Philippians 09 - Citizens of Heaven

Reading: Philippians 3:17-4:1

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Philippians 3:20 (NIV)

I.   Follow My example

     A.  Is this Haughty?

           1.  No it’s spiritual leadership.

                 a.  When we’re novices, we need to learn from someone with experience.

                 b.  When we’re experienced, we need to share our training with others.

           2.  We get uncomfortable saying this, because we don’t trust ourselves.

                 a.  We’d rather just point people to Jesus.

                 b.  Yet they need to know how to follow Jesus as a human being in this world.

           3.  Paul didn’t think he had it all together, and that’s what he wants them to emulate!

                 a.  It’s not the “attaining all this,” that makes us role models.

                 b.  It’s the “on my way to this,” that makes us role models.

                 c.  Have I dismissed all your excuses yet?

     B.  Say this with your Life

           1.  When others know we are Christian we are offering them an example.

                 a.  People hear what we say, but they’re more interested in what we do.

                 b.  People all over are looking for God. Could they find him by following you?

                 c.  Young Christians and pre-Christians are looking to you to show them the way.

           2.  Make it intentional.

                 a.  Live a life designed to point to God.

                 b.  You can’t lead people where you haven’t been—so go there first.

           3.  Be an example, be exemplary.

                 a.  Our failings and our foibles aren’t just between us and God.

                 b.  Like it or not we have a responsibility.

II.  The god of the Enemies of the cross

     A.  These are the Dogs of verse 2

           1.  They are mutilators, who rip people apart in the name of religious zeal.

                 a.  As I have said before... (v.18 cf. v.2)

                 b.  They love to point fingers and measure people up—especially those who don’t.

           2.  They are enemies of the Cross.

                 a.  Because we are reconciled to God through the Cross, not by being good.

                 b.  Legalism is false Christianity.

           3.  Paul weeps because they are giving Jesus another black eye.

     B.  The Stomach god

           1.  They are also those who justify self-indulgence with bad theology.

                 a.  These are the opposite of the legalists

                 b.  They see in God’s grace and open door to every sort of self-seeking behavior.

           2.  They’re serving their own appetite for power, prestige, and stuff

                 a.  They live in worship of consumption.

                 b.  They justify their greed with appeals to the God who “blesses” his children.

           3.  They are enemies of the Cross too.

                 a.  The cross calls us to self-sacrifice, not self-indulgence. (Phil 2:5-11)

     C.  The glorification of the Shameful

           1.  Both groups glory in what is shameful

                 a.  The first brag about marginalizing the spiritually immature and weak.

                 b.  The second promote a life devoid of the transforming power of God.

           2.  What is more they both hold up what is shameful as something honorable.

                 a.  One group glories in throwing out sinners.

                 b.  The other glories in “anything goes.”

           3.  Their mind cannot rise beyond the world that surrounds them. (v.19b)

                 a.  They have not yet escaped the gravity of our situation.

                 b.  They are still stuck in the world but don’t even know it!

III. Our Citizenship

     A.  Where our Values come from

           1.  George Schultz: Where is your country?

                 a.  We live here, our home is elsewhere.

                 b.  This world is not my home.

           2.  Citizenship can be translated homeland, fatherland, motherland.

                 a.  We come from somewhere else.

                 b.  We are here on a mission project.

           3.  Our value system: what’s important; how we prioritize what’s important.

                 a.  We decide what’s important based on what’s important in heaven.

                 b.  What does God celebrate?

                 c.  Three things will remain: Faith, Hope and Love. And the greatest of these?

     B.  Where our Orientation is toward

           1.  Our citizenship is from heaven but also toward it.

                 a.  We are on our way there!

                 b.  We are about getting ready for there.

                 c.  That’s what running for the prize means

           2.  Our adjustment is not to the way things are here, but they way they’re going to be.

                 a.  Mental health: being adjusted to reality.

                 b.  Spiritual health: being adjusted to God’s coming reality.

                 c.  We hope to be out of sync.

     C.  How this changes Everything!

           1.  Jesus has the power to bring everything under his control.

                 a.  This world is filled with chaos, violence, death and destruction.

                 b.  But Jesus has everything under control

           2.  Even these bodies will be transformed

                 a.  Stomachs and all!

                 b.  We’ll have bodies that will be like his.

                 c.  We don’t know exactly what that will all mean, but we know it will be good!

           3.  This is how we are to stand firm: by leaning toward heaven.

                 a.  Notice Paul’s love for them.

                 b.  It’s been said you can’t change someone you don’t love.

                 c.  We stand firm by leaning forward.

The Bottom Line:

(GHoF #385 Take the World, but Give me Jesus.)