Eyes On The Road

Last week: keep your eye on the goal. This week: keep your eye on the road. One is about motivation and endurance. The other is about paying attention to what you are doing.

Distracted driving is the new drunk driving.

cell phone use leads to 1.6 million crashes every year

texting while driving is 6X more likely to cause an accident than DUI

1 out of 4 traffic crashes that occur in the US are caused by cell phone usage

55% teens, 77% adults think they can manage texting while driving

texting, phone apps, reading, eating tacos, doing hair or painting nails, shaving

cell phone usage #2, getting lost in thought #1 - Keeping your mind on the road is as important as keeping your eyes on the road.

Our text this morning has a very simple message: The road you set your mind and your eyes on has everlasting consequence.

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Philippians 3:17–4:1 ESV

17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. 1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

4:1- somewhat transitional between this thought and the next one. “Joy and crown” echo the idea of the prize at the end of a race. It shows that Paul’s aim was not just a personal goal but one that involved the church in Philippi. He wanted to see them press on and stay the course of Christian life. Toward that end, Paul reminds them repeatedly about destructive distractions.

Destructive Distractions

Two kinds folks you encounter on the road of discipleship: those whose lives are patterned according to the cross (Paul, Timothy, Epaphroditus, etc.) and those who “walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.”

(Detour graphic)

Philippians 3:18–19 NLT

18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.

It is striking to see Paul, in the middle of a letter all about joy, with tears in his eyes. Something of God’s heart comes across: the very thought of destruction moves the heart to tears (reminiscent of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem). Reason for the tears? Possibly: love of enemies / concern for the church

Either way, the tearful warning should give us pause. Following the directions of your appetite and desires will lead you down a dead-end street.

Proverbs 14:12 ESV

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

Paul puts up a warning sign: you are surrounded by the influence of fatally misguided people. They seem to be living it up, but it is ultimately a dead-end street.

money, sex, and power - not bad in themselves, but they need a caution sign because an unchecked appetite for them is destruction.

FOMO - the fear of missing out. This kind of thinking leads us to give into alluring and destructive distractions.

Heaven’s Road Signs

Philippians 3:17 ESV

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

In today’s culture, the idea of imitation has an artificial ring to it. We are all about expressing our uniqueness. However, in Paul’s day, imitation was a principle of learning that was highly esteemed and widely practiced. It was the method of students becoming like their teacher, disciples becoming like their master.

The influence of others has a high impact on your thinking and living. God has put in your life godly people to help guide you; are you paying attention to the road signs? Who are you allowing to influence you most?

When it comes to the Christian principles I strive for in my own life, while I can give you a text for why those are important to me, I can also give you a name—the name of men and women whose example has shaped me: prayer - Kirk; preaching - Dean; loving God - Ethan; humility - Jeff; marriage and parenting - Mike and Ashlie; generosity - Jean; joy - William; faithfulness and grit - Mom and Dad.

Who are those road signs of godly living that God has put in your life? Observe the way they live and let them influence you.

Also, don’t underestimate your own influence church. One of my HS Bible school teachers always told us: You influence 7 people a day. I don’t know where he got that, but it rings true in principle. You have more impact than you imagine on others. Are you pointing them toward the promising values of heaven or the dead-end pursuits of earth?

Conclusion

Paul strengthens our confidence in way of Christ.

"I’m in the way, the bright and shining way; yes I’m in the gloryland way!

Philippians 3:20–21 ESV

20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Citizens of heaven

(on-the-road application) Those who live by heavens rule even in faraway places. Any earthly status and allegiance is in the shadow of this ultimate citizenship.

(destination info) Not a dead-end (even though it looks that way in the face of the cross). Our destination is a glorious transformation.