Scripture Introduction
Some humorist once said, “Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there” (Josh Billings).
Luciano Pavarotti tells how when he was a boy, his father, a baker, introduced him to the wonders of song. “He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice…. A professional tenor in my hometown of Modena, Italy, took me as a pupil. I also enrolled in a teachers college. On graduating, I asked my father, ‘Shall I be a teacher and a singer?’ ‘Luciano,’ my father replied, ‘if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair.’ I chose one. It took seven years of study and frustration before I made my first professional appearance. It took another seven to reach the Metropolitan Opera. And now I think whether it’s laying bricks, writing a book—whatever we choose—we should give ourselves to it. Commitment, that’s the key. Choose one chair.”
I think Christians are sometimes suspicious of choosing one chair, as if God required us to be diluted in our focus and distracted by many interests. But the Apostle Paul was single-minded in his devotion: “one thing I do,” he wrote to his friends in Philippi, “one thing: I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Paul then explains how the Philippians might also stay focused on the goal.
[Read Philippians 3.17-4.1. Pray.]
Introduction
Many leadership books tell how Cortés began his conquest of the Aztec Empire and the colonization of the Americas for Spain. After landing at Vera Cruz in 1519 with a small force of seven hundred men, legend has it that he set fire to most of the fleet of eleven ships. As the men watched their only means of retreat sink to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, they realized there was now only one direction to move — forward into the Mexican interior to conquer whatever might come their way. They were prevented from turning back by Cortés’ decisive cutting off of any way of escape.
A wide variety of distractions threaten to steal our focus and turn us back from the goal to which we have been called. Fears, busyness, other interests, disappointments, besetting sins, conflicts. It is not even that everything which would divide our interests is bad. Once when Jesus was here he went to the home of two sisters for dinner. Martha busied herself preparing a meal, providing for her guests. But Mary set at Jesus’ feet and listened to his teaching. Frustrated, Martha complained: “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But Jesus answered: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Serving guests is commendable, but when it distracts us from the one thing necessary, it is dangerous.
Another time Jesus warned that “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9.62). Cortés was not much interested in God’s Kingdom, but he did realize the temptation to look back, so he burned the fleet. How do we burn our fleet of distractions so that we give undivided devotion to the Lord?
Last week we studied verses 12-16 and learned six principles for remaining in the race.
First, we found reason to press on in our imperfections: even the Apostle had not arrived, and that motivated him to pursue Christ like a runner stretching toward the finish line.
Second, we found confidence to press on in Christ’s purposes for us: those purchased by the blood of Jesus continue to press forward, regardless of the cost, without becoming self-reliant legalists, because Christ works his grace in our lives.
Third, we found strength to press on by focused, future-oriented, determination. Memories of past success can make us smug and self-satisfied, while memories of past failures make us hopeless and lethargic in our pursuit of God. So we look back only for the sake of moving forward.
Fourth, we found encouragement to press on from the heavenly prize. True believers realize that “the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed in us” (Romans 8.18).
Fifth, we found the will to press on in God’s resources: even when we lack faith to walk by the Spirit, as we continue to seek God, he enables progress in the faith.
Sixth, we found the need to press on in the danger of decline. Sinful people in a fallen world do not race on firm ground, but against a “moving sidewalk.” When we stop running for the prize, we are propelled backward.
Today’s text in many ways continues the theme of last week. Though these folks lived 2000 years ago, just like us distractions threatened to turn them away. Paul points to three specific things which keep them (and us too) focused…
1. To Stay Focused On The Goal, We Imitate Christ-like Lives (Philippians 3.17)
I have heard Christians say, “Do not imitate me; imitate Jesus!” After all, the bracelets we wear do not say, “What Would I Do?” or “What Would Paul Do?” or “What Would Christians Do?” They say, WWJD, “What Would Jesus Do?” And is that not the humility we ought to have? Is Paul some kind of super-conceited, self-congratulating, egomaniac?
Before we assume so, let’s remember that just five sentences earlier, he pointed out his imperfection (verse 12): “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect….” Paul was surely tempted to pride (as we all are), but he learned to boast in his weaknesses so that the power of Christ would rest on him. He knew how to be humble, so why does he say, “imitate me”?
Because faith must be lived as well as spoken about in order to be seen and understood. This is why we do not show videos of great preachers instead of a merely adequate, flesh-and-blood pastor. My sermons will never compel like John Piper’s; my theology will never be as solid as R. C. Sproul’s; my illustrations will never be as interesting as Tony Evan’s. But I have one trait to which none of those men can hold a candle: I am here. Not that I have already obtained the prize or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Jesus has made me his own. Examples of the faith lived are essential to living the faith. Note well that we do not simply imitate the Apostle, but “keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example….”
On Thursday I ate lunch with Pastor Lee Veazey down in Covington. To introduce the community to their church and to Christianity, Grace and Peace invited Matthew Smith and Indelible Grace to town for a concert. What thrilled my soul was that in the 90 minutes we were together, I watched Lee strike up conversations with four sets of people and introduce them to the church or the concert: the waitress and the folks at an adjoining table, then as we walked down the street, a group of people eating outdoors by the sidewalk. Finally, as Lee and I stood outside the concert venue, two ladies came up and asked us if they could hang flyers for the “Dine to Stop Aids” event. Pastor Veazey explained that we were not the owners, but then went on to invite them to the concert. Nor did he hide what it was about: he told them straight up that Indelible Grace took old hymns and set them to new music. As I kept my eyes on Pastor Veazey, I saw a man who walked according to the example of Jesus. He is excited about church, the ministry they have, their outreach, their community, and the Christian faith. Anyone can tell us to reach out to neighbors; we need to see those who walk according to the example.
This is why the Church remains essential to evangelism. It is not because of some magic that happens here, certainly not the “sacramental mystery” that Roman Catholicism claims. It is much simpler and more relevant: people must both hear the truth of the gospel and see it lived. You can insist to your coworkers and neighbors, until you are blue in the fact, that the “sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed in us” (Romans 8.18). They will not know it is true until they see you give up everything while your attitude and heart say, “I never made a sacrifice!”
Listen to the truth of the Bible taught; and keep your eyes on those who walk the faith they profess.
2. To Stay Focused On The Goal, We Reject Gospel Enemies (Philippians 3.18-19)
Paul was no cry-baby. In fact, the Corinthians complained that he was tough and gruff. Yet even mentioning the dreadful condition of these folks whose lives do not match their profession, brings tears to his eyes. Yes, he warns the Philippians to watch out for enemies, but he is not callous or spiteful, nor does he desire revenge: he grieves over their rebellion. These enemies of the cross are neither atheists nor weak Christians, but those who profess the true faith while refusing to share in Christ’s sufferings and become like him in his death. They live for themselves, practicing the ancient equivalent of a health and wealth gospel; they refuse to die to self so as to experience the power of Jesus’ resurrection.
Please note the four details which protect us from ungodly influence:
First, their end is destruction: regardless of a claim to know Christ, their true condition is dead in sin. They have never experienced the new birth, never come to true faith, never died to selfish desires in order to know the happiness of holiness. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and apart from the righteousness of God that comes by faith, we have no hope of heaven, but only the “fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries” (Hebrews 10.27). The reality of punishment for those who profess Christianity while rejecting a cross-centered faith motivates us to shun their influence.
Second, their god is their belly. They live for sensual pleasures, rather than denying self. Although the Bible does not promote asceticism (the self-imposed denial of pleasure as a means of purifying oneself and experiencing God), those who know Jesus prize godliness with contentment not temporal pleasure.
Third, they glory in their shame. They brag of ungodly and unbecoming behavior. While they boast of supposed “freedoms,” they are actually slaves to lust. By seeking a Christianity without the cross, they find their sinful desires too strong to control.
Finally, their minds are set on earthly things. Not that they plot wickedness, but that their thoughts are all for life here-and-now: how to be happy in marriage, and wealthy in retirement, and comfortable in life. Of course, God does not condemn a happy marriage, but when we make it our highest or truest happiness, we lose focus on the prize and fall out of the race. God is the Christian’s hope and prize, not a few days of comfort and ease on earth.
Two applications:
First, these enemies of the cross said the “Jesus” things but lived selfish lives. This is even more common in our place and time because there is little or no cost to profess Christianity. Our models of the faith must be those who live a life of self-denial, not those who can talk about it. We must watch out for those who “profess to know God but deny him by their works” (Titus 1.16).
Second, we must be warned about using the freedom of the gospel “as an opportunity for the flesh” (Galatians 5.13). A new legalism will not deliver anyone from selfishness and licentiousness, but at the same time, those who “walk by the Spirit, will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5.16). True believers are not sinless, but neither do they excuse sin. They long for more of God in their lives. To stay focused on the goal, we must reject gospel enemies.
3. To Stay Focused On The Goal, We Anticipate Our Eternal Home (Philippians 3.20-21)
James Calvert went as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands. The captain of the ship that transported him sought to dissuade him back by saying, “You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages.”
Calvert’s replied: “We died before we came here.” Paul taught him that: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
James Calvert understood that the Christian’s home is in heaven, not here on earth. Only such a perspective could make sense of God’s call to take the gospel to the Fiji Islands, and only such a perspective can make sense of God’s call to you to take the gospel out of this place of safety and into your school and work and community.
Someone had engraved on his tombstone this epitaph:
“Of this blessed man let this praise be given:
Heaven was in him before he was in Heaven.”
Is heaven “in us”? Genuine spirituality will not thrive unless our hearts are homesick for heaven, unless our thoughts dwell on what is eternal, unless we eagerly await Christ’s return. When what we truly hope for is a bit of comfort here, a life without too much trouble, some pleasant circumstances and nice friends, then we will drop out of the race and we will fall far from the prize.
About ten years ago, I traveled overseas to visit our mission teams and to see their work. In preparation for the trip, the organizers warned us about being too loud and drawing too much attention to ourselves. Americans have a way of standing out in a crowd and being obnoxious. I certainly understand the reason for respectful behavior and avoiding a high profile in a foreign country. But what I found interesting was that Americans often act in a way that immediately reveals their citizenship. People look at us and say, “American tourist.”
Now that may not be a beautiful thing when we travel abroad. But here is the point: do the people you work with look at you and say, “A heavenly tourist. Her home is in heaven, and while she visits here, she awaits the Christ who will return and raise her to her true and eternal home”?
4. Conclusion
This paragraph is about imitating others. We remain in the Christian race, focused on the goal, when we follow the example of true Christians, not those who are enemies of the cross, but those whose hope is in heaven.
One other application comes to mind: not who you imitate, but who imitates you. Outside your immediate family, who do you pray with regularly, so that they know the joy of access to the throne of grace? Who looks at your walk for an example of happy and hopeful evangelism? Who knows the power of God for victory over temptation because they are close enough to see you struggle with sin and turn to Jesus for help? Who sees the joy of the Spirit controlling your choices and actions, rather than the comfort of circumstances? Who keeps their eyes on the way that you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you? Who realizes that anxiety does not control you because you trust your Father’s will in all things? Who looks at you and can say that no matter what distractions come, what temptations try his soul, what problems he faces or people he must deal with, he is single-minded in his devotion to the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
I have heard Christians bemoan the lack of models of the faith, the lack of people we can imitate. Fine – we wish for more. Paul probably did too. But he neither complained, nor made excuses. Instead, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, he stayed focused on the goal and exhorted the Philippians to imitate him, and keep their eyes on those who walk according to his example. Let us make sure we can say the same.
