Paul's Example

Paul’s Example

Philippians 3:17-21

Good morning.

Toby Mac has a song from 2007 titled, “Lose My Soul”.

Some of the lyrics say, “Father God, I am clay in your hands, I wanna stay that way through all life's demands.

'Cause they chip and they nag and they pull at me, and every little thing I make up my mind to be.

Like I'ma be a daddy who's in the mix, and I'ma be a husband who stays legit.

And I pray that I'm an artist who rises above, the road that is wide and filled with self-love.

Everything that I see draws me, though it's only in You that I can truly see.”

Another one of the lines reads, “America got no more stars, now we call 'em idols.

You sit idle as we teach prosperity, the first thing to prosper should be inside of me.”

Please open your Bibles to Philippians 3, as we continue in our verse-by-verse study of Paul’s Epistle to the Church at Philippi.

Last week, we learned how Paul was perfectly imperfect.

Perfected in the context of the previous week’s passage means mature. Paul was mature but he was not done maturing in Christ.

With the words, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected”, Paul made it clear that he was not satisfied with the spiritual things he had already achieved for Christ.

Paul instructed his readers to forget the past and serve the Lord.

Paul also said, “Therefore, let us as many as are mature, have this mind.”

Those who are mature will have the same mind as other mature Christians and if they do not, Paul said the Lord would reveal the necessity of becoming like-minded.

When we grow in Christ, we will automatically change.

Growth is at the very center of our Christian lives. In Christianity, you are either moving forward or you are backsliding. There is no neutral in Christianity.

Pressing on means we don’t give up! When we realize how loved we are and how much Christ has done, we will press on.

Today, Paul instructs his readers to follow his example and note others who follow it as well, since our true citizenship is in heaven.

I. An example worth following.

Read Philippians 3:17

Paul had been teaching throughout this epistle, for his readers to have a singular focus, just as Paul himself had with the mind and attitude of Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

A Christian’s main focus and energy should be knowing Jesus and making Him known to others. One of the main ways we can make Jesus known is by our example to others.

When a child looks up to a parent or other role model, many times they will imitate the things they see within that person.

When someone mimics a good attribute about someone else, this is how positive behaviors become contagious and are passed on.

Can you think of a time in your life where you looked up to a certain role model and mimicked their behavior?

Someone has said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

To imitate someone is to pay the person a genuine compliment, often an unintended compliment.”

When we claim to know Jesus personally, whether we want to be an example or not, we are a witness to those around us, some for good and some not so good.

Acts 1:8 you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. NKJV

What kind of Jesus do those in your sphere of influence, see?

This is why Paul says to follow his example and note others who follow his example as well.

The words, “Note those who so walk”, literally mean to mark those who so walk, and it means to fix your attention on something with keen interest so, you can learn from them.

Rodney Adkins has a song titled, “Watching you”. Some of the lyrics say, “He said I've been watching you dad, ain't that cool,

I'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like you, and eat all my food and grow as tall as you are.

We got cowboy boots and camo pants, yeah we're just alike, hey ain't we dad.

I wanna do everything you do so, I've been watching you.”

It is a high responsibility to ask another person to pattern their life after yours. Imagine the accountability to the Lord someone has when they instruct a person to follow their example.

We have a responsibility to live as examples of Christ.

The Apostle Paul is not with us today, but his words are as true today as they were back then, when he wrote this letter.