This World Is Not My Home
Philippians 3:17-21
So...
--My mind is not on earthly things
verse 19
earthly models of behavior
verses 17-19
earthly values or attitudes
verse 17- "the pattern we gave you."
--I look to the day when God will make all things right
verse 21
--I live with the future in mind
verse 20-21
when I will have a new body
verse 21
when I will have a new home
We have little preaching about heaven today. We want to make everything practical and down to earth. That is all well and good but the hope of heaven is true and it should be preached to our people. The hope of heaven changes the way we view this world. The hope of heaven teaches us that we can cope with the injustices of this world. You can’t get much more practical than that.
Pauls says our homeland is in heaven. This world is not our home. The transfoming truth from this passage is that "We’re not home yet!"
Since this world is not my home:
-----my mind is not on earthly things. Some people say that you can be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good. I believe that’s true but it seems iin this society that its more of a concern that we are too earthly minded that we are no heavenly good. Paul gives too examples in this passage of what it means to be "earthly minded."
God will one day bring "all things under his control." If we know this world is not our home we will no expect things to be right or fair in this world. We live in a fallen world that is cursed by sin. This place is not the end all. If I think it is it is natural for me to me upset about the injustices of this world. But if I know that there is a time when God will set all things right, then I can accept this world as a temporary home. A place where I must reside until I reach my real home. The only answer to the suffering question is that there is better life ahead. This world makes no sense apart from the resurrection of Christ. But becasue of that truth, there is a day that we look for when God will even the score and when we will understand even as we wish we understood now.
I live with the furture in mind because I know that I’m not home yet. Preacher we can go inot detail here about the glories of our heavenly home.
