Don’t be a bottom feeder

by

Among aquatic animals, there exists a group of creatures called bottom feeders. These are marine creatures that live all their lives on the seabed and feed by scavenging on the bottom of the sea. In the text above, the apostle Paul is exhorting the church to stop being bottom feeders living our lives on things below, but to be the community we are called to be. A new breed of people living the resurrected life.

The passage we will focus on this week is Colossians three versus one and two. This particular passage is one of those New Testament passages which are rich with figurative language. The variations in translations make that point clear.

Colossians 3:1-2 (NKJV) If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Colossians 3:1-2 (NLT) Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.

Colossians 3:1-2 (NIV) Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Colossians 3:1-2 (MSG) So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

Notice these phrases that appear in the various translations. Let them sink in for a moment:

  • seek those things which are above

  • set your mind on things above

  • set your sights on the realities of heaven

  • be alert to what is going on around Christ

  • where Christ sits in the place of honor

  • be alert to what is going on around Christ

  • see things from His perspective

My exhortation for this year is to train ourselves on a daily basis to see things from Christ’s perspective. Paul gives us two things that we need to do in order to see things from Christ’s perspective.

1. SET YOUR HEART ON THINGS ABOVE

We are encouraged by Paul to seek, to pursue, to go after, to desire – things above. What does Paul mean when he speaks of “things above”? Note first of all that it is a place – “where Christ is”. Paul is implying that the place we should dwell in is where Christ dwells in. Note only is the “things above” a place where “Christ is”, it is also a position – “where Christ is seated at the right hand of God”. The “right hand” is a way of describing a position of authority. Someone seated at the right hand has been delegated the position of authority and influence from the one who holds the position of authority and influence.

In other words, the “things above” is both a place where Christ is and it is also a position where Christ holds ultimate authority and influence. Paul is encouraging us as followers of Christ to position ourselves, our inner selves, in a dwelling place – a safe place. NIV uses the word heart – “set your heart, on things above”. It’s a setting of the inner self, a positioning, an inner posture. Not where the heart usually resides – in the midst of the chaos of everyday life but a repositioning of the heart to a place called “things above”, a dwelling where Christ is. This Christ who holds ultimate and exclusive authority.

The psalmist put it this way.

Psalms 61:1-4 (NLT) O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!

Here the psalmist gives an honest account to the Lord. He is crying for help. His heart is overwhelmed. He realises that his heart is positioned on sinking ground. Out of that sense of hope-less-ness he cries out. This act of crying out to God is actually an act of repositioning his heart. He is asking God to reposition his heart. Where? To this place of safety he describes as “the towering rock”. It’s not just a place – it’s a person. “You are my safe refuge”. You are my fortress”. “I am so safe here my enemies cannot reach me.” The psalmist reveals the secret on how to reposition your heart to that “things above” place Paul entreats us to be in. How do we set our hearts on the things above?

Firstly: Recognise when your heart is in the wrong place

Quite often we are not even aware our heart is not in the place it is meant to dwell in. We go about the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, absorbed by the activities and the actors appealing to our 5 senses. We get so preoccupied by what we do and what is being done to us, that the invisible realm, the God activity is crowded out from our senses. That crowding out displaces our hearts from that safe place the psalmist talks about and positions us in a vulnerable place where we are susceptible to the whims and fancies dictated to us by the visible world. The apostle Paul, aware of such a danger warns the church to refocus our senses to the invisible realm where Divine activity is operating.

2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV) For we walk by faith, not by sight.

The faith walk can only be possible if our hearts are set in that realm Paul calls “things above”. The way to recognise when our hearts are not dwelling in that place of safety is to be sensitive to the cue from within us. It comes in the form of a restless heart. The psalmist used the word overwhelmed. That sinking feeling. That feeling you are losing your balance. It may manifest itself in very different ways. Once again the psalmist is our teacher.

Psalms 37:7-8 (NKJV) Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.

The formula for a heart that’s troubled is two words we don’t really want to hear when we are looking for a quick resolve – rest and patience. The psalmist is clear what the alternative is – to fret. Fretting leads to anger and wrath. That he says, “only causes harm”.

I have this picture of a tired little Johnny who needs to take a nap but refuses to because there is too much excitement around him. He doesn’t want to miss out on everything that’s going on, yet he becomes grumpy and begins to throw a tantrum – because he is tired. Mommy has no choice but to pick him up and hold on to him. Little Johnny wiggles and wiggles trying to get out of mommy’s grip. She’s too strong. He tells himself he will take a few seconds to catch his breath and will fight for freedom again. He lays his head on mommy’s shoulder just for a moment. That’s it – Johnny is fast asleep. He is in the place he should have been half an hour ago – at rest in mommy’s arms. We are like little Johnny. We kick and scream and throw tantrums when we are faced with overwhelming situations. Then finally when we are at the end of our tether, we give in and turn to God. We find our rest – the place we should have been from the start.

Secondly: Return your heart to the place of rest

That two words that we must embrace – rest and patience. “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently” The most underrated spiritual discipline is the discipline of waiting. Waiting is not a passive exercise. Waiting is active. When we wait, we must draw all the inner resources and strength NOT to do something. Our first instinct when our hearts are overwhelmed by something is to take matters into our own hands. That is the last thing we should do. An overwhelmed heart will act out of desperation. When desperate we tend to act irrationally, say things we later regret and in hindsight we realise we ended up making things worse than it was. Sometimes do nothing is the hardest thing to do. The prophet Isaiah’s counsel in this matter is best heeded.

Isaiah 40:29-31 (NKJV) He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

It’s not our strength or wisdom that will get us out of that place of feeling overwhelmed. It is repositioning – stop wiggling, just rest in God. Just wait patiently. And it is in that place of inner rest in God that we will find renewed strength.

Set your heart on things above. Where? – it’s a place – it’s where Christ is.

Set your heart on things above. Where? – it’s a positioning – resting in the knowledge of who Christ is – finding that resting place, that inner sanctuary – where Christ is truly all present, all powerful, all good. Find that place, drop anchor and wait.

2. SET YOUR MIND ON THINGS ABOVE

Not only does Paul instruct us to set our hearts on things above, he also says we are to set our minds on things above. Your mind is made up of your thoughts and your talk. Your thinking is your silent saying. Your saying is your audible thinking. If you want to know what thoughts you dwell on daily – observe your talk. What thoughts influence your talk; your talk influence your thoughts. Knowing this, Paul instructs us to set our minds – our thought and our talk – on things above. What is the mind that is set on things above? What are thoughts that are above? What is talk from above?

Recently there has been an increase in interest on Biblical teachings around the end times. People have become so preoccupied particularly with the mark of the beast. The recent mandates in many nations of the world has generated sermons and studies on this particular Biblical text in the book of revelation that warns about the mark of the beast.

Revelation 13:16-18 (NKJV) He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

I can understand the concern people have around this warning that the apostle John gave to the church. What I cannot understand is the church’s total negligence on teaching the other side of the coin – the mark of the saints. In all my christian life, sitting through hundreds and hundreds of sermons and Bible studies, not once have I ever heard a teaching on the mark of the saints. Yet just one verse after the mention of the mark of the beast, John goes on to speak about the mark of the saints.

Revelation 14:1 (NLT) Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

John had just seen the events on earth unfold in chapter 13. The deception, evil and wickedness that was unleashed by the devil, culminating in an act of oppression that required everyone to submit unconditionally to his authority by taking a mark (charagma in greek), which was a stamp or a badge of servitude. Failure to do so would cause a person to be outside the economic system and exclude them from the ability to earn a living.

Although the English translation of the Bible ends the chapter with the mark of the beast, the original Greek text does not have such a division. John’s gaze is immediately shifted to events that were unfolding in the heavenly realm – “Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion…”. Mount Zion throughout Scriptures has represented this impenetrable fortress where the city of God is. After John witnesses the horrific events unfold on earth, his focus shifts to the parallel events that are occurring in the heaven. John sees Christ secure in His impenetrable fortress and in His presence are 144,000 “having His Father’s name written on their foreheads”.

The number 144,000 is symbolic and significant. No one can be sure of the meaning of this number but my take on it is that it is made up of three symbolic numbers representing three concepts. 12 x 12 x 1000 = 144,000. The first number 12 is the 12 tribes of Israel representing all the Old Testament saints from Adam till Christ. The second number 12 is for the 12 apostles representing all the New Testament saints from the first century church till the church of the end times.

The number 1000 is this mysterious symbolic time known as the “day of the Lord”, which Peter uses to correct a false notion among some in the early church that accused God of being “slack” in His promise to return.

2 Peter 3:8-9 (NKJV) But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

So back to John’s vision. What he sees could only be an encouragement to him and all the saints on earth who will have to go through the trying times revealed in chapter thirteen. They along with all the community of faith from the beginning of time till eternity are gathered before the throne of Christ. These who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ have a mark etched on their forehead which is the name of Christ and His father. This is the mark of all the saints who are redeemed by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. What is exciting about this group of people is that they are privileged to learn a song which only they can sing.

Revelation 14:2-3 (NLT) And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together. This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty-four elders. No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

There’s an exclusive song that only inhabitants of heaven sing. It is the language of heaven. It is the mindset of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of God. We get an amazing window to the mindset and language of heavenly dwellers in the book of Revelation. There are fifteen songs or sayings that John records which give us a glimpse of the talk and thought of the things above.

Revelation 4:8 (NKJV)The four living creatures.saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

Revelation 4:10-11 (NKJV) the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

Revelation 5:9-10 (NKJV) And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

On and on in twelve other places we see similarly vocabulary uttered by the residence of heaven. The entire Kingdom thought and talk is focused on Christ – His supreme authority over all things. The reader is also given a sneak preview of the the final outcome –

Revelation 11:15 (NLT) Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”

What a magnificent way to live our lives. To be so immersed in this mindset and language that lives with the end in mind. No wonder the apostle Paul was inviting us to enter into that world where all thought and all talk consist of things above.

Like the congregation at Mount Zion, we are all singing a song. Everyday we go about singing either an earthly song or a heavenly one. Paul would have us set our minds on things above. Consider the “songs” you sing daily. What are the thoughts and talk that revolve around you everyday? Know this – your thoughts and your talk are your true worship. That’s where your soul is dwelling in. That’s where you are abiding in. That’s what you have given over to worth-ship.That’s why Paul in another letter speaks of where our thoughts should dwell in.

Philippians 4:8 (NKJV) Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

We are well into 2022 now. So my encouragement to all of us is to take Paul’s teaching seriously This year, set your heart on things above and set your mind on things above.

SO SET YOUR HEART ON THINGS ABOVE. SEEK THINGS ABOVE – POSITION AND KEEP REPOSITIONING YOUR HEART TO DWELL IN CHRIST. REST IN HIS POSITION, HIS POWER, HIS ABILITY. SET YOUR HEART AND KEEP SETTING YOUR HEART ON THINGS ABOVE WHERE CHRIST IS SEATED ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. DROP ANCHOR THERE.

THEN SET YOUR MIND ON THINGS ABOVE – TAKE STOCK OF YOUR THOUGHTS; TAKE STOCK OF YOUR SPEECH. THINK OF YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE, THE WAY GOD THINKS OF IT. DECLARE INTO YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES WHAT GOD IS SAYING. KINGDOM OF GOD COME; WILL OF GOD BE DONE.

THIS YEAR SEE THINGS FROM CHRIST’S PERSPECTIVE.

SET YOUR HEART ON THINGS ABOVE.

SET YOUR MIND ON THINGS ABOVE.

AND FOR GOD’S SAKE DON’T BE A BOTTOM FEEDER.