Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.13UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.08UNLIKELY
Fear
0.13UNLIKELY
Joy
0.58LIKELY
Sadness
0.54LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.38UNLIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.26UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.57LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.92LIKELY
Extraversion
0.07UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.72LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.54LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
God and Father, what a precious and powerful word you have for us tonight.
I pray that I would do nothing to get in the way of You speaking clearly to Your people.
Cleanse my heart of evil thoughts or wrong motives.
May Christ be lifted high for all to see.
May the Holy Spirit convict and change us.
Come now and speak, Precious Lord.
We ask it that Christ may be glorified in us, Amen.
Please turn on your Bible to .
Once you have found that place, I would ask you to stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word.
I want to talk to you tonight about the moment we should be waiting for.
I don’t know what event or stage in life you may most anticipate and look forward to.
But, I know what those of us who are believers should be most looking forward to.
I know the moment we should be waiting for.
Resurrection Day! Now obviously I’m not talking about the day Christ was raised.
That’s past, not future.
I’m talking about the day all Christians will be raised to be with Christ forever.
That’s the moment we should all be waiting for.
And what we’re going to see tonight is that it is also the moment we should be living for.
As we have walked through this chapter Paul has challenged us to pursue Christ, seek to know Him in all His fullness.
In our text for tonight he’s going to connect that thought with the reality of what I’m going to refer to as Resurrection Day.
We’re going to think specifically about waiting for that day.
We are going to notice three things: 1.
How to wait for it, 2. How not to wait for it, 3. What we’re waiting for.
I. How to wait for it
There are two commands in verse 17.
In the first command Paul says, “Join in following my example.”
This means that we are to, at all times, be following the example set by Paul.
It’s the example he sets in verses 2-16.
We are to count all things loss for the sake of knowing Christ.
And we are to press on toward the goal of knowing Him fully and being conformed completely to HIs image.
The words “join in” mean that we are to do this together as a body of believers.
“Be united in imitating me.”
Or, “Imitate me with one accord.”
The second command is to observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.
The word “observe” means to pay close attention in order to be prepared to respond appropriately.
In :1y it is translated “keep your eye on.”
In it is translated “take special note of.”
So we are to pay close attention to those who walk, or live, according to the pattern Paul set.
So, basically Paul is telling us to follow his example of pursuing Christ.
And follow the example of others who are doing the same thing.
The point is that we are not to wait passively for the return of Christ and resurrection day.
But we are to pattern our lives after those who have made Christ the supreme pursuit of their lives.
Another way to say it would be, “Don’t just sit back and wait for Christ to return.
Live in anticipation of that day.”
Pursue that which will become full reality on resurrection day.
Knowing Christ!
Forget what lies behind and press on toward the goal of laying hold of Christ.
That’s how we wait for resurrection.
When I was a kid we didn’t see my grandparents on my dad’s side very often.
But they came to our house a few times over the years.
It was always the same routine.
My grandad was a preacher and during those days our house usually had alcohol, beer clocks and stuff like that laying around.
So we’d always have to go through the house and get rid of all that stuff.
Waiting for Papaw to come visit was not a passive waiting.
We were working to be ready when he showed up.
It’s kind of like that for Christians.
We know the Lord is coming back.
We want to be ready.
So we spend our time trying to be more like Him and less like the world.
We seek to know and understand Him better.
We want to be found in a pleasing condition when He returns.
We wait for resurrection day by following the example of those who are chasing after Christ.
But now let’s notice how not to wait for it.
II.
How not to wait for it
Verse 18 begins with the word “for.”
Paul is giving us the reason why we should follow his example of chasing after Christ.
Many people live as enemies of the cross.
It breaks Paul’s heart just to think about it, but it’s true.
How do you know someone is an enemy of the cross.
By their behavior.
Paul said they “walk” like enemies of the cross.
Notice what Paul says about them in verse 19.
“Their god is their appetite/belly.”
R
Enemies of the cross worship their appetites.
They are slaves to their sinful desires.
That means they spend their lives chasing after selfish, sinful pleasures.
They most certainly aren’t chasing after Christ.
Paul also says that enemies of the cross “glory in their shame.”
They are proud of what they should be ashamed of.
Conduct which should be considered shameful they boast about.
This is like some guy bragging about the dozens of girls he has slept with.
Or some girl talking about how drunk she got last night like it was something to be proud of.
Or some CEO proud of the way he lied, cheated and manipulated his way to the top.
Enemies of the cross live for their sinful appetites.
They are proud of their sin.
Why?
Because they set their minds on earthly things.
This means they constantly, always are thinking about, focused on, the earthly, the material, the temporary.
They aren’t living for resurrection day.
They live as if this life is all there is.
They aren’t concerned with Christ and eternity.
They are enemies of the cross because their lives are a total rejection of everything the cross of Christ is all about.
They lives say, “I’m not going to answer to God for my life.
There is no hell for those who reject Christ.
I don’t need Christ or anyone else to die for me.
I’m doing just fine.”
The saddest part of all that is what Paul says at the beginning of verse 19.
Their end is destruction.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9