Joy of Christian Living

So again, turn in your Bibles to Philippians chapter 3 and let's get started.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

Chapter 3 of the book of Philippians, Paul says, and what a tremendous exhortation.

This is probably one of the greatest chapters in the New Testament because it literally is, now watch this, the autobiography of the Apostle Paul.

It literally is chapter three.

In fact, he's dealing, the great apostle here uses his life and his conversion as a springboard to instruct us in how we are to live out our Christian life.

In other words, he literally in this chapter explains how you and I are to live and how we are to express and live out our Christian conduct.

And I thought about that, man, that's awesome.

And as you can see on your outline, does everyone have an outline?

If you don't, raise your hand.

We'll get you one.

Everyone's got it, good.

Get your pens, pencils ready.

And for you that cheat, you're already filling it in, I see, but that's okay.

But now here we go.

First of all, we see Paul says if you're gonna live that Christian, unbelievable, radiant, as we looked at last Sunday, that radiant Christian life, you've got to express and exemplify a Christian conduct that is joyful, it's exciting, it's not boring, it's not dead.

Can I get an amen?

And so he begins to tell us all how you and I can do that in this whole chapter of 21 verses, and he does it in five tremendous parts.

So let's look at the first part.

Verses one through six, we see right here what I call, if you're taking notes and you should be, the pure purity of the believer.

Both the conduct and the condition of the believer is addressed in verses one through six as we read and look at it.

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.

For me, to write the same things to you is not tedious.

But for you, it is safe.

It is for your protection.

Then he goes on and says, Beware the dogs.

Uh-oh.

You thought dogs were good.

Well, in this context, they're not good.

And we'll see that in a minute.

Beware of evil workers.

Beware the, should I say really it should say, beware those that try to bring in work salvation through circumcision and the mutilation of the body.

For we are the circumcision who worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh.

If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so.

In other words, Paul says that if you really think that you can be saved by doing good and you've been doing good, he says, You don't even compare to my statue of the way I was working for my salvation.

There's no comparison, and we'll see that.

But then he goes on and he says, called circumcision, the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, concerning the law.

Hey, a Pharisee, in other words, now he goes on and explains all the things that he did that if you were depending on work salvation, how he would be more than saved than anyone else.

And then concerning zeal, persecuting the church, concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Wow, wow, wow, wow.

So here's what Paul's saying.

He's saying that I want you to look at what true purity of a believer is.

And basically what he's saying is, I want to show you what it literally means to live a sanctified life.

And the reason we live that sanctified life is because of the purity of our soul that we've received through the power of the Holy Spirit of God.

And so he expresses that in two ways.

Number one, he expresses it in, if you're taking notes, A, the purity of their steps.

In fact, what we see here is that the purity of the believer's steps is the sanctified living.

In other words, now he's going to say, I'm going to show you if you are sanctified, you've been called and set apart for God to be used for God.

You ought to be living that radiant life.

You ought to be filled with the joy of Christ.

And here's some evidences that will be in your life.

First of all, notice what he says, verse 1, rejoice in the Lord.

There will be rejoicing.

There will not be griping.

Can I get an amen?

See, I'm convinced there's two types of Christians, really.

Those that are spirit-filled with the joy of the Lord, and those that are carnal, that are quenching and grieving the spirit, and they have attitudes that are just downright bad.

Amen?

I mean, they they they can find no good in anything.

They always see the glass, hey, what?

Half empty instead of half full.

There's no joy in rejoicing of the Lord.

And even in chapter 4, verse 4, he says, rejoice evermore.

And he says, rejoice, rejoice, rejoice.

That was his main theme.

And especially Paul says, you can rejoice in anything if you're spirit filled.

Even in the bad.

And by the way, when he writes this, let me tell you something what's so great about the book of Philippians.

It's called entitled The Joy Book of the Bible.

Amen.

And you know where he's writing this book?

He's in prison.

Possibly ready to be what?

Killed.

But yet he's writing the book of joy.

Now, folks, how do you do that?

Well, this is what he's explaining.

Because then he goes on and he says, not only rejoicing in the Lord, but look at the second thing.

He says, to write the same things to you, to me, indeed is not grievous because it's for your safety.

In other words, he says, I'm going to keep telling you the same thing over and over so that you'll understand that this truth is the truth that Christ wants you to live out in your life.

When you hear us preachers repetitively say some of the same things over and over, you know why we do that?

So that you get it.

So that you get it.

You gotta get it.

And it's good preaching to preach it over and over again.

I don't know about you.

My wife is brilliant.

She graduated summakun law.

That means very smart, folks.

That's okay.

I graduated, thank the Lord.

Needed all the help I could get.

Amen.

Don't laugh.

Some of y'all say amen because you've graduated, thank the law, too.

There's not a whole lot of sumacun lawties.

There's a lot of thank the lawdies.

Amen.

But anyway, we see what Paul is continually saying, repetition, because he says this, and for your safety.

Look, repeating warnings about holy living is valuable.

We need to constantly be encouraged how to live holy, to be holy in all manner of our conversation, our behavior, because it is written, be holy, because he is holy.

1 Peter 1:15 and 16.

1 Peter 1:15

And then notice what he says.

Look at what he says.

I love this.

Then he says, You got to resist evil.

Look at verse 2.

He says, Beware of the dogs.

In fact, to maintain purity, believers must resist evil.

We've got to resist evil, Paul says.

In fact, James says, submit yourself therefore to God, resist the devil, and he'll flee from you.

Can I get an amen?

So now watch what he says.

Three bewares.

I like, hey, anytime the word beware is used, I want you to understand something.

It means get ready, pay attention, and look.

This is very important.

So what does he say?

There's three bewares here.

First of all, he says, beware.

Warnings about, hey, the believers need to resist.

First, beware is degradation.

You know what that means?

Beware of the dogs.

Look what Paul said.

They're not cute, cuddly, fateful pets here that he's describing.

I've got a dog.

I love my dog.

Bear.

You have animals.

Most everybody has animals.

When I did a survey in this whole community, we realized when we were doing our demographic studies, and it's, I'm sure that's been eight years ago or longer.

Actually, nine years ago, now it's probably increased that.

But every house that I knocked on, every door that it it the the should I say the population was there, there was not only did they a couple had they averaged two and a half children and two pets.

So everybody has a pet and a dog or or yeah, cats, but I like dogs better.

But cats have their own mind.

You can't change them.

A dog, they'll do what you say, but the cat won't listen to you.

But anyway, what we see is they're dirty, they're vicious, they're untamed, and they were vile in the old, I mean in Jesus' times.

They were strays and they were vicious.

In fact, what we see, the Jews a lot of times would even call the Gentiles dogs.

But what he's saying here is we can't be around those type of people.

People that that are uh are just vile and ungodly and just are anti-God and everything.

And my soul, do we not see that in America today?

It's almost divided right down the middle.

People, the conservatives that love God, and then those, hey, that hate God.

So he's talking about that, and then notice what he says in verse 2: beware of the evil workers.

He says, you gotta, hey, beware of the deceitful people.

And the word here is, hey, hey, be aware of those people that lie to you.

They say one thing but do something else.

Would you know anybody like that?

Oh my goodness, when I saw that, wow.

See, you and I think we, and it is bad.

The politicians, they lie to you.

The salesmen, they lie to you.

Sometimes the preachers lie to you, not us.

That's why I preach the word.

You can't, I don't preach my opinion.

I preach what the word says.

Because my opinion, you know how much my opinion is worth?

Ten cent.

Maybe.

But the word never returns void.

Can I get an amen?

Isaiah 55, 11.

So look at what he's saying here.

You gotta beware of those that say one thing but live the other.

And the word beware there again means to see it, be alert, study the word of God.

It helps you and I discern the deceitfulness.

And then notice the third thing.

He says, beware in doctrine, beware of concession.

That means circumcision.

And it refers to those that were believing that you had to be circumcised in order to be saved.

He said, beware of work salvation.

Beware of anybody that adds a salvation by grace and faith, plus, plus baptism, plus church membership, plus this, plus that, plus circumcision, plus, plus.

No, salvation, hey, it's by grace and grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ, with nothing else.

For by faith, for by grace are we saved through faith and not of ourselves.

It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

Ephesians 2, 8 and 9.

So remember that.

And then we see purity and doctrine is necessary if there is to be purity in our behavior.

Amen.

Paul put it this way, till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine, sound teaching in 1 Timothy 4.13.

And then notice the second thing in verses 3 through 6, he talks about the purity of their souls.

And then he goes on and he says this the most important purity is the purity of our souls, which comes through salvation in Christ.

And then he says, and by the way, let me give you the evidences of that.

And this is good.

Paul lists a few uh evidences in his own personal experience.

Listen to what he says.

First of all, the reception, hey, of faith.

We're saved through faith.

We are the circumcision which worship God, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

That's pretty that's pretty plain.

And then he says, reverence.

We have reverence toward God.

We worship God.

Listen, if you don't have a reverence for God and don't have a desire to worship God, then I, you and I have to question whether or not we really know God.

Because when you get saved, I don't know about you.

I want to worship God.

I worship him every day.

I don't care what I'm doing.

I got WDJC on.

I'm listening to Ace.

I'm worshiping in my car.

I'm worshiping everywhere I go and in everything I do.

Can I get an amen?

And guess what?

In John 4, he says that he desires his church to worship him.

Amen.

He desires our worship, folks.

And so we see that.

And then we see thirdly, we see the rejoice and rejoice in Christ.

And then he says, the fourth thing, the rejection of the flesh.

Have no confidence in the flesh.

And then he says, the saved have their souls purified by Jesus, like we just talked about.

And he said, there's no confidence in the fleshly works, but our confidence is in Jesus Christ.

Folks, listen to me.

You put your faith and your trust in Christ.

You don't put your faith and trust in a preacher.

You don't put your faith and trust in the Pope.

You don't put your faith and trust in the government.

You don't put your faith and trust in anything else but Jesus Christ.

Trust in the Lord with all thy heart, lean not on thy own understanding, in all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he'll direct your path.

Proverbs 3, 5 and 6.

My hope is in nothing else but Jesus.

Oh my friends, what relief.

And then he goes on and he says, the works of the flesh do not save.

The works he says do not save us.

And then he goes on and he gives a whole list.

He says, if circumcision saved you, then he said, I ought to be saved.

You know why?

He said, I was circumcised on the eighth day, just like Moses was.

But then he goes, he says, that doesn't save you.

And then he says, if relationships were to save you, in verse 5 of the stock of Israel, he says, hey, I'm related to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

He said, that doesn't save you.

And then he goes on and he says, if respectability, you know, would save me, I'm of the tribe of Benjamin in verse 5.

And Benjamin was the only tribe that saved, that was, uh, that stayed loyal to Judah.

He said, but that doesn't save you.

Then he says, race.

What about race?

Man, Satan's trying to divide us with the race issue today.

Everything's got to be race, race, this, this, this.

God help us.

He goes on, he said, if it was a race, a certain race that saved us, I was a Hebrew of Hebrews.

I mean, I was the best of the best.

He said, that doesn't save you.

He said, it's only the blood of Jesus Christ.

And then he goes on and says, What about religion?

Does religion, joining a church, save you?

He says in verse 5, as touching the law of Pharisee.

He said, I was a Pharisee of Pharisees.

I was a Hebrew.

In other words, I was as high as you could go in the law with the Pharisees and Sadducees.

I knew the Torah, the books of Moses.

I knew all the rituals and all the etiquette and all the all the religious stuff better than anyone.

But he said, that didn't save me.

That didn't save me either.

Wow, he deals with it all.

And then he even goes on and he says, look at it, verse 6, the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

He said, Your own doing good, your own righteousness won't save you.

You know why?

All our righteousness is as filthy rags.

Can I get an amen?

Isaiah 64 says.

So he just lays it out.

He erases every excuse we could have to be saved other than faith through the blood of Jesus Christ.

What a masterful witness and testimony.

And then he brings us to the second thing.

He says, first of all, he gives us the purity of the believer.

Nothing can save you except Jesus.

Can I get an amen?

Jesus is, say it with me, John 14, 6.

The way, the truth, the life, no man comes unto the Father except what?

By me.

He lays that case out.

That's the only way.

So if you think you, hey, can be saved, yes, I got to believe in Jesus plus something, that's absolutely wrong.

He just erased every, every other excuse other than the blood of Jesus Christ.

Man, that's good.

Then look at verse 7 through 10.

We see the perspective of believers.

When a person becomes saved, listen to me.

Now this is good.

I like this.

His perspectives in life change.

I mean completely.

My granddaddy, you saved.

Danny boy, no change, no salvation.

2 Corinthians 5.17 says therefore, if any man be in Christ Jesus, he's a new creation, old things have passed away.

Behold, all things have become new.

Folks, when I got saved, I can I tell you something?

You would not want to be around me when I was lost.

My wife would not have dated me if she knew me before salvation.

That's right.

Amen.

Well, guess what?

I wouldn't have wanted to date her either.

Because she was too spiritual.

I didn't want anything to do.

I wanted to do what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it, how I wanted to do it, and don't get in my way because I'm going to do it.

And I know I'm the only one like that in here before salvation.

Trouble is, some of us still that way after salvation.

We have to get with that carnality.

It's hard to crucify that flesh.

It's called dying daily.

Don't you wish if you really got saved and then you knew you got saved, that you wouldn't have to deal with that flesh anymore.

There's one denomination that believes that.

And you know what?

I I finally had, we were witnessing, I was witness to one of their, and I'm not gonna call the denomination, but I finally said, and you know, it was funny because we were we were we were playing together, uh sports, and uh, buddy, he got he messed up and he just let one go.

I said, Tom, oh my goodness, you're lost.

Can I lead you to Jesus again?

Because they think once you get saved, you pray your way through, it's done.

You don't have to worry about that flesh anymore.

Oh my goodness, I wish that was true.

Sign me up today.

But it's not true.

Paul said it's not true.

You gotta die daily.

It's a moment by moment.

Don't you wish you maybe could take a pill and say, Huh, I'm gonna be spiritual today.

Sign me up.

I wish I could create a vitamin that way.

Oh, take this vitamin today and you're holy.

Give me three or four.

Amen.

You got everything you need in Jesus through the person of the Holy Spirit of God.

And that's so exciting.

And so that's what he's talking about.

No one had changed more drastically.

And look at what he does.

He says two things.

Boy, this is so good.

He says there's things you gotta devalue, and there's things you gotta value.

In your notes there.

And look at what he says about the devaluable.

Things.

Look at verse 7.

What things we gain to me, I count lost for Christ, all things lost.

Notice the word, the two words underline it.

All things.

In other words, Paul had gained before salvation, were now devalued in his life and in what he wanted.

I mean, these things were so important.

They really are.

And we see Paul right here.

He goes on and even compares it.

He said, look at what he says in verse 8.

I count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord.

In other words, he says, nothing in this world compares with my Lord.

Nothing compares with Jesus.

He means more to me than anything.

Nothing in the world compared to knowing Jesus Christ.

And by the way, eternity will emphasize the truthfulness of this statement.

I am completely convinced of that.

And then he says, oh, there's going to be a cost for whom I have suffered.

Look at verse 8.

The lost of all things.

There's a cost to pay when your values change as a result of salvation.

Hey, there's a cost to pay.

Hey, there's some people are no longer going to want to be around you.

Because they know that you don't want to go to the places they want to go.

They know that you no longer want to look at the things they look at.

They know that you no longer want to participate in the things that they participate in.

Whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, you do all to the glory of God.

See, when you radically get saved like Paul did and like I know I did, I want to please him, and there's things that, and people say, well, wait a minute.

Now wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.

He says, You can really do anything you want to.

That's true.

Even after you get saved.

Hey, he doesn't make you a robot.

Listen to me, you still have that same will.

Somebody said, Hey, well, come on, let's go drinking and let's go carousing, let's go do all this stuff.

Let's go to, let's go to the bars, let's go to here, let's go there.

And guess what?

If I wanted to, I could do that.

I've got a will.

But the thing is, when you get radically saved, those things are past.

They're behind you.

You don't want to do them anymore.

My want to changes.

Can I get an amen?

My walk to changes.

I don't want to do it.

I want to do what pleases him.

I want to do what pleases him.

So he says.

And can I show you what he what he says?

This is pretty, pretty gross.

He really does.

And I thought, should I say it?

Well, the Bible says it.

You know, look at it, verse 8.

You know what he thinks about all the worldly stuff?

Count them but dung.

Now I'm not going to explain what dung means.

But if you ever been in a cow pasture, there's some dung there.

Hello, you okay out there?

He puts all those things of the world which meant nothing to him compared to Christ in the category of manure.

So next time you want to go do all that stuff, just remember what you're doing.

Hello, that's good, preacher.

You're walking in manure.

That'll make you think twice.

Oh, did you hear what the preacher said?

Yeah, you heard me.

But that's what Paul said.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

All these other things shall be added unto you.

And then look at verse 9 and 10 real quick.

He said, now here's the things you need to value.

First of all, value your salvation in Christ, verse 9.

And then secondly, he says, look at verse 10, that I might know him.

Now he says, value your schooling in Christ.

What does that mean, preacher?

Watch.

Here's what it means: the knowledge of Christ.

He mentioned it earlier in Philippians 3:8, but here he desires to know all he can about Christ so he can live out the characteristics.

Philippians 3:8

Hey, and the example that Christ is in and through him, through the person of the Holy Spirit.

He wants to know so much that he'll be walking in the spirit.

See, the more you know and the more you do, the more you like Christ.

Amen.

So his greatest desire was to be like Christ.

And here was a guy that, hey, hey, he never reached his, even writing now, close to being executed for the cause of Christ.

This man wrote 13 books of the New Testament, and he still said, I have not obtained.

I still, I still have so much more to know.

Wow.

Oh, this week, as I was basking in all these truths, I thought to myself, oh, precious is the word of God.

Precious is the knowledge of God.

No wonder the world wants nothing to do with God.

No wonder the world is in such sad, sad shape and will one day even yield to the Antichrist.

You adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that the friendship of this world is enity with God?

James 4, 4.

Hostility with God.

But then he says, rejoice, hey, hey, here's the strength of Christ, the power of the resurrection.

See, most folks deny the resurrection, which in reality, the resurrection, the belief of the resurrection and knowing that he were, hey, Jesus Christ was resurrected, really brings the power of God into our lives.

Because if Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, which he was, and he gives that same power to me and you through the person of the Holy Spirit of God, there is nothing that we can't accomplish through Christ.

Philippians 4.13, my life first.

I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me.

The strength of Christ.

Hey, it's spiritual power, not physical or material power.

It's the power to live a godly life.

There hath no temptation taken you, but such is common to man.

But God is faithful and just who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you're able.

But with this temptation, make a way to escape.

See those exit signs right there?

Every time you're tempted, you've got an exit.

You have a choice.

And then there's power to live that Christian life now to him that's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power, dunymus, that works in us.

Ephesians 3.20.

Oh, folks, church.

And then look, he said, oh, the sufferings of Christ.

Uh-oh.

See, you know what I've learned over all these years, 40 plus years of ministry.

Oh, we Christians, we love the love of Christ.

We love the I'm okay.

I didn't fall.

We love the love of Christ.

We love the excitement of Christ, the joy of Christ.

We even love the power of Christ, but we don't want the suffering of Christ.

But can I say something?

The suffering is probably the most, and I'm coming to realize this after all these years of ministry.

The suffering's probably the most important.

Did you hear the?

Did I hear what the preacher said?

Well, I'm gonna say it again.

The suffering part of the evidences of Christianity is probably the most important.

Can I tell you why?

Watch this.

Watch this.

If we suffer for him, we shall also reign with him.

2 Timothy 2.12.

Listen to Romans 8.18.

The sufferings now that we're talking about for righteousness of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which we shall, hey, receive and shall be revealed unto us.

Wow.

I'm convinced the more we suffer, the more glory we're gonna see.

I know we don't like that.

Say I got two amens.

But you know what we want, me included, I want the glory, but I don't want to have to suffer to get it.

Hello?

And I don't have time to go back.

I could give you a list of all the sufferings and situations that Christ put me through from losing my little baby boy born dead, losing my wife dying in my arms, and I could go on and on and bearing all my father.

I mean, I there's been a lot of suffering, but can I say this?

And I mean it not in trying to boast in me, but even through that suffering, there was a peace and a joy because I knew I know all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to its purpose.

I just knew God was in control and God would see me through.

And make me stronger, make me more usable.

Wow.

That brings me the third point.

Oh, I know you got another one.

Put down the submission of Christ, being made conformable unto his death.

Submission, you gotta submit to Christ.

Christ was obedient even to the death of the cross.

So we see Paul says our submission has to be that strong as well.

So we have the purity of the believers, the perspective of the believers.

Now, verses 11 through 16, we have the pursuit of the believers.

Watch this.

First of all, we see the ardency.

Now I use that word A, R, D, E, and C Y to impress you with my vocabulary.

No, not really.

It had an A that meant passion.

So I'd have all A's for homiletics teaching for my preacher boys.

I know y'all want, one, one, one, one's off that.

But anyway, here we see if by any means these words in the Greek mean somehow.

Paul is showing how great his passion is for spiritual blessings.

Can I get an amen?

Oh, he says, hey, and watch it, write this down.

I wrote this down and went back and wrote it down again because it's here.

Here's what he was saying.

I am willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary.

Do whatever is necessary, go wherever is necessary to obtain these blessings.

Now that is somebody that is radically sold out to Christ.

And that's who Paul was.

Can I get an amen?

But that's exactly what he means here.

There's got to be passion.

If you want spiritual blessings, you will not have to, hey, you and I have to show some passion.

Hey, like Paul, God does not just go around handing out spiritual blessings to everyone.

There's a price to be paid.

And you know what that price is?

Here it is.

Romans 12, 1 and 2.

Write it down.

Here it is.

Here's what Paul's saying.

Paul wrote Romans 12, 1 and 2.

He says, I beg you.

Here's what he said.

I beg you.

Therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, here it is.

You present your bodies a living sacrifice.

Hello?

Wholly acceptable unto God.

Now watch, which is your reasonable service.

In other words, this is what you're called to do and be.

You're called to live Christ's life.

You're called to live that Christian joy and that radiancy and walk in the Spirit of God.

And in order to do that, you can't be conformed to the world.

We've just seen this.

He said, all those things are counted as dumb.

But you are to be transformed.

You allow the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to change your thinking, to change your, hey, your thinking, to change your talking, to change your walking, to change everything about you so radically that everybody knows you.

But I have a spell.

You are a new creation.

All things have passed away.

Behold, all things have become new.

Woo! Ha ha!

Man, that's good.

Preacher, that's good.

All right, let me fill in the blanks.

Ready?

Number two.

Then he says, look at the omission of this pursuit.

Verse 12.

Hmm.

Man, not I, not as though I have already attained either.

We're already perfect.

Are you understanding what Paul's saying right here?

Now this is Apostle Paul.

He says, as much as he was had radically changed, he says, I've got a, I still got a long way to go.

You know what that tells Pastor Danny Lovett, Rick, David, all our staff, all our leadership, everybody, our Sunday school teachers, Mary.

Listen, we we we're nowhere near close of where we ought to be.

Thank God we are where we are, and I'm enjoying it, but there's so much more that I might know him.

In all his fullness, in all his glory.

Wow.

Paul's goal is to be what God wants him to be.

Look at the aim.

Look at the aim, the third thing.

But I follow after if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Jesus Christ.

What's the problem is most of us are so self-centered, and we're worried about, hey God, what can you do for me instead of God, what can I do for you?

It's all about me instead of all about Him.

Paul said, not I, but Christ.

Galatians 2.20.

Not I, but Christ.

And then look in this action, he says, you got to have priority.

This one thing I do.

Woo-hoo! This one thing I do.

In other words, concentrate on one thing.

Now I am terrible, but my wife beats me here.

She is so smart, she'll try to do five things at one time.

She is so smart, she'll try to teach a whole book of the Bible in 40 minutes.

So her mind, see, my mind doesn't move that fast.

Hers does.

But sometimes what happens, we try to get so many, what do we call it?

How many things in the what, irons in the?

Am I the only one guilty of that?

See, I'm not smart enough to do it, so I ought to understand not to try it.

But concentrate, Paul said on one thing.

He says, I've forgotten those things.

I'm pressing toward the mark.

I've got my mark.

I'm going one way.

And then he says, Hey, look at the prudence, this one thing I do.

I'm not going to do anything else but try to be more like Christ.

Wow, that's good.

And then look, look at the other thing.

Hey, look at his forwardness in his action, reaching forth unto those things which are before.

Look at the word behind there.

The word behind is to be replaced with before.

It's not what you have done in the past, be it good or bad, but what you can do in the future that is important to your spiritual pursuit.

I thought to myself, is that not precious?

And then he says, You're going to have favor.

Look at it.

The high calling of God in Christ.

Woo! You know what that speaks of?

When you and I reach the high calling of God in Christ, here's what that means.

This speaks of God's will and plan for your life and my life.

Wow.

Let me ask you a question.

Here's a simple test question.

Whether you're a teenager, whether you're an adult, middle-aged adult, older adult.

In your heart, do you know you're doing what the Lord wants you to do?

Because that's what he's talking about.

Because if you are, watch this, then you have you are receiving and experiencing, don't miss this, the high calling of God.

Now, if you're doing that, you're gonna have the joy.

You're not gonna be griping and complaining, you're gonna be having spells.

Because you know you're right where God wants you.

And you're doing what God wants you to do.

Wow, man, that's good.

And then lastly, the application.

Look at it for that pursuit.

Let us therefore as many as be perfect.

Paul's instructions here are for the people to do, not just hear the instructions.

That leads me to number four.

Woo! Gotta hurry.

Then verses 17 through 19.

The performance of believers.

Ha ha! Woo! The pattern.

Look at the pattern for the believers.

Brethren, be followers together of me and mark them.

Underline that word.

Mark them which walk so as ye have us, for example.

Now, the word followers there means to imitate.

The word mark means that you are to follow those people that imitate the Christ-likeness.

Now, watch this.

This is very important, especially for you teenagers.

Listen to me.

And you younger adults.

You are to find people.

You are not just find them, you mark them.

That you know are godly, that you know are living a joyful, Christ-like, radiant life, and you want to be around those put those people.

You want them to disciple you.

You want to you want them to hold you accountable.

You want them to be part, and that's why I love our church.

And as we start and as we're growing and we do in small groups, we want small groups that will be spirit-filled groups, and they that they will hold each other accountable.

You want somebody, you know what I've always tried to do in my life?

I've always tried to mark those and find those people that I knew had a had God all over them.

And I was very fortunate in all those years to be at Liberty and Temple with some godly men and women.

And I wanted to be around them.

I wanted it to rub off on me.

Just like your athleticisms.

I don't know if that's, I don't think that's a word, but your athletic ability.

Hey, I'm pretty good at creating stuff.

Oh, by the way, that's the Greek.

Yeah, it did sound good, didn't it?

But what do you do?

You want to be, I want to be like Mike.

No, you don't want to be like Mike.

You want to be like Christ.

And but what do we do?

I wanted to be around the best athletes right now, even in pickleball.

I've been around some of the best of the best pickleball players already.

I did that intentionally.

You know why?

Because I want to be the very best I can be at the talents God's given me.

Now you can only be as good as you can be.

Sometimes there's A players, B players, C players.

But bless God, if you're a C player, be the best C player in the group.

Can I get an Amen?

I'm learning that too.

I got my whipped the other day.

I said, whoo! That's another level.

But we want to be the best we can be in Christ.

Can I get an Amen?

Isn't that good?

Isn't that good?

Look.

Look, that's what he's saying.

And then the last thing find the best Christians you can and be around them.

And then look at the prospects.

Verse 20 and 21.

First of all, citizenship.

Look at it, verse 20.

Our citizenship, our conversation.

Word means citizenship is in heaven.

Our community is in heaven.

Is that not good?

Then look.

Second thing, the coming in the prospects.

Not only is our citizenship in heaven, but we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

He's coming again.

He's talking about the rapture.

One day the Lord has got.

You know what's the next major prophetic event on the calendar of the Lord?

The rapture of the church.

Folks, you know, I used to think I wouldn't be living in the rapture, but the way things are going, we may be.

If not, young people, you may be.

It's important you understand.

I don't think we gotta.

Every time I say that, everybody says that.

We don't have much time left.

So forget saying that.

Let's just say, hey, every day, live going God's way.

This is the day the Lord hath made.

I will rejoice and be glad in it.

And you live as saying this may be the day.

Let me ask something.

If you knew Jesus Christ was coming tomorrow, you knew it for a fact, would you live differently today?

Well, that's the way you ought to live every day.

Can I get an amen?

Amen.

And then the last thing, look at the changes.

Verse 21.

Who shall be changed?

Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body?

No more aches and pains.

Amen.

No more aches and pains.

No more Ben Gay.

Amen.

No more.

How many of us?

We take everything comes on TV that says that, oh, I guarantee this.

Oh, it's natural.

It'll keep you from hurting.

I've tried everything out there and I got news for you.

Save your money.

No, there's nothing out there that's gonna keep you from getting older.

And the older you get, the more you hurt.

Hello.

Hello, I do it all.

I stretch.

In fact, you want to see a 67-year-old man do something once this.

Oh, that hurts.

Oh, oh, oh, that hurts.

I did it in my hands all the way down.

That's pretty good, folks.

I did that the other day, warming up and all the because I play in the 60 plus class, and they all looked at me and said, How do you do that?

I said, I don't know.

Can you help me up?

I can get down, I just can't get back up.

Listen to me this morning.

First of all, happy Thanksgiving.

Amen.

I love you so much.

I look so forward to being with you.

I look so forward to teaching you.

I hope you enjoyed the seminary class today.

Because that's exactly, by the way, that's exactly the way I study the Word of God.

Right there.

Verse by verse, word for word, phrase for phrase.

Because I want to know him.

I want to know him.

Every day he shows me something that I'm not doing that I should be doing.

Every day when I'm in the book.

Lord, that I might know you.

And the power of your resurrection.

And the fellowship of your suffering.

Why?

That I can be made more like you.

Amen.

Every head bow, every eye close.