Lift Your Eyes Up | PJ Summers

Paul writes from house arrest and keeps it simple: Jesus plus nothing equals everything. Colossians 3 names the move. Since Christ has raised believers to new life, the text calls them to lift their eyes to the realities of heaven and set their minds there. Epaphras stands as proof that God can spark a movement through one ordinary life. The gospel heard becomes the gospel carried.

The parasail becomes the picture. Higher perspective makes problems smaller. The image turns the argument: eyes fixed low get swallowed by fear, gossip, and worry; eyes set on Christ rise like a chute catching wind. The ascent is often slow. Twenty minutes of lift may follow two minutes of decision. So the call lands practical: pursue God’s presence daily, feed the spirit with worship, keep the house and the car full of God’s music. Attention trains affection, and affection sets direction.

The text then puts questions on the table: What is feeding the mind? What is the soundtrack of self talk? What gets the most focus, most of the week? Isaiah 26 promises perfect peace to the one whose thoughts are fixed on the Lord. Focus shapes faith. Stare at the storm and fear grows. Look to Jesus and faith rises.

Peter names the deposit that comes with new birth: a living hope. That hope does not erase tears, but it refuses to quit on the marriage, the prodigal, the diagnosis. Romans 15 calls God the source of that hope, filling with joy and peace as trust is exercised. The world is crowded with success and still spiritually exhausted. Advice cannot heal a soul. Christ can.

The charge then widens: stay ready. Second Timothy says be ready in season and out. Ministry is not a one hour block in a building. It is a life on alert. A quiet cross-bearer walking hospital halls, a morning chat with a beach boss who looks successful and is breaking at 6:30 am, a simple, awkward prayer offered in obedience. God moments hide in ordinary moments. Galatians 6 names the posture: carry each other’s burdens. Not fix, but faithfully speak Jesus.

Finally, Colossians says real life is hidden with Christ in God. Hidden here is not escape but union. Identity is wrapped in Christ when the world feels unstable. So the psalmist prays it plain: lift up the eyes. Help comes from the Lord. In a broken world, lift the eyes, carry hope, stay ready, and move anyway.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Lift your eyes before anything else The text insists on a higher focus, not as denial but as reorientation. A lifted gaze does not shrink responsibility; it shrinks panic. Build simple habits that point the heart upward and let the ascent be steady, not rushed. Perspective does the quiet work that effort alone cannot. [38:33]
• 2. Living hope outlasts hard seasons New birth brings a durable hope that refuses to tap out, even when feelings do. That hope sits deeper than adrenaline and smarter than denial; it anchors action without pretending pain is easy. Joy and peace grow as trust shifts from outcomes to the God who holds them. [43:04]
• 3. Stay ready for everyday assignments Availability outruns ability. Readiness turns grocery lines, hospital corridors, and beach chairs into holy ground. The goal is not to fix people but to be faithfully present, hearing the Spirit and offering Christ in plain words and simple prayers. [45:48]
• 4. Attention shapes direction and peace What fills the mind forms the heart’s reflexes. Curate inputs, and the inner weather changes from frantic to steady, from scattered to focused. Peace is not the absence of problems but the fruit of a fixed mind. [41:40]
• 5. Hidden with Christ secures identity Union with Jesus relocates identity from the volatility of circumstance to the constancy of Christ. The world will rehearse failures; heaven knows names. Stability grows when the gaze rises and the soul remembers where its life is kept. [55:26]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [27:32] - Graduation joy and worship
• [29:03] - Move Anyway testimonies
• [31:30] - Colossians: Jesus plus nothing
• [32:31] - Epaphras and gospel ripple
• [34:27] - Set your mind on heaven
• [35:57] - Parasailing perspective shift
• [38:33] - Lift your eyes in practice
• [41:20] - What feeds your focus
• [42:17] - Living hope in hard seasons
• [45:26] - Stay ready beyond Sunday
• [47:48] - Unexpected favor, deeper need
• [50:39] - Obedience at the beach
• [52:07] - Prayer answers and next steps
• [55:26] - Hidden with Christ identity
• [56:45] - Help comes from the Lord

1. According to Colossians 3:1-2, what two actions are believers called to take after being "raised with Christ"?
2. The sermon compared lifting one’s eyes to parasailing. What practical habits were suggested to help believers maintain a "higher perspective" in daily life? [38:33]
3. What does Isaiah 26:3 (referenced in the sermon) say about the relationship between peace and focus? [41:40]
4. How did Epaphras’ story (Colossians 1:7) illustrate the impact of one ordinary person living out the gospel? [32:31]

1. Why might Paul emphasize setting one’s mind on "things above" rather than just avoiding "things on earth"? How does this distinction shape a believer’s priorities?
2. The sermon described hope as "durable" and "smarter than denial." How does 1 Peter 1:3’s phrase "living hope" redefine perseverance in hard seasons? [43:04]
3. The beach conversation example ([49:41]) showed readiness in everyday moments. How does Galatians 6:2 ("carry each other’s burdens") challenge typical views of "ministry"?
4. Colossians 3:3 says believers’ lives are "hidden with Christ." How does this truth address the instability of identity in a broken world? [55:26]

1. What daily habit (e.g., worship music, prayer walks) could you adopt to intentionally "lift your eyes" this week? How might this steady focus shift your response to a current worry? [38:33]
2. Where do you feel most tempted to "stare at the storm" instead of Jesus? What specific truth or Scripture could you fix your mind on in that area? [41:40]
3. Think of a relationship or situation where you’ve wanted to "quit." How might the "living hope" of 1 Peter 1:3 reframe your persistence? What small step of trust could you take today?
4. This week, how could you practice "staying ready" in ordinary moments (e.g., grocery lines, work chats)? What would it look like to listen first and "speak Jesus" instead of trying to fix? [45:48]
5. Identity often gets tied to roles, achievements, or others’ opinions. How would remembering your life is "hidden with Christ" change your self-talk or decisions this week? [55:26]
6. The beach boss’ story ([49:41]) showed pain hidden behind success. Who in your life might need you to ask, "How are you really doing?" How can you create space for that conversation?