Olhe para o alto, examine o coração e transforma o mundo | Colossenses 3 | Pastor Paulo Seabra

The Christian life needs to be guided by three movements: looking upward, looking inward, and looking at the world around us. Upon waking in the morning, the first movement should be to seek the things that are above, where Christ lives seated at the right hand of God. It is remembering that our life is hidden together with Christ, that we have access to the throne of grace, and that the Holy Spirit comforts, guides, and intercedes for us. Thinking about the things above is not just thinking about the blessings we can receive, but thinking about the Kingdom of God, the will of the Lord, and the mind of Christ. It is knowing the Word, understanding what God desires, and asking that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. After looking upward, we need to look inward. It is no use contemplating the greatness of the Kingdom and ignoring what is hidden in the heart. The Word calls us to put to death our earthly nature, abandoning impurity, evil desires, greed, idolatry, anger, indignation, wickedness, slander, lies, and obscene language. If we find within ourselves something incompatible with heavenly thoughts, what needs to change is not heaven, but our lives. Retained anger can transform into an emotional cancer; lies are a fraud against the truth; and feelings nurtured in secret end up governing our attitudes. Therefore, fleeing from God's Word is pointless. What is effective is confronting the Lord and discovering what needs to be changed in life. In Christ, the old self must be left behind, with its practices, thoughts, and deeds. Now we are called to put on the new self, which is renewed in the image of its Creator. In this new self, there is no superiority of race, nationality, social condition, or religious position, because Christ is all in all. No one is better than anyone else in the eyes of God. Everyone depends on the same grace, the same forgiveness, and the same transformative work. It's not what I think of myself, but what God thinks of me; it's not what culture approves, but what the Word reveals. When Christ becomes the arbiter, we are led to recognize sin, confess it, and present ourselves before God with a broken heart, willing to do His will. Finally, what God has accomplished within us needs to be manifested around us. As God's chosen people, holy and beloved, we must clothe ourselves with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love, which is the bond of perfection. The peace of Christ must be the arbiter of our hearts, and the Word must dwell richly within us, instructing our conversations, our advice, our choices, and our relationships. Instead of spreading slander, we are called to share psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, and words of gratitude. Everything we do, whether in word, action, attitude, thought, or feeling, must be done in the name of the Lord Jesus. Thus, wherever we go, we will manifest the Kingdom of God as chosen vessels, filled with the grace and power of the Lord. Pastor Paulo Seabra is an experienced pastor, both in church management and in preaching and teaching. He actively participated in the history of Baptists in Brazil and in Ceará. He pastored many churches throughout his life, always with a structural, conceptual, and multiplying vision.