3-16-25 Sermon "Continuing to Keep God Visible" - 18 Minutes

Philippians 3:17-4:1

This morning I’ll begin reading in Philippians chapter 3 verse 17,,, and read through to chapter 4 verse 1.

And I’ll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Paul wrote this letter to the church in Philippi,,, apparently while he was imprisoned in Rome. And this letter could be called a thank you letter to them,,, since they had sent support to Paul several times,,, but we know that it is much,,, much,,, more,,, than just a thank you letter. It has too much useful information for us today,,, to be considered as just a thank you to them.

Philippians 3:17–4:1 (HCSB)

17 Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, 20 but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself. 1 So then, my brothers, you are dearly loved and longed for—my joy and crown. In this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.

The word of God for the people of God,,,

thanks be to God!

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus’ name I pray,,, Amen.

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Last Sunday we had the Gideon speakers,,, Bruce Gresham at Oakdale,,, and Sid Sumrall at Seminary,,, here giving us information about the things that the Gideon’s do and the ways that they use the money that is given to them.

Both of them did a great job of explaining some of the things that the Gideon's can accomplish with our help.

The great job that they do of distributing Bibles and spreading the “Good News” of Jesus Christ,,, are a testament of what can be done if God is allowed to help and guide us along the way,,, instead of trying to go our own direction and do it ourselves without consulting God in prayer.

They both had several testimonies of people that had been saved through the reading of God’s word,,, reading from a book that they had never spent time in before,,, or maybe never had access to before!

They mentioned ways that we can help them,,, and ways that someone can become a member,,, their criteria,,, or qualifications for members,,, and what is expected from them.

We need to remember them in prayer each day,,, because of the great job that they do,,, and,,, I’ve mentioned it before,,, but each local group of Gideons meet each Saturday and pray for the churches and pastors in their communities,,, and we need to be sure that we remember them as well!

This morning we will look at these verses in Philippians,,, and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

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Verses 17-18 said: 17 Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

If you read the verses before this,,, from the beginning of this chapter,,, you will see that Paul was warning them about the dangers of the flesh and the ways of the world and how they will keep you from obtaining the prize set before us through the life,,, death,,, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior,,, Jesus Christ.

Paul is doing everything that he can to obtain that prize,,, and he wanted the people in Philippi,,, and us today of course,,, to obtain it as well.

And we accomplish this by walking with God each and every day,,, giving Him control of our life by guiding us and helping us to make the right decisions.

Here in verse 17,,, Paul is saying,,, live as I am striving to live,,, as an example,,, since he’s living a life that shows living proof that he is following Jesus Christ as his Savior.

So he’s saying,,, Join in imitating me,,, living as I live,,, in following Christ!

Paul is also telling them to observe others who were living a Christlike life,,, like he was,,, and join with them,,, living that kind of life.

He is telling them this so that they can use all of this knowledge as a guiding light to live correctly in spite of the wrong examples that he has heard that they are seeing at this time from those around them,,, those living,,, as enemies of the cross of Christ.

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Verses 19-20 said: 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, 20 but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul begins to explain why they are heading for destruction when he says ,,, their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things,

As we see today,,, just as they were focused on earthly things,,, so are we,,, and many times we are also,,, even as Christians,,, are spending way too much of our time worrying about the things that we think that we need to get done,,, when instead,,, we need to focus on what God wants,,, and if we put God first,,, then everything else will fall into place,,, if we just put God first,,, where He should be all the time anyway.

Here,,, Paul is reminding us,,, we are heading to a much better place,,, a place that we are,,, or should be,,, looking forward to!

I’m not ready to leave this world,,, I feel like there is still much to do,,, but I’m not worried about leaving either,,, and I’m praying that none of you are either.

If you are,,, then you need to get your heart right with God today,,, because we aren’t promised tomorrow.

There should never be any doubt or worry about our future.

God doesn’t want that for us.

Also,,, according to my Faithlife Study Bible,,, Roman citizenship was highly prized,,, but Paul encourages believers to embrace a far better identity as citizens of God’s kingdom.

And it said that,,, most residents of Philippi probably lacked Roman citizenship,,, but according to a couple of my commentaries,,, the citizens of Philippi did have citizenship in Rome,,, and it’s because of this information,,, that Paul used the words that he did.

Regardless,,, for any believers who did hold Roman citizenship,,, Paul’s statement here presents a challenge to look beyond their earthly status and believe,,, and not only believe,,, but live their life in a way,,, to show others,,, that their citizenship was in heaven.

As I said,,, we are heading to a much better place than the world that we live in today,,, and our lives,,, or the way that we live,,, should show that joy today.

Because as Paul said at the end of that verse,,, we,,, also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I’ll also mention,,, that in the Roman Empire,,, the emperor was known as the “savior and lord”.

By applying these titles to Jesus,,, Paul is calling the Philippians to live under the authority and reign of the universe’s,,, true,,, Savior and Lord,,, Jesus Christ.

The commentary says that it was likely this kind of message that landed Paul and Silas in jail in Philippi as seen in Acts 16:21.

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Verse 21 said: 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.

When Jesus returns,,, we will be transformed in the blink of an eye with our new bodies,,, with no more sorrow,,, no more aches or pains,,, with a new body in the likeness of Jesus’ glorious body!

My Believer’s Bible Commentary says there is nothing vile or evil about the human body in itself.

The evil lies in the wrong ways that it can be used.

But it is a lowly body,,, a body of humiliation.

It is subject to wrinkles,,, scars,,, age,,, suffering,,, sickness,,, and death.

It limits and cramps us!

But when Jesus returns,,, it will be transformed into a body of glory.

The full understanding,,, or,,, the meaning of this,,, we do not know.

But we do know,,, It will no longer be subject to decay or death,,, to the limitations of time or of natural barriers.

It will be a real body,,, yet perfectly suited to conditions in heaven.

It will be like the resurrection body of the Lord Jesus.

As I told you a few weeks ago,,, this does not mean that we will all have the same physical appearance!

Jesus was usually recognizable after His resurrection,,, and doubtless each one of us will have his or her own individual physical identity in eternity.

Also,,, this passage does not teach that we shall be like the Lord Jesus as far as the attributes of God are concerned.

We will never have,,, all-knowledge or all-power;,, and we won't be able to be in all places at one and the same time.

But,,, morally,,, we will be like,,, Jesus.

So at that time,,, we will be forever,,, free from sin.

This passage does not give us enough to satisfy our curiosity,,, but it is enough,,, or should be enough,,, to inspire comfort and stimulate hope.

And,,,  we know,,, that our bodies will be transformed,,, as it says,,, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.

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Verse 1,,, chapter 4 said: 1 So then, my brothers, you are dearly loved and longed for—my joy and crown. In this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.

So we can see from these words of Paul,,, that he dearly loved and longed for the people in Philippi,,, and wanted the best for them,,, and through the study of his letter to them,,, we can receive this same joy as well,,, and see the fruits of our labor,,, one day in the future.

And as Paul told them,,, we need to,,, stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.

If we don’t stand firm,,, we will be blown around all over the place,,, and we might miss the narrow gate that Jesus talked about,,, as it said in Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.”

It's harder to find that narrow gate,,, especially,,, if we are allowing ourselves to be led astray,,, by the world!

And not finding it,,, we should all know,,, that mistake would have tragic consequences!

That's why Paul is urging them,,, to stand firm in the Lord!

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So Paul is trying to help us see,,, that imitating his ways,,, and those around us that are living a Christian life,,, is very important to our daily walk with God,,, as well as future consequences!

We must be sure that we are following those that will keep us on that narrow road,,, so that we can spend eternity with God!

As we continue the days ahead,,, continuing our journey through Lent,,, getting ready for our Easter celebration,,, we must keep our focus on our relationship with Christ!

Being sure that we don’t forget the words that God gave us week before last,,, and continue to do everything needed to keep God visible to others!

My prayer for this Easter season,,, as I told you then,,, is that God is seen by others,,, when they see and hear us,,, in the world today!

And I asked that you make it your prayer this Easter season,,, to make God’s presence known to others,,, simply by the way,,, that we spend time in prayer with God,,, each and every day,,, focusing on our personal relationship with God,,, until our own faces,,, our own actions,,, show God’s presence to all,,, that we encounter,,, no matter where we are,,, or who,,, we are with!

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Hymn: 337 - Oakdale

Hymn: 337 - Seminary

Benediction

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