Citizens of Heaven | Philippians 1:27–2:4 | To Live Is Christ, Part 3

Who loves the Word of God?

You know, I don't want it to just be something we say every week.

I want it to be something we mean with our whole hearts.

Touched on just a few weeks ago that the sales in Bibles this last year from the previous year went up five million copies in the United States.

Tell me God is not moving on the hearts of people.

Right?

That tells me something.

And you know what?

We've got a church where people have relied so long on the Bible app on their phone.

And I saw that there's a trend going around.

Get ready for it.

People, the Gen Z is going to flip phones.

They're going back to flip phones, guys.

So, so the older ones in this room are like, I never went away from it.

You got kindred spirits now.

Like, this is amazing.

And you're like, praise God, because here's what's happening.

The cries of the hearts of people is, you know what?

All that, all that offers me, it steals my mind.

It robs my mind.

And so people are saying, I just want, I just want a pure mind.

I I want to be cleansed of all that junk that we get through through the phones, through social media.

And for those who don't know, I took a year off from social media, and I'd just like to say, I don't know if I'm ever going back.

I don't know if I'm going back.

Because what it's allowed me to do, and yes, I've got I got friends all over the world, so I get it.

I get it.

But what it has allowed me to do, it has allowed me not to have a clouded mind.

You know what?

I'm not missing that much.

Just being honest.

We're in the third week of our series on Philippians.

Who isn't joined Philippians?

Amen.

And my goal for you is that we go through these books, is what I hope to be doing is I hope to be giving you tools in how you can impart study when you read this because we want to read it for the full context.

We want to know the background.

And here's the thing.

So many times we say this phrase I just want, I want to hear from the Spirit of God, and I want to just take things and apply it to my life.

Here's the thing.

We have to apply what the Word of God says to us, not mold it and shape it into what we want it to say.

Right?

So we're like, Lord, just give me the truth.

Just give me the straight truth.

I need it and I need to live by it.

And that's our challenge, that's our aim, that's our goal.

Amen.

And so what we've learned so far, for those who haven't been a part of it, we've learned that Paul is writing to no ordinary church.

And so he he describes them in a way that he hasn't described other churches.

He said that we are in partnership in this thing.

That's a special title for Paul to say, we're in partnership.

He didn't use that phrase for any other church, and so it was reserved for a church that chose to suffer with Paul for the sake of Christ.

Okay?

So I want us to all be on the same page about that.

This is something, and this is key.

This is something they could have opted out of.

They were choosing to suffer for the name of Christ when they they, as they had become Roman citizens, they could have just said, no, we're good.

We've got this free life.

This is what we want to embrace.

And Paul has seen this special relationship develop.

Knowing the dynamics of the people that he is speaking to in the church, he is going to address some things that I want to be clear.

It's not rumors or issues in the church.

He's not addressing those things.

So what with what we read today, they aren't present issues, but he's giving words of caution.

Who loves words of caution?

One of my favorite things to do in words of caution is to learn from others who have said, hey, I've experienced it.

You don't want to do this.

For instance, who appreciates when someone flags you down when you're about to make a left turn and they say, no, don't make that turn.

You don't want to go that way right now.

There's a disaster about a quarter mile down the road.

And you're like, thank you, I'll go the other way.

That's that's kind of what Paul is doing here.

And here's the thing.

There are many of us, mature Christians, that think we come to a place where it's like, you know, I kind of think I have it all together.

Finally.

Finally, I have it all together.

I have it all figured out, and and I'm just gonna do well from this point.

Paul's writing to a church that they're doing well, and he's like, hold up! Word of caution.

Word of caution.

You need to listen to this because I don't want you falling flat on your face.

You know, we are so blessed to live in this United States.

Something that I want to urge God's people.

In about two and a half weeks, we are having an election.

And everyone's thinking, uh-oh, Pastor, where are you going?

I'm gonna tell you where where I'm going.

God's people should not focus Democratic, should not focus Republican.

God's people should focus on voting in line with God's word.

Okay?

Sadly, and this is really sad, sometimes it feels like we're voting for the lesser of two evils.

And you're like, how can I vote for God's word when I'm not seeing it?

The lesser of the two sometimes.

That's that's the path you have to take.

But here's the thing that I believe.

I believe that the way we are headed as a nation, Christians are going to be losing their freedoms.

And so you have to take this seriously, and the church has to get out and vote.

Because if and and here's the thing, and I've heard it said political season after political season that the church doesn't vote, especially in a non-presidential election year.

And the reality is the church needs to show up because that's our civic duty.

Are you hearing me, church?

Okay, because I, you know, I I always debate, Pastor, how far do you want to go with this?

But here's the thing: I believe our civil liberties are at stake as believers in Jesus Christ.

And so what we have to do is we have to get out.

We have to vote.

Who's with me?

All right.

So that being said, you have the freedom to do that, don't you?

Praise God, we still have the freedom to do that.

In fact, for most of the United States history, it has offered a degree of personal, economic, and religious freedom that's unmatched by any kingdom that has ever been prior established.

And here's the thing: you're hearing that, and you're like, well, let's be real.

We have given up some freedoms, and we have, but that still hasn't changed, that we are still a very desirable place to live for most of the rest of the world, right?

And so for nearly 250 years, people from every continent, except Antarctica, have come here precisely because of the freedoms and opportunities that flow from them, right?

And so here we can point it out.

We're like, man, a lot of these freedoms they've they've eroded in various ways and through through political corruption, we've seen that plenty of times.

Expanding regulation and shifting of the culture, right?

We've seen that over time.

And yet we know that the United States is far freer than most of the world.

So here's the thing: there's this ongoing desire for the good of our country to keep bringing in migrants.

That's great.

But here's the thing, and many countries learn this.

Check this out.

Many countries learn that if you don't go into a place and adopt and assimilate the values of where you're moving to, then there's going to be conflict, right?

There always is conflict.

And so that word is assimilation.

Everyone say assimilation.

Here's the thing assimilation is not optional if the original character of the nation is to be preserved, right?

I'm going somewhere, you need to follow me, okay?

And we see the same dynamic inside this country that over the past several years, a large number of people, I want you to think about it in these terms, a large number of people have migrated out of the state of California, and one of their favorite places to go is Texas.

And there's this popular phrase in Texas, perhaps you know it, don't California my Texas.

Like there are Texans that say that, right?

And so basically what they're that they are saying that if you come to this place, we want you to assimilate to our values different than your values, is what they're trying to say, okay?

And so, as much as that is a little legitimate concern for those people, assimilation means exactly that that we need to adjust what we already know and adapt to a new way of life in Jesus Christ.

You have to assimilate to it.

You have to learn what it means to be a Christian.

And so, if a person becomes a citizen, the expectation is that they have deliberately chosen to adopt that way of life, not merely to enjoy its benefits while retaining the patterns of where they left, but to say, no, I'm a citizen.

And so Paul in his text today encourages people that are citizens of Rome to live as citizens of heaven.

He's saying, Don't live as citizens of Philippi, don't live as citizens of Rome.

You're citizens of heaven.

And so what we're gonna do is we're going to examine the text, we're gonna see what it means to live as a citizen of heaven.

So I'm gonna ask it one more time.

Who loves the word of God?

All right, so hopefully you have your word, you're ready to go there.

We are in Philippians chapter one, we're looking at verse 27, and for the sake of right now, we're gonna go through verse 30.

Let's read together.

Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy.

Everyone say worthy.

Conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the good news about Christ.

Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith which is the good news.

Don't be intimidated in any way by your enemies.

This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved even by God Himself.

For you have been given not only the privilege, say privilege, the privilege of trusting in Christ, but also the privilege of thriving.

That's not what it says.

You have been given the privilege of suffering for Him.

We are in this struggle together.

You have seen my struggle in the past, and I know, and you know, excuse me, that I am still in the midst of it.

Let's pray.

Father God, we just thank you for your word.

Lord, as we uh expound upon the text, God, I pray that you will open our eyes into what it means to live in a manner worthy of the good news of Jesus Christ.

So, God, I pray that you will speak and speak clearly to hearts and minds, and it won't be this fool up here you're using, God.

But it will be straight from your very word that penetrates the hearts.

I thank you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Our conduct is so important.

You know what?

People know, if you're a Christian, they watch your neighbors, they see you leave your house every day or every Sunday, same time.

They know, they they get an idea, right?

And I asked this question how how is a citizen of heaven supposed to live?

And Paul goes on and he says, conduct yourselves worthy of a manner of the good news of Jesus Christ.

But what should our lives look like according to Jesus?

And so here's a few things to just put in your pocket for right now.

Jesus said, if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me daily.

That's one of the ways we need to live like him.

He also said, Whoever is great among you must be your servant.

And then he goes on to say, For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

So God is calling us to a life of service.

Then he goes on and he also says, There's a new command I give you, love one another as I have loved you in John chapter 13.

John 13 · chapter mention

And then listen to John 17, 21, as Jesus is crying out, praying in the garden for his people.

Listen to what he says, that they may all be one.

Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

A worthy manner is a life that is modeled after Jesus Christ.

And so what we need to choose to do, and this is not easy, and this is what we're gonna talk about for the bulk of today, is people who stand together in one spirit and one purpose.

That needs to be who we are.

You're like, how do we get there?

We're all so different, and we think differently, and let's be real.

We, you know, we we sometimes vote differently and we do all these things, and yet we're supposed to come together in this room and agree.

Like, how?

And I want you to embrace that when we pursue the things of Christ together, when we seek the Holy Spirit together, we function as a single unit.

We do.

When we come together, where if we look to God as the example, that the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, it's three parts that are in one, they are always in agreement with each other.

And when and when we unite in Christ, the Holy Spirit, what happens is he knits our hearts together as one.

It's important for the body of Christ to gather together.

Listen to Ephesians 4, 4 through 6.

It says, For there is one body and one spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future, there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

That same spirit, that one spirit, living in all of you, living in all of you.

So it is the Lord's intent to bring his people together and we be united as one.

And here's the thing we are stronger together as a group than as individuals, and his spirit unites us.

And so I want men and women who are gonna say, Man, I'm gonna contend for the faith.

I'm gonna fight beside you, Pastor, and I'm gonna do whatever I possibly can for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ, even if it cost me my life.

Paul found that with the Philippi church.

Who knows it's easier to fight when there's someone standing by your side?

Especially if you're facing an army.

Yesterday, Wendy and I, we haven't had a day where we've done nothing in months.

And yesterday there was nothing on the calendar.

And I wake up, we cook breakfast, and I'm sitting there and I'm I'm content with this idea.

We're gonna do absolutely nothing today.

By one o'clock, I'm bored out of my mind, just out of my literal mind.

And I'm thinking, we gotta, we gotta do something, and and yet we had no plans.

And she made it clear that I needed to have no plans, so I had no plans.

And she turned on one of my favorite movies.

She's like, let's watch Lord of the Rings.

I'm like, okay, let's watch Lord of the Rings.

And there's a scene in the two towers where they're at this place called Helm's Deep.

They're being overrun, they're retreating, they're going back.

And the king is sitting there looking around, and he's he's just resigned to.

We're done.

And then a couple others come beside him and say, Let's fight to the death.

And he's like, Yeah, let's fight to the death.

Next thing you know, they charge out, they bust through these doors, and they are just slaying everybody, right?

And I know what that's like.

I know what it's like to be in a position where you feel all alone and you're just like, I'm done.

I'm finished, I've got no more in me, I've got nothing left.

And then next thing you know, someone comes beside you and says, Yeah, you might die, but I'm gonna die with you.

I'm not going anywhere.

And then more came along their side.

That's what we need, is the body of Christ, amen.

That's that's why the Lord brings us together.

And here's the thing: the fight is not for our personal status, it's not for just us professionally or our preferences, it is for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is not to further any one man or woman, it is to elevate Jesus Christ and say, He is the reason I do everything that I do.

Some versions in verse 27, I love this.

It says, Contend for the faith, contend for it, fight for it.

2 Timothy chapter 2 instructs us that a soldier is focused on pleasing the one who enlisted him.

2 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

And so, sure, we fight side by side, but we fight for the sake of the gospel and we don't back down because of the one who has made a way where there was no way.

We can't be intimidated by our enemies.

We can't.

We can't allow ourselves to be succumbed to that.

And here's the thing according to scripture, we have five clear enemies.

And if you're a note taker, this is important for you.

The first one Satan.

Seems obvious, doesn't it?

Like he's usually at the top of everybody's list.

He takes the blame for everything, but he is an enemy.

Revelation chapter 12, 9 through 10.

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

It says the accuser stands before the throne of God, accusing the brethren.

Day and night.

So basically, here's what he's doing.

He's taking his case before the Lord, and he's saying, Hey, these guys, they're full of sin.

They're full of sin.

But here's the thing: you got the you got the Son of God who paid the price for you that is reminding God the Father, no, no, no, I died for them.

I died for them.

So you can embrace that.

The second thing, demonic forces.

We have demons that they are out there, like like they are Satan's minions and they are out there to do his bidding.

Ephesians 6.12 says, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Another enemy, the world.

You know what?

The world is a hostile system to Jesus Christ.

It is.

Listen to what he said in John 15, 18 through 19.

He says, if the world hates you, remember that it hated me before it hated you, because you are not of this world.

This next one, man, I can preach.

Our flesh.

Our sinful nature.

Sometimes you feel like you're your own worst enemy.

Listen to Romans 8:7.

Romans 8:7

It says the mind that is set.

On the flesh is hostile to God.

Hostile.

A mind that is set on the flesh, on fleshly things, always craving the things that don't last, that they decay.

Man, I'm we're doing a Roman series starting in January.

Let's do it now.

Let's do it now.

Those who actively oppose the gospel and persecute believers, number five.

2 Timothy 3.12, Paul said to Timothy, indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Bank it.

Write it down.

That if you choose to follow that path, if you choose to renounce your old life, if you choose to say, I am dead to sin, I am alive in Christ, and you are living the way Christ is modeled for you, you can bank it, you will be persecuted.

So I want to ask you, what does your conduct look like?

What does your conduct look like?

You know, we demonstrate we're a citizen of how we live.

It's not where we live, by how we live and how we carry ourselves.

Because I can tell you, guys, I travel all over this world.

They see Americans coming from a mile away, and I don't know how they do it, but they know that when we're there, it's like, oh, you're American.

Well, I don't even want to know.

I don't want to know.

But everyone around you knows where your citizenship is by how you live.

And so when your neighbor sees how you live, does it resemble heaven?

When you interact with the waitress at the restaurant, does your conduct walk worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

When you deal with that employee who is under you, do they see a servant of Jesus Christ or do they see an unruly boss?

What do they see?

And so the only way that we can adopt this conduct, this way of living, is by falling in love with Jesus Christ.

This is so important, guys, is that that I choose to fall in love with the Savior, the one who took my punishment for my sin.

He paid that price and he made a way for us.

That is what I'm choosing to fall in love with.

And so as I understand the sacrifice that was made for me, as I count the cost of what I'm leaving behind to follow him, I choose to leave the world behind and I focus on Jesus.

I let that be my focus in each and everything I do.

And here's the key don't fake it till you make it.

There are so many people that say, ah, just pretend and eventually it just becomes natural to you.

Don't do that.

Choose to dive into understanding this faith in what Jesus has done for you.

Dive in headfirst.

Say, I gotta know it.

So what's gonna happen is as you open up the Word of God.

If everyone tells me how bad their life is going, you know what I'm gonna ask you?

I'm gonna ask you, when's the last time you read your Bible?

Seriously.

When's the last time you prayed?

When's the last time you prayed beyond just your problem?

Seriously.

But choosing to open up the Word of God and say, I want to comprehend.

If you don't comprehend, you can't fall in love with Jesus Christ.

You need to comprehend what He's done for you first.

That means reading this.

Reading this.

See, when you get saved, you can say, I felt that love right when I experienced salvation.

And you did, but it's a lot like when you're dating someone and you say you love them, and then you get married to them.

And then that love is not demonstrated by a feeling you have inside, but by your actions and your understanding of the value of that relationship and everything that you put into it, that you don't want it to fail.

It's a lot like walking with the Lord.

Now, God's never gonna fail us, but how many times have we failed him?

Time and time and time again.

But when you comprehend that you serve a God who sent his only son to die for you, and to declare, even though, even though people put him up on that cross, to declare, whosoever believes in me, even the ones that that that that put me there, whosoever believes in me will not perish but have everlasting life.

And so all of a sudden I realize that I don't have this faith primarily so that I can just go to heaven.

Yes, that's the reward for my faith, but that's not why I serve him.

I serve him because he took my place.

He took my place, and I say, if he is going to do that for me, I will live for him.

You and I, we embrace this faith because the person of Jesus Christ who was raised to life and now sits at the right hand of the Father, owes our allegiance.

He owes our allegiance.

He is Lord, and trusting him is the only right response to a citizen of heaven.

Turn your Bibles back to Philippians.

We're looking at the first two verses of chapter two.

It says, Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ?

Paul's asking rhetorical questions here.

Any comfort from his love?

Any fellowship together in the spirit?

Are your hearts tender and compassionate?

Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

Paul asks all these rhetorical questions.

And the idea of asking a rhetorical question is like, you know what the answer should be, but it sparks that thought in your mind and it causes you to examine everything in your life.

And you're like, well, like Paul asks, is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ?

And it's like, yeah, being united with Christ is the fundamental reality of our existence.

And so we should naturally be encouraged.

I don't know about you, but every time that I find myself going to the throne of God, I leave encouraged.

I'm not discouraged by it.

And here's the thing: as we gather together through other believers, you know, we're supposed to comfort one another.

We're supposed to encourage one another.

It's supposed to strengthen us, it's supposed to fortify us.

And so here is the thing union with Jesus settles that fact, completely settles it.

Romans 6, 5.

It says, since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.

Second rhetorical question, Paul asks.

Any comfort from his love?

Noticing all these things aren't about the church, all these things are about our connection with God.

And so God pours out his love into the hearts of his people by his Holy Spirit, and that love is the very reason that Christ gave himself.

And so that should resemble the atmosphere of the Christian life.

That should.

And so I again I gotta say, I have never approached the throne of grace and not been comforted.

I've never not been encouraged, I've never not been comforted.

And so sometimes we have to get out of our flesh, we have to get out of ourselves, and we have to choose to sometimes come down here to the physical altar.

Because that's what it takes.

It's because we need to put our flesh into submission.

Amen.

The third thing, any fellowship together in the spirit.

You and I we're all baptized into one spirit, into one body, and we have we we've been made to drink of one spirit, the scripture says.

Listen to 1 Corinthians 12, 13.

Paul says, Some of us are Jews, some of us are Gentiles, some are slave, and some are free.

But we have all, collectively, all been baptized into one body by one spirit, and we all share the same spirit.

So the same spirit that produces peace, love, fruitfulness, gladness, joy, does all those things is the same one that binds his people together.

And that's when it becomes a true partnership, that koinania that we talked about in week one.

That's when it becomes truly of the Spirit of God.

Lastly, the last rhetorical question that Paul asks are your hearts tender and compassionate?

Here's the thing: these are the very affections of Christ Himself, tenderness and compassion.

And so you and I, we choose to put on this compassionate heart because I am God's chosen, I am holy and beloved, and if Christ demonstrated that's who I need to be.

But I also embrace that the God of comfort is also the Father of mercy.

And so I can just trust and know that God is ultimately compassionate for me, and if He's compassionate for me, I need to be compassionate for His people.

So here's the tricky part.

How do we become of one mind and one purpose?

We're so different.

And I want to tell you, church, don't let unity be your aim.

If you're sitting there letting unity be your aim, you're gonna fail each and every time.

You let Jesus Christ be your aim, and he's the one that unifies us.

And so that's what we embrace.

And so when we gather together, we agree and we seek the Spirit of God together, we pray for one another, we have this shared desire that not only do we meet God in this place, but that through us the message of Christ is going to go forth.

So when you and I gather here, what I want is I want to see the Spirit of God present in this place because we need it.

We need it.

That is what is going to drive us out of here and reach other people.

You know what?

Revival fails if the people don't leave the church and go get the world saved.

That's the purpose of revival.

And so we want to come into this place, we want to experience the things of God so that so that we can go forth and reach others.

Are you and I still gonna face trials and conflict?

Sure.

Are we gonna choose to handle them in a godly manner?

That's the question.

Are we gonna choose to handle them in a godly manner?

Because here's the thing in this room, there's all kinds of different personalities.

We got some unique ones, don't we?

Steve.

We got lots of amazing talents in the room.

But when we come together and when we operate together in those different personalities and in those talents, we can be united in purpose and all motivated by the same thing.

That's the goal.

And so we've got to focus on this is where my foundation lies, and your foundation lies in the exact same place.

And then when we come together, we might be completely different, but we have the same foundation and we have the same purpose and goal.

It's not about our differences, it's about what unites us.

Jesus Christ.

In 2024, I met two guys that completely shook my world in the best and worst way possible.

And there are people in this room that know both of these guys.

They do not attend this church.

I'll just say their first names for your own amusement.

A man named Yuli and a man named Sai.

And I take Yuli and Sai to Thailand on a missions trip, and I think, what did I get myself into?

And as I learn their story, I'm in utter amazement because these two guys, one went to East High, one went to Lincoln, and they were in rival gangs.

They hated each other.

They had people in these gangs that attacked each other, killed each other, and yet, so they absolutely hate each other.

And then one day, Cy is serving Christ.

He's in his church, and in walks Yuli.

And Yuli is now a God-fearing believer.

And every figurative gun they might have been carrying on them for each other was laid down as they opened their arms up to each other and hugged each other.

And I can tell you, today, they have a street ministry together called Impact Our City that hits the streets regularly.

And Joe and Suzanne, they've they've connected with them.

You can do it.

You can do it.

You can unite.

You can.

And so lastly, and mother, if you can come, and Jared, you can come.

Where do we start?

How do we do this?

And I want us not to focus on the other person in the room.

I want us to focus on our own posture.

You guys know what it means to have good posture?

I'm telling you, if you have bad posture, you'll pay for it eventually.

You older ones, some of you can say amen to that, right?

You've experienced it.

And so we need to focus on our posture and listen to listen to Philippians chapter 2, verses 3 and 4 as we close.

Philippians 2:3

It says, Don't be selfish.

Don't try to impress others.

Be humble.

Thinking of others better than yourselves.

Who's convicted?

Don't look out only for your own interest, but take interest in others too.

What?

I thought everyone's supposed to be interested in me.

We have to start from a position of humility.

Not of pride.

Not thinking, well, wait till you find out what I bring to the table.

Who cares?

With all love.

Who cares?

That's exciting.

We need to recognize when our motives are all wrong.

And we need to lay that stuff down.

And we need to say, you know what?

Nothing else matters but Jesus Christ.

If the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is willing to humble Himself.

For our sake, boy, I should be eating dirt.

Like seriously, I should be eating dirt.

Because our flesh, we naturally want to impress others.

That's the desire of our heart.

Let's be real.

Our heart is deceitful above all things.

And we think, you know what?

I'm out for my own self-interest.

I gotta get mine.

Like, like I'm here to take care of me.

I wish, I wish just everyone liked me because I'm a really likable person, and then I know that I'm gonna get favor and I know I'm gonna be taken care of.

See, here's the thing: these statements they are rooted in fleshly desires that only serve the world.

It does not serve Christ.

It doesn't.

And so what we have to acknowledge is when that the flesh is getting in the way, that we need to actively seek to remove these things from our life, to say that doesn't belong in me anymore.

I am a citizen of heaven, so I cast it to the side and I choose to have the conduct that Paul today is asking of us.

Philippi, think about the things that they possess.

Paul said these things because they possessed him.

He says, He's encouragement in Christ, comfort from love, fellowship in the spirit, and tenderness and compassion.

They were equipped and they were obligated to live this way.

And so the unity that Paul desires is not achieved on agreement of every preference.

It's not achieved by surrendering your understanding of something for someone else's.

That's not it.

It is achieved through a shared humility that refuses to let our self-interest dominate.

Every time I make a decision on something in this building, the color of the carpet, color on the walls, tables in the coffee shop.

I always think people are gonna like it.

Here's the thing.

For whatever reason that doesn't agree.

But through a shared humility that refuses to let our self-interest dominate, focusing on Christ.

We can come together.

So here's the thing where it's easy to look at someone else and say, Well, they're not living up to their end of the market.

We need our own ergonomic approach to Jesus Christ.

That lumbar support that makes okay, sit upright.

Put your head up.

Don't look at the ground, keep your eyes forward.

Don't take your eyes off of Jesus Christ.

Don't back down when the enemy comes against you.

Trust and know that God is with you.

And if you stand up and you choose to contend for the faith, that there are men and women that are gonna come beside you.

You trust and know that.

You choose to take your own ergonomic approach to say, Lord, I read about the ways that you tell me I need to live, and I choose to cast aside all those fleshly desires, all those things that I've been clinging to, and I renounce that in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, and I am choosing to move forward as a citizen of your kingdom.

Not a citizen of the United States, not an eastsider, not even a person of the world.

Citizen of heaven.

Citizen of heaven.

So as we close, I want you to know it is worth giving up every pursuit, every pursuit on the face of this earth to follow Jesus.

What he has for you.

You can have every good desire, but if it's of the world, it serves no godly purpose, it's gonna be meaningless in the end.

Because one day.

He's gonna call you home.

And you're gonna try and stand on everything you did.

And you know what everything you did is gonna mean to God if you didn't do it at his direction.

You're gonna say, But I knew you.

Lord, I cast out demons in your name, I did this, I did that.

He's gonna say, Depart from me, I never knew you.

You never followed out what I had for you.

You didn't trust me.

You didn't surrender your life to me.

You hung on to everything.

And so what I choose to do is I choose to recognize that to be a citizen of heaven, I have to lay everything down at his feet.

I have to give him everything that I have and every worldly desire I have.

I gotta recognize that that's not of him, so it really doesn't matter.

And then if he supplies all our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus, I have to trust and know that if he's calling me to something, he's gonna see it through.

And so, church, we have to be men and women that are willing to lay it all down that if he's calling us to do something, we're like, I have to give my all to this.

He doesn't make mistakes.

So, again, how is your posture?

What needs correcting?

What needs to lay down?

Only you and God can answer that.

And here's the thing: I was blind to so many things that I did.

And then as I tapped into the word of God and and as I sought him, he would open my eyes to see where I am falling short.

And what I would do is I would repent.

Say, God, remove that from me.

That's what a true follower of Christ does.

It's not settled all in one day.

I wish it was.

It's not settled in one day.

But that daily surrender, that daily humility, that daily posture correction.

No, no, no.

Remember where you are a citizen of.

So I want everyone in this room, bow your heads and close your eyes.

And as we close, I actually want you to stand.

I want you to stand.

I never write down my altar response because I want it to just be true to the moment.

Today was one of those messages where it's clear that our flesh sometimes gets in the way and we have the best of intentions, but it just does.

And so this is what I want you to do as a last step, as a last action step, in that posture correction.

If you would say, Pastor, there's things I need to renounce, and I know it.

And I need to change my focus.

I'd just like you to come down here and stand at this altar.

I guarantee you're not gonna be alone.

Again, you're not gonna be alone.

It's a great place for brothers and sisters in Christ up here.

Now here's what I want to do, and I know that there are many in this room that you love the people up here.

They're fighting to be up here right now.

Remember our five enemies.

Remember our five enemies?

We're gonna stand with them.

So I want supporting people, prayer partners to come up behind them, stand with them in prayer.

Let's lift our hands to God, Father God.

Put all the baggage, all the weight, all the things that I let get in the way from truly walking as a citizen of your kingdom, God.

Lord, I renounce and I only have the power to renounce it by the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

And so I renounce that.

And God, I embrace the things of your kingdom and I embrace the way that you have called me to live, and I trust and know that it is good, it is pleasing, it is perfect.

And so, God, I just I just choose every day to Lord wake up in humility, clothe myself in the things of Jesus Christ, that I can move forward, trusting and knowing that I am not just a citizen of heaven, but Lord, I represent heaven because I have walked worthy of the good news of Jesus Christ.

And so, Lord, I I ask for all those things that Apostle Paul addressed.

I ask for that, Lord, they will feel encouragement.

Lord, they will feel comforted.

They will sense and know that fellowship, Father.

And that God will sense and know your compassion, your strength.

That you're behind them, Lord.

May we be men and women that we have our eyes fixed toward heaven, as accordance with Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 and 2.

Colossians 3:1

Lord, may we be men and women, that we don't put our head down.

That Lord, we don't relent, we are sure-footed.

We claim that protection of Ephesians chapter 6 and the armor of God over us, but in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, that we also carry that shield, extinguishing all the fiery darts from the enemy, God.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

Where we take on the word, we take on your spirit, God, we clothe ourselves in Christ, in Jesus' name, and all God's people said.