted Him as your Saviour, asked Him to save you, to forgive your sins, and to save you from all bad habits. We need to hold firm to our original confidence, continue to exercise our faith, and continue to believe. Our faith will become stronger, and we will enjoy Him more. The more we know, the more we can enjoy. This is actually simple.

Let’s look at Colossians 3:1-4 again.

Verse one encourages us to “Seek the things that are above”: our hearts should desire the things that are above— the spiritual blessings and God’s will.

It then says, “Where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God”: It’s so precious! The fact that the Lord is in glory, at the right hand of God, is beyond words . He has already gained the most glorious victory of love. He has gloriously solved the problem of sin. He ascended to heaven with a gesture of blessing. He also prays for us.

Verse two reads, “Set your minds on things that are above”: This includes many things, but the Lord has to be our center. All spiritual blessings are in Him. You can also think about you being with Him and the things in heaven. Yet, the center has to be the Lord. His riches are beyond words. He is the center of our thoughts. If you want to overcome the lusts of the flesh and gain victory, you ought to think of the Lord Himself. Nothing is more precious than the Lord Himself when it comes to “the things above.” Therefore, what we set our minds on is very important. 

Series 15

Understand How Our Spirit Works And Be Heart To Heart With The Lord Continuously

Message Date: 2020-03-13

Faith is to “want” and to “rely on.” Only by faith can we enjoy God Himself. Nothing is more important than to abide in the Lord. When we abide in the Lord, we will surely experience that His word abides in us. The Lord is living in our hearts, and we live with Him; our spirits need continuous provision from Him. Therefore, we must be heart to heart with Him, rely on Him, and let Him be our life; and we must mind the things above. Also, we ought to know how our spirit works, including our will, mind, feelings and other aspects. Then, we will be able to overcome Satan’s disturbances, cooperate with the Holy Spirit, be attracted by the Lord and the truths, and live a life that is heart to heart with the Lord. Episode 1 We can only enjoy God by Faith Episode 2 His words abide in us Episode 3 Live with the Lord Episode 4 Seek the things that are above Episode 5 Understanding how our spirit works: will, mind and feelings Episode 6 Guard and uplift our mind Episode 7 Enjoy Christ who is our life Episode 8 Live according to the Holy Spirit, and He gives us life Episode 9 Understand how our spirit works and be heart to heart with the Lord continuously
1

We Can Only Enjoy God By Faith

2

His Words Abide In Us

3

Live With The Lord

4

Seek The Things That Are Above

5

Understand How Our Spirit Works: Will, Mind And Feelings

6

Guard And Uplift Our Mind

7

Enjoy Christ Who Is Our Life

8

Live According To The Holy Spirit, And He Gives Us Life

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Introduction

01 Introduction of Treasures for the Soul

Series 1: Being Heart to Heart with the Lord

1.1 The Most Blessed Generation
1.2 Message from John the Baptist
1.3 Abide in the Lord Always
1.4 Abide in the Lord’s Love at All Times
1.5 The Lord Speaks to Us and Helps Us in Our Hearts

Series 2: Being Heart to Heart with the Lord Throughout this Year

2.1 God’s Greatest Work Starts in Our Hearts
2.2 To Be Heart to Heart with the Lord Throughout the Year
2.3 Our Spirits can Feel God and Have Fellowship with Him
2.4 The Importance of Peace
2.5 Our Spirits Need the Words of God
2.6 Give the Lord Time and Space to Speak in Our Hearts

Series 3: Let Our Hearts be Influenced

3.1 The World Needs People Who Deeply Experience God
3.2 Just as His Anointing 
Has Taught You, 
Abide in the Lord
3.3 Be Influenced 
by the Lord Throughout 
this Year

Series 4: The Importance of Peace

4.1 Enjoying God’s Peace in Your heart
4.2 Let Not Your Hearts be Troubled, Neither Let Them be Afraid.
4.3 How Should Our Spirit Respond to the Lord?

Series 5: Our Spirit Being Able to Enjoy the Lord

5.1 Our Spirit is Satisfied Only When We Worship God and Deeply Experience Him
5.2 How to Worship God with Our Spirit
5.3 Looking at the Lord with our Inner Eyes
5.4 Our Spirit Needs to Enjoy the Lord Himself
5.5 The Song of Solomon Often Mentions About “Eyes”
5.6 Realize Being Heart to Heart with the Lord in Singing and Worship

Series 6: Live out the Life of being Heart to Heart with the Lord

6.1 Living a life of union with the Lord in a stable pattern every day
6.2 Enjoying the Lord and not being disturbed
6.3 The Importance of Seeing Him with Our Spiritual Eyes

Series 7

7.1 Learn to Protect Our Spirits From Virus Prevention
7.2 Our Spirit Can Hear, Think, and See
7.3 How to Live a Life of Faith
7.4 The Importance of the Mind
7.5 David’s Eyes Beheld the Lord Always

Series 8: During the last supper, the Lord spoke about the essence of the blessings of the new covenant.

8.1 The Lord established with us the eternal love covenant by His blood
8.2 The Lord Treasures the New Covenant and Break-Bread Meeting the Most
8.3 Love Encounters
8.4 Before His Crucifixion, the Lord clearly explained the essence of the blessings of the new covenant: the fourth blessing
8.5 Before His Crucifixion, the Lord clearly explained the essence of the blessings of the new covenant: the first blessing (1)
8.6 Before His Crucifixion, the Lord clearly explained the essence of the blessings of the new covenant: the first blessing (2)

Series 16: We Have Come to Mount Zion and the Heavenly Jerusalem

16.1 See that the Lord is at the right hand of the Father
16.2 Coming to Mount Zion (1): the meaning of Mount Sinai
16.3 Coming to Mount Zion (2): the difficulty in forgiveness of sins
16.4 Coming to Mount Zion (3): to Live in Grace
16.5 Having Come to the Heavenly Jerusalem
16.6 What is in the heavenly Jerusalem (1)?

Series 9: Being Heart to Heart with the Father

9.1 Being Heart to Heart with Abba (Part 1)
9.2 Being Heart to Heart with Abba (Part 2)

Series 10

10.1 The Love Desire in the Depths of Abba and the Lord’s hearts
10.2 Fruit of the Lord’s Crucifixion: Eternal Life
10.3 The Lord Came to Manifest the Father’s Name
10.4 The Father Sent His Only Begotten Son
10.5 Reminders on enjoying heart to heart with the Father
10.6 The Father’s Desire for Me is Forever Steadfast

Series 11

11.1 The preciousness of the Letter to Philemon
11.2 The most profitable; the most accepted.
11.3 Charge That to My Account
11.4 The Father made the Lord our eternal High Priest by an oath (1)
11.5 The Father made the Lord our eternal High Priest by an oath (2)
11.6 We are the Lord’s darling love

Series 12

12.1 The Lord’s Words at the Last Supper
12.2 Apart from the Lord, we can do nothing.
12.3 What is true faith?
12.4 Look upon the Lord in glory
11.5 Trust and Peace (1)
12.6 Trust and Peace (2)

Series 13: The Lord’s Gentleness and Humility

13.3 The Lord’s Gentleness and Humility (Part 2)

Series 14: Manifold evidence

14.1 How does the infinite Lord see us?
14.2 We are the ultimate and final love of the Lord
14.3 The Lord is forever a Man; He once died for us
14.4 The Lord’s manifold love evidence (Part 1)
14.5 The Lord’s manifold love evidence Part 2

Series 15: Understand How Our Spirit Works And Be Heart To Heart With The Lord Continuously

15.1 We Can Only Enjoy God By Faith
15.2 His Words Abide In Us
15.3 Live With The Lord
15.4 Seek The Things That Are Above
15.5 Understand How Our Spirit Works: Will, Mind And Feelings
15.6 Guard And Uplift Our Mind

Series 17: Know that the Church is the Firstborn

17.1 Know that the church is the firstborn
17.2 The Blessing of the Firstborn (Part 1)
17.3 The Blessing of the Firstborn (Part 2)
17.4 The Lord redeemed us to be the firstborn (Part 1)
17.5 The Lord redeemed us to be the firstborn (Part 2)

Series 18: The Blessings to be the First Born

18.1 Israel is God’s Firstborn Son (Part 1)
18.2 Israel is God’s Firstborn Son (Part 2)
18.3 To be united with the Lord and become the Firstborn
18.4 The Lord is the Firstborn
18.5 The Blessing of the Firstborn: Kingship
18.6 The Blessing of the Firstborn: a Double Portion of the Blessings

Series 19: Coming to Mount Zion to Appear Before God

19.1 The Lord is the way, and the truth, and the life
19.2 Live in Grace. Enjoy the Father and the Lord
19.3 Mind the things that are above (1)
19.4 Mind the things that are above (2)
19.5 Appear before God in Mount Zion

Series 20: The final destination of our spirit and eternity is the heavenly Jerusalem

20.1 The Lord Desires Most for Us to Draw Near to Him (1)
20.2 The Lord Desires Most for Us to Draw Near to Him (2)
20.3 The Lord Becomes the Way so that We can Come Before God with Confidence
20.4 The Heavenly Jerusalem, Destination of Our Spirits and Eternity (1)
20.5 The Heavenly Jerusalem, Destination of Our Spirits and Eternity (2)

Series 21: Live Out the Life of the Firstborn: Be A Priest

21.1 The Father made the Lord the High Priest
21.2 Priesthood: One of the Blessings of the Firstborn
21.4 The Precedents of Priests in the Bible (2)

Series 22: When Believers Die, They Will Go to the Heavenly Jerusalem

22.1 The Heavenly Jerusalem is paradise (1)
The Heavenly Jerusalem is paradise (2)
The Spirits of the Righteous Made Perfect

Series 23: New Jerusalem is a real city

God has prepared a heavenly home for us
Is the heavenly new Jerusalem a real city?
Satan causes man not to be clear and assured about the things in heaven
Are physical substances not spiritual?
New Jerusalem is a real city (1)
New Jerusalem is a real city (2)

Series 24: God prepares for us

Genesis 22: Father and Son went together
Genesis 22: For us, the Father gave His only Son
Genesis 22: The Lord will provide
24.4 God’s preparation for us

Series 25: The Father and Son Affection

25.1 The Lord Came to Make Known the Father
25.2 The Father and Son Affection (Part 1)
25.3 The Father and Son Affection (Part 2)

Series 26: We are a royal priesthood

26.1 God who alone does wondrous things
26.2 The Lord is the High Priest
26.3 We are a royal priesthood (1)
26.4 We are a royal priesthood (2)
26.5 The life of a priest

Series 27: Who are you in the infinite one’s loving heart?

27.1 Meditate on who you are in the infinite Lord’s loving heart
27.2 Meditate on who you are in the infinite Lord’s loving heart (2)
27.3 Meditate on the infinite Lord’s words at the last supper

Series 28: The conclusion and climax of the book of Hebrews

28.1 Sing praises at Easter (1): The defeat of death
28.2 Sing praises at Easter (2): The risen Lord has swallowed up death
28.3 The important purpose of Hebrews and the help we get from it
28.4 Confirming the importance of drawing near to God

Series 29: How to behold

29.1 Behold the Father
29.2 See that God meets me in His steadfast love 
and exults over me with loud singing (1)
29.3 See that God meets me in His steadfast love and exults over me with loud singing (2)
29.4 See how the Lord loves us (1)
29.5 See how the Lord loves us (2)