King of Your Watch

Well, good morning to you all and welcome to those joining us online. Please drop a comment and let us know you’re there and if there is anyway we can be of service to you.

I want to thank you for your prayers this week as I was unexpectedly ill and quarantined. I’m happy to tell you that my COVID test was negative. Please continue to pray for those in our church who have health struggles.

This has been a difficult season all around. As most of you know, I typically preach through books of the Bible and believe that should be the primary diet of the local church. But a few weeks ago I decided that we need to cover a particular topic, looking at what the Bible has to say about stewarding money, our time, and our service or work.

I had planned to preach last week about how we steward our time and how God as king of your life is also king of your watch. However, this week I feel as though God has a different plan for us.

We live in a wild time. Our culture is as divided as I have ever seen it, even at times, bleeding into the church. It seems we have forgotten which king and kingdom we serve. This morning I want to look at what the Word of God says about our citizenship and loyalty.

If we can get through that and there’s enough time left at the end, I want to look at how this applies to how we choose to use time. Would you please pray with me and then we are going to dive in and see what happens.

Pray.

Philippians 3:12–21 ESV

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 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.

First, I want you to notice what Paul does not do here:

I. Paul doesn’t claim perfection.

A. He realizes that having the most passionate and authentic intention to know Christ doesn’t make him perfect. Let me state this as G. Walter Hansen did:

“The authenticity of faith in Christ cannot be measured only by the intensity of one’s initial decision to receive Christ.”

BEING INTENSE DOESN’T MAKE YOU GENUINE.

B. He doesn’t use it as an excuse for sin or for not serving the Lord.

Give examples

C. He doesn’t use it as an excuse for not calling sin, sin.

Too often, we are afraid that we will offend people if we tell them that they have sin and that sin separates them from a holy God. Let me suggest this: You shouldn’t be more afraid of offending them than you are afraid of them entering eternity without Jesus.

What does Paul do though? He presses on. It’s forward motion.

II. Because of Jesus, Paul pressed on. - forward motion

A. How do you press on toward a goal?

Train - Be in the Word. Be part of a local, gospel centered church.

Focus

Prioritize your spiritual life.

moody illustration

In his commentary on Philippians, Warren Wiersbe wrote this:

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Eight: Let’s Win the Race! (Philippians 3:12–16)

Too many Christians are too involved in “many things,” when the secret of progress is to concentrate on “one thing.” It was this decision that was a turning point in D.L. Moody’s life. Before the tragedy of the Chicago fire in 1871, Mr. Moody was involved in Sunday School promotion, Y.M.C.A. work, evangelistic meetings, and many other activities; but after the fire, he determined to devote himself exclusively to evangelism. “This one thing I do!” became a reality to him. As a result, millions of people heard the Gospel.

When we prioritize and focus on the main thing, it helps us be available for divine encounters.. those times God sets us up for evangelizing.

So what does Paul want the Philippians to do?

III. Paul tells them to imitate him as he imitates Jesus.

Illustration: A little girl disciplining her naughty doll with the words that Mommy uses to correct her.

A teenager whose clothing, hair color, and posture mimic her favorite rock star.

Sometimes we imitate others without knowing we are doing it.

Illustration: preachers imitating those they listen to the most

A. How did Paul live his life? Well, we just talked about it.

imitated Jesus

focused on the gospel

kept the main thing, the main thing

Spent his time to advance the gospel. His agenda. Not set by himself but set by God.

IV. Citizens of heaven are first submitted to Jesus.

Citizenship was a big deal in biblical times. It was rare and prized. The Philippians were proud of their Roman citizenship. In calling them citizens of heaven, Paul was reminding the church that there was a greater society and greater culture to which they belonged.

His way

His desires

His priorities… Your priorities will determine your actions.

His time

His way of structuring your life

How do you know this? THE BIBLE. You must live in the bible. Spurgeon said, “Visit many good books but live in the Bible.”

V. Not like those who live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Georg Major, in his sermon on Philippians 3:18 said,

“Saint Paul admits in this passage that he wrote them with tears. What greater heartache in body and soul does a devout, Godfearing preacher experience than when he sees that those poor people whom Christ has redeemed with his very own blood, who are baptized into Christ, who were properly instructed in him, who had a fine pure faith and knowledge, are seduced by false teachers? The blood of Christ and all blessed teaching, all work and toil have been lost. This is the anguish that father and mother feel for their children when they are raised honorably and in Christian fashion by their parents but are then seduced by wicket companions, becoming shores and scoundrels. Such heartache Paul has for those who through the false apostles have fallen away from his pure teaching that he gave them. That is why he says, “I say this with tears.”…Thus each one of us must put ourselves in Paul’s place here; we should not be able to think about such people without experiencing anguish...”

This is a very personal point for me. Last week, I was stuck with great sadness over friends of mine who served alongside me in ministry who are now openly approving of sin. Not only are they approving of sin in others but they are actively putting their stamp of approval on it. They would claim to stand for what’s right and yet, by their actions they show that they are really enemies of the cross. They have followed false teachers who have led them astray. They have put people’s feelings and their own feelings and popularity with people ahead of God’s desires.

Paul had tears in his eyes as he wrote because these false teachers had done so much damage. They were enemies of the cross of Christ. Imagine that… Teachers who well meaning folks were following bu8t were actually enemies of the cross of Christ. Folks, it happens all of the time. These teachers had inflated their own abilities instead of trusting Christ Jesus alone. Paul describes them in four really non-flattering ways:

Their end is destruction

Their god is their stomach

Their glory is their shame

They are focused on earthly things - unable to see past today, past now, further than the present time...

But we find in Philippians and elsewhere in scripture that true believers are different from these false teachers. We are to structure our lives around God’s priorities and built on His truth.

Now, this has applications in many areas of our lives. But what does this have to do with our time? I want to spend the last few minutes with you seeing how we can apply this to our watch as people surrendered to Jesus, our King.

Let me ask you a few questions:

How do you decide what to spend your time on? How do you determine what portion of your time is given to each of your live obligations? For that matter, what are your time obligations and why do they cause you so much stress and to feel pressure?

Five principles for godly management of time.

God is sovereign over time. It’s in His hands. He controls it. If He wants it to stop, it will stop.

If you belong to Jesus, then He gets to guide what you spend your time on, not the world.

Jesus accomplished all the work that the Father sent him to do and that brought God glory.

John 17:4 ESV

I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

4. We are to live as Jesus did. He lived a life of right priorities in our place. You and I won’t always get it right. We fight with our old sin nature. But those who follow Jesus must walk as He did.

1 John 2:6 ESV

whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

5. We are also to be wise in our usage of time.

Ephesians 5:15–16 ESV

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

The bottom line is this question: What is the purpose of your life? Based on what we find in scripture, we can answer that the purpose of your life is to bring God glory.

So we must ask our selves and act on our answer to this follow up question: How can you best use your time to accomplish this? Do that.