[0:00] And we can read again at verse 17. Our conversation is in heaven from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
[0:50] Now, the Bible has much to say to us concerning living in the present.
[1:06] Today is the day of salvation. But it also makes clear to us that to live the Christian life in the present, we must be mindful of the past and that we must also look forward to the future.
[1:28] Now, in this passage, Paul is showing us that living the Christian life in the present always rests on looking back to the events of Calvary.
[1:42] It's in having a proper understanding and a proper relationship and love for the cross of Christ that will enable us to enjoy a spiritual relationship with God.
[2:01] Because there is no other way by which we can be united to God. There is no other way that we can have communion with God other than through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[2:15] And if we don't understand that, then regardless of what religious devotions we might be engaged in, it's not going to enable us to live the lives that God wants us to live.
[2:34] Because the lives that he wants us to live is wholly dependent upon us receiving grace from himself. And the only way that we can have grace from God is in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
[2:50] And that's so often mentioned in Scripture, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if we are living in dependence upon that grace, then we will enjoy our spiritual lives here in this world.
[3:09] That doesn't mean to say that there won't be difficulties. But we will be able to bear the difficulties because the joy of the Lord will be our strength.
[3:21] But not only are we to look back, but we're to also look forward, which is what the apostles of the New Testament continually did.
[3:34] And they lived as if the Lord could come at any moment. Now, this is something that maybe many of us has lost sight of in our own lives.
[3:52] Maybe we're not thinking that the Lord could come today when we wake up in the morning. But when there is a spiritual renewal in the midst of God's people or where people are spiritually alive for Christ, there is a constant awareness that the return of the Lord could be imminent.
[4:20] He could come at any time. And the faithful servant of God is working as if that was a reality. That's how the apostles gave us an example.
[4:33] And that's what they exhorted us to do, to continue to look to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Paul here, at the end of chapter 3, brings before us the danger.
[4:54] There were those in the church who professed to be Christians, but they were, in actual fact, enemies of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[5:07] Now, they themselves might not have been aware that they were enemies of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were professing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
[5:17] They were gathering for worship with the rest of God's people. And they believed that they were God's people, just as the foolish virgins would have believed outwardly.
[5:30] They had circumspect lines. They appeared to be just like the rest of God's people. But, in actual fact, they were enemies of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[5:45] Because they weren't willing to take up their cross. They weren't focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. They weren't living in dependence upon the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[5:57] And they weren't looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were living for this world. And that was evident in the way that they walked and conducted themselves in this world.
[6:15] So, Paul exhorts the Christians that he's writing to here, Brethren, be followers together of me. And mark them which walk so as you have us for an example.
[6:29] Now, Paul is, at the end of this chapter, pointing out the contrast between the true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and those who identify with himself and the rest of the apostles.
[6:45] Be followers together of me. Be followers together of me. And mark them which walk so as you have us for an example. So, he's setting himself and the rest of the apostles up as the example that they're to follow.
[7:00] So, that what Paul and the rest of the apostles set before the churches was the truth of God's word and they lived themselves according to God's word.
[7:17] And in doing so, they were written epistles. They were an example to those that were in the church as to how they ought to live their lives in a way that they would maintain a relationship with God so that God would be glorified in their lives and that they themselves would continue to receive God's blessings.
[7:42] So, he continues to draw a contrast between the enemies of the cross and those who were sincere and faithful witnesses to the Lord Jesus Christ.
[7:59] He says, first of all, in verse 19, that the enemies of the cross of Christ are heading for destruction.
[8:10] But, he says, we are waiting for the Savior. There's the difference. We're living in anticipation of the Savior coming.
[8:22] They're not. And they're heading for destruction. Now, they are devoting to the body, worshipping and making a god of the appetites of the body.
[8:45] They had made their belly their god. In other words, they were satisfying the fleshly appetites of their sinful nature.
[9:03] That's what they were about. They weren't denying themselves anything. They were feeding the lusts, the appetite that they had for the sinful things that is true of all of us, not just from within us, but all around us.
[9:26] And what Satan will tempt us with. They were swallowing it all up. They were feeding themselves on these things. They had made that their god.
[9:39] And Paul says, the reverse of that is that we consider this body as a lowly body. It's literally the body of our humiliation.
[9:57] We're ashamed. We're ashamed. In other words, that we possess such a sinful nature as that which we do possess.
[10:09] And it has been weakened through sin. And we're certainly not going to edify the desires and the lusts of this body.
[10:22] And if we have a true understanding of how we ought to treat this body as the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we ought to crucify it.
[10:36] Not literally, but spiritually. We ought to be putting the flesh to death daily. And we ought to humble ourselves.
[10:46] Now, they had perverted the standard that God requires of His people. They were glorifying in shameful things.
[11:01] But those who are the Lord's people have a higher understanding of the standard that God requires of His people.
[11:16] They appreciate the glory that they have already tasted of. And the glory that they're yet looking forward to. Because they're looking forward.
[11:30] In verse 21, And finally, The person who wasn't a true believer of the Lord Jesus Christ were earthbound.
[12:01] Their minds were on the things of this world. Who mind earthly things, he says. But contrary to that, Our conversation is in heaven.
[12:16] Our desires are not for the things of this world. We're not living for the things of this world. Our citizenship is not in this world.
[12:29] Our citizenship is in heaven. So, he's throwing the contrast between the true believer and the person who professes to be a believer, But has deceived himself.
[12:45] Because, By their fruits they shall be known. The way that they conduct themselves. The things that drive them. The things that they give their hearts over to.
[12:56] The things that they're seeking to satisfy. Whether it's to satisfy the lusts of the flesh.
[13:07] Or to seek to be led by the Spirit. To lay hold of the heavenly blessings that Christ has secured for us. Now, he says concerning those that are deceived, That they are the enemies of the cross.
[13:24] Now, we might have expected that when he came to describe the true Christian, That he might have said that they were the lovers of the cross.
[13:36] Now, if he had said that, that would have been a true statement. Because the Christian loves the cross. Because he knows that it was on the cross of Christ, That God secured all the blessings that he receives.
[13:55] It was on the cross of Christ, That it was made possible for us to be accepted by God. It's through the cross of Christ, That Christ lives to make intercession for us.
[14:09] The intercession draws its strength from the work that was finished on the cross. Christ is continually pleading for us, As a result of what he's done on our behalf.
[14:24] So that when he brings us to God, He's saying to the Father, You must bless them, Because I've earned that blessing for them, Through the work that I finished on that cross, Where I paid the penalty on their behalf.
[14:42] So, he draws down the blessing for God's people. So, the Lord's people are lovers of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, And they're not ashamed of it.
[14:55] And because they are lovers of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, They're not afraid to take up their cross.
[15:06] And they're not afraid to crucify the flesh. That is their desire. That they might put to death, The sinful nature that they possess, As Jesus himself gave example.
[15:19] But as Paul says here, Be followers of me, And mark everybody that walks after the same example, As those that you can put your confidence in.
[15:36] Because they're not desiring the things of this world, They're crucifying themselves to the things of this world. They're not desiring to satisfy the lusts of the flesh.
[15:46] They're putting the flesh to death. They are seeking to be led by the Spirit. To lay hold more of the blessings that Christ has secured for us.
[15:59] Because when we're converted, We haven't received the fullness of our salvation. What we've received is a down payment. And we continue to receive more of that salvation.
[16:12] God is bringing on the work of salvation, As he says in chapter 1 of this letter. It's a work that has begun, When we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
[16:25] But it's a work that continues to be brought on, As we receive more of the blessings, For which Christ died. In order that we might become more like Christ.
[16:37] And that we will continue to receive more of our redemption. But Paul doesn't describe us as the lovers of the cross.
[16:54] He describes us as those that are eagerly awaiting the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We're waiting for the Saviour.
[17:09] So we're not just looking to the cross, We're looking forward to his coming. And this is what we're reminded of every time that we partake of the Lord's Supper.
[17:20] I know that there's the danger and I fear that we have overemphasized the cross To the detriment of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[17:32] But the Lord's Supper is not just reminding us of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's reminding us that he's going to come again. And that's what we should be looking forward to.
[17:45] Yes, we need to look back, but we also need to look forward. Because that's when we will receive the fullness of the redemption that Christ has secured for his people.
[18:00] Now, as I said, I fear that we don't attach the same importance to the second coming as we do to the cross. But the cross would be pointless.
[18:12] It would have been of no value unless Christ was going to come again. What value would it have been for Christ to have died for our sins if he's not going to come back to take us to where he is?
[18:31] And if he's not going to come back to give us the fullness of our redemption? If he's not going to come back to eradicate the power of sin completely in our lives so that we will be able to go into heaven?
[18:47] Because as we are right now, we're not fit for heaven. The work is not yet complete. It's a work that he's bringing on. And it will only be complete when Jesus comes again.
[19:00] And this is what Paul is bringing before the Philippians. This is how you will recognize those who are the Lord's people.
[19:11] This is what they're looking forward to. They're looking forward to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because that's when they will be completely free of this vile body of sin, as he describes it here.
[19:28] And that's surely what every Christian is longing for. What discourages the Christian in this life is that the good that he wants to do, he always fails to do it.
[19:48] Why? Because of this vile body of sin that draws us back and ties us down. We want to break with the bonds that sin has over us.
[20:00] We want to break with the ties of this world, because this is not our resting place. We're looking for a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness, where everything will be done right, everything will be done to God's glory.
[20:19] We will never again have to complain that we're not able to give him the glory that we would love to give him. And surely that's our desire, that we would glorify him perfectly, that we would honor him with the honor that he deserves to receive.
[20:38] Surely that's what grieves us so often, that we're not able to do that for him, because of the weakness of the flesh, and because of the sinfulness of the flesh.
[20:53] Now, when Christ comes again, we will receive the fullness of our redemption.
[21:07] This is the day that God has appointed for us to receive the fullness of our redemption. The second coming is designed by God as the completion of the work that has begun in this world, in the lives of his people.
[21:30] Now, we have been taught in this epistle that God highly esteemed the work that his son finished on the cross of Calvary.
[21:51] In chapter 2, he tells us that as a result of the work that he finished, that he highly exalted his son, he rewarded him for the work that he had done, and he gave him the highest position possible to give him.
[22:13] He sat him on his own throne, and he put all power under his control in heaven and on earth.
[22:25] And we have a picture of it in Psalm 110. The Father welcoming the Son into heaven, sit here at my right hand, until I make it force your footstool, until I bring everything into subjection to you.
[22:43] Now, that hasn't yet happened. Everything hasn't yet been brought into subjection to Christ. But it's going to happen because this is the honor that the Father put upon his son.
[22:57] This is what he promised the son. This is what I'm going to do for you. Everything will be brought to your footstool. You will have complete dominion over all things.
[23:11] Because this is what you deserve as a result of the faithfulness that you have shown in finishing the work that I had given you to do.
[23:23] So God's estimation of Calvary requires the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ again.
[23:37] Because that's when he will receive all the honor and all the glory that is due unto his name.
[23:48] And that's when the Father will be satisfied that he has given him the reward that his work deserves.
[24:02] When every knee shall bow to him and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
[24:18] The Father will not rest until he sees that through. And it's all pointing to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[24:32] And Paul says those who are the true followers of Christ are looking forward to that day. and if we're spiritually alive in our souls when people are spiritually alive in their souls in times of revival people are longing for that day.
[24:57] They've become so tired of this world they are completely caught up with the things of heaven. and they're longing for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[25:13] They share spiritual lethargy and apathy in our midst in our nation in the day that we're living in.
[25:30] That's not to say that there aren't some who are very much alive for Christ and to our longing and to our longing for this day to come but they're few and far between.
[25:43] This ought to characterize all of God's people. We ought to be longing for the return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ where we will be released from the things of this world.
[26:00] The reason that things are not the way that they ought to be even amongst the Lord's people who are the true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ but they're not bearing the fruits as clearly as we ought to.
[26:16] The reason we have become worldly our minds are on earthly things and the fruits that we're bearing are the fruits of the hypocrite.
[26:27] The fruits of those who are deceived. Now we ought not to be comfortable in that state. We ought to make sure of our calling so that we will know that we are of the elect of God and we ought not to be complacent about it.
[26:51] It's something that we should be unhappy if we're not assured of our salvation. We should be striving to make it sure and we should be striving to receive more of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that will give us that will give us the evidence within ourselves because as we receive more of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ as we submit ourselves to the Spirit we will have far more confidence at the throne of grace as we heard mentioned in prayer.
[27:31] The Spirit bears witness with our spirits and we're able to call God our Father. Are we that comfortable in God's presence when we pray that we're always praying to Him as our Father in Heaven?
[27:49] Or have we got a slavish fear? We ought not to have a slavish fear. We ought to know God's love for us and we ought to be aware that He's our Father and that He's got the spiritual welfare of His children at heart.
[28:10] He wants to do us good and He wants us to come boldly to Him to ask for the blessings that Christ has secured for us because He's far more willing to give them to us than we are to ask for them.
[28:28] May God grant that He would bless to us these thoughts. Let's pray. Torkil, would you close and pray? Amen.
[28:53] Reading by God and pray. May God normale for us those of our holy spirit that we may see our men' in peace in peace.
[29:16] And зм, I am no longer having disciples of this world. And you let them have to have them come to us, and to have them no longer seeking after this walking point.
[29:29] Praise be to thee for all that they have done, Father. And I am coming into this world to seek and to save after this loss. We were all lost and we were all become to our lost.
[29:41] And praise be to thee that there is its choice. And I would ask, as we know those its choice, our self and our Savior, praise be to thee that we may not be able to defend, nor are we standing in condition to follow.
[29:55] As there is a day of light, as there is a purpose to view the self-defense, and that it shows that the work, our passion needs to be further than the same, and we are to have them in the feet of things of this world.
[30:07] We were all over the last time passing in all of our self-defense, and we see that our Savior, that we may retain it in our power. We are all over the last time passing in all of our hearts. And even if your heart's sent in to you so you cannot do things of pain, and I am not doing these pieces of things of this world.
[30:22] We are just about to put the cordons and transfer all of our predictions. I know as to light heart, and we often go to our own hearts, the heart that was revealed to us, and it's been in this very heart particularly.
[30:36] And we are just about to give us a heart that starts to be so better, and so that we can't do so better, and we will all have sought to serve us now, but the only of the Savior, the Savior, the Savior, the Savior, and the Savior.
[30:49] And I am going to a great distance in our people, for Father Martin, and for the life of my Lord, and for the life of my Lord, and for the life of my Lord, and for the life of my Lord, and for the life of my Lord, and for the life of my Lord, I hurt him all the time that he贏 of my Lord, and for the many of them are holy.
[31:07] I rule that I are going to be my Lord, and for the health of my Lord, and for the highest and we are here at all times.
[31:30] And we must have been in all sense of it. We say the things of this woman. So many days, really, in this old soldier, we have been working fantastic.
[31:42] They will reveal us after that. They will reveal us after this. We speak to me that all of them are standing on behalf of him today.
[31:53] We have been. We pray to you to them. We pray to you to leave us with joy of ignoring us.
[32:05] We pray to you that we couldévdri. We pray to you that we can have a Huge outfit with them. We fear to embrace the Synаний of the obedience of Jesus.
[32:20] We pray to you that we can humiliate you, We are going to conclude by singing in Psalm 22.
[32:49] Psalm 22. At verse 27. All ends of the earth remember shall and turn the Lord unto all kindreds of the nations to whom shall homage to.
[33:03] Because the kingdom to the Lord doth appertain as his. Likewise among the nations the governor he is. We are going to sing to the end of the psalm.
[33:14] Psalm 22 at verse 27. All.