One Walk (3:17-21)

One Walk: Follow Me (Philippians 3:17-21) Pray & Intro: Following someone to a destination. (Easy to follow, hard to follow, someone who has no idea where he’s going, or has a different destination in mind.)  Paul is telling them here whom they should follow to see how they should walk as citizens of heaven. This is discipleship. (Paul thinks of this like he thinks of a father’s love and responsibility. See 1 Cor. 4:14-17.) Read Passage, Explain & Apply: First, we’ll connect the discipleship dots. Then we’ll see how Paul’s exhortation is a perfect example of the chain of discipleship. (Then “Be a Link”) I. Connect the Discipleship Dots (Jesus, Paul) A. Jesus said, “Follow Me.” “I am the way.” (Jn. 14:6) 1. Jesus to the disciples. a. Fishermen: While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. (Mt. 4:18-20) – in Jn. 1:43, He said, “Follow Me” to Philip, and Philip went and nabbed Nathanael to follow Jesus. b. A tax collector: As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. (Mt. 9:9) 2. Jesus to the rich young man: Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mt. 19:21-22) 3. To everyone: And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? (Luke 9:23-25) * 4. To be a disciple of Jesus is to follow Jesus to gain him only. There’s no one else worth following. There’s nothing else worth pursuing. You go after intimacy with Jesus with everything you’ve got, knowing full well that it is His grace that is at work in you. (which is what Paul has been telling the Philippians) B. Paul says, “Follow me. I’ll show you the way because I’m following Him.”  Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Cor. 11:1) 1. One way to become a follower of Jesus: vv. 7-9  Behold (see, grasp) Jesus as the only one who can save you by grace because your fleshly effort is useless to you. But He can be your gain when you trust in him by faith, and His righteousness will replace your sin. That happens only when you turn away from anything that you can possibly do and see His surpassing worth. 2. One way to keep following Jesus: vv.12-14  You count on God’s grace at work in you, and you go after knowing him intimately with everything you’ve got. 3. Step 3 (One way to help others follow Jesus.) Lead them to do step one and step two. 4. Making a disciple – You show someone how to follow Jesus. [Illust. – jungle trails]  You show them how to worship God in spirit and in truth, by grace through faith, as they turn from sin and put their trust in Christ alone to save them. You show them how the gospel of grace leads them into constant, ever-increasing growth in grace, pursuing the character and glory of God through intimacy with Jesus. You show them how to follow others who are following Jesus. You show them how to keep their hope securely fixed in the promised completion of salvation. Then you show them how to show someone else. In essence, you shepherd someone to the Great Shepherd and teach him/her to shepherd others to Jesus. II. Consider the Chain of Discipleship (in these verses) A. Be united in imitating me. – Well, of all the boastful and brash things to say… 1. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect. But I press on to make [complete intimacy with Jesus] my own. 2. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Tim. 1:15-17) B. And keep your eyes on those who are living according to the example they have found in us. – Like the humble servant examples already given in Timothy and Epaphroditus. C. Don’t follow blind guides. (Which is what Matthew recalls Jesus saying of the Jewish religious leaders in his account of the gospel. Jesus warns, “And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” Mt. 15:14) 1. Now these people Paul warns about in verse 18 don’t seem to be centrally IN the church, otherwise he’d be writing differently. But their dangerous influence is real and heartbreaking.  Their legalistic or licentious behavior leads people into the same destruction they themselves are heading into, because they walk as enemies of the cross. Here’s how their walk denies the gospel: (and notice how each of these is so contrary to what Paul has been describing as the faithful walk of the true disciples) 2. Their god is their belly – personal attainment through observing religious dietary laws or personal satisfaction in fleshly appetites 3. Their boast is their shame – boasting in sin in the name of Christian liberty?, boasting in legalistic self-effort? (heap of dung) 4. Minds set on earthly things – worldly wisdom, worldly pleasure, worldly gain  They measure their success as a leader by how many people are following them. Paul measures his success by how well he follows Jesus and leads people to Jesus. D. But we know we are foreigners here (1 Pet. 2:11). Our citizenship is in heaven. 1. We set our minds on things above, not on earthly things (Col. 3:2). We set our minds on whatever is… (see v. 8) 2. Our boast is Christ Jesus alone. (Gal. 6:14) We glory in the glory of God. 3. Our God is the one true God—(manifest in) Christ himself. (Jn. 20:28 “My Lord and my God.”) – the one with the power to subject all things to himself, v. 21b. Our god is NOT us and our own sinful desires but the God of all who makes himself our one consuming desire. Nor do we pursue him in our own power but in His! E. Keep your eyes on the finish line—when God will get ‘er done. – vv. 20b-21  Jn. 10:27-28 III. (God has a plan for you to) Be a Link A. Be confident and joyful knowing that Christ alone is your confidence (for salvation, for purpose and meaning, for growth, for completion, for blessing, for joy in God). With that confidence in grace as fuel and the power of Christ at work in you, strive hard after Jesus for intimacy and rest, and for motivation and conviction. Don’t miss the discipleship opportunity to show others how to do the same. B. To whom are you looking to help you follow Jesus the way Paul has described? C. Where are you in the chain of discipleship? To whom are you the means of God’s grace? To whom are you humbly but lovingly demonstrating, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ”?  God primarily uses people not programs. We are the means of God’s grace to another. Be the head, heart, and hands of the gospel of the grace of Jesus to others. Invest in eternity. Disciple someone.