Follow the Best

I would suggest that today in our congregation there are lots of ways we could divide everyone up.

! The world's very good at dividing people up into groups and camps and all sorts of characteristics.

But today there are essentially three different kinds of people here today.

There will be some who are not yet disciples of Jesus.

There will be some who are not yet disciples of Jesus.

There will be those as well who are disciples but who urgently need examples to follow.

There are disciples who need to be formed and who need examples to follow.

And then there are also, although there's probably some overlap between this group,

there are also those who are disciples and who are worthy examples to follow.

And in a sense, that's really the path of the Christian life.

It's a path from coming to faith, so having no faith and belief in Jesus,

but coming to be a disciple and then growing through that path of discipleship,

the road of the journey of faith, you could say, as you go on with your lives.

And you aspire to growth and maturity.

And that is what all of us should be aspiring to.

And I just want to note, just one simple note of caution before we get too far into this passage today.

The verse I want to really draw your attention to is verse 17.

Paul writes,

Brothers, the word that's used in Greek there, it means family members really,

although it is formerly brothers and sisters,

join in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

And I suppose really I just want to ask the question, who are you following today?

What are you looking for in the role models in your life?

The thing we need to kind of dispense with just at the beginning is that there are some people who would say,

the only example I need is Jesus.

And we'd almost cut themselves off from looking and observing other Christians and walking in fellowship within the church.

It's really necessary for us to have more than that.

We need living examples.

We need flesh and blood examples that we can go to, that we can talk to, that we can listen to,

that we can observe, that we can see.

And these examples are not the ones on whom we rest and rely for salvation,

but they are examples that we follow for growth

and for how we proceed in running the race that is before us.

It's an acknowledgement, in fact.

If you deny this, in fact, in a sense you deny this.

It's an acknowledgement of the Holy Spirit's work.

The Holy Spirit works in the lives of individuals.

And the work of the Holy Spirit is in bringing people to maturity.

The work of the Holy Spirit is actually glorifying Christ Jesus

in molding us and shaping us in our lives to be more like Jesus ourselves.

And so as you go through your Christian life,

there will be many people around you who are worthy examples

because they are the fruit and work of the Holy Spirit

because they evidence that work in their lives.

And so before you rush off to say,

well, I don't need any examples except Jesus.

I'll stick just to the Bible. Thank you very much.

I urge you to consider what the Bible actually says

in saying that there are examples.

And Paul, interestingly, sets himself up as an example.

Join in imitating me

as well as those who walk according to the example you've seen in us.

So the fruit of the Holy Spirit working in people's lives

means there are people that we can follow as examples.

I would say as well, just as an aside before we get into this,

that perhaps these are characteristics

that we should look for as a congregation in a pastor.

As we think to the vacancy in our congregation just now,

there's maybe some characteristics that have eluded us.

Perhaps we haven't considered.

And there are things that we should really look for

in those who have spiritual responsibility

for the flock of God.

I've got five points today.

And in order to make them a bit easier to follow,

we're going to use an acrostic.

I'm not normally a fan of this.

I don't often do this.

I know I've done it twice recently, but still.

The word that we're going to think about today is grace.

Because that's Paul's theme.

He finishes his letters with an appeal for the grace of God,

and he greets in the peace and the grace of God

to the disciples in verse 2 of chapter 1.

First of all, then, the first characteristic of good examples

is the characteristic of gaining Christ's righteousness.

We should follow those who understand justification.

Now, that's a big word.

It's a theological word.

But it means simply the means by which we gain righteousness

to stand with confidence in the presence of God.

And there are lots of ways that people think about this.

Paul, before he came to faith in Jesus,

had a peculiar way of thinking about justification.

He thought you were made righteous by your actions.

And so he rattles off all of the things that he thought made him righteous.

He was a good Jew.

He had been circumcised when he was eight days old.

He was a good Jew.

He followed the lineage of his people.

So he knew which tribe he belonged to.

He knew where he came from.

He knew his roots.

More than that, he said, concerning the law, I was a Pharisee.

So the Pharisees could boldly say that they had identified

a very discrete number of definite laws from the word of God

that if they followed them, then they could say,

hand on heart, I am following the law of God, and I am righteous.

And Paul could say that his way of gaining righteousness

was by being good enough.

And the world, in fact, is full of such people.

Everyone thinks they can be good enough

by measuring up to some particular standard.

Plenty of people actually think they've been good enough

measuring up to the standard of God's word.

But the best examples to follow

are those who are justified not by works,

but who are justified, as Paul says, by faith.

That is, people who have come and put their trust for salvation,

their trust for righteousness to stand in God's presence,

in the person of Jesus.

They've trusted Jesus, on the one hand, to take away their sin,

for Jesus to deal with their sin at the cross,

to take away their guilt and shame

by him bearing the price and penalty of their sin at the cross.

And equally, they have a sense of righteousness,

not because of what they have done,

but because they cling to the merit of Jesus,

that Jesus is their righteousness.

That Jesus is the one who makes me worthy to stand before my God.

The way I often think about it is in terms of a football strip.

If you play for a football club or a team,

you don't want to look disorganized.

And so you wear the team colors.

And when someone moves from one team to another in a transfer window,

the strip that they wear changes.

And the heritage that they step into and that they rely on changes.

So when you go to play for Rangers or Celtic,

you don't carry on wearing the team colors from your old club.

You wear the new team colors.

And their heritage, their badge, their fame is yours.

And people would say it's an honor to wear these team colors.

And it's the same for us as Christians.

That even as we think about our righteousness,

if we think about what we do to gain acceptance from God,

the greatest honor that we can show to Jesus

is by saying we rely on his colors to take us there.

And so today, I would say if you're not yet a believer,

if you're in that first category,

then simply this, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ

and you will be saved.

Trust in him.

Just come to him in prayer.

The words can be faltering,

but the sentiment is what matters.

And say, Lord, I can't do this myself.

I cannot measure up.

I need Jesus to be my righteousness.

I need to trust in him.

If you need examples,

it's important that you look to those

who will set an example of how you rightly stand with God.

If you're a young Christian today,

this is something you need to really reflect on

more and more as you go on.

There's lots of things as young Christians we can get kind of bogged down in

about the practice, about how we do things,

what we do, the things we invest our energies in and so on.

All of that's important.

But the thing that will lead to your growth as a Christian

and the thing that will actually deepen your usefulness

is the foundation of Christ in your life.

And Christ becomes more and more of a foundation in your life

the more you recognize the example in others who've gone before you

who have made Christ the foundation in their lives.

And I look at the people who I look up to,

the people who I admire as Christians,

are the ones who, with great humility,

recognize Jesus as their Savior.

And for those who are at that stage in their walk,

remember always, this is a reminder to us,

because even as old Christians,

sometimes we can lapse in this, we can get it wrong.

Remember where we stand.

Gain Christ's righteousness.

So that's our G, grace.

Secondly, we are running towards the prize.

Follow those who are pressing on to the prize.

That's what Paul says in verse 14.

I press on towards the goal of the prize of the upward call of God

in Christ Jesus.

Maturity in life often means slowing down, doesn't it?

You know, we look at older people

and we see them slowing a bit as they get on.

Maturity in the Christian life means running more.

Maturity in the Christian life is almost the inverse.

In fact, that's why the Bible is full of this imagery of rejuvenation,

revitalization.

A healthy Christian and a healthy church

is a church that runs.

A church that runs forward towards Jesus,

towards the finish line, towards the goal, towards the prize.

And maturity like that means movement.

It means being spiritually hungry

for the experience of knowing Christ

and being close to Him and in fellowship with Him.

And so I would today urge those of you who are not yet

saved,

those who haven't yet come to that place of faith.

One of the misconceptions that people often have

is that they think the Christian life is a sort of static thing.

You get the kuram

and then that's you, you're there

and your life's over and that's it.

And

I think actually it's flawed

because being a disciple

means following.

The word actually means a follower.

Someone who

goes in the footsteps

of their master.

And our master, Jesus,

was on a journey.

As Paul says,

He went to the cross.

It was a journey that took Him

to that destination.

And now He is in heaven

and He is seated at the right hand of God and high.

And one day He will return

to judge the living and the dead.

But

for us as followers of Jesus,

we need to be on a similar trajectory,

a journey.

And sometimes that journey,

as we'll see it,

involves suffering.

But it's still a progress.

It's a progression.

It's an advance,

a movement.

And so I would encourage you today,

if you're not yet a believer,

not to be

duped into thinking

that there is no

ongoing progress

and change in the Christian life.

The Christian life

is inherently

a journey.

For those of you

who are young Christians

and those of you

who need examples

to follow,

there is nothing

as inspiring

as someone

who has

gone before you

and has

a great example

of their goals

being achieved.

By that I mean

their spiritual goals.

Like people who've actually

walked through their lives

and who have said,

this area of my life

is a sinful thing

that I need to deal with.

And so I'm going to deal with it.

It might be a character

issue.

It might be an addiction.

It might be a habitual sin.

But who've said,

by the grace of God

and by the Spirit's working in me,

I'm going to address this.

And you as a young Christian,

you look at,

and I remember being like this myself

as a young Christian,

thinking,

that is quite incredible.

That there were examples

in my life

of people

who had the humility

to say,

God took me through.

And they were good examples

to follow.

Instead, though,

the danger is

that we see

as our examples

lethargic people.

Spiritually lethargic Christians.

And you see that

in lots of different ways.

You see it,

for example,

in a formulaic prayer life.

Where prayer

is almost like

a professional wrestler.

I don't know

if you've ever watched,

I don't know,

it's WWE,

I think it's called now,

World Wide Wrestling Entertainment.

And it is entertainment.

It's a show.

I was telling my kids

the other day

about one of the characters

who was in that

when I was younger.

It was The Rock.

And The Rock would,

you know,

he had a great charisma.

And when he arrived on stage,

he'd always introduce himself

in a certain way,

reminding people

about who he was.

And then he would have a fight

with another wrestler.

And the fight would actually,

when you watch it,

it's quite impressive to see.

But it's actually

very well scripted.

And the whole fight

kind of goes

in the same motion.

And then what you slowly realize

as you get a bit

more savvy to it

is you realize

they're actually performing.

And so this night

they're in Los Angeles.

And then maybe

a couple of days later

they're going to be

somewhere down in Texas.

And then maybe somewhere,

a few days later,

they're going to be somewhere

maybe in the Midwest.

And they're going to move

around the country

in different places.

And every night

the show

is pretty much the same.

And so you've got

this really impressive

looking kind of fight

happening on stage

in the wrestling ring.

But you realize

the whole thing

is an act

and really scripted.

And the truth actually

is that sometimes

our prayer life

can be like that.

It can look

really impressive.

It can look like

it's full of

biblical language

and it can look like

it's full of

very audible

goals and aims

and phrases

and things in prayer.

But actually

it's become

formulaic,

routine.

Because the next time

you hear that person

praying

it's exactly the same prayer.

And there's no

vitality to it.

There's no change to it.

There's no life to it.

And the walk with God

is a walk that is

constantly changing.

Our walk with God

is evolving

because the things

that are going on

in our lives

are changing

and evolving

and the things

we have to pray for

are changing

and evolving

all the time.

And because

the sin that we

recognize in our own

lives is something

that's changing.

So this is another one

where lethargy

can set in.

We get lax

in putting to death

the sin that is

within us.

And we slow down

with it.

Or we get sloppy

in our witness.

Don't we know

that there's plenty

examples of that?

And so set

as examples

those who are

running

towards the prize.

Those who are

pursuing it

with all their might.

Secondly

thirdly sorry

grace

A.

We would

accept

suffering

with Christ.

This is a strange

one because

Paul says

something very

profound in this

chapter.

He talks about

the suffering

of Jesus

and he says

he wants to

share in that.

He says in

verse 10

that I may

know Jesus

and share in

his sufferings

and becoming

like him

in his death.

And this

is a very

strange one.

I've often

wondered in fact

does Paul

write these

things because

he himself

was perhaps

an eyewitness

to the death

of Jesus.

He was an

eyewitness to

the death

of Stephen

just a short

few months

later.

And I've

often wondered

was he an

eyewitness to

the death

of Jesus.

But there's

something about

the death

of Jesus

that sticks

with Paul

and that's

important to

him.

Not simply

for the means

of his

salvation.

Paul's very

clear on this.

we get

saved by

the death

of Jesus

because he

takes our

sin upon

himself and

our punishment

and he dies

for us.

But when Paul

says I want

to become like

Jesus in his

death he's

not talking

about bearing

other people's

sin.

We can't do

that.

We're not

making up

somehow a

little bit

extra to

take people

over the

line where

Jesus maybe

doesn't manage

to take

them themselves.

But instead

he's talking

about the

manner of the

death of

Jesus.

the humility

with which

he went

to that

death.

The humility

in obeying

the father's

call.

He'll have

been told

by the

other disciples

about the

garden of

Gethsemane.

About the

prayer of

Jesus the

night before

he was

betrayed when

he prayed

and said

father if it's

possible that

this cup would

pass from

me but not

my will but

yours be

done.

That

reconciliation

with the

father's

purposes in

his life

that took

him to the

cross.

God

is a

strange thing

for us to

acknowledge

but that

God uses

suffering in

the lives of

Christians to

shape and

mold and

transform their

character.

It's these

times where

you're lying in

hospital that

God often

uses to

chip away so

often the

flaws in our

own heart where

we don't trust

him.

The bits in

our hearts that

say I want to

hold on to

my own

autonomy.

I want to

hold on to

my own

rights.

I want to

hold on to

my own

self.

God's

saying no

what you

need to

learn is

to trust

me.

You trust

him in

the midst

of suffering.

You trust

him with

Jesus going

through the

suffering.

Not you

trust him so

that he takes

the suffering

away but

you trust

him so that

the suffering

is used

for God's

purposes in

the unfolding

of your

life and

drawing you

closer to

himself.

Now that

suffering can

take many

forms.

I mentioned

Lyman in

hospital.

That's often

physical.

But it can

take many

forms.

It can be

psychological.

There can

be an

emotional,

mental

suffering and

struggle in

our lives.

God's

teaching us

through that.

It can be

relational.

There can be

tense,

difficult

seasons in

your life

where you're

at pain

because

something in

your marriage

is just not

working or

because something

in your

relationship with

your boss or

your colleagues

isn't working

or because

something in

your relationship

with your

children isn't

working.

There's a

pain associated

with that.

We come to

God in all of

these situations.

We rely on

him.

We trust in

him.

We set an

example,

therefore,

to others of

how you walk

with Christ,

sharing in

Christ's

sufferings as

you go through

these experiences.

And I would

say that today

to those of

you who are

not yet

believers.

The Christian

life is not

one where

suffering is

going to be

removed from

you.

The Christian

life is not

one where

God says,

well,

that's it,

there's no

pain for

you now,

nothing

difficult in

your path,

you'll just

be carried

to heaven

on angels'

wings.

And that's

not the

reality.

But the

reality is that

in that

suffering,

Christ is

with you.

The Holy

Spirit empowers

you.

And the

Father's love

towards you

remains clear

and steadfast.

And so we

need examples

in our lives,

not of the

comfortable

Christian,

because that's

likely someone

who's not

garnering much

attention from

the evil one

anyway,

but of

Christians who

have gone

through suffering

and who have

the humility

not to become

bitter and

cynical by

these experiences,

but who have

been made

more

Christ-like.

And so

follow the

example of

those who

have accepted

suffering

with Christ.

So gain

Christ's

righteousness,

run towards

the prize,

accept

suffering.

Fourthly,

follow

citizens of

heaven.

Paul again

is very clear

on this.

In this

passage,

he explains

that our

citizenship

is in

heaven,

not in

this world,

and from

it we

await a

Savior,

Christ Jesus

the Lord.

Philippians 3

Philippians 3:20

verse 20.

What he

means there

is that

we are

people who

live not

for this

world.

The

Christian is

someone who

does not

live for

this world.

The Christian

is someone

who lives

for Christ,

lives for

Jesus.

And Jesus

is in

heaven.

Jesus is

enthroned in

glory today.

And so

we need

Christians

who will

pursue

that

future.

That future

expression of

citizenship.

Christians

who will

cross the

channel.

It's a

strange way

of putting it.

It's topical

though.

There's people

who want to

come to this

country because

they think

this country

is a place

where they

will be

safe,

where they

will be

respected,

where they'll

find hope.

They want to

be citizens

of this

country.

And that's

what we need

in Christians.

You know,

Christians who

want to

experience

the citizenship

of heaven.

Who want to

experience

the assurance

and the

blessing of

God on

their lives

and who

will

overflow

therefore

in showing

the

citizenship

of heaven

in how

they live

right now.

I think

sometimes what

that means

is,

especially if

you want

to be an

example to

younger

Christians,

simply this.

Do not

set the

example of

saying the

old days

were better.

They

probably

weren't.

The reason

I say that

is because the

world has

always had

its own

appeal.

The world

had its own

appeal when

you were

young.

It has its

appeal today.

It will

have its

appeal tomorrow.

And the

Christian of

any age will

struggle against

these things and

will need to

battle through to

understand their

citizenship in

that context.

And the

struggles today for

young Christians are

different to the

struggles you had as

a young Christian

50 years ago.

But it wasn't

easier 50 years

ago.

It's probably

just the same.

people who

are

not who

yearn for

better days of

the past,

but for

people who

are today

trained as

citizens of

heaven and

who recognize

what their

role in the

world is,

what they're

doing in

this place

as ambassadors

of Jesus,

citizens from

that other

place.

families.

Finally, if

you want

examples to

look for,

and examples

that you will

follow after,

look for those

who will

encourage you

and love

you.

That's what

Paul says at

the end of

this section.

Therefore,

my brothers,

whom I love

and long for,

my joy and

crown, stand

firm in the

Lord.

Find examples

of people who

are going to

build you up.

There are

plenty of

people in

the world

who will

tear you

down.

There are

plenty of

people in

the world

who will

be nothing

but critical.

There are

plenty of

people in

the world

who will

express that

criticism in

all sorts of

different ways,

and sometimes

it's entirely

justified.

But there's

not enough

people who

will love

you.

If you're

an older

Christian,

love and

long for

young Christians

to do better

than you.

If you're

an old

Christian,

remember the

world that

the young

Christian of

today is

going into

is a world

that's very

different to

the world

you grew

up in.

It's a

world where

now we've

decriminalized

abortion to

birth.

It's a

world where

now we've

approved or

are about to

approve a

law allowing

assisted suicide

in our health

service.

It's a world

where the

biblical norms

that shaped

your life

50 years

ago

are gone.

And the

great privilege

that belongs

to older

Christians

today is

to love

young

Christians,

to love

them and

to encourage

them in the

day they're

in,

to encourage

them in the

battles of

this moment,

to encourage

them in

learning how

to witness

in this

moment,

to encourage

them in

new things.

Perhaps it's

using social

media,

perhaps it's

using different

sets of

gifts,

but whatever

it is,

it's using

all to the

glory of

God.

And so

find people

who will

love you

and encourage

you in

using these

things.

Quite simply

today, I

would leave

you with this

question.

are you

looking for

the best

example in

how you

live as a

Christian?

Are you

looking for

people who

will show

you how

justification

works?

Are you

looking for

people who

will show

you how to

gain God's

favor and

righteousness

to stand

before?

are you

looking for

people who

will also

run towards

the prize,

racing towards

the upward

call of God

in Christ

Jesus?

People who

along the way

accept that

suffering is

going to be a

feature of

that life,

but who do

so as

citizens of

heaven and

long to

encourage those

with them.

let's pray

to God

just now.

Heavenly

Father, as

we look

upon our

church, as

we look on

our congregation,

I pray, Lord,

that you would

fill our

church with

people who

express these

characteristics.

We need

mature

Christians who

are going to

be worthy

examples to

the young,

who are going

to set an

example in

how to

thrive and

flourish as

Christians in

all of these

different ways.

And so, Lord, I

pray that you

would continue to

raise up men

and women who

are worthy

examples to

us.

And those of

us who are

younger, may

you fill us

with a desire

to know that

walk better,

fill us with a

desire to follow

in that example

and in these

footsteps.

And we ask and

pray these things

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going to

sing in

conclusion,

sing psalms,

psalm 73a,

page 95.

We're going to

sing the last

three stanzas of

the psalm.

The tune is

eventide,

verse 23 onwards,

yet I remain

with you

continually.

By my right

hand you hold

me as my

guide.

You'll lead me

with your

counsel to the

end and take

me into glory

to abide.

That is the

prize, the

goal of the

Christian life

and that we

are moving

towards.

Let's stand

to sing,

Yet I Remain

With You

Continually.

Yet I

remain

with

you

continually

by

my

right

hand

you hold

me as my

guide.

You'll lead

me with

your

counsel to

the

end and

take me

into glory

to

the

you

in

heaven

will

have

I

but

you

alone

on earth

there's no

walk

else

whom I

adore.

love.

Although

my heart

may feel

and pleasure

growing,

God is

my strength

and portion

evermore.

those who

are far

from you

will be

gathered

of

those who

are

unfaithful

you

need

brought

more.

But

I'll

draw

near

and

shelter

in

my

goal.

Near

Thee,

O Lord,

I

will

be

and

praise

for

him.

Now the

grace of

the Lord

Jesus

Christ,

the love

of God

the Father

and the

fellowship

of God

the Holy

Spirit

be with

each one

of us

now and

always.

Amen.

Amen.

Thankyou,