Citizens of Heaven | General Bob Page

Amen.

Good morning.

How are you?

Oh, it's so great to be here with you on this uh big, big weekend.

Thank you so much.

And happy birthday, America.

How about that?

And it's a big one.

It's a big one.

I hope you had uh some fun last night with your family and friends.

Maybe you did a get together.

Maybe you fired up the old Barbie, you know, and threw some burgers or hot dogs on there like I did, and maybe watch some fireworks to celebrate uh the 250th year since the birth of our country in Philadelphia.

Now I want to pause just for a moment there, and I feel compelled to do this to clear up a rumor uh that's been going around.

Uh, contrary to what you may have heard, I wasn't there.

All right.

But my friend Kent Kent Whitaker, he was there.

You could you could check with him if you have questions about that that day.

Hey, uh, we're grateful, aren't we, uh, for those 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence and gave birth to our country.

Uh we're grateful for their vision and for their courage, and not just for them, uh, but how about for all the ones, all the men and women since that time who have served and sacrificed and risked and even given their lives to preserve our freedom.

Yes.

Yes, to bring us to this good day, 250 years.

And and uh how about we show a little appreciation here?

Let's let's try something.

If you are a veteran, you served in the military or family member of a veteran or your active duty, and we had one in the last service, or you're active duty, or you're a first responder.

I'm gonna ask you to stand just now and and let us show some appreciation.

Oh love of the room.

Oh my goodness, whoa.

I love it.

You guys can't you guys can't see it, but I've got chill bumps up here.

That's that's my tribe, that's my people right there.

Oh my goodness.

That's so good.

Well, you know what?

This year is the 15th year uh that I've been uh speaking here at River Point in uniform.

Uh they thank you.

Uh it's it's but yeah, thank you so much, but it's not what you think.

They they told me you're gonna do it till you do it right, okay?

Um, seriously, um it is a great honor to be here with you and and wear the uniform.

Uh and I do have some good news to share with you.

Great news, in fact.

Um, I got a promotion.

Huh?

Yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Uh last year, when I spoke to you, my rank uh was grandfather.

Yeah, that it is a great honor.

Uh my my rank was grandfather last year, but on April the 8th, I was promoted to the rank of great grandfather.

Um good, but it just gets better, and I I can see it on your faces.

You're wanting proof, right?

Okay, you talk me into it.

Here's a picture.

Look at them, huh?

What about it?

You guys, that is Jones David Mars on the left, and on the right, Miss Personality there.

That is Margot Faith Mars.

Six great names for two little people.

Look at that.

We're so grateful to God for them.

Now, now listen, if you know my family, as many of you do, you're connecting the dots here, and you know that this means that our daughter and son-in-law, Ann and Dean King, also got a promotion.

Yeah, look at here.

They're now grandparents.

Look at that.

There's Mima and Dean.

I don't I don't know what they're gonna call him, you know, but they'll figure it out.

You because you know how that works, right?

You name your kids, and your grandkids name you.

Am I right, grandparents?

Uh yeah, so that's been so fun in our family.

Uh you know, this has been such a week.

Wow.

I mean, big crowds, gatherings, celebrations, fireworks, food, all of that.

And and uh that was just the wedding of Taylor Swift.

I mean, it's been quite the quite the week, but and World Cup.

Have you guys caught the World Cup fever?

Maybe I have a slight temperature, I don't know.

But we've been we've been watching the games and and having fun with that.

Um so fun, you know, take me home, country roads, you know, all that.

You hear them singing the song.

But hasn't it been fun to um to experience America through the eyes of all the World Cup fans coming from around the world?

And and and they they they come and they visit and they experience their first buckies.

And this is a petrol station.

Wow, they're blown away.

And and uh I loved uh the video of the of the of the fellow from Scotland, you know, with his his Scottish brogue um biting into some Texas brisket, some barbecue.

You know, he just had quite, I don't know what he said.

I could not understand him, but but I think it was something like, oh my, this is the best thing I've ever eaten.

Uh he was having a great time.

But the most exciting thing for me about the World Cup, you ready?

Is what's been happening after the game is over.

After they play those 90 minutes plus whatever time they add on.

Yeah, I know.

It took me a while to figure that out.

I'm I'm learning new things about what that sign means when they hold up that, the electronic sign.

What is he doing?

You know, and then the red card, hmm, we learned about that.

But the most exciting thing for me has been leaving the TV on after the game is over and watching what happens next.

Have you seen it?

Have you seen it?

The American players, our team, our team.

They go out onto the field, but they don't call it a field.

They call it a pitch.

It's the pitch.

They go out on the pitch, they they make a circle and they put their arms around each other.

They huddle up, and what do they do?

They're praying.

They're praying.

I love that.

And there's a leader who has emerged in that.

His name is Mark Mackenzie, who is leading them in prayer.

Look at I love this picture.

Look at him.

That's a beautiful thing.

They get out there, they pray together.

Now, now Mark's on the team, he wears the uniform.

Mark shows up for duty, he's present for duty, but he knows something important.

Mark knows that he is a part of another team with a higher purpose than soccer.

Just keep preaching it, Mark.

Keep preaching it.

It was an honor for me to wear this uniform.

It still is.

And I showed up for duty for 33 years in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and Qatar, and the Pentagon for six years.

And all the while, my wife, who also served, was home keeping keeping the home fires burning and raising two daughters.

And she's here today.

Those spouses also serve, don't they?

Hey, y'all, we've Ruth and I have been married now a hundred and six years.

It's true, fifty-three apiece, you see.

Yeah.

Um, but I love this country.

I love this country.

I love being a chaplain to the men and women who wear these uniforms, who serve and sacrifice so much so that we can live free.

And Mark's story reminds us of this: that regardless of what uniform we wear, regardless of where we show up for duty, you and I, we are part of another team with a higher purpose.

I love what Mark's dad told him.

He said, listen, son, listen to me, son.

You have a greater purpose than just playing this game.

Mark got the message.

Mark said, I try to be glue for this team.

God bless the men and women who are glue for the team, huh?

Who help hold it together.

God bless the men and women who show up and serve as glue for families, for churches, for communities, for a nation.

God bless the people who are glue.

That's what Mark says.

He said, I just try to be glue for this team.

Somebody people can lean on, confide in, and trust.

And I love this part, someone people can look to as an example, not just during the games, but during training at the hotel all the time.

He said, I may be in the center of it, but at the end of the day, at the end of the day, it is the Lord who is at the center of it all.

He is my main purpose.

I'm just trying to bring people into his light in some way.

Now that brings me to the Bible verses I want to share with you, and I want to set this scripture up for you.

I'm going to take you in a moment here to the book of Philippians.

Philippians, we call it a book, it's actually a letter.

Just four chapters, I don't know, 1,500 words or so.

Uh three pages.

You can read it in 15 minutes.

That in the Gospel of John, my two favorite books in all the Bible.

When I open my Bible, it just falls open to Philippians, okay?

And the pages are kind of coming out there.

I love this letter that Paul wrote to his friends in Philippi.

And he wrote them this letter because they heard that he was imprisoned in Rome for telling people about Jesus.

And it was not looking good.

This is a this is in Rome about the year 61 A.D.

And they send him a gift.

They sent it by a fellow from their church.

His name was Epaphroditus.

He was a great guy.

He was courageous, willing to take a risk for Christ.

He was all in for the gospel.

His life was focused on advancing the gospel, telling people about Jesus.

And so he's the one who brings the letter and and and they put together.

And he brings it to Paul.

And then something uh terrible happened.

He got sick.

In fact, he he he almost died, uh, but he got better.

And and and while he was so sick, uh the Philippians, his his family, his friends back at his home church heard that he was sick and dying.

And and so Paul wanted to send them this letter first to say thank you and then to reassure them uh that uh Ephroditus was okay.

And so he sends this this letter back by Epaphroditus.

And what a letter it is.

It's the most beautiful letter.

It's full, it's full of encouragement and and love and warmth, and and it's just so personal.

I encourage you to read it.

Just 15 minutes.

We're not gonna read the whole letter, but we're gonna focus on just just a few verses.

It it's it was under some kind of amazing circumstances that Paul came to know these people.

It was about 10 years prior to this time, so about the year 51.

He he uh is is going through what's now modern-day Turkey, and he's going from town to town.

He's had this remarkable experience with Jesus, the risen Christ.

He has seen him alive after he was crucified and after he died, and and it just transformed his life.

He's going from town to town in what's now modern-day Turkey to tell people about Jesus and not just tell them about Jesus, but tell them that he has risen from the dead.

He has risen from the dead.

And so he's going about doing this.

And then something strange started happening.

He's got this great plan.

He's got this missionary track laid out, but then something started happening.

God closed a door over here, and God closed a door over here.

You ever experienced something like that with your great plan?

And God closed the door over here.

Let me tell you, trust God because here's what God was doing.

He was directing him to something he wanted him to do.

God had a purpose, so you trust him in that.

And so one night Paul goes to sleep, and in his sleep he has this dream.

And in the dream, there is this person from Macedonia.

And and he's saying, What?

Come over and help us.

Come over and help us.

The next morning, Paul gets up and he tells Silas and Timothy and the rest of his team about the dream, and they all come to the conclusion that God wants us to go to Macedonia.

It's not a great leap, is it?

God wants us to go to Macedonia.

And so they boarded a ship and they cross over the water and they come to Macedonia, they come to Europe, they've left Asia behind.

Now, Paul was born in what's uh uh modern day Turkey.

That's that that's that's his home folks, you know.

He was born in Tarsus, in what's modern day Turkey.

And and so he was going to all the folks he knew and was comfortable with.

Now he's gonna go outside his comfort zone.

God wants him to carry the gospel to Macedonia, and he goes to uh uh the leading city there.

He lands on the coast there in Macedonia, and he makes a beeline for Philippi.

Philippi was like the little Rome of Macedonia, it was a Roman colony, and uh the Romans established this colony there in a strategic place, and you know what they would do?

If you served in the Roman army and you served for 21 years, um at the end of that time and and you reach retirement at 21 years, they would give you Roman citizenship, which was a pretty valuable thing.

There were a lot of benefits associated with being a Roman citizen, and they would also give you a place in one of these colonies.

So Philippi was my kind of town, it was full of military retirees, it was kind of like San Antonio, military city USA, and and so all these retirees were there, and the Philippians being retired military and now enjoying citizenship, they they knew a thing or two about citizenship and what it meant to be a citizen.

And so Paul uses that word twice in his letter, only time in all the New Testament that word is ever used, and Paul writes it to the Philippians, but he doesn't want to talk to them about their Roman citizenship.

That's not what he wants to talk about.

He wants them to know you're not just on team Rome, you've got a higher purpose, you've got something greater and more glorious that you're called to be a part of, and so he writes them this letter.

Now, now what we're going to do is we'll pick up with chapter 3 and verse 17.

Let's see what he says to them.

He tells them, join together in following my example.

Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, just as you have us as a model.

Keep your eyes on those who live as we do.

Who's the us and the we?

Who is he talking about?

He's talking about Timothy.

In fact, when he starts the letter, he's he starts it.

This letter is from Paul and Timothy.

And in the course of the letter, he introduces Timothy to them and he brags on Timothy and tells them that uh Timothy is someone you should follow.

You should you should follow his example.

He is selfless, uh, he is all in for the gospel, he has worked alongside me in sharing Jesus with others.

Uh Timothy is like focused on others.

He's a selfless guy.

So so follow him.

Um he starts out the letter with you see it in the English there, with six words, join together in following my example.

Join together in following my example.

Those six words translate one word from Paul's letter.

And he what he did is he he took two words and he fused them together, and those two words are imitate together.

Imitate together is is what it literally means.

And so it's translated for us join together, come together.

Don't don't just follow me as a long rang.

You stick together with all the others and and and be a team, be a team, uh join together in following my example.

Uh back to the World Cup just a moment.

Maybe I've watched too much, I don't know.

Um, but have you seen the Norwegian fans?

Yeah, yeah.

It's kind of fun.

So, yeah, yeah, that's it, that's it.

So uh the Norwegian fans, you know, they have the Vikings in their heritage and all of that.

So there'll be 10,000 of them there, you know, and they're teams on the field.

And one of them will go down front and he'll do like this, and then everybody does it, you know, all 10,000 of them.

And then they go, Whoo, phoo, phoo, whoo, you know, they're rowing.

It's called the Viking Row.

And it I I thought we might do it here today.

What do you no, no, we won't do that.

We won't do that.

And and so they're all they're imitating together.

And and and it's it's a powerful thing how that encourages one another.

It encourages the team on the field.

They just want to go out and score a goal after they do something like that.

And that's what Paul is saying.

Join together.

We need each other.

Oh, stick together, stick together.

Um, uh Paul tells them to imitate him, but he doesn't tell them to imitate him because he's perfect.

This was the guy who confessed to the Romans.

He told them, he he wrote in his letter to the Romans, he said, he said this.

What I want to do, I don't do.

And what I hate, I do.

I know none of you can identify that.

Maybe there is.

Maybe there's a witness in the house.

I don't know.

There you go.

It's the human condition.

And thanks be to God for Paul, who was transparent enough to reveal that.

That he's not talking about perfection.

He's talking about something else.

He tells the uh the Philippians, what I aspire to be in Christ, I'm not there yet.

So what does he want us to imitate?

He doesn't leave it to guesswork.

He tells us in verses 12 through 14.

Let's look at that.

Chapter 3, verses 12 through 14.

He says, Not that I have already obtained all this.

All that I want to be and do, all that I want to be in Christ and do for Christ, I've not obtained this.

Or have already arrived at that goal.

I'm not there but this.

So I'm not perfect.

But I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

He said, 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.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Listen to me.

Keep pressing on and being intentional about that.

So he wants them to follow him and Timothy in their passion to know Christ and to make him known.

He said, I'm not there, but I'm leaning in.

I'm leaning in.

Come do that with me.

He said, It's my singular priority, this one thing I do.

That's what he wants us to imitate.

And he says, keep your eyes on others who live like this.

Keep your did you know that what you focus on, what you look like, determines what you become.

That could be bad news for some of you wives.

I don't know.

He wants them to keep their eyes on those who live with a passion for Jesus.

In modern-day language, we would say, choose your influencers wisely.

Choose your influencers wisely.

I've had some great influencers in my life.

One was my grandpa Charlie.

He lived to be 94.

I'll never forget the last time I was with him and heard him pray.

It was the last prayer I ever heard him pray.

And he prayed this.

I'll never forget it.

He said, Lord, as I grow physically weaker, help me to grow spiritually stronger.

He had such a passion for Jesus.

And then he looked at me.

These are his last words to me.

He said, Bobby, stay close to Jesus.

Oh, there's a good influence for me.

Even though he's not with me now, I keep my eyes on him.

We've got great pastors here.

Not perfect, but they're passionate about knowing Jesus.

I keep my eyes on them.

Our pastor Chad, don't you appreciate him?

And our other pastor, Chad.

And our other and our and our worship pastor, Chad.

You know what?

I just feel it's such an honor to be up here with a name like Bob.

I keep my eyes on them.

I'm a part of a little virtual men's small group, two other guys.

And we come together on the UVersion Bible app, and every every morning we read a devotion together and we encourage one another in our walk with God.

And I keep my eyes on these two guys, Dean King Sr.

and Jamie Webster, who's serving as the interim pastor over at West End.

I love the way these guys lean into their relationship with Jesus, and I want to be like them.

I want to be like that.

And then there are guys I meet with regularly.

Kent Whitaker.

I poked at him a little while ago.

Kent Whitaker and Neil Brown.

Oh my goodness.

The passion I see in these guys and their love for Jesus.

I keep my eyes on them.

And then there's a fellow in Virginia, uh, John Sanders, and it's so many mornings, he sends me a prayer.

Such a prayer that he prays for me in my pursuit of Jesus to be to be the man that God has called me to be for my family, for my community, for my wife.

Such a prayer.

Thanks be to God for men like that.

There is a mentor I've kept my eyes on for so many years, H.

D.

McCarty.

He was a pastor in Arkansas, and uh he took me on and has mentored me for decades.

For decades.

H.

D.

Is is now in his 90s.

I think he's 93.

And a stroke or something has taken his voice.

He can't speak.

And sometimes when we're on the phone and I'm struggling to understand what he's telling me, his his daughter gets on the phone and she she kind of translates for him what he's trying to tell me.

But you know what?

He doesn't need to speak a word.

I hear him loud and clear saying, stick with Jesus, follow Jesus, lean into your relationship with him.

Just who he is.

He's made that his life priority to be like Jesus.

So that's what Paul wants us to imitate.

Let me ask you another question.

Why does he want us to imitate him and Timothy?

And he gives us two great reasons.

We see that in Philippians chapter 3, verses 18 and 19.

Philippians 3:18

He says, for, and that word could be translated because.

So he's just said, imitate Timothy and me.

Why?

Because, as I have often told you before, watch this, and now I tell you, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.

Their mind is set on earthly things.

He doesn't tell us who these people are.

What he does is he identifies them two ways, by their character and by their destination.

He says, first of all, their God is their stomach.

That's kind of code for their self-serving.

They're the opposite of Timothy, right?

They're self-serving, they're self-indulgent.

For them, life is all about satisfying your appetites.

That's what they're about.

And they glory in shameful things.

And he calls them enemies of the cross.

Enemies of the cross.

That means they deny the gospel the simple truth.

The simple truth that there is a God who loves you so much that he sent his son to die on a cross, to take our place and pay the penalty for our sins.

And that if we would put our trust in him, we would be forgiven and set free and live for an eternity with him.

That's the simple gospel message.

They deny the gospel, they distort the gospel, and they detri, they try to distract us from the gospel.

But listen, here's the main reason.

He doesn't want them to focus on them or follow those influencers.

Look at this.

Their destiny is destruction, the destruction of lives, the destruction of families, the destruction of futures, and certainly the destruction of an eternity.

He's saying, don't follow them because this is where it takes you.

Sometimes, you know, when we're young, we see things.

We're influenced by things.

We make decisions and we're not able to see where it the end.

Paul is helping them see the end.

The destination for that is destruction.

And he said, don't follow them.

You need to set this in the context of his relationship with them.

He tells them, I thank my God every time I remember you.

I always pray for you with joy.

Because of your partnership in the gospel these past ten years.

God can testify how I long to see you with the affection of Christ.

So this is not some angry old get off my grasp man here, wagging his finger at him.

That's not who this is.

This is a great grandfather on his face before God.

Oh God, protect my children and my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren.

Protect them.

Help them navigate through these crazy times that we're living in with so many influences that will pull them off in the wrong direction.

That will pull them from their faith in Jesus and his plan and purpose for their lives.

Let's look at the other reason he wants us to imitate him.

He starts out, but our citizenship, and that word but could be also translated because.

Why imitate Timothy and me?

Because our citizenship is in heaven.

These are some of the most hope-filled words in all the Bible, but our citizenship is in heaven.

There's that word, citizenship.

And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, 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.

What does he mean by our citizenship is in heaven?

He's talking about, we may be on team Rome, but our true identity, our higher identity, our purpose is in heaven with Christ.

I love the way Tim Tebow said it.

Look at this.

Tim Tebow said it this way: our identity is not shaped by our scars.

And we've all got them, right?

You got scars, I got scars, all God's children have scars.

Things that have been done to us, things that we've done to us.

We've all got the scars, but our identity is not shaped by our scars, but by his scars.

Listen to me.

I feel like I need to add this in midterm election year, and you're thinking, oh my goodness, he's going there.

Yes, he is.

Our true identity, our truest identity is not indicated by an R.

Or a D or an I.

Our truest identity is indicated by a cross.

That's the truth.

Heaven is our destiny, but not just our destiny, it is our homeland.

Peter said, we're like aliens and foreigners, sojourners here.

And we are, and Paul says, we are heaven's ambassadors.

We are Christ's ambassadors.

As that we eagerly await our Savior from there.

Now listen to this, who's going to transform these lowly bodies.

Now, if you're in your 20s, that may not resonate with you, but trust me, it resonates with me, all right?

I don't see as well as I used to.

My wife, bless her heart, she tells me I don't hear as well as I used to.

Now, that's kind of a weird way to start a conversation.

My hairline is not where it used to be.

My knees are not the way they used to be.

Here's what that's telling us.

These are hopeful words.

It means no matter how dark our situation, we have hope.

I have a message from my beloved mentor and buddy H.D.

McCarty with the voice that's gone.

One day, someday, H.D.

And all those who struggle with disease and failing bodies and loss to all of them.

Here's an encouraging word.

One day, someday, the hero of Easter Sunday will return.

That's what that's telling us.

He's coming back.

And he's coming with resurrection power that will transform our lowly bodies, our failing bodies into glorious bodies like his.

The king of heaven is on his way.

And look what the scripture promises.

And he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

You've lost someone you love.

You've shed tears.

When he comes, he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

I love this.

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.

When we lived in DC, we love to go hear Lon Solomon preach.

And Lon had this thing where about halfway through his sermon, he would have everybody say two words.

He would have them all shout together, so what?

So let's do it together.

So what?

So what's the so what of imitating these people with a passion for Jesus because there are enemies of the cross all around us at work to pull you away.

And because our citizenship is in heaven, so what?

Paul says the very next verse, therefore, my brothers and sisters, and here comes that love and warmth and affection I was talking about, you whom I love and long for.

And he calls them this beautiful, beautiful thing.

He says, My joy and crown.

Stand firm in the Lord then this way, dear friends.

He calls them his joy and crown.

You know, Paul was in prison and facing his execution.

And I would ask you, when you come to the end, when you're 74, and you look back on what gives you the most joy, I want to tell you it's not something.

It's the people we introduce to the Savior.

That's his joy.

The old apostle John, toward the end of his life, said it this way.

And oh, this resonates with me.

I get this.

I feel you, John.

He said, I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in the truth.

Do you feel that?

Is that where your heart is?

I understand that.

And then he uses the word crown.

You're my joy and my crown.

He's not talking about a king's crown.

Not that at all.

You know what he's talking about?

He's talking about that laurel wreath that they would put on the head of the person who won the race in the Olympics.

That's the crown he's talking about.

That crown of a victor.

So I could just hear Paul praying in prison.

God, you you let me tell these precious ones in Philippi about Jesus.

And here in this prison, that may be the finish line in my race, they're my joy.

And their faith in Jesus is my crown of victory.

That's what it was for Paul.

You know what?

At the end, we don't total up our net worth to see if we won.

I think for Paul, the question was this Did I help someone find their way to Jesus?

And the Philippians were his joy and crown.

This past week, let me close with this.

This past week, I was so moved when I heard of a dad telling about taking his wife and and their only son, Aaron, to Arlington National Cemetery to visit Arlington.

Have you been there?

It's a profound experience.

And so he took them to Arlington and he said it was so moving, and we saw the sign that said, These are hallowed grounds, and so conduct yourself with quiet dignity and respect.

He said, you know, I had heard since I was a kid that that kind of cliche that we say that freedom is not free.

And he said, I'd I'd known that all my life, but he said the weight of those words did not hit me until I visited Arlington the second time as a gold star dad to bury our son Aaron.

He said the best way we can honor my son is to live lives that are worthy of his sacrifice.

Let me tell you, if that's true of our freedom as Americans, how much more so is that true of our freedom in Christ?

My prayer, my heart's desire for this message and for you, for those who are who are watching online, is that you would determine today that you would make this on this Independence Day weekend, that you would make this your day to declare your dependence on Christ.

Would you just pray with me?

It doesn't have to be complicated, just a simple prayer.

Just to pray, God, I need you.

I need you to help me to live a life that's worthy of the sacrifice Jesus made for me.

I ask you to forgive me, Lord, and I welcome you as my Lord and Savior.

Help me now to live a life that's worthy of what you sacrificed, a life of joy and purpose and pointing others to you.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you all so much.

Hey, down front here and at all the campuses, there will be people here who would love to pray with you.

God bless you all.