Philippians part 4 – “Profit and Loss”
On The Lighter side of life:
The Mule, the Monkey & The Man
God created the mule, and told him, "You are mule. You will work constantly from dusk to dawn, carrying heavy loads on your back. You will eat grass and lack intelligence. You will live for 50 years."
The mule answered, "To live like this for 50 years is too much. Please, give me no more than 20."
And it was so.
Then God created the dog, and told him, "You are dog. You will hold vigilance over the dwellings of Man, to whom you will be his greatest companion. You will eat his table scraps and live for 25 years."
The dog responded, "Lord, to live 25 years as a dog like that is too much. Please, no more than 10 years."
And it was so.
God then created the monkey, and told him, "You are monkey. You shall swing from tree to tree, acting like an idiot. You will be funny, and you shall live for 20 years."The monkey responded, "Lord, to live 20 years as the clown of the world is too much. Please, Lord, give me no than 10 years."
And it was so.
Finally, God created Man and told him, "You are Man, the only rational being that walks the earth. You will use your intelligence to have mastery over the creatures of the world. You will dominate the earth and live for 20 years."
The man responded, "Lord, to be Man for only 20 years is too little. Please, Lord; give me the 20 years the mule refused, the 15 years the dog refused, and the 10 years the monkey rejected."
And so God made Man to live 20 years as a man, then marry and live 20 years like a mule working and carrying heavy loads on his back. Then, he is to have children and live 15 years as a dog, guarding his house and eating the leftovers after they empty the pantry; then, in his old age, to live 10 years as a monkey, acting like an idiot to amuse his grandchildren.
And it is so ...
From: www.beliefnet.com
Thesis: We need to measure our lives in light of what is profitable for eternity and what is considered only a temporary earthly loss. To profit temporarily is no profit it’s only a permanent loss. So to make sure we are profiting for all eternity we must have a heavenly mindset and not an earthly mindset.
Opening Video – From An Ordinary Day With Jesus. This is the Curriculum video from session eight the video clip focuses on experiencing the reality of God in you everyday life.
* This video reveals what happens when people start to look at life through a heavenly mindset rather than an earthly mindset. These individuals have decided to invite the Lord Jesus to be a part of their everyday lives and to see and live their life through His Word.
Scripture Text: Philippians Chapter 3
1Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.
2Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—4though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Introduction:
We here the phrase, “profit and loss” today in the business realm a lot but what does “profit and loss” mean to those who are pressing toward heavenly success.
We have to remember we are either earthly minded or we are heavenly minded. We are either focused on success here on earth or on success in heaven. We can look at these two thought patterns in light of “profit and loss.” We will have “profit and loss” in the context of an earthly mind set and in context of a heavenly mind set. Each way of life will bring profit to our lives and loss to our lives. So to better understand “P&L” lets first look at what it is in the business realm.
A Profit & Loss Account (also known as a P&L) is one of the most commonly produced forms of financial statement. Whereas a Balance Sheet shows what a business owns, owes and is owed, a Profit & Loss Account shows how much it has earned and spent during a particular period.
The knowledge learned from business financial statements is not only important to the bank, financial institution, or other business you are submitting them too, but they also are very helpful in determining specific areas that the business owner can review to improve his or her own business. In a sense it tells the real story of how things are going and what needs to change to become more profitable.
Financial statements hold certain pieces of information that are essential to show how a business makes money. The profit and loss statement shows how well a company buys and sells inventory (or services it provides) to make a profit. These profits can be measured by the month, quarter, a six month period, or one year. They also can be used to measure the profit and loss of a person’s lifetime achievements.
In a personal sense doing a personal review of ones life will determine one’s profit and loss margin in light of the pending accountability meeting with their Creator.
In chapter three Paul is bringing to our attention the importance of living our lives in the context of a heavenly mindset. He says the problem with most in this world though is that they look at their lives through an earthly mindset rather than a heavenly mindset. But as we mature in Christ we actually discover what we thought was profitable through the earthly mindset is now considered to be a loss through the heavenly mindset. It’s interesting that as you see through the eyes of Jesus you soon discover that what you once considered profitable Before Christ is actually an eternal loss. You also quickly discover that profit and loss are opposites in the two worldviews of life.
T.S. – So let’s look first at what an earthly mindset considers to be profitable and what it considers a loss to be.
I. What does the earthly mindset focus on? What will be its profit and its loss?
a. The earthly mindset will look at a person through the eyes of their resume to determine their potential profit and loss margin.
i. Our resume is an important report on our lives.
1. It records our work history, education, life experiences, awards, and personal history.
2. We ourselves will look at it and the business world will definitely look at it to determine whether you will cause them profit or a loss.
a. Your resume is the marketing tool to sell a product - and you are the product.
b. So resumes paint a portrait of who you are and what you know or even don’t know.
ii. Our resume tells others what our assets are and if we are worth the investment of their organization.
1. When you apply for a job you normally submit a resume which is reviewed by a person or a group of people. They will look over several different resumes to determine if you are more of a profit or if you are a potential loss to their company. The one that they believe is more of a profit will be the one called for the interview and for the job.
2. Why’s having a well presented Resume so important to an earthly mindset?
a. Recruiters are dealing with 10s of applications per vacancy and they are looking for key words and certain assets.
b. Normally these individuals or comities are under immense time pressures and have a deadline to meet.
c. They will make their first decision on your application by only scan reading your resume.
d. They are initially searching for just a few keywords in your resume to highlight if you will be an asset or a liability.
e. They will ruthlessly discard resumes that they find difficult to navigate through, because their time is extremely precious.
f. They will not give you the benefit of the doubt because they are comparing you with others for who is the most profitable.
g. They don’t know what you are really like or who you are personally from a resume & the presentation of your resume will reflect on you & the work they can expect from you.
h. Resume processing is very tedious for most recruiters, so if you make their life easier they will instantly take a positive attitude towards you.
i. Many jobseekers do not realize that the way their resume information is presented, can often be of more value in getting to the next stage of the application process, than the information itself. (Information is from www.e-resume.us).
3. We see the importance of a good resume to attain employment or a certain position in the business and the working world. But how and what does God look for in resumes?
iii. In Philippians chapter 3 Paul references his own personal resume and reveals how from a religious works minded stand point his resume would be very impressive but in a spiritual sense it was worthless.
1. Phil. 3:4-6 “…I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.”
a. Paul here points to the fact that in the religious works mindset which focused on fleshly acts he had an impressive resume but in truth it was worthless- it was actually not profitable but instead a liability.
b. Why? Because when God looks at our life he looks at it not from an earthly mindset but from a spiritual heavenly mindset.
i. We must ask ourselves “What is my mindset?”
ii. We need to learn to look at our life’s resume in light of heaven instead of in the view of the earthly mindset.
b. Paul also tells us that the earthly mindset looks at things in light of our stomach or from our fleshly realm.
i. Paul says in verse 19 that those with an earthly mindset see god as being their stomach. They are in a sense like babies.
1. “I want to be satisfied!” So they cry, cry and cry until they are fed!”
2. Many continue to do this the rest of their lives. Life is all about eating and drinking and they whine, whine until they get their tummies satisfied. But they are never satisfied and three times a day the scenario repeats itself.
ii. “Their god is their stomach.” This is an interesting phrase isn’t it?
1. Let me ask a question today – “Do you think that this statement by Paul is true for many today in the world?”
2. From: http://www.mercksource.com – “Obesity is becoming increasingly common throughout the world. In the United States, this increase has been dramatic: Between 1980 and 1999, the percentage of overweight people increased from 47 to 61%, and the percentage of obese people increased from 15 to 26%.”
iii. The point Paul is making is that their focus for life is all about what they eat. Food becomes the reason for living, their primary focus is self satisfaction.
1. It all about satisfying their unreasonable hunger for more and more!
iv. Minirth, Meier wrote a book called Love Hunger in it they state that many overweight people eat to fill an empty heart not an empty stomach. Listen to what they say:
1. In their book our authors present the case that many people overeat because of their hearts. They have a void in their hearts which causes them to look to food and drink to fill it. Of course this void never gets filled and they end up becoming overeaters and overweight.
2. They state, “Often the simple empty heart/empty stomach model causes our patients like Ginger to say, “Now I see it! All the time the real hunger is over here in the heart. I see now that no matter how much I binge or purge the stomach, it’s never going to touch my heart issues.” Many of the patients put the diagram on a card and carry it around with them, Ginger did. We suggest they look at it when they feel a desire to overeat and then ask themselves: Is my stomach hungry, or is my heart hungry? And they often look at this diagram in counseling to help them remember: When I’m addressing my heart issues, I’m also addressing my eating disorder issues” (31).
c. The earthly mindset is always focused on its selfish fleshly wants and lusts.
i. We see something and we want it!
1. If I do not get it I cry-complain until I do.
2. The truth is many will even lose one thing to gain what they want: Profit and Loss!
a. For example people will sacrifice the following to get something they think is beneficial.
i. They will abort their children to have it not interfere with their personal career or daily routine.
1. The career (the perceived profit) wins out and for it to go forth the child is sacrificed (the loss).
ii. They will work long hours (profit) and neglect their children (the loss).
1. Today we have many kids who grew up in absentee parental homes.
2. Many call this the MTV generation because this is what raised them their TV’s.
iii. They will work and work (the profit) and continue to get more money and therefore neglect their marriage partner (the loss).
1. Result will be what we have in society today a 50% divorce rate.
iv. They will seek to do their own things (profit) and in turn sacrifice relationships with others (the loss).
1. Result we have a lot of lonely people today who live among thousands.
2. They live their own lives but they live them alone.
ii. The earthly mindset also thinks it knows it all and therefore rejects direction from anyone else especially from God.
1. From Beliefnet.com: The Agnostic, Dyslexic Insomniac: Did you hear about the agnostic, dyslexic insomniac?
He stayed up all night wondering if there was a dog.
2. It has the “I know best attitude!”
3. Result – the loss is that many have self-destructed and lost hope.
d. The earthly mindset is always focused on our earthly pleasures.
i. Sexual lusts drive this type of mindset.
1. Many will seek a sexual experience the profit and lose other relationships, personal health, their marriages, and ruin their family’s lives.
ii. The party focus is part of this mindset and it will drive people to experience more fun and more fun and more fun until the profit becomes a loss.
1. Their party life will create a lack of personal responsibility in their lives.
2. They will do drugs to feel good but soon their profit -the high -costs greater and greater until it becomes- the loss -of control over ones life.
3. The same is true with drinking!
iii. This mindset focuses on how many toys I have and how often I can play with them in a given week! Their deceived mindset says:
1. This boat will give me the greatest pleasure of my life!
a. Loss they will have to work so many hours they will never get much of a chance to enjoy it.
2. This snow mobile will let me live the American out door dream!
a. So they sacrifice for it and it does not snow.
3. This Porsche will make the women want me!
4. This house will establish that I am the top dog on this block!
a. But the loss is I have to work three jobs to pay for it!
5. This airplane will bring me honor in the community because pilots are admired.
e. The earthly mindset is focused on our materialism.
i. How many cars I have and what type they are determines if I am profitable.
1. The loss is you never have money to invest in for eternity.
a. Many today say I cannot afford to tithe but it interesting that they can afford to buy new cars and new toys and bigger houses.
ii. How big my house is tells others I am profitable even though my loss is personal freedom because I have to work so much to pay for it.
iii. My types of clothes communicate to others that I am profitable but the loss is I am known by what I wear not who I am.
1. The loss of individual identity also goes along with this.
iv. My TV, my stereo, my Palm pilot, my x-box, my Mp3 Player, or my computer all bring me profit.
1. The loss - time alone with God.
2. The loss - time interacting with others and the development of real relationships.
3. The loss of reality comes with some of these items as well.
v. CAN you think of any other materialistic profits and losses!
f. The earthly mindset is also focused on its money.
i. How much I make determines my profit even though most Americans today spend more than they make. The balance is carried in credit card debt.
ii. How much is in the bank determines my profit margin.
1. But is it not better to invest in the lives of others with your money because this brings a greater return in Heaven?
2. is it not much more profitable to invest in eternal profits than temporary ones.
iii. My ability to live in luxury determines my profit margin.
1. What about this hoarding everything for yourself so that you never seek to sacrifice your lifestyle for the benefit of another.
g. The earthly mindset puts confidence in the flesh.
i. It believes that it can produce its own profit in life and doing things their way will prove profitable in the end.
ii. Paul tells us that the earthly mindset will not bring joy –peace or contentment!
iii. This path will lead to destruction.
iv. This path will lead people before the Great White Throne of Judgment and those who have pursued this type of life will be shamed by their lifestyle.
v. What will be its profit and loss forecast?
T.S. – We must change our earthly mindset to a heavenly mindset if we desire to have eternal profit from our lives.
II. What does the heavenly minded focus on? What will be its profit and its loss?
a. Our relationship with Jesus brings heavenly profit and earthly losses.
i. The knowing Him personally is all so profitable
1. Paul tells us in our chapter that all the religious practices and the fleshly works did not bring him the joy and the relationship that he wanted with God.
a. There is a Bumper Sticker which reflects a works mindset: Jesus is coming---Look busy! From Beliefnet.com:
b. Busyness is not godliness or being heavenly minded.
i. It’s really a distraction from God!
2. Paul tells us that his religious works mindset and busyness only produced rubbish-worthless-meaningless-empty-acts of the earthly mind.
a. They had not eternal values! There was no eternal profit in doing them. Instead it created the loss of a relationship between him and God.
3. But when he discovered Jesus it all changed. He desired a righteousness that came from trusting Christ rather than his own fleshly works.
a. He discovered that he could not achieve a right standing with God on his human efforts. It was his willingness to die to self and to human effort that opened the door to blessings in Christ.
b. This change of thinking and acting brought him a genuine relationship with Jesus.
ii. Paul tells us that knowing Jesus personally changed his religious practices and in sense it did cost him some loss.
1. What did Paul lose by accepting Jesus by faith?
a. He lost his self-centered ego.
b. He lost his works related mindset.
c. He lost his so called great credentials.
d. He lost prestigious standing with the Pharisees.
e. He lost his honorable position in the Jewish synagogue.
f. He lost his former way of life which was driven by works of the flesh for a right standing with God.
g. He lost his way of life.
h. He lost his financial security.
i. He lost his home and many of his friends.
j. He lost respect in his career.
k. He lost it all for the sake of knowing the Lord personally!
l. He lost his life so as to gain eternal life!
2. His profit?
a. A personal relationship with Christ
b. Participation in the resurrection
c. A glorious life filled with divine purpose
3. In the message Bible – It states, “I gave up all the inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself.”
a. A Bumper Sticker: Life isn’t too short. It’s the longest thing anyone will ever do (Beliefnet.com).
4. Video Illustration from Illustrate Volume 6 – Wes – apartment ministry.
iii. Our relationship with Jesus is our heavenly resume for eternity.
1. Paul in verse 16 states, “Let us live up t o what we have already attained.”
a. Off course that means our relationship with Jesus!
2. Our heavenly resume looks like this:
a. It has one date “Accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior in Nov. of 1978!”
b. It has two sections with one stamped – “Not applicable!”
i. This is BC – Before Christ! The resume is whitewashed – blank – erased.
1. It does not show all the sins all the black marks of our previous way of life.
ii. Then we have AC – After Christ and it lists the day of our new birth and our track record from that day.
1. It is an interesting list:
a. The times we held our tongue.
b. The times we gave in secret and our financial statement with God.
c. The sacrifices we have made for the Kingdom of God.
d. The times of personal solitude and prayer with God.
e. The times we were obedient to the Word of God.
f. The stands we made on the Word with the secular mindset.
g. The times we acted in love like Jesus did.
2. All these are listed and God reads them and He looks at us as we are standing before the Great white desk and smiles.
a. He says, “Well done thou good and faithful servant! Come on in to Heaven because I can see that you are a great asset to the Kingdom!”
b. The heavenly mind focuses on its spiritual food.
i. Why? Because this is what helps us to mature in Christ and this is what brings profit to our lives.
ii. The believer needs to feed on spiritual food because this will change the way we think and the way we act.
1. This nourishment process is what helps us to move toward the goal that Paul speaks about in our text.
a. He states from the Message this: “I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward-to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. SO let’s keep focused on the goal, those of us who want everything God has for us.”
iii. Our spiritual food is very important to maintaining God’s way of life in our lives.
1. It is what will sustain us in this perverse and polluted world.
a. Remember this world is filled with different types of food poisoning which always seeks to make us unhealthy.
b. The world wants us to eat of it’s delightfully looking poisoned buffet.
2. Taking in proper spiritual food will help us to renew the mind to heal the wounds caused by the world.
3. It is what enables us to have spiritual empowerment!
a. It’s our energy drink!
b. It’s better than Red Bull’s energy drink!
iv. Our willingness to eat of the Bread of life is what will mature us in our walk and in our mission toward the goal.
1. A Bumper Sticker stated: Lord, walk beside me with your arm on my shoulder and your hand over my mouth. (beliefnet.com)
a. This bumper sticker was generated by a mind that has fed on God and understood what maturity is all about!
v. Spiritual food will provide profit to our spiritual being but we will suffer loss of appetite for the ways of the flesh.
1. When we are heavenly minded the loss we will encounter is that we will not live to feed our fleshly appetites.
a. Pride will be driven out and lost.
b. Envy of others will be driven out and lost.
c. Self-centeredness will be lost.
d. The spirit of greed will be lost.
e. The deceptive mindset that says, “I am the greatest will be lost.”
f. The craving for the things of the world will be lost.
c. The heavenly mind will focus on our spiritual prayer list and not on our earthly lust list.
i. Instead of focusing on the things we want we will start to focus on the needs of others.
1. We will lose the self-centered wants and profit by gaining the chance to be used by God to help others.
a. This will show up on our heavenly resume!
b. This will bring us the joy we are seeking!
c. This will fill the void of emptiness in our hearts!
ii. Salvation of loved ones will become a priority in our life and we will lose the need to just take care of ourselves. Instead we will choose to lose to self and become committed to praying, serving, and leading others to the truth that set us free.
1. Video Illustrate Volume 6 – Chad & Serena – moving to India.
iii. A heavenly mindset wish list becomes a desire to be a part of Biblical church growth.
1. Paul had this deep seated desire and worked at it diligently.
a. This way of life brought him great profit in the Kingdom.
2. Paul was so blessed to be apart of seeing and participating in the spiritual transformation of others.
a. This is what brought him great joy.
b. He knew that this is what brought profit to people’s lives.
c. He knew this is what Jesus wanted him to do with his life.
iv. A heavenly mindset understands that life is not about living on easy street!
1. Do you desire to just live on easy street? Many today just want to live on easy street. They just want to live for themselves and do the things they enjoy doing.
a. Play their sports-watch their sports.
b. Do their hunting.
c. Live a life of luxury.
d. Play all weekend.
e. They really think that this is what God wants them to do with their lives!
i. They are deceived by the way!
2. Listen to Paul’s thoughts through the Message:
a. “Stick with me friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for the same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they think of is their appetites. But there’s far more to life for us.”
d. A Heavenly mindset will focus on our spiritual pleasures in the Lord not on earthly pleasures.
i. Worship is designed to bring us and God pleasure. It will empower us and encourage us to stay on course.
ii. Revelation is a spiritual pleasure that will make life exciting and adventurous.
1. When God gives us a revelation it will cause us profit and loss.
2. Paul’s revelation of Jesus on the Damascus road cost him profit and loss in life.
iii. Divine moments are when God works through us to impact someone else’s life.
1. It is God revealing to us tasks and opportunities that will impact the lives of others-especially our own.
2. They key is it will cost us profit and loss!
iv. Hearing from God is so vitally important because it always shows us how to really live – So what have you heard from God lately?
1. Here are some Bumper Stickers from Beliefnet.com: that you may have seen or heard: Ask yourself the question is God speaking to me?
a. Can you hear me NOW? -God
b. The Ten Commandments Are Not Multiple Choice. –God
c. I do listen to your prayers. I’m just not interested in the game. -- God
d. Read the Bible -- It will scare the hell out of you. - God
e. Keep using my name in vain, I’ll make rush hour longer. —God
f. What part of ’Thou Shalt Not...’ didn’t you understand? –God
g. My kid saved your honor student. – God
h. I don’t question YOUR existence. —God
i. Don’t make me come down there! -- GOD
2. God desires to speak to us today but for that to happen we have to slow down and learn to listen.
a. Take the time this week to get alone with the Lord and listen for Him to speak to you.
b. Pick a passage of Scripture and allow the Lord to speak to you from it! Make the time in your day to allow the Lord to speak to you.
e. Our Heavenly, mindset will bring the profit of these blessings.
i. Peace
ii. Joy
iii. Patience
iv. Hope
v. Love
vi. Security
vii. Purpose
f. Our reward for being heavenly minded will be the following.
i. Eternal life
ii. The blessing of participating in the Resurrection.
iii. The gift of new glorified bodies.
1. We will receive a new kind of immortal body when we die and are resurrected. It will be spiritual in nature and nothing like our mortal bodies.
a. See 1 Corinthians 15:42-57: 42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being” ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. 50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
iv. Listen to Paul’s words from the Message:
1. “But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthly bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be under and around him.”
g. This mindset puts confidence in its faith in the Lord not in its flesh.
i. The believing dimension opens the Kingdom of Heaven to you and me.
ii. The works related mindset which is fleshly closes the door of Heaven to us.
iii. Which will you choose to live by?
Conclusion:
What will our profit and loss forecast be for our lives?
Remember there is coming a day when we will stand before the Great White review Board of Heaven. Our lives will be looked at in light of our profit and our loss statement.
How will you do? Will you be found beneficial and profitable for the Kingdom of God or will your life be a liability to the kingdom of God?
The choice is up to you! What will you put your trust in?
**Your fleshly works and your earthly mindset?
**Your faith in Christ and your heavenly mindset?
