Please take your Bibles and let's open them up to the book of Philippians this morning.
Book of Philippians, once again, we're about halfway through chapter 3 this morning.
And so, if you would, take your Bibles, open them up to Philippians chapter 3,
and we'll be in verse 12, all the way through chapter 4, verse 1.
So when you found that in your Bibles, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word today.
Paul says,
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own,
but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Let those of us who are mature think this way,
and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Brothers, join in imitating me,
and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears,
walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction,
their God is their belly,
and they glory in their shame with minds set on earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we await a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body,
by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.
Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for,
my joy and my crown,
stand firm thus in the Lord,
my beloved.
This is God's holy word.
Let's pray once more.
Father,
we thank you for your word.
We thank you for the promises contained here.
We thank you for the warnings contained here.
We pray now as we study this passage together,
Lord, would you help our ears and our minds and our hearts
to be attentive to what you would say to us this morning.
We pray in Christ's name.
Amen.
You may be seated.
We just sang one of my favorite Christmas hymns,
Joy to the World,
The Lord Has Come.
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare him room,
and heaven and nature sing.
This is my, again, annual petition.
I do this every year.
Annual petition to sing this hymn year round,
not just at Christmas time,
because in pinning those words,
the author of Joy to the World
wasn't thinking about the first coming of Christ.
He was actually writing about the second coming of Christ.
When the Lord, the King, would return and come home
and reign as King over all the earth,
and the earth would be filled with joy
at the arrival of King Jesus.
I, once again, request that we sing Joy to the World year round.
Whether or not you realize it,
you and I, we live in an incredibly unique period of human history.
We live in between the two advents of Christ Jesus.
Here at Christmas time, we celebrate the first coming of Christ,
the first advent of Christ,
and his coming as a baby, being born in a manger,
but also his perfect life,
and then his sacrificial death,
and then his victorious resurrection,
and then his ascension into heaven.
All of that is in the first coming of Christ.
That's past.
But we also, we look forward to the second coming of Christ.
There is an advent yet to come,
when we will sing with fullness of joy,
joy to the world,
the Lord has come.
And so my question for us this morning is,
what is life meant to look like for Christians
in between the two comings of Christ?
What is life meant to look like for you and I
in the in between?
And the Apostle Paul, here in our passage this morning,
he speaks to that question,
and here's what he says.
He says the faithful Christian life in the in between,
it looks like working,
and it looks like waiting.
Faithfully, Christians in between the two comings of Christ
are called to work hard,
and to wait eagerly.
Paul wants to make sure,
especially after what he's just said
in the first half of chapter three,
that we understand that how you live
in between the two comings of Christ,
it truly, actually, really matters.
You may have noticed this,
as I read this morning,
our passage,
that our passage this morning,
it picks up in the middle of Paul's train of thought.
He's continuing a line of reasoning for us,
and so we really need to zoom out
and understand the context here
of what he's saying.
If you were here last week,
then you heard Treg explain
from verses two through 11,
some of these incredible claims
that Paul is making here
in the first half of chapter three.
He has said some pretty shocking things
to the Philippians,
and these are things that if you're just hearing this
for the first time,
it may be easy to misunderstand.
These are things that you don't want to just skip right by
and not really grasp the meat
of what Paul has given to us.
Maybe you're here,
and you wouldn't necessarily even call yourself
a Christian,
or maybe this is all kind of new information to you.
I want to encourage you this morning
to pay close attention
to what Paul is saying here in these verses,
because if we misunderstand the gospel,
then we can wind up in some pretty dangerous ditches
here on either side of the road.
So let's recap what he said last week.
Think about this with me.
Paul said up in verse three,
chapter three, verse three,
he said,
we put no confidence in the flesh,
none,
no confidence in the flesh.
You take all of your goodness,
you take all of your obedience,
you take all of your pride,
and you toss it out the window.
We put no confidence in the flesh.
Not only this,
he says to this Gentile church here in Philippi,
he says,
we are the circumcision,
not those who are Jewish by birth only.
We are the true heirs of the promises of God.
We are the circumcision,
not those who have kept the law of circumcision,
and not those who insist that we keep the law of circumcision.
We who know Christ Jesus by faith,
we are the circumcision.
In fact,
he says that all of that,
all of my confidence in the flesh,
you remember,
tribe of Benjamin,
circumcised on the eighth day,
Hebrew of Hebrews,
Pharisee,
as to the law,
blameless under the law,
all of it,
Paul says,
all of those trophies on my shelf,
he calls it rubbish,
compared to knowing Christ Jesus,
my Lord.
Here's the point.
Paul says,
the only thing that matters is knowing Christ Jesus by faith.
The only thing that matters is knowing Christ Jesus by faith.
And this is good news for us,
church,
isn't it?
Because what this means for us is that ultimately,
it doesn't matter ultimately what family you were born into.
It doesn't matter ultimately how sinful you've been up to this point,
or even how obedient you've been up to this point.
It doesn't matter if you would consider yourself religious,
or if you would classify yourself as rebellious.
Rebellious,
the only thing that matters is knowing the Lord Jesus Christ by faith.
Of course,
this is at the very heart of the gospel.
We need to understand this.
By grace,
you have been saved by faith,
Paul says in Ephesians 2.
And this is not your own doing.
Read that again,
and again,
until we get it.
That is not your own doing.
It's not your own doing.
It's a gift of God,
not by work,
so that no man may boast.
You all know how gifts work,
right?
If not,
you got maybe 17 days to figure it out,
okay?
Gifts,
you can't earn a gift.
If you earn a gift,
it's no longer a gift.
What is it?
It's a payment.
It's a wage for works done.
Paul says salvation is given by God
to sinners who are bankrupt
and couldn't afford it
if they tried.
It's given as a free gift
of God's grace
through the gift of faith
in a Savior
who has lived in your place,
died in your place,
risen in your place,
so that by faith in Him,
everything He's earned by right
is now given to you by grace.
This is the gospel.
So Paul says,
I want you to understand that
because there's two ditches here
that we need to avoid.
Two ditches.
Ditch number one
on one side of the road.
Paul,
if that's true,
if you already have
Jesus' perfection
credited to your account,
and Paul,
if you already know
the power of His resurrection,
well,
then you can just
take it easy.
Relax.
Coast your way to glory.
You're already perfect in Christ.
Paul,
you said so,
so relax.
Why are you working so hard?
That's ditch number one.
Ditch number two
on the other side of the road.
Paul,
if we're done with the law,
if we're done with this whole system
of works
and earning
and doing,
if we're covered by grace,
we're people of grace,
we're saved by grace,
we live in God's grace,
well,
then we're free to just live
however we want to live,
right?
We can do whatever
we want to do
and live however
we want to live.
Paul wants to keep
the Philippian church
and us this morning,
Siwe Bay,
right in the middle
of the road.
And so he says,
again,
faithful Christian life
here in the in-between,
it looks like working
and it looks like waiting.
Let's see it in our passage
here.
First,
here in the in-between,
we are to be working.
Look there with me
to verse 12
in our passage.
Verse 12.
Paul wants to make sure
to avoid ditch number one
and so he clarifies
here in verse 12.
He says,
not that I have already
obtained this
or that I'm already perfect,
but I press on
to make it my own
because Christ Jesus
has made me
his own.
Brothers,
I do not consider
that I have made it
my own,
but one thing I do,
forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward
to what lies ahead,
I press on
toward the goal
for the prize
of the upward call
of God
in Christ Jesus.
That doesn't sound
like Paul is taking it easy,
does it?
Paul wants to make it
abundantly clear,
doesn't he,
that grace
doesn't produce
lazy Christians.
And not if you understand
it correctly.
Paul says,
yes,
we are legally,
objectively righteous
in the sight of God.
We are perfect
in the sight of God.
We are justified,
declared righteous
in the sight of God
by faith in Christ.
Yes,
we are spiritually speaking,
we are raised up
with Christ,
raised to walk
in newness of life
and yet,
are you perfect,
Christian?
Do you still struggle
with sin,
Christian?
Be honest.
Do you still wrestle
with temptation,
Christian?
Do you still struggle
with anger,
Christian?
Do you still struggle
with the sins
of the flesh?
Do you still struggle
with weakness?
I do.
And Paul says,
I do.
And so he says,
no, no, no,
I don't coast my way
to glory,
I press on
to make this perfection
my own.
See,
the Christian life
is one of active pursuit
of what is already
yours in Christ.
You hear that?
And so we're called
to put off the old man
and to put on
the new man,
as we're told
in Ephesians chapter 4.
And this is the tension
between the already
and the not yet,
isn't it?
In Christ,
if you're in Christ,
you are already
a new creation.
The old is gone,
behold,
the new has come.
And yet,
not yet,
we await the time
when we will finally
be a new creation.
In Christ,
if you know Christ Jesus
by faith,
you are already
declared perfect
in the sight of God.
And yet,
who here is perfect?
And yet,
we await
a final perfection.
If you are in Christ
by faith,
your salvation is secure,
you are saved
by the grace of God,
and yet,
not yet,
we await a final,
perfect,
complete salvation
at the day of Christ
when He returns.
We're here in the already
and the not yet
in between the two
comings of Christ.
We look backwards
to see what's already done
and we look forwards
to see
not yet.
And here in the in between,
Paul says,
I press on
to make the not yet
my own right now.
And he gives us
two images here,
two images here
to drive that message home.
The first is
of a soldier in battle.
A soldier in battle.
Look to verse 12.
The language here
in verse 12
is military language.
He says,
I press on
to make it my own,
verse 12.
Another way to say that
is I pursue it
and I overtake it.
This is wartime language.
And Paul understands
that the view
from the air,
okay,
the view from the air
is that the city
has been taken,
the victory is secured,
but he also knows
that as a soldier
on the ground,
it's not time
to put away his gun yet.
There's still a battle
to be fought.
There's still dangers
out there
to be avoided.
The soldier on the ground
still has to fight
even though the view
from the air,
the battle has been won.
So in the same way,
Paul can say
in the same breath,
he says,
Christian,
the fight's been won already
and yet,
not yet.
Go fight.
Go press on.
Go make it your own
until he comes again.
Image number two
is of an athlete
in competition.
Look there
to verse 13.
He says,
one thing I do,
forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward
to what lies ahead,
I press on
toward the goal
for the prize
of the upward call
of God
in Christ Jesus.
This straining forward,
pressing on
toward a goal,
pursuing a prize,
that's athlete language,
isn't it?
Paul knows
that the Christian life
is a little bit
like a race.
Now,
I'm not a runner
at all.
You won't see me
running laps anywhere,
anytime soon,
but I know this,
I know you don't ease up
after just a few laps
of a race,
do you?
You don't slow down
to look behind you.
If you do,
you're going to get overtaken.
If you slow down
and think about
the last ten steps,
that's not what
a good runner does.
The good runner
doesn't think about
the steps he's already taken.
He thinks about
the next step
and the next step
and ultimately
he's thinking about
the prize
of completing the race
and running that race
as fast
and as hard
and as diligently
as he possibly can.
Paul is giving us
this image to say,
I'm not resting
in what I've already done.
I press on
toward the prize
of the goal
of the upward call
of God
in Christ Jesus.
Paul also knows
he's smart
like a good coach.
He knows that
the only way
to really motivate
Christians
like you and me
to get up
and to work
and to press on
and to pursue
in this way
is not just to yell
at them to do better.
He gives us
both the prize
to pursue
and the power
to pursue it.
What's the prize?
It's the upward
call of God
in Christ Jesus.
How is that
for a goal?
New Year's
is just around
the corner.
Some of y'all
make some
New Year's resolutions.
It's a good time
to make some goals
to evaluate your life
and to make a few goals
that you might
be ambitious towards
over the new year.
Let's add this one
to the list.
I want to hear
God say to me,
well done,
good and faithful servant.
I want to run
the race
that's set before me
so that at the return
of Christ
I will hear
the voice of the Lord
say,
this one is mine.
Come into the joy
of your master.
I want to press on
towards glory.
I want to press on
towards perfection.
I want to press on
towards resurrection.
I want to press on
towards Christ.
I don't want to coast
my way to glory.
I want to make mine
what Christ has already
purchased for me.
How's that for a goal?
How will we do it?
What's the power?
He says in verse 12.
Look there again.
I wonder if you caught this.
Verse 12.
He says,
I press on
to make it my own
because
Christ Jesus
has made me
his own.
Do you hear that?
The power
for your pursuit
of Christ
lies entirely
in the power
of Christ's pursuit
of you.
This is the only power
that we have
to run the race
that's set before us.
You and I have
zero power
to pursue Christ
apart from
Christ's pursuit
of us.
We got to get this
order correct
because we don't
pursue Christ
in order for Christ
to make us his own.
No, no, no.
Paul says,
we press on
because
Christ Jesus
has made me
his own.
We put on
what belongs
to us
in Christ.
We pursue
Christ with our lives
because Christ
has already
pursued us
with his.
And so,
Christian,
are you pursuing?
Are you
pressing forward?
Are you
straining
forward?
Are you
striving to know
more and more
and more
of the Lord?
Not to earn
his favor
but because
he has come
and he has
pursued you
by the grace
of God.
The Christian
life is to be
characterized
by working.
Paul says
in verse 15,
let those of us
who are mature
think this way.
And if
in anything
you think
otherwise,
God will
reveal that
also to you.
Do you
think this
way?
It's
interesting
how he
says,
let those
of us
who are
mature
think this
way.
Literally,
you know
what it
says,
literally,
the word
there for
mature?
It's
perfect.
Let
those of
us
who are
perfect
think this
way.
It's a
wordplay.
It's the
same wording
as in
Matthew 5
48,
where Jesus
says,
you therefore
must be
perfect,
as your
heavenly
father is
perfect.
Let those
of us
who are
mature,
perfect,
think this
way.
So let
me sum
up
point one
like this.
Paul says,
if you
are perfect,
you will
know that
you're not
perfect.
So because
Christ has
made you
perfect,
you press
on until
you are
made
perfect at
the day
of Christ.
That's the
Christian
life here
in the
in-between.
Not only
this,
second,
here in
the in-between
the Christian
life is
one of
waiting.
One of
waiting.
You remember
ditch number
two,
don't you?
Ditch number
two,
I am
righteous,
objectively
righteous,
and so I
can live
however I
want.
I am
covered by
the grace
of God.
We are
grace people.
We live
in grace,
not by
works,
and so it
doesn't really
ultimately matter
how I
live,
right?
Paul?
Paul says,
no,
no.
Here in
the in-between,
you are
called to
live a life
of holy
waiting.
Holy
waiting.
You are a
servant
waiting on
your master
to return.
As you
wait,
you are,
we've already
seen this,
you're called
to work out
your salvation
with fear
and trembling
because it's
God who
works in
you to
will and
to work
for his
good
pleasure.
We're
to live
lives
worthy
of the
gospel
of
Christ.
Again,
not to
earn
his
favor,
but because
he's
come and
purchased
this for
you in
Christ.
Look there
with me
starting in
verse 17
because
Paul contrasts
two groups
of people
here in
verses 17
through 21.
There's
one group
here that
walk as
enemies of
the cross
of Christ
he says
verse 18.
And then
there's
those who
walk according
to the
example of
Paul
and
Timothy
verse 17.
You see the
contrast there.
He says,
brothers join
in imitating
me and keep
your eyes
on those
who walk
according
to the
example
that you
have in
us.
That's one
way of
walking
here in
the in
between.
for many
verse 18
of whom
I've often
told you
and now
tell you
even with
tears
walk
as enemies
of the
cross
of Christ.
That's another
way of
walking
here in
the in
between.
And he
says,
be like
this group
not like
this group.
You see
the contrast.
Be like
those who
are waiting
for the
return of
Christ
not like
those who
are rebelling.
Don't
walk like
them.
Don't use
grace as
an excuse
to walk
in sin.
Don't walk
like them.
Why?
Well,
look at how
he describes
this first
group of
people here.
And I
want you
to ask
yourself
as we
walk
through
this,
ask
yourself,
does
any of
this
describe
me?
He
says,
they are
enemies
of the
cross
of Christ.
This
is the
dividing
line
between
all
people.
Which
side
of the
cross
of
Christ
are
you
on?
Do you
look at
the
cross
of
Christ
where
Jesus
paid
for
the
sins
of
his
people?
Where
Jesus
bore
the wrath
of God
against
our
sin?
Where
the
perfect
son
of
God
was
made
sin
for
us
so
that
in
him
we
might
become
the
righteousness
of
God?
Do
you
look
at
the
cross
of
Christ
and
say,
yes,
that's
my
only
hope.
That's
my
only
hope
for
good
standing
and
salvation
and
righteousness.
That's
my
only
hope
to
know
God.
That's
my
only
hope
to
be
washed
clean
of
my
sin.
Do
you
look
at
that
and
cling
to
the
cross
and
say,
that's
life
for
me?
Or
do
you
look
at
the
cross
of
Christ
and
say,
it's
not
for
me.
I
could
take
it
or
leave
it.
It's
nothing
special
to
me.
It's
just
some
religious
stuff.
I've
heard
it
before.
I'm
not
impressed.
You
need to
know
that if
that's
how you
feel,
you are
not
neutral.
Paul
says,
you are
an
enemy
of
the
cross
of
Christ.
And
as
an
enemy
of
the
cross
of
Christ,
you
are
an
enemy
of
the
living
God.
Paul
says,
many
are
walking
this
way.
And
he
says
it
with
tears.
Don't
walk
this
way.
Don't
walk
this
way.
I'm
begging
you,
if you
are
here
as
an
enemy
of
the
cross
of
Christ,
do
not
leave
here
thinking
that
you
are
neutral
and
all
is
well.
Do
not
walk
this
way.
He
says
this
first
group
of
people
has
their
minds
set
on
earthly
things.
They're
consumed
with
earthly
things.
And
you
and I
know
this
as
well
as
I
do.
It's
far
too
easy
as
we
wait
on
the
return
of
Christ
that
we
can't
see,
that
we
don't
know
when
it's
coming,
it's
mysterious,
it's
invisible
to us,
it's
far
too
easy
for us
to be
distracted
by
things
that
we
can
see,
that
we
can
taste,
and
that
we
can
touch
with
our
hands,
that's
visible
and
tangible
here.
Waiting
on
his
return,
it
means
fixing
your
eyes
there
on
him,
not
on
things
here
on
the
earth.
Set
your
mind
on
Christ,
where
Christ
is,
seated
at the
right
hand
of
God.
Take
your
eyes
off
of
earthly
things
and
fix
your
eyes
on
Christ.
Don't
consume
yourself
with
stress
and
with
worry
about
things
that
are
just
going
to be
burned
up
like
chaff
on
the
last
day.
This
is
why
Paul
calls
us
in
chapter
4
verse
8.
Whatever
is
true,
whatever
is
honorable,
whatever
is
just,
whatever
is
pure,
whatever
is
lovely,
whatever
is
commendable,
if there's
any
excellence,
if there's
anything
worthy
of
praise,
think
about
these
things.
Don't
think so
much
about
money.
Don't
think so
much
about
sex.
Don't
think so
much
about
pleasure.
Don't
think so
much
about
entertainment.
Don't
think so
much
about
earthly
things.
Fix
your
mind
on
Christ.
Not
only this,
Paul says
also,
that they
glory in
their shame.
The things
that they
ought to be
ashamed of,
they celebrate.
How many
beers can I
drink?
How many
women can I
sleep with?
How much
money can I
hide from
the tax
man?
what are
you glorying
in now
that you
will be
ashamed
of at
the day
of
Christ?
And he
says here,
their God
is their
belly.
Now he
didn't have
to do
this right
at the
holiday
season.
I
didn't
plan this.
But in
God's
providence,
here we
are,
right?
Here's
the idea.
They
give their
appetite
whatever it
wants.
They
serve their
appetite and
feed it
whatever it
wants.
That belly
rules their
life.
They are
slaves to
their physical
cravings.
It makes
it a God.
The end
of all of
this,
Paul says
again with
tears,
with tears,
he says the
end of all
of this is
destruction.
Friend,
I'll ask you
again.
Are you
headed for
destruction?
Don't
leave this
place headed
for destruction.
temptation.
Here in
between we
live in a
time of
God's
mercy and
grace towards
sinners.
This invitation
of the cross
of Christ is
for you.
Praise God
that you're
here to hear
it this
morning.
God says
turn from
your sin,
repent and
put your
faith in
Christ and
you too
will live.
Don't
walk this
way.
Don't
walk this
way.
Instead,
Paul says,
instead walk
like this.
Walk like
those who are
waiting.
for his
return.
Walk like
those who
know the
king is
coming soon.
Walk like
those who
know that
the Lord is
coming and
with him.
He's
wrath for
his enemies
and life
for his
people.
He says
in verse
17,
he says,
walk like
me.
Now that's
a bold
thing to
say.
For
somebody who
just says,
no,
I'm not
perfect.
He's not
saying I'm
perfect,
so imitate
me completely.
He says,
I am
trying my
darndest to
follow Christ.
I'm
pursuing it
with everything
I have.
Don't look
at me as
a savior,
but look
at me as
an example.
Walk like
me and keep
your eyes on
those who
walk according
to our
example.
Look how
I'm living.
I believe
in grace.
Don't you
think Paul
knows a
thing or two
about grace?
He says,
I believe
that I am
totally
justified.
I believe
that I have
Christ's
righteousness
in full
right now,
that I am
objectively
perfect,
and yet
look at
me.
I am
straining
forwards
towards this
perfection
ahead of
me.
I am
pressing
on to
know the
Lord.
Look at
me and
imitate my
example.
Live
waiting on
the return
of Christ.
This first
group of
people belongs
to the world.
They're headed
for destruction,
but he says,
here's the
contrast.
You,
Christian,
look there
to verse
20.
Here's the
contrast.
But our
citizenship is
in heaven,
and from
it we
await a
Savior,
Jesus Christ,
who will
transform our
lowly body
to be like
his glorious
body by the
power that
enables him
even to
subject all
things to
himself.
Church,
would you
just do one
thing for me
this week?
Would you
memorize that
verse?
Would you
commit this
verse to
memory?
Would you
meditate on
it and
think on
it?
Because in
this verse,
Paul,
he gives us
a picture of
what we are
waiting for.
He says,
here in the
in-between,
we are
waiting for
home.
However good
your earthly
home is on
this side of
eternity,
listen,
there is a
much better,
more permanent,
more lasting,
more glorious
home ahead of
you.
However
difficult your
home life is,
maybe your
family is
difficult,
maybe there's
tensions in
the home,
maybe you
grew up in
a broken
home,
put your
faith and
your hope
in a
coming,
permanent
home for
all those
who know
the Lord.
Paul says
your citizenship
in Philippi,
your citizenship
in America,
all of that
is very,
very temporary,
it's fading
away,
it's momentary,
you are
citizens and
saints of
an eternal
kingdom of
glory to
come.
It's hard
to imagine
anything like
this,
isn't it?
A home
that's
imperishable,
undefiled,
unfading,
kept in
heaven for
you,
Peter says.
A home
that's free
from the
shackles of
sin and
death,
but Paul
says it's
ahead of you
and in
order for
you to
receive it,
guess what?
You too
must be
made
imperishable,
undefiled,
unfading,
and you too
must be
freed from
the shackles
of sin
and death.
And so
Paul says
ahead of you
Christian,
guess what?
We're waiting
for the
transformation
of our
bodies.
We're waiting
for
transformation.
I heard
a conversation,
overheard a
conversation the
other day
between two
children,
I won't tell
you again
which children
they were,
and one
asked the
other,
if you
could only
have one
thing for
Christmas,
for the rest
of your
life,
what would
it be?
And the
kid thought
about it and
then he
said,
I want to
be able to
drive,
and then I
want a
cyber truck.
He understood
something very
important that
we need to
understand,
church,
which is this,
just a
cyber truck,
that's no
good for a
kid,
is it?
He has to
be made
fit,
has to be
made capable
of enjoying
the gift.
He has to
be qualified
and transformed
in some way
so that he
can actually
receive it
and enjoy it
and not just
look at it.
In the same
way,
Paul is telling
us that
eternity with
God,
this promise
of a forever
home free
from sin,
this promise
of eternity
with the Lord
Jesus Christ,
we can't enjoy
it in this
physical fleshly
body that we
have right
now.
This body
is prone
to decay
and corruption,
it's weak,
it's perishable,
but good news,
Jesus Christ
has risen
from the dead,
he has been
raised with
an imperishable
glorious body,
and he says
if you are
united to me
by faith,
guess what?
You get one
too.
You will be
transformed
to be made
like him.
You will be
made fit
to enjoy
eternity
with him.
Just as we
have borne the
image of the
man of dust,
so also we
will bear the
image of the
man of heaven.
But friend,
that's not even
the best part.
What are we
waiting for?
Ultimately,
church,
we are waiting
for King
Jesus.
We are waiting
for Christ
Jesus himself.
Our citizenship,
is in heaven,
and from it
we await
a Savior,
the Lord
Jesus Christ,
more precious
than a forever
home,
more valuable
than an undying
glorified body.
Christ himself
is the greatest
treasure of heaven.
We are waiting
for the return
of Christ
that we might
see him
and we might
know him
in full,
that we might
be with him
forever.
That's what
we're waiting
for,
and so here
in between,
that's what
we are to
pursue
right now.
Are you
waiting for
him?
Are you
pressing on
to know
him,
the power
of his
resurrection
right now?
Church,
this Christmas
season as we
sing and as we
think about the
first coming
of Christ,
all the years
of waiting
and longing
and anticipating
this fulfillment
of God's
promises
and the
coming of
Christ,
please don't
just leave
it there.
I want you
to sing
and to worship
and to long
for and to
wait on the
time when he
will come
again,
when in
fullness
together
we'll sing
joy to the
world,
the Lord
has come.
Let earth
receive her
king.
Let every
heart prepare
him room
in heaven
and nature
sing.
O come,
Emmanuel,
and ransom
captive Israel
that mourns
in lonely
exile here
until the
Son of God
appear.
Come thou
long-expected
Jesus,
born to set
thy people
free.
From our
fears and
sins,
release us.
Let us find
our rest
in thee.
Father,
we praise
you for what
you've done
in the first
coming of
Christ.
We praise
you for the
cross of
Christ.
And we
praise you for
the certain
return of
Christ and
for the
kingdom to
come,
of which we
are citizens
and saints
if we know
him by faith
right now.
And so we
pray, Lord,
for those of
us that have
been saved by
grace through
faith, would
you lead us
to press on,
lead us to
persevere,
lead us to
press on to
make that
perfection and
righteousness
ours that
already belongs
to us in
Christ.
And for
those of
us who
are walking
now as
enemies of
the cross
of Christ,
would you
cause us
this moment
to repent
and put our
faith in a
holy savior
who loves us
and loves
sinners like
us, came
for sinners
like us.
We love
you,
Father, we
pray this in
Jesus' name.
Amen.