Philippians 3 vs 17-21

Philippians Chapter 3 Verse 17

 Paul puts himself out there with this statement and essentially

volunteers himself as an example that others should be wise enough to

follow. Can you say that!? Doesn’t that invite criticism? Invite close

investigation? You may hear these words of Paul and think, “Well,

Paul is a bit full of himself, isn’t he?” Actually, no! When someone

says something like, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ,” which Paul said

in 1 Corinthians 11:1, the response is typically either curiosity or

condemnation, why?

 Would you say the same? Honestly. Would you today be willing to

honestly assess your maturity, wisdom and discipline and readily step

forward and say, “Yep, brethren, join in following my example!” The

unfortunate truth is that most would not be able or willing to do that.

Why? Defects in maturity, explicit lack of wisdom and obvious issues

with discipline. Stir that recipe up with just a pinch of humility and

you get resignation…

 So, anyone else…, anyone else, steps forward and says, “Brethren,

join in following my example,” and the natural response is

condemnation. It was Mark Twain who once said, “Few things are

harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.” From

the vantage point that we have discussed, makes total sense.

 AND, there is however still another response that Paul receives from

this statement and that is one of curiosity. Hmmm, this man is putting

himself out there. Inviting close investigation…, can I do that? Would I

do that? Maybe…, how is it that he is doing that?

 Curiosity peaks. Why? Well, you KNOW that in you and in every

human, there are defects in maturity, explicit lack of wisdom and

obvious issues with discipline…, just as Paul knew this about himself.

He writes in Romans 7:15, “For what I am doing, I do not understand.

For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I

do…” He says in Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am!”

 Stir that recipe up with a TON of humility and a heaping tablespoon

of worship…, and you get engagement and even a sense of

responsibility… What’s it take for a person to honestly say and be

willing to be a Godly example? Humility… Surrender to Jesus.

Dependance upon the grace of God and the righteousness of the blood

of the Savior. Why do so many condemn and sing the cultural chorus

of “Don’t judge me!?” A huge problem in the church in terms of

humility, surrender to Jesus and dependance/gratitude towards the

grace of God…

 Who is your example in the faith that you are curiously watching,

learning from, following? Who in the faith are you openly and

knowingly an example of Christ-likeness towards? The hard truth is

that as citizens of heaven, we should have and be both…, as Paul

gives the command here for the brethren, for us, to “note those who so

walk,” and that is the pattern for the faith. Interesting and certainly

concerning how far we have strayed since the time of the Paul….

Philippians Chapter 3 Verse 18

 You need to understand here that in context Paul is talking about the

church! The Body of Christ. Believers! He’s writing this letter and the

theme is joy, for sure, but the concern of this letter is correction to the

church there in Philippi as there were members who were hurting each

other! When one part of the body hurts another part of the body on its

own, in the realm of the physical we call that a disease! And Paul says

here that even in the church you will find those that, and these are

STRONG words, alarming words, those that are, “enemies of the cross

of Christ!”

 This is wild because Paul is saying things that won’t fly in the easily

offended model of Christianity today. Paul called out members of the

church by name in 2 Tim 4:14, “Alexander the coppersmith did me

much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works.” That’s a

prayer! We hear, “love the sinner but hate the sin…” Okay, where is

that in the Bible? That specific line? At least one element of

someone’s sin is their free will… Would Paul agree with that line? We

need to wake up! Grace is not a free ticket to hurt people! Paul says in

the church, there can be enemies of the cross of Christ!!

 Not enemies of Christ… Pay attention! Enemies of the CROSS!

What does that mean? Jesus showed forth the character of God and

the goodness of God and the purity of His power when He went to the

cross for not only his friends but also His enemies! “Forgive them

Father for they know not what they do!” And He was willing to be

broken so that others could be made well.

 Jesus would say before those events in Matthew 16:24, “Jesus said to

His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny

himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” And the crazy thing is

that the next statement of Jesus reveals that this mindset is the best,

most powerful, purposeful, joyful life…, like it’s the key to being

awesome inside and out, and He says this in the very next sentence….

 Matthew 16:25, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it…,”

what’s that mean? Someone who does not take up his own cross is

someone trying to save his own life! “But whoever loses his life for

My sake will find it.” What’s that mean? Become like Christ and find

the life that was and is hidden in Him!

 No wonder so many in the faith are serve-me, cater-to-me, consumers

and critics rather than encouragers, servants and situational saviors!

Paul calls that mentality in the faith, in the church, “enemies of the

cross of Christ!” Disease! There is a part of me that is that! And I

know it! And by prayer and discipline and opening my heart and mind

and lifestyle, thinking, decisions, reactions, subordination to God

daily…, I’m working on it! Are you!? We all should be because to an

extent…, this is every one of us! Some 99% unfortunately, some

5%..., this is not binary…, this is prevalent!

 So, what’s this look like practically? And the fact that Paul goes into

this next section means that we ought to “note those who so walk.” He

gives us the problem first, the enemies of the cross of Christ, and then

he gives us the citizens of heaven….

Philippians Chapter 3 Verse 19

 Check this out. One thing in business strategy or even process

improvement is to start with the end in mind. Cast a vision and gain

the commitment of the stakeholders… Paul says here that for those

that have this humility issue and/or when I have this humility issue,

the end of it, what it leads me to, (and I’m talking about immediately),

is destruction. The word in the Greek means waste not like garbage

but in the sense of having something valuable but getting nothing for

it. Like wasting money! That’s the context…

 Paul says, “whose god is their belly,” which means they are driven by

worldly, bodily, carnal appetite and “whose glory is in their shame.”

That means the things they say and even do that they think are good

and honorable, others and especially the Holy Spirit is like, ewwww.

And remember, this is in the church!

 Here’s an example that I’ve encountered countless times over the

years. Someone serves in the church in some capacity. Let’s say, for

example purposes, the parking lot ministry (since we don’t have that

so no one will get bent out of shape!). Someone will say to me, “Oh it

was so great to serve in the parking lot ministry this month. It was a

blessed 6 hours!” And everyone that hears it rolls their spiritual

eyes…

 The person saying it is boasting, talking about how much they’ve

done, how great they are, while all of the hearers, ALL of them

including the Holy Spirit, are like, “You serious, Clarke?!” Their

personal glory is indeed a source of shame for them in the body…, and

they don’t even know it… So, what’s their reward for serving those 6

hours? That single moment and statement and that’s it… It all just got

wasted….

 “Who set their mind,” like a clock, “on earthly things….”

Philippians Chapter 3 Verses 20 – 21

 What a Christian really is, what we should set our mental and

spiritual and soulful clocks to, is that we are citizens of heaven! We

are eager, active, aware and watching for the soon return of the Lord,

and/or keenly aware of our own mortality…, and we are soft clay in

the hand of the Perfect Potter who has the authority and jurisdiction

and Lordship to boss us around, transforming us bit by bit into His

glorious plan for each of us!

 It’s like we are here on passport. If you want to go to any other

country, you’ll need a passport. And a passport declares your

citizenship. A citizen of the US can either be born here or be

naturalized, (become a citizen through a process). One of the

statements/vows/oaths required to be repeated by anyone becoming a

citizen is, “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely

renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince,

potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore

been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the

Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all

enemies, foreign and domestic…”

 As a citizen of heaven, you and I are to leave behind and renounce all

allegiance and fidelity to the threefold enemy of the cross of Christ

which is the devil, the world, and the flesh… And as a citizen of

heaven, we are to now uphold the laws of heaven…

 How much of me…, how much of you are even unknowingly and

enemy of the cross of Christ, acting outside the laws of the Kingdom

for which I am a citizen!!?