WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.259 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christchurch. 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:15.419 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christchurch. 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:22.620 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:25.219 --> 00:00:33.939 Good morning. I am part of the Oikos in the Oaks Friday Women's Group, the Women Reading Women Group, and I'm also an elder here. 00:00:34.700 --> 00:00:44.780 Today's scripture reading is from Paul's letter to the Philippians, chapter 3, verse 10 through chapter 4, excuse me, verse 1 is printed in your liturgy. 00:00:45.420 --> 00:00:48.020 A reading from Paul's letter to the Philippians. 00:00:48.740 --> 00:01:01.400 I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 00:01:01.900 --> 00:01:11.099 Not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived in my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 00:01:11.099 --> 00:01:21.000 Brothers and sisters, 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, 00:01:21.479 --> 00:01:27.479 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:38.000 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things, and if at some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:41.480 Only let us live up to what we have already attained. 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:50.420 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. 00:01:50.420 --> 00:01:58.719 For as I have often told you before and now tell you again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:04.519 Their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. 00:02:04.939 --> 00:02:13.479 Their mind is set on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:22.539 who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control will transform our lowly bodies so they will be like his glorious body. 00:02:23.099 --> 00:02:32.139 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends. 00:02:32.699 --> 00:02:34.339 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:34.859 --> 00:02:36.179 Thanks be to God. 00:02:37.019 --> 00:02:38.620 Good morning, Christ Church. 00:02:38.899 --> 00:02:39.839 Let's pray. 00:02:39.839 --> 00:02:39.899 Let's pray. 00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:57.439 O Lord, what we know not teach us, or what we have not give us, and what we are not make us. 00:02:59.340 --> 00:03:00.939 Give me clarity of mind. 00:03:01.099 --> 00:03:03.219 Give me conviction of heart. 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:11.019 Give me concision of speech, Lord, that give all of us a capacity to receive from you. 00:03:11.020 --> 00:03:14.260 What it is you want to say to us in this moment. 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:16.960 And we pray all this in Christ's name. 00:03:17.200 --> 00:03:17.460 Amen. 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:34.960 So, Pastor Andrew and I have been trying our best, not sure if successfully, but we've been trying our best to help us as a church fall in love with the Apostle Paul. 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:38.280 Because Jesus is in love with the Apostle Paul. 00:03:39.180 --> 00:03:48.280 And gave Paul to the church, gave all these letters of Paul to the church, particularly this beloved letter of the Philippians. 00:03:48.379 --> 00:03:51.540 It's a letter of affection, a letter of friendship. 00:03:52.580 --> 00:03:53.740 It's a letter of joy. 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:55.260 It's an amazing letter. 00:03:55.259 --> 00:04:08.659 And what I want to invite us to do as we just approach it one more time today, I want you to just imagine in your mind the Apostle Paul as he's writing this letter. 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:15.120 And remember that Paul is in a Roman prison cell. 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:24.420 Remember that Paul is chained to two Roman soldiers on his right and on his left. 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:26.879 He's with them day and night. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:39.259 Remember that Paul is waiting a trial in which he'll either be acquitted and released or he'll be condemned and executed. 00:04:39.259 --> 00:04:47.139 And it's from this place, right, it's from this context that Paul writes his happiest letter. 00:04:48.500 --> 00:04:55.199 It's from this place that Paul tells us these words, rejoice and joy. 00:04:55.399 --> 00:04:59.019 They're repeated 13 times in this letter. 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:02.000 He clearly wants his friends in Christ. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:09.819 He clearly wants the church in Philippi and all the churches to share in his joy and to rejoice with him. 00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:29.420 And I want to be clear as we get back into this that Paul is not inviting us, he's not inviting the church to bury its head in the sand and ignore the fact that the Roman Empire is oppressive, right? 00:05:29.420 --> 00:05:32.060 That could be the entire theme of his letter. 00:05:33.580 --> 00:05:42.620 He's also not encouraging us or encouraging the church in Philippi to ignore her problems, right? 00:05:42.660 --> 00:05:49.780 To ignore all the opposition and all the difficulties that are coming to them now that they've begun to follow Jesus. 00:05:50.700 --> 00:05:54.660 And in fact, that's why Paul has to tell them what we just heard. 00:05:54.980 --> 00:05:57.520 You need to stand firm in the Lord, right? 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:07.539 But what I think Paul is doing in this letter is he's outflanking his problems. 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:22.240 He's outflanking all the church's problems, all those pressing issues of imprisonment and persecution and impending execution by raising their eyes to something better, right? 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:31.040 He's raising their eyes from earthly sorrows up higher to heavenly joys, right? 00:06:31.060 --> 00:06:33.639 And that's what our Sunday gatherings are meant to do. 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:47.420 They're meant to shift our attention from where they are Monday to Saturday, immersed in the things of this earth, immersed in this realm where sin and death are ruling. 00:06:47.420 --> 00:07:00.980 And to have at least one day in our week where we focus and we ponder on the things of heaven where Jesus rules, right? 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:03.240 Here on earth is where sin and death rule. 00:07:03.500 --> 00:07:04.840 Heaven is where Jesus rules. 00:07:04.960 --> 00:07:10.259 And Paul says, set your minds not on earthly things but on the things of heaven. 00:07:11.100 --> 00:07:12.120 Does that make sense? 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:16.240 It's critical if we're going to understand what Paul is doing in this letter. 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:19.220 Now, we're going to continue where we left off last week. 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:22.920 I actually want to encourage you to take out your pew Bible in front of you. 00:07:23.800 --> 00:07:31.379 And we might range a little bit as we explore Ephesians or Philippians chapter 3, one of Paul's most beloved passages. 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:35.199 You can find this on page 592. 00:07:35.840 --> 00:07:37.780 Or sorry, 952. 00:07:37.779 --> 00:07:38.179 952. 00:07:38.179 --> 00:07:38.579 952. 00:07:39.899 --> 00:07:42.899 I'm a little doped up on cold medicine this morning. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:46.479 So that's why the page numbers are not coming out right. 00:07:46.619 --> 00:07:48.579 But 952. 00:07:49.719 --> 00:07:57.179 And Paul is, I think, asking us, posing in this text three questions for us. 00:07:57.259 --> 00:07:59.399 Number one, who are your models? 00:08:00.739 --> 00:08:02.159 Number two, what is your mindset? 00:08:03.099 --> 00:08:05.399 And number three, where is your hope? 00:08:05.399 --> 00:08:08.639 Okay, so who, what, and where? 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:09.479 Who are your models? 00:08:10.159 --> 00:08:11.060 What is your mindset? 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:13.500 And where is your hope? 00:08:13.579 --> 00:08:14.919 First of all, who are your models? 00:08:15.139 --> 00:08:17.060 Paul says in verse 17, he says, 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:20.079 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters. 00:08:20.919 --> 00:08:25.599 And just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:30.239 The question for us is, who do we look up to? 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:37.480 Right, of whom would you say, you know, when I grow up, I want to be like this person? 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:42.580 You know, when I was a teenager, it was like, when I hit my 20s and 30s, I want to be like that guy. 00:08:43.700 --> 00:08:48.620 Now I'm like, okay, when I hit my 50s and my 60s, I want to be like him. 00:08:48.700 --> 00:08:52.139 Who's that person where you say, that is the paradigm. 00:08:52.139 --> 00:08:56.240 That is the pattern of how I want to live. 00:08:56.299 --> 00:08:57.559 I want to imitate their life. 00:08:57.659 --> 00:08:58.740 I want to follow their example. 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:00.779 I want to walk in their footsteps. 00:09:01.220 --> 00:09:03.080 Maybe you think of a family member. 00:09:04.019 --> 00:09:09.539 Maybe you think of a coach or a teacher or a camp director, a camp counselor. 00:09:09.699 --> 00:09:12.080 Maybe a campus minister that you had in college. 00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:14.220 A mentor that you had along the way. 00:09:15.220 --> 00:09:17.419 It might even be a historical figure. 00:09:17.539 --> 00:09:20.519 For me, a guy named John Stott is the guy that I love. 00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:29.319 Maybe a fictional character, Samwise Gamgee would be another person for me, who I'd like to become when I grow up. 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:42.779 But, you know, without explicit and conscious models, we can so easily drift into subconsciously following just any old person that our algorithm serves up to us, right? 00:09:43.939 --> 00:09:48.439 And why is it that we need a model? 00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:50.860 Why do we need an example to follow? 00:09:50.940 --> 00:10:01.400 Because a model is a person whose values, whose behaviors, whose accomplishments you admire and you want to emulate in your own life. 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:19.959 And this is crucial for personal growth and personal development to find such people because they show you a real, embodied, in the flesh life that says, look, it is actually possible to live this way and not like everybody else is living, right? 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:21.860 It's possible to live with excellence. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:23.679 It's possible to live for the glory of God. 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:27.220 It's possible to live for the good, not of yourself, but of other people. 00:10:27.220 --> 00:10:33.759 And Paul is giving us a heads up and he says, look, there are plenty of bad models out there. 00:10:34.279 --> 00:10:37.120 And he says, actually, there's plenty of bad models in the church. 00:10:38.360 --> 00:10:39.879 Here's what he says in verse 18. 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:56.139 Now, why does this cause Paul to weep? 00:10:56.139 --> 00:11:01.419 Because these are people who profess to be Christians, right? 00:11:02.699 --> 00:11:09.860 And yet they're not at all mature, but they're setting themselves up as models for people in the church to follow. 00:11:10.980 --> 00:11:16.600 You guys ever read about people like this in the news, right? 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:22.500 Where people claim to be Christian with their lips, but they're not at all Christians with their lives. 00:11:23.680 --> 00:11:26.220 None of you ever read about this in the news, okay? 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:28.019 This is not a new problem. 00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:39.300 And Paul is wanting to warn us to guard against these anti-models of professing Christians. 00:11:39.299 --> 00:11:43.000 And he says, first of all, they're enemies of the cross of Christ. 00:11:43.079 --> 00:11:49.979 And what that means is that in their attitudes and their behaviors, they repudiate all that the cross stands for. 00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:51.359 Right? 00:11:51.419 --> 00:11:58.479 They're living for themselves, but what the cross stands for is not living for yourself, but giving yourself away for the sake of others. 00:11:59.879 --> 00:12:02.299 He says, secondly, their destiny is destruction. 00:12:02.299 --> 00:12:10.039 Destruction, they think they belong to Jesus and to the household of faith, but they're actually not living a life worthy of the gospel. 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:12.099 They're not living in line with Jesus. 00:12:13.379 --> 00:12:17.120 And so, Paul says, their future before God is actually pretty bleak. 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:23.139 And then he says, their God is their stomach and their glory is in their shame. 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:28.939 And what that means is that they've ordered their loves around their bodily appetites. 00:12:28.940 --> 00:12:29.420 Right? 00:12:29.780 --> 00:12:37.440 They've ordered their loves around appetites for food and for sex and for amusement and for material goods. 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:43.400 As if these desires that come from within them, as if these desires are divine. 00:12:44.900 --> 00:12:50.260 As if this is what they should give their time and their money and their precious energy to. 00:12:50.800 --> 00:12:53.180 Paul says, this is what they glory in. 00:12:53.620 --> 00:12:56.740 And ultimately, this is what is going to bring them shame when they stand before God. 00:12:56.740 --> 00:13:03.139 And then the fifth thing Paul says, he says, their mind is set on earthly things. 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:12.539 And that is that the primary focus that they have is on the earth in this realm of where sin and death rule. 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:16.740 And they're not really very focused on heaven where Jesus rules. 00:13:18.379 --> 00:13:23.460 And the Apostle Paul is really wanting to protect the church that he's planted in Philippi. 00:13:23.460 --> 00:13:28.639 And so he says, please do not make these professing Christians your models. 00:13:31.060 --> 00:13:36.740 And then Paul is bold to say in verse 15, he says, look, if you want to be mature, think the way that I think. 00:13:37.879 --> 00:13:40.860 If you want to be mature, live the way that I'm living. 00:13:42.139 --> 00:13:46.259 Again, in verse 17, he says, join together in following my example, brothers and sisters. 00:13:46.259 --> 00:13:50.960 And just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:53.580 He goes on in chapter 4. 00:13:53.639 --> 00:13:59.200 He says in chapter 4, verse 9, whatever you have learned from me or received from me or heard from me, 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:05.360 whatever you've seen in me, put that into practice. 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:13.720 Now, I don't know if we have anyone here who's a gymnast or a golfer. 00:14:14.980 --> 00:14:17.360 I know we have some tennis players in the room. 00:14:18.820 --> 00:14:19.899 Maybe you're a dancer. 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:26.060 Maybe you're into martial arts or you paint or you play the piano or the violin. 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:27.840 Maybe you're a singer or you're an actor. 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:37.480 Or if you do any of these things, you know how important it is to have a real person show you how it's supposed to be done. 00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:42.600 Somebody who can give you the visual form. 00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:51.540 Somebody who can demonstrate to you the timing and the flow and the rhythm and all the moves that you need to mirror and that you need to imitate. 00:14:51.539 --> 00:14:57.399 And that's precisely what Paul is giving to the church in this letter. 00:14:58.419 --> 00:15:03.860 Right at the very heart of this letter, if you turn in your pew Bible to page 951, 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:12.079 you'll see in Philippians 2, Paul gives us this Christ hymn in which he holds up Jesus as the model human. 00:15:13.659 --> 00:15:19.559 He says this is the model of what a human being is supposed to be. 00:15:19.559 --> 00:15:24.839 And he says this in verses 6 through 10. 00:15:24.939 --> 00:15:25.179 He says, 00:15:25.439 --> 00:15:28.519 King Jesus was not grasping at his own advantage. 00:15:29.819 --> 00:15:33.059 Rather, he made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant. 00:15:33.599 --> 00:15:34.679 He humbled himself. 00:15:35.699 --> 00:15:39.439 And he became obedient to death on a cross and God exalted him. 00:15:40.779 --> 00:15:42.539 And what Paul says there is, he says, 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:45.859 notice this V-shaped pattern of Jesus' life. 00:15:45.860 --> 00:15:51.000 This V-shaped movement of his life of humility and then exaltation. 00:15:51.419 --> 00:15:54.000 Humiliation now, exaltation later. 00:15:54.500 --> 00:15:56.480 Suffering now, glory later. 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:00.539 He says, that is the paradigm. 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:07.539 That is the pattern for all who want to follow Jesus and imitate Jesus and be conformed to the image of Jesus. 00:16:07.539 --> 00:16:12.360 And then immediately following that, if you'll notice in chapter 2, verse 19 and following, 00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:12.860 he says, 00:16:13.099 --> 00:16:15.339 here is Timothy. 00:16:16.599 --> 00:16:20.559 And he puts Timothy before us as a model who is following the model. 00:16:21.620 --> 00:16:24.819 And he says, look, Timothy does not look out for his own interests. 00:16:25.319 --> 00:16:25.620 No. 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:28.240 Timothy looks out for the interests of Jesus. 00:16:28.620 --> 00:16:30.860 He looks out for the welfare of the church. 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:35.320 Like Jesus, he's not grasping for his own advantages. 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:37.080 Rather, he's emptying himself. 00:16:37.180 --> 00:16:40.139 He's humbling himself to take the form of a servant. 00:16:41.779 --> 00:16:48.340 And then right after Timothy, Epaphroditus is put before us in chapter 2, verse 25 and following, 00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:51.700 as a model who is following the model. 00:16:51.700 --> 00:17:00.660 And Paul says, Epaphroditus is this honorable soldier of Jesus because he risked his life and he almost died humbling himself 00:17:00.660 --> 00:17:07.140 and pouring himself out in sacrificial love like Jesus in order to fulfill the church's mission. 00:17:08.660 --> 00:17:14.640 And having given us this big model of Jesus and having given us these many models of Timothy and Epaphroditus, 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:21.400 now all of chapter 3 is Paul saying, I too am a model who's following the model. 00:17:22.940 --> 00:17:31.400 And Paul is diametrically opposed to these professing Christians and false teachers whose minds are set on earthly things. 00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:34.700 He says in verse 20, our citizenship is in heaven. 00:17:36.060 --> 00:17:38.640 Paul says, look at the heavenly way that I view things. 00:17:39.540 --> 00:17:44.080 I live as if I belong to the kingdom of heaven and to the king of heaven. 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:51.860 And so Paul says, keep your eyes not only on my model and on the model of Timothy and Epaphroditus, 00:17:52.340 --> 00:17:56.040 and of course on the big model of Jesus, but he also says in verse 17, 00:17:56.500 --> 00:17:59.320 keep your eyes on those who live as we do. 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:03.100 On those who in their heavenly citizenship, 00:18:04.340 --> 00:18:08.040 those who in their Christ-like attitudes and behaviors are showing you 00:18:10.440 --> 00:18:13.640 what it means to say to live is Christ and to die is gain. 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:20.040 And the question for us this morning is, who is living like this? 00:18:20.080 --> 00:18:22.360 Who do you know who's living like this? 00:18:24.100 --> 00:18:26.200 Who's living out this Philippians 2, 00:18:26.360 --> 00:18:28.100 Jesus-shaped pattern 00:18:28.100 --> 00:18:31.100 of humbling themselves 00:18:31.100 --> 00:18:33.980 in order to be exalted by God? 00:18:34.780 --> 00:18:37.220 Of suffering for the sake of others 00:18:37.220 --> 00:18:40.660 in order that they might be glorified by God. 00:18:42.660 --> 00:18:45.120 Who are the people that you look to and say, 00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:45.559 you know what? 00:18:46.620 --> 00:18:49.259 They're living not with their minds set 00:18:49.259 --> 00:18:52.019 on this earthly realm of sin and death, 00:18:52.120 --> 00:18:56.720 but they're living with their minds set on heaven. 00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:00.360 They're living with their minds set on their citizenship 00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:02.240 in the kingdom of heaven. 00:19:03.679 --> 00:19:07.359 They're living with their hopes set on the kingdom of God, 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:10.539 breaking in from heaven down on the earth. 00:19:12.179 --> 00:19:13.879 And the question for those of us, 00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:16.240 if you're like me, you've been baptized for a little bit, 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:18.619 you've been following Jesus for a little while, 00:19:19.099 --> 00:19:21.679 is do we have a life worth imitating? 00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:23.219 Right? 00:19:23.220 --> 00:19:24.700 Do we have a life that's worth 00:19:24.700 --> 00:19:27.240 someone else following after us? 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:30.420 And if someone were to look at you 00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:31.660 or someone were to look at me, 00:19:31.740 --> 00:19:32.380 would they say, 00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:35.059 ah, that's what it means. 00:19:36.100 --> 00:19:38.480 That's what it means to pattern your life 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:40.900 on the model of our humble 00:19:40.900 --> 00:19:44.400 and self-giving servant king, Jesus, 00:19:44.579 --> 00:19:48.059 and all of his cruciform, cross-bearing love. 00:19:49.940 --> 00:19:50.960 Man, I don't know about you, 00:19:51.019 --> 00:19:52.519 but I've got a long way to go. 00:19:53.220 --> 00:19:56.480 Are you intentionally pursuing a life 00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:57.640 where Paul would say of you, 00:19:57.799 --> 00:19:59.400 keep your eyes fixed on her? 00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:02.240 Keep your eyes fixed on him 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:04.279 because they're living as we do. 00:20:04.460 --> 00:20:05.740 They're living as Jesus did. 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:08.360 And if you're like me and you say, 00:20:08.440 --> 00:20:09.839 you know, I'm not really there, 00:20:10.900 --> 00:20:12.240 but I want to be, 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:15.120 then follow me now 00:20:15.120 --> 00:20:18.140 because I want you to think about 00:20:18.140 --> 00:20:19.259 the kind of mindset 00:20:19.259 --> 00:20:20.620 and the kind of hope 00:20:20.620 --> 00:20:22.339 of such a model. 00:20:22.339 --> 00:20:24.740 Okay, so who are your models? 00:20:24.859 --> 00:20:25.659 Second question is, 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:27.299 what is your mindset? 00:20:28.419 --> 00:20:29.559 What is your mindset? 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:33.519 A mindset is a key word in this letter. 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:35.519 Just like joy is a key word in this letter, 00:20:35.639 --> 00:20:37.779 Paul uses this word mindset 00:20:37.779 --> 00:20:39.759 ten times in this letter. 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:42.639 And in verse 15, he says, 00:20:43.019 --> 00:20:44.179 all of us who are mature 00:20:44.179 --> 00:20:46.539 should take such a view of things. 00:20:46.579 --> 00:20:47.279 In the Greek, he says, 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:48.160 all of us who are mature 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:49.599 should have this mindset. 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:52.379 In verse 19, he says, 00:20:52.500 --> 00:20:54.519 their mind is set on earthly things, 00:20:55.019 --> 00:20:56.559 but in verse 20, 00:20:56.759 --> 00:20:58.279 implied is that our minds 00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:01.319 is set on our citizenship in heaven. 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:02.379 Paul says, 00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:03.180 your mindset, 00:21:04.539 --> 00:21:05.440 your attitude, 00:21:05.779 --> 00:21:06.819 your thinking, 00:21:06.980 --> 00:21:07.879 your orientation, 00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:09.899 this is what affects 00:21:09.899 --> 00:21:11.119 your entire disposition 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:13.119 and your entire direction of life. 00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:15.139 If your mind is set on the wrong thing, 00:21:15.259 --> 00:21:16.859 you're going to be living the wrong way. 00:21:17.719 --> 00:21:19.279 If your mind is set on the wrong thing, 00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:19.839 you're going to be going 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:20.719 in the wrong direction. 00:21:22.179 --> 00:21:22.839 And so he says, 00:21:22.919 --> 00:21:23.879 what is your mindset? 00:21:25.239 --> 00:21:26.819 And Paul is telling the church, 00:21:26.899 --> 00:21:27.239 he's saying, 00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:29.219 if your mind is set on earth, 00:21:30.219 --> 00:21:32.139 if your mind is set on this realm 00:21:32.139 --> 00:21:33.399 where sin and death 00:21:33.399 --> 00:21:35.119 are ruling as sovereigns, 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:36.319 as sovereigns, 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:38.339 then he says, 00:21:38.439 --> 00:21:39.699 you need to change your mind. 00:21:40.700 --> 00:21:42.160 The Greek word for change your mind 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:42.680 is repent. 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:43.960 You need to change your mind. 00:21:45.019 --> 00:21:46.640 And you need to set your mind 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:47.580 on something else. 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:50.180 You need to set your mind 00:21:50.180 --> 00:21:51.960 on your citizenship 00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:54.059 in the kingdom of heaven 00:21:54.059 --> 00:21:56.559 where Jesus is ruling. 00:21:58.019 --> 00:21:58.200 Right? 00:21:58.299 --> 00:22:01.500 Where your true identity lies 00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:02.940 and where you really belong. 00:22:03.340 --> 00:22:04.420 It's your citizenship, 00:22:05.220 --> 00:22:05.980 not here on earth, 00:22:05.980 --> 00:22:08.039 but your citizenship in heaven. 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:10.379 And what happens 00:22:10.379 --> 00:22:11.779 when the whole church, 00:22:11.859 --> 00:22:13.359 not just a few people in the church, 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:14.519 but the whole church, 00:22:15.139 --> 00:22:17.339 decides to set their mind 00:22:17.339 --> 00:22:18.519 on the kingdom of heaven? 00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:23.740 I mean, last week we saw 00:22:23.740 --> 00:22:25.200 in verses seven to nine, 00:22:26.139 --> 00:22:27.659 when Paul met Jesus 00:22:27.659 --> 00:22:28.980 on the road to Damascus, 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:32.099 it changed his mindset. 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:33.920 Right? 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:34.460 Paul said, 00:22:34.460 --> 00:22:36.360 it reversed all of my accounting 00:22:36.360 --> 00:22:38.579 of my whole life. 00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:41.420 All of my former gains, 00:22:42.140 --> 00:22:43.860 I now count as loss, 00:22:43.960 --> 00:22:44.319 Paul says. 00:22:44.360 --> 00:22:45.220 I now count it actually 00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:46.360 as garbage 00:22:46.360 --> 00:22:48.460 compared to the gains 00:22:48.460 --> 00:22:50.640 of the surpassing worth 00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:51.960 of knowing Jesus Christ 00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:53.400 as my Lord. 00:22:53.460 --> 00:22:53.740 He says, 00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:54.700 when I look at all 00:22:54.700 --> 00:22:55.480 of the righteousness 00:22:55.480 --> 00:22:56.440 that I used to try 00:22:56.440 --> 00:22:57.579 to produce on my own, 00:22:58.420 --> 00:22:59.480 and I compare that 00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:00.920 with the righteousness 00:23:00.920 --> 00:23:02.039 that God has provided 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:02.819 for me in Jesus, 00:23:02.819 --> 00:23:04.599 it's infinitely superior. 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:06.299 I've had to change 00:23:06.299 --> 00:23:07.480 my entire mindset 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:08.879 on what it even means 00:23:08.879 --> 00:23:10.079 to be righteous. 00:23:11.460 --> 00:23:12.399 And then he goes on 00:23:12.399 --> 00:23:13.000 in verse 10 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:13.500 and he says, 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:15.220 he says this, 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:15.679 he says, 00:23:16.639 --> 00:23:19.059 I want to know Christ. 00:23:20.019 --> 00:23:21.279 Yes, to know the power 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:22.019 of his resurrection 00:23:22.019 --> 00:23:23.179 and participation 00:23:23.179 --> 00:23:24.240 in his sufferings, 00:23:24.339 --> 00:23:25.159 becoming like him 00:23:25.159 --> 00:23:25.700 in his death 00:23:25.700 --> 00:23:26.599 and so somehow 00:23:26.599 --> 00:23:28.240 attaining to the resurrection 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:29.439 of the dead. 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:30.439 What Paul says there is, 00:23:30.599 --> 00:23:32.200 I already know Jesus. 00:23:32.819 --> 00:23:35.679 but I don't know him enough. 00:23:37.099 --> 00:23:38.519 I already know Jesus, 00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:40.879 but because he's changed 00:23:40.879 --> 00:23:41.559 my mindset, 00:23:41.879 --> 00:23:43.359 I want to know him more 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:44.500 and I want to know him better. 00:23:45.740 --> 00:23:46.939 I already know Jesus, 00:23:47.099 --> 00:23:48.599 but because my mind 00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:49.439 is set on heaven, 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:50.599 I want to know this king 00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:52.399 who rules from heaven. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:54.939 I want to know 00:23:54.939 --> 00:23:56.359 the only person 00:23:56.359 --> 00:23:58.740 who's ever gone through death 00:23:58.740 --> 00:23:59.279 and come out 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:00.500 the other side alive. 00:24:00.619 --> 00:24:00.779 I mean, 00:24:00.819 --> 00:24:01.379 if that happened, 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:02.659 I want to know him more. 00:24:02.819 --> 00:24:05.919 Paul says of Jesus 00:24:05.919 --> 00:24:09.259 in Colossians 2 verse 13, 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:09.619 he says, 00:24:09.779 --> 00:24:10.639 in him are hidden 00:24:10.639 --> 00:24:11.679 all the treasures 00:24:11.679 --> 00:24:13.559 of wisdom and knowledge. 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:14.939 I want to know him. 00:24:16.359 --> 00:24:18.119 How could we ever get bored 00:24:18.119 --> 00:24:19.319 with Jesus? 00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:21.279 Paul says. 00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:23.700 He says, 00:24:23.819 --> 00:24:25.299 if you set your mind 00:24:25.299 --> 00:24:26.920 as a citizen of heaven 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:29.079 on the king of heaven, 00:24:29.819 --> 00:24:31.859 then you set your mind 00:24:31.859 --> 00:24:33.680 on a few different aspects 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:35.139 of knowing Jesus. 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:36.000 And if you have a pen, 00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:37.019 I want you to underline 00:24:37.019 --> 00:24:38.500 a couple of these aspects 00:24:38.500 --> 00:24:40.259 in verse 10. 00:24:40.339 --> 00:24:40.740 He says, 00:24:41.139 --> 00:24:41.619 first of all, 00:24:41.700 --> 00:24:42.180 power. 00:24:42.539 --> 00:24:43.940 You want to know his power. 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:46.220 Underline that word power. 00:24:47.059 --> 00:24:48.279 I want to know his power. 00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:50.180 Paul says, 00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:50.879 if you belong 00:24:50.879 --> 00:24:52.200 to the resurrected Jesus, 00:24:52.339 --> 00:24:53.519 then you've been united 00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:56.519 to his empowering presence. 00:24:57.859 --> 00:24:59.660 That the same Holy Spirit 00:24:59.660 --> 00:25:01.119 who raised Christ from the dead 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:03.019 is now living in you, 00:25:03.099 --> 00:25:03.819 and that means that 00:25:03.819 --> 00:25:04.740 he can release 00:25:04.740 --> 00:25:06.379 his resurrection power 00:25:06.379 --> 00:25:07.220 in you 00:25:07.220 --> 00:25:08.539 and through you. 00:25:10.019 --> 00:25:10.259 Well, 00:25:10.379 --> 00:25:11.259 to what purpose, 00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:12.039 for what end 00:25:12.039 --> 00:25:12.639 would he give you 00:25:12.639 --> 00:25:13.339 his power? 00:25:13.740 --> 00:25:14.819 Underline the next word, 00:25:15.059 --> 00:25:15.619 participation. 00:25:15.619 --> 00:25:15.859 participation. 00:25:17.639 --> 00:25:18.919 This is part of knowing 00:25:18.919 --> 00:25:20.379 Jesus' participation. 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:24.199 You need the life-giving power 00:25:24.199 --> 00:25:25.879 of the resurrected Jesus 00:25:25.879 --> 00:25:27.219 so that you can participate 00:25:27.219 --> 00:25:29.539 in Jesus' sufferings. 00:25:31.179 --> 00:25:32.419 And that means that 00:25:32.419 --> 00:25:33.759 on a daily basis, 00:25:34.579 --> 00:25:36.379 you're asking for his power 00:25:36.379 --> 00:25:39.099 that you might bear your cross 00:25:39.099 --> 00:25:40.779 just as he bore his cross 00:25:40.779 --> 00:25:42.639 to suffer for the sake 00:25:42.639 --> 00:25:43.719 of loving other people. 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:46.940 That's why you need 00:25:46.940 --> 00:25:47.480 his power 00:25:47.480 --> 00:25:48.539 so that the sufferings 00:25:48.539 --> 00:25:49.140 of Jesus, 00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:51.140 of sacrificial, 00:25:51.480 --> 00:25:52.160 self-giving love 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:52.839 can be manifest 00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:53.720 through you 00:25:53.720 --> 00:25:54.660 to the world. 00:25:56.480 --> 00:25:58.500 You don't just need power. 00:25:58.759 --> 00:26:00.120 You don't just need participation. 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:01.500 Part of knowing Jesus 00:26:01.500 --> 00:26:02.480 is next word, 00:26:02.700 --> 00:26:03.220 becoming. 00:26:03.779 --> 00:26:04.700 Underline that word, 00:26:04.980 --> 00:26:05.440 becoming. 00:26:07.180 --> 00:26:08.759 If the resurrected Jesus 00:26:08.759 --> 00:26:09.700 empowers you 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:10.980 to suffer with him 00:26:10.980 --> 00:26:12.660 in sacrificial love, 00:26:12.660 --> 00:26:13.860 then you are becoming 00:26:13.860 --> 00:26:14.580 like him 00:26:14.580 --> 00:26:16.340 in his self-giving 00:26:16.340 --> 00:26:17.960 on the cross. 00:26:18.080 --> 00:26:19.920 Your life is being shaped 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:21.519 into the form of his cross. 00:26:23.080 --> 00:26:24.720 That's part of knowing him. 00:26:26.040 --> 00:26:27.080 And then the last thing 00:26:27.080 --> 00:26:27.920 Paul says is 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:29.360 part of knowing him 00:26:29.360 --> 00:26:30.720 is attaining him. 00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:32.080 Underline that word, 00:26:32.220 --> 00:26:32.700 attaining. 00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:35.779 Attaining Jesus means 00:26:35.779 --> 00:26:36.600 that one day 00:26:36.600 --> 00:26:37.500 you're going to fully 00:26:37.500 --> 00:26:38.840 and finally know him 00:26:38.839 --> 00:26:40.159 and hold on to him 00:26:40.159 --> 00:26:42.059 in the final resurrection 00:26:42.059 --> 00:26:44.359 from the dead. 00:26:44.399 --> 00:26:45.419 And we'll talk about that 00:26:45.419 --> 00:26:46.179 in just a moment. 00:26:47.259 --> 00:26:48.480 But what Paul is saying here 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:48.980 is he says, 00:26:49.519 --> 00:26:51.019 I set my mind 00:26:51.019 --> 00:26:52.240 on a daily basis 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:55.199 on knowing more 00:26:55.199 --> 00:26:56.539 and on knowing better 00:26:56.539 --> 00:26:57.939 the crucified 00:26:57.939 --> 00:27:00.639 yet risen Lord Jesus. 00:27:00.779 --> 00:27:01.799 And I want to know 00:27:01.799 --> 00:27:02.859 my Messiah. 00:27:03.019 --> 00:27:04.399 I want to know my King 00:27:04.399 --> 00:27:05.379 to such a degree 00:27:05.380 --> 00:27:06.960 that the shape 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:07.640 of his life 00:27:07.640 --> 00:27:08.520 becomes the shape 00:27:08.520 --> 00:27:09.680 of my life. 00:27:11.260 --> 00:27:12.500 That he is daily 00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:13.080 giving me 00:27:13.080 --> 00:27:14.640 his resurrection power 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:15.740 to live out 00:27:15.740 --> 00:27:16.620 the sacrificial 00:27:16.620 --> 00:27:17.440 and suffering 00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:18.860 love of his cross 00:27:18.860 --> 00:27:19.800 so that when people 00:27:19.800 --> 00:27:21.200 see me, 00:27:21.280 --> 00:27:22.380 when they encounter me, 00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:23.960 when they experience me, 00:27:24.320 --> 00:27:25.060 they say, 00:27:25.540 --> 00:27:25.920 wow, 00:27:27.220 --> 00:27:28.440 that's a citizen 00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:29.060 of heaven 00:27:29.060 --> 00:27:29.860 who's just like 00:27:29.860 --> 00:27:30.740 the king of heaven. 00:27:33.200 --> 00:27:34.400 Does that make sense? 00:27:35.380 --> 00:27:36.720 And Paul's asking, 00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:37.680 is that where 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:38.860 your mind is set? 00:27:40.180 --> 00:27:40.880 Is that where 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:42.120 your mind is set? 00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:44.480 Now, of course, 00:27:44.580 --> 00:27:46.380 Paul can't leave it there 00:27:46.380 --> 00:27:47.540 and like most pastors, 00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:48.140 he has to give 00:27:48.140 --> 00:27:49.140 a sports illustration. 00:27:50.360 --> 00:27:51.260 And so, 00:27:51.460 --> 00:27:52.900 he gives this illustration 00:27:52.900 --> 00:27:53.780 of a runner 00:27:53.780 --> 00:27:55.260 in the Olympic Games. 00:27:55.340 --> 00:27:56.160 The Olympic Games, 00:27:56.560 --> 00:27:57.280 by the time Paul 00:27:57.280 --> 00:27:57.900 wrote this letter, 00:27:57.960 --> 00:27:58.500 has been going on 00:27:58.500 --> 00:27:59.700 for about 800 years. 00:28:00.780 --> 00:28:01.500 And so, 00:28:01.600 --> 00:28:02.380 Paul writes 00:28:02.380 --> 00:28:03.260 in verse 12, 00:28:04.360 --> 00:28:04.800 he says, 00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:05.519 not that I've already 00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:06.619 obtained all this 00:28:06.619 --> 00:28:07.579 or have already 00:28:07.579 --> 00:28:08.879 arrived at my goal, 00:28:09.919 --> 00:28:11.419 but like a runner 00:28:11.419 --> 00:28:12.440 in the Olympic Games, 00:28:13.379 --> 00:28:14.279 I press on 00:28:14.279 --> 00:28:14.980 to take hold 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:15.319 of that 00:28:15.319 --> 00:28:16.339 for which Christ Jesus 00:28:16.339 --> 00:28:17.279 took hold of me. 00:28:18.639 --> 00:28:19.539 Brothers and sisters, 00:28:19.639 --> 00:28:20.839 I do not consider myself 00:28:20.839 --> 00:28:22.200 yet to have taken hold 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:22.440 of it, 00:28:22.500 --> 00:28:23.460 but one thing I do, 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:24.639 forgetting what is behind 00:28:24.639 --> 00:28:25.559 and straining toward 00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:26.599 what is ahead, 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:27.399 I press on 00:28:27.399 --> 00:28:28.059 toward the goal 00:28:28.059 --> 00:28:29.299 to win the prize 00:28:29.299 --> 00:28:29.919 for which God 00:28:29.919 --> 00:28:31.039 has called me heavenward 00:28:31.039 --> 00:28:32.539 in Christ Jesus. 00:28:32.539 --> 00:28:37.220 A runner 00:28:37.220 --> 00:28:39.359 is someone 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:39.819 that has 00:28:39.819 --> 00:28:42.920 one burning ambition. 00:28:44.659 --> 00:28:45.539 A runner 00:28:45.539 --> 00:28:46.099 is somebody 00:28:46.099 --> 00:28:47.220 who has 00:28:47.220 --> 00:28:48.920 intensely 00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:50.279 set their mind 00:28:50.279 --> 00:28:52.579 on one desire. 00:28:54.019 --> 00:28:55.119 They've set themselves 00:28:55.119 --> 00:28:56.059 in one direction. 00:28:57.319 --> 00:28:58.639 They've given themselves 00:28:58.639 --> 00:28:59.460 one goal, 00:28:59.460 --> 00:29:02.180 which is to finish 00:29:02.180 --> 00:29:02.680 the race 00:29:02.680 --> 00:29:03.180 and to win 00:29:03.180 --> 00:29:03.920 the prize. 00:29:04.100 --> 00:29:04.299 Now, 00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:05.779 Adidas 00:29:05.779 --> 00:29:06.480 had an amazing 00:29:06.480 --> 00:29:07.400 ad campaign 00:29:07.400 --> 00:29:09.480 many years ago 00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:11.420 where they had 00:29:11.420 --> 00:29:12.340 these incredible pictures 00:29:12.340 --> 00:29:13.420 and the caption 00:29:13.420 --> 00:29:13.740 said, 00:29:13.940 --> 00:29:14.279 runners, 00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:15.340 yeah, 00:29:15.819 --> 00:29:16.519 we're different. 00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:18.059 I don't know, 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:18.640 anybody remember 00:29:18.640 --> 00:29:19.620 that ad campaign? 00:29:19.759 --> 00:29:20.440 It was absolutely 00:29:20.440 --> 00:29:20.880 amazing. 00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:25.340 Basically, 00:29:25.680 --> 00:29:26.100 you had these 00:29:26.100 --> 00:29:26.940 runners going by 00:29:26.940 --> 00:29:27.440 and all the 00:29:27.440 --> 00:29:28.300 onlookers, 00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:29.260 like the normal 00:29:29.260 --> 00:29:29.960 people over here 00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:30.660 were baffled 00:29:30.660 --> 00:29:31.560 and bewildered 00:29:31.560 --> 00:29:33.400 at all the weird 00:29:33.400 --> 00:29:34.140 things the runners 00:29:34.140 --> 00:29:34.640 were doing. 00:29:35.580 --> 00:29:35.760 Right? 00:29:35.900 --> 00:29:36.820 A guy is standing 00:29:36.820 --> 00:29:37.840 in line at the bank 00:29:37.840 --> 00:29:38.720 and he's like 00:29:38.720 --> 00:29:39.320 stretching his 00:29:39.320 --> 00:29:39.860 hamstrings 00:29:39.860 --> 00:29:40.820 and his calves 00:29:40.820 --> 00:29:41.600 and everybody's like, 00:29:41.760 --> 00:29:42.640 who is this guy? 00:29:43.340 --> 00:29:44.700 A woman is running 00:29:44.700 --> 00:29:45.640 with her baby 00:29:45.640 --> 00:29:46.420 in the jog stroller 00:29:46.420 --> 00:29:47.160 past all the other 00:29:47.160 --> 00:29:48.420 moms and their kids 00:29:48.420 --> 00:29:49.300 at the park 00:29:49.300 --> 00:29:49.760 and they're all 00:29:49.760 --> 00:29:50.420 looking at her like, 00:29:50.420 --> 00:29:51.259 what are you doing? 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:53.519 Runners, 00:29:54.600 --> 00:29:55.000 yeah, 00:29:55.940 --> 00:29:56.600 we're different. 00:29:59.120 --> 00:30:00.160 Paul is saying, 00:30:00.800 --> 00:30:03.620 no one shows up 00:30:03.620 --> 00:30:04.460 to the Olympic Games 00:30:04.460 --> 00:30:05.120 to jog. 00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:09.580 Paul is saying, 00:30:09.580 --> 00:30:11.140 a complacent runner 00:30:11.140 --> 00:30:12.920 is a contradiction 00:30:12.920 --> 00:30:13.700 in terms. 00:30:15.320 --> 00:30:16.380 Paul is saying, 00:30:17.140 --> 00:30:18.820 a runner is somebody 00:30:18.820 --> 00:30:19.740 who's intense. 00:30:20.420 --> 00:30:21.580 A runner is somebody 00:30:21.580 --> 00:30:23.880 who is continuously 00:30:23.880 --> 00:30:26.660 giving strenuous effort. 00:30:26.820 --> 00:30:27.259 They're straining 00:30:27.259 --> 00:30:28.039 every muscle, 00:30:28.259 --> 00:30:29.320 every fiber, 00:30:29.460 --> 00:30:30.019 every nerve, 00:30:30.120 --> 00:30:30.720 every moment 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:31.180 of their day. 00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:31.800 They're pressing 00:30:31.800 --> 00:30:33.080 all the oxygen 00:30:33.080 --> 00:30:34.000 out of their lungs 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:35.800 in order to 00:30:35.800 --> 00:30:37.320 attain a goal. 00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:39.500 A runner's not 00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:40.400 somebody who allows 00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:41.080 themselves to get 00:30:41.080 --> 00:30:42.180 distracted by lesser 00:30:42.180 --> 00:30:42.759 things. 00:30:43.640 --> 00:30:44.420 A runner's not 00:30:44.420 --> 00:30:45.019 somebody who's 00:30:45.019 --> 00:30:45.920 looking over their 00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:46.580 shoulder at other 00:30:46.580 --> 00:30:46.860 runners. 00:30:46.859 --> 00:30:47.859 runners. 00:30:47.859 --> 00:30:48.359 A runner's not 00:30:48.359 --> 00:30:49.479 somebody who's fixated 00:30:49.479 --> 00:30:50.819 on the past 00:30:50.819 --> 00:30:52.059 and the first half 00:30:52.059 --> 00:30:52.539 of the race 00:30:52.539 --> 00:30:53.399 that I tried to run. 00:30:54.399 --> 00:30:54.759 No, 00:30:55.159 --> 00:30:55.919 Paul says, 00:30:56.099 --> 00:30:57.699 a runner 00:30:57.699 --> 00:30:59.939 is someone who has 00:30:59.939 --> 00:31:01.479 a singleness of purpose. 00:31:01.480 --> 00:31:03.860 somebody who's 00:31:03.860 --> 00:31:04.740 disciplined 00:31:04.740 --> 00:31:05.860 and dedicated 00:31:05.860 --> 00:31:07.160 and determined 00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:08.980 on one thing. 00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:11.480 And Paul says, 00:31:11.579 --> 00:31:12.500 the one thing, 00:31:12.980 --> 00:31:13.720 if you're a Christian, 00:31:13.819 --> 00:31:14.680 the one thing 00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:16.480 is knowing 00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:17.700 Christ. 00:31:19.559 --> 00:31:20.740 That's what a citizen 00:31:20.740 --> 00:31:21.579 of heaven wants. 00:31:21.660 --> 00:31:22.220 They want to know 00:31:22.220 --> 00:31:23.059 the king of heaven. 00:31:23.059 --> 00:31:25.379 And Paul says, 00:31:25.539 --> 00:31:26.039 is that 00:31:26.039 --> 00:31:28.000 your mindset? 00:31:29.919 --> 00:31:30.440 Now, 00:31:30.659 --> 00:31:32.559 who are your 00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:32.940 models? 00:31:33.419 --> 00:31:33.960 What is your 00:31:33.960 --> 00:31:34.319 mindset? 00:31:35.399 --> 00:31:35.819 Finally, 00:31:35.919 --> 00:31:36.639 where is your 00:31:36.639 --> 00:31:37.399 hope? 00:31:38.460 --> 00:31:38.960 And I don't have 00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:39.980 much time on this, 00:31:40.119 --> 00:31:41.059 but Paul ends 00:31:41.059 --> 00:31:41.319 here, 00:31:41.399 --> 00:31:42.079 and so I'll end 00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:42.779 here as well. 00:31:44.059 --> 00:31:44.500 You know, 00:31:44.639 --> 00:31:45.639 it's pretty clear 00:31:45.639 --> 00:31:47.559 increasingly 00:31:47.559 --> 00:31:49.299 in our 00:31:49.299 --> 00:31:50.039 late 00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:51.059 modern 00:31:51.059 --> 00:31:51.059 00:31:51.059 --> 00:31:55.220 world 00:31:55.220 --> 00:31:55.659 that 00:31:55.659 --> 00:31:57.720 people are living 00:31:57.720 --> 00:31:58.679 with an increasing 00:31:58.679 --> 00:32:00.119 sense of hopelessness. 00:32:02.359 --> 00:32:03.119 And so, 00:32:03.339 --> 00:32:04.440 if the church 00:32:04.440 --> 00:32:06.279 can have a clear 00:32:06.279 --> 00:32:06.940 sense of what 00:32:06.940 --> 00:32:07.980 our hope is, 00:32:09.460 --> 00:32:10.019 then 00:32:10.019 --> 00:32:11.919 we've got good 00:32:11.919 --> 00:32:12.659 news for the world, 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:12.940 right? 00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:14.279 Because the world 00:32:14.279 --> 00:32:15.159 doesn't have much hope, 00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:15.759 but we have 00:32:15.759 --> 00:32:17.240 an incredible hope. 00:32:18.700 --> 00:32:19.440 And here's what 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:21.380 Paul says is the 00:32:21.380 --> 00:32:21.920 Christian hope, 00:32:22.039 --> 00:32:23.160 and just a hint, 00:32:23.500 --> 00:32:24.100 the Christian hope 00:32:24.100 --> 00:32:24.799 is not to go to 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:25.559 heaven when we die. 00:32:27.080 --> 00:32:27.940 Paul says this 00:32:27.940 --> 00:32:28.500 in verse 20. 00:32:28.660 --> 00:32:29.100 He says, 00:32:30.200 --> 00:32:30.920 but our citizenship 00:32:30.920 --> 00:32:31.660 is in heaven, 00:32:31.799 --> 00:32:32.620 and we eagerly 00:32:32.620 --> 00:32:33.380 await a Savior 00:32:33.380 --> 00:32:33.840 from there, 00:32:33.920 --> 00:32:34.519 the Lord Jesus 00:32:34.519 --> 00:32:35.039 Christ, 00:32:35.799 --> 00:32:36.840 who by the power 00:32:36.840 --> 00:32:37.480 that enables him 00:32:37.480 --> 00:32:38.340 to bring everything 00:32:38.340 --> 00:32:39.420 under his control 00:32:39.420 --> 00:32:40.799 will transform 00:32:40.799 --> 00:32:41.779 our lowly bodies 00:32:41.779 --> 00:32:42.400 so that they will 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:43.840 be like his 00:32:43.840 --> 00:32:44.980 glorious body. 00:32:44.980 --> 00:32:47.900 Paul says, 00:32:48.099 --> 00:32:49.200 a Christian 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:50.200 who has hope 00:32:50.200 --> 00:32:51.640 is someone 00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:52.500 who's earnestly 00:32:52.500 --> 00:32:53.500 expecting Jesus 00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:54.160 to come 00:32:54.160 --> 00:32:55.380 as the Savior 00:32:55.380 --> 00:32:56.400 and to complete 00:32:56.400 --> 00:32:58.539 his work 00:32:58.539 --> 00:32:59.559 of saving 00:32:59.559 --> 00:32:59.980 a people 00:32:59.980 --> 00:33:00.740 for himself. 00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:03.279 And what Paul 00:33:03.279 --> 00:33:03.940 says is that 00:33:03.940 --> 00:33:04.839 we will not 00:33:04.839 --> 00:33:05.779 so much go up 00:33:05.779 --> 00:33:06.400 to heaven, 00:33:06.539 --> 00:33:07.200 but the King, 00:33:07.460 --> 00:33:08.220 Jesus himself, 00:33:08.319 --> 00:33:08.980 will come from 00:33:08.980 --> 00:33:09.660 heaven to earth 00:33:09.660 --> 00:33:10.440 to transform 00:33:10.440 --> 00:33:11.700 this world. 00:33:11.700 --> 00:33:14.539 And what will 00:33:14.539 --> 00:33:15.420 the final work 00:33:15.420 --> 00:33:16.580 of the Savior 00:33:16.580 --> 00:33:17.700 be like? 00:33:17.819 --> 00:33:19.019 Well, Paul is confident. 00:33:19.180 --> 00:33:19.500 He says, 00:33:19.740 --> 00:33:20.900 what started 00:33:20.900 --> 00:33:21.460 with Jesus' 00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:22.080 resurrection 00:33:22.080 --> 00:33:23.220 on Easter Sunday 00:33:23.220 --> 00:33:24.200 will be completed 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:25.319 when he returns 00:33:25.319 --> 00:33:26.600 in the resurrection 00:33:26.600 --> 00:33:27.580 of all his people. 00:33:29.340 --> 00:33:29.840 Right? 00:33:29.880 --> 00:33:30.900 He says the King 00:33:30.900 --> 00:33:32.340 has tremendous power. 00:33:33.140 --> 00:33:34.180 He's triumphed 00:33:34.180 --> 00:33:35.080 over death, right? 00:33:35.120 --> 00:33:35.920 He has the power 00:33:35.920 --> 00:33:36.559 of life. 00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:38.740 And Paul says 00:33:38.740 --> 00:33:39.500 that King Jesus 00:33:39.500 --> 00:33:40.580 is going to exercise 00:33:40.580 --> 00:33:41.480 that power 00:33:41.480 --> 00:33:43.640 to the Greek word 00:33:43.640 --> 00:33:44.039 is 00:33:44.039 --> 00:33:47.099 metaschematizo. 00:33:48.099 --> 00:33:48.400 Okay? 00:33:49.200 --> 00:33:50.059 What Jesus 00:33:50.059 --> 00:33:50.640 is going to do 00:33:50.640 --> 00:33:51.079 is he's going 00:33:51.079 --> 00:33:52.400 to metaschematize 00:33:52.400 --> 00:33:52.640 you. 00:33:54.839 --> 00:33:55.480 He's going 00:33:55.480 --> 00:33:56.500 to so reorder 00:33:56.500 --> 00:33:56.920 you. 00:33:57.940 --> 00:33:58.539 He's going 00:33:58.539 --> 00:33:59.480 to so transform 00:33:59.480 --> 00:34:01.120 you and his 00:34:01.120 --> 00:34:01.779 people and the 00:34:01.779 --> 00:34:03.039 whole world 00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:03.740 that we will be 00:34:03.740 --> 00:34:04.860 raised up to share 00:34:04.860 --> 00:34:06.180 in his glory. 00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:08.639 He says he's 00:34:08.639 --> 00:34:09.079 going to take 00:34:09.079 --> 00:34:09.840 these lowly 00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:10.420 bodies 00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:11.420 bodies 00:34:11.420 --> 00:34:12.420 that are subject 00:34:12.420 --> 00:34:13.639 to humiliation. 00:34:13.639 --> 00:34:14.280 Right? 00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:15.539 Subject to sin 00:34:15.539 --> 00:34:17.159 and suffering 00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:18.780 and sickness 00:34:18.780 --> 00:34:19.900 and injury 00:34:19.900 --> 00:34:21.400 and suffering. 00:34:21.659 --> 00:34:22.280 Bodies that are 00:34:22.280 --> 00:34:23.440 subject to cancer 00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:25.139 and to dementia. 00:34:25.480 --> 00:34:26.039 Bodies that are 00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:26.420 subject 00:34:26.420 --> 00:34:27.300 finally 00:34:27.300 --> 00:34:28.320 to death. 00:34:29.599 --> 00:34:30.380 And he says 00:34:30.380 --> 00:34:31.139 our hope 00:34:31.139 --> 00:34:32.599 the Christian hope 00:34:32.599 --> 00:34:33.300 is that King 00:34:33.300 --> 00:34:34.000 Jesus 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:34.579 is going to 00:34:34.579 --> 00:34:35.920 metaschematize us. 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:37.460 He's going 00:34:37.460 --> 00:34:38.380 to so transform 00:34:38.380 --> 00:34:39.039 our bodies 00:34:39.039 --> 00:34:39.800 that they'll 00:34:39.800 --> 00:34:40.639 be conformed 00:34:40.639 --> 00:34:41.260 to the body 00:34:41.260 --> 00:34:42.099 of Jesus' 00:34:42.599 --> 00:34:42.980 glory. 00:34:44.559 --> 00:34:45.460 That just as 00:34:45.460 --> 00:34:46.340 on Easter Sunday 00:34:46.340 --> 00:34:47.320 Jesus' body 00:34:47.320 --> 00:34:47.980 went from being 00:34:47.980 --> 00:34:48.780 corruptible 00:34:48.780 --> 00:34:49.400 to being 00:34:49.400 --> 00:34:50.320 incorruptible. 00:34:50.980 --> 00:34:51.900 From being a 00:34:51.900 --> 00:34:52.840 weak and immortal 00:34:52.840 --> 00:34:53.659 body to being 00:34:53.659 --> 00:34:54.260 a strong 00:34:54.260 --> 00:34:55.420 immortal body 00:34:55.420 --> 00:34:55.880 he says 00:34:55.880 --> 00:34:57.119 so your body 00:34:57.119 --> 00:34:58.360 will be reordered 00:34:58.360 --> 00:34:59.340 to share the glory 00:34:59.340 --> 00:35:00.280 of Jesus' 00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:00.940 resurrection 00:35:00.940 --> 00:35:01.900 body. 00:35:01.900 --> 00:35:02.740 That's the last 00:35:02.740 --> 00:35:03.200 act 00:35:03.200 --> 00:35:04.500 in the drama 00:35:04.500 --> 00:35:05.380 of God's 00:35:05.380 --> 00:35:05.720 redemption. 00:35:06.920 --> 00:35:07.539 And Paul says 00:35:07.539 --> 00:35:08.360 we the church 00:35:08.360 --> 00:35:09.139 wait for it 00:35:09.139 --> 00:35:09.820 eagerly 00:35:09.820 --> 00:35:11.480 because this 00:35:11.480 --> 00:35:12.119 will fulfill 00:35:12.119 --> 00:35:12.800 the plan 00:35:12.800 --> 00:35:14.019 of the creator 00:35:14.019 --> 00:35:15.099 God all along 00:35:15.099 --> 00:35:16.240 from Genesis 00:35:16.240 --> 00:35:17.039 chapter 1. 00:35:18.820 --> 00:35:19.880 It has been 00:35:19.880 --> 00:35:20.760 the design of God 00:35:20.760 --> 00:35:21.480 from the beginning 00:35:21.480 --> 00:35:22.139 that through 00:35:22.139 --> 00:35:23.340 the agency 00:35:23.340 --> 00:35:24.119 of his image 00:35:24.119 --> 00:35:25.000 bearing people 00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:27.280 that God's 00:35:27.280 --> 00:35:28.039 heavenly rule 00:35:28.039 --> 00:35:28.500 that God's 00:35:28.500 --> 00:35:29.320 heavenly reign 00:35:29.320 --> 00:35:30.340 will be put 00:35:30.340 --> 00:35:30.900 into effect 00:35:30.900 --> 00:35:31.400 on the earth 00:35:31.400 --> 00:35:32.039 and bring the 00:35:32.039 --> 00:35:32.940 whole creation 00:35:32.940 --> 00:35:33.960 to life. 00:35:35.820 --> 00:35:36.680 And Paul is 00:35:36.680 --> 00:35:37.460 straining toward 00:35:37.460 --> 00:35:38.180 this hope 00:35:38.180 --> 00:35:38.900 beyond death. 00:35:39.000 --> 00:35:39.800 He's pressing 00:35:39.800 --> 00:35:40.740 to take hold 00:35:40.740 --> 00:35:41.800 of this future 00:35:41.800 --> 00:35:43.079 resurrection life 00:35:43.079 --> 00:35:43.780 of the new 00:35:43.780 --> 00:35:44.220 creation 00:35:44.220 --> 00:35:45.160 and to have it 00:35:45.160 --> 00:35:45.900 even now. 00:35:47.800 --> 00:35:48.539 And it's this 00:35:48.539 --> 00:35:49.019 hope 00:35:49.019 --> 00:35:50.139 that enables 00:35:50.139 --> 00:35:50.700 Paul 00:35:50.700 --> 00:35:52.139 in his Roman 00:35:52.139 --> 00:35:53.000 prison cell 00:35:53.000 --> 00:35:54.900 chained up 00:35:54.900 --> 00:35:55.660 to those Roman 00:35:55.660 --> 00:35:56.980 prison guards 00:35:56.980 --> 00:35:58.840 it's what 00:35:58.840 --> 00:35:59.800 enables Paul 00:35:59.800 --> 00:36:00.680 to think through 00:36:00.679 --> 00:36:01.779 all the complex 00:36:01.779 --> 00:36:02.379 challenges 00:36:02.379 --> 00:36:03.119 that are facing 00:36:03.119 --> 00:36:04.500 him and facing 00:36:04.500 --> 00:36:05.159 the church. 00:36:06.460 --> 00:36:07.599 It's this hope 00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:08.339 that enables him 00:36:08.339 --> 00:36:09.399 to endure 00:36:09.399 --> 00:36:11.199 and to persevere 00:36:11.199 --> 00:36:12.039 through that 00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:12.699 which is beyond 00:36:12.699 --> 00:36:13.460 his control. 00:36:14.599 --> 00:36:15.759 It's this hope 00:36:15.759 --> 00:36:16.619 that enables Paul 00:36:16.619 --> 00:36:17.440 to live in the 00:36:17.440 --> 00:36:18.379 present and light 00:36:18.379 --> 00:36:19.199 of the coming 00:36:19.199 --> 00:36:20.179 glorious future. 00:36:20.179 --> 00:36:20.239 future. 00:36:22.039 --> 00:36:23.039 And it's this hope 00:36:23.039 --> 00:36:24.019 that enables Paul 00:36:24.019 --> 00:36:24.899 to encourage 00:36:24.899 --> 00:36:25.699 the church 00:36:25.699 --> 00:36:27.119 to be 00:36:27.119 --> 00:36:28.239 a colony 00:36:28.239 --> 00:36:28.919 of heaven. 00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:30.319 Right? 00:36:30.359 --> 00:36:31.159 To be a preview 00:36:31.159 --> 00:36:31.719 of coming 00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:32.299 attractions. 00:36:33.299 --> 00:36:34.539 To be a small 00:36:34.539 --> 00:36:35.460 working model 00:36:35.460 --> 00:36:36.219 of what the new 00:36:36.219 --> 00:36:36.659 creation 00:36:36.659 --> 00:36:38.179 is going to be 00:36:38.179 --> 00:36:38.779 when the Lord 00:36:38.779 --> 00:36:39.759 Jesus returns 00:36:39.759 --> 00:36:41.079 as our Savior 00:36:41.079 --> 00:36:41.899 to transform 00:36:41.899 --> 00:36:42.619 not just our 00:36:42.619 --> 00:36:43.259 lowly bodies 00:36:43.259 --> 00:36:43.879 but the whole 00:36:43.879 --> 00:36:44.359 world 00:36:44.359 --> 00:36:45.199 to share 00:36:45.199 --> 00:36:46.919 in his glory 00:36:46.919 --> 00:36:47.460 and to share 00:36:47.460 --> 00:36:48.079 in his rule 00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:48.759 and his reign 00:36:48.760 --> 00:36:49.960 over the earth. 00:36:51.740 --> 00:36:52.480 So friends 00:36:52.480 --> 00:36:53.000 as we come 00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:53.660 to this table 00:36:53.660 --> 00:36:55.740 my question 00:36:55.740 --> 00:36:56.440 for you 00:36:56.440 --> 00:36:57.020 my question 00:36:57.020 --> 00:36:57.640 for me 00:36:57.640 --> 00:37:00.300 where is our hope? 00:37:04.160 --> 00:37:05.120 Have we been 00:37:05.120 --> 00:37:05.820 putting our hope 00:37:05.820 --> 00:37:06.880 in the wrong place? 00:37:11.740 --> 00:37:12.500 Might we need 00:37:12.500 --> 00:37:13.300 to put our hope 00:37:13.300 --> 00:37:14.180 back where it 00:37:14.180 --> 00:37:15.020 rightly belongs? 00:37:15.019 --> 00:37:18.519 death has been 00:37:18.519 --> 00:37:18.940 defeated. 00:37:20.559 --> 00:37:21.579 Our relationship 00:37:21.579 --> 00:37:22.199 with God 00:37:22.199 --> 00:37:22.960 has been restored 00:37:22.960 --> 00:37:23.639 for eternity. 00:37:25.340 --> 00:37:26.300 Your body 00:37:26.300 --> 00:37:27.800 even though 00:37:27.800 --> 00:37:28.619 it's declining 00:37:28.619 --> 00:37:29.420 and decaying 00:37:29.420 --> 00:37:30.059 now 00:37:30.059 --> 00:37:31.259 will be transformed 00:37:31.259 --> 00:37:31.900 to be like 00:37:31.900 --> 00:37:32.699 the gloriously 00:37:32.699 --> 00:37:33.639 incorruptible 00:37:33.639 --> 00:37:34.619 body of Jesus. 00:37:36.559 --> 00:37:37.559 This world 00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:38.019 will be 00:37:38.019 --> 00:37:38.579 redeemed 00:37:38.579 --> 00:37:39.079 and renewed 00:37:39.079 --> 00:37:39.759 so that nothing 00:37:39.759 --> 00:37:40.659 bad will ever 00:37:40.659 --> 00:37:41.639 spoil it again. 00:37:41.639 --> 00:37:44.359 good will defeat 00:37:44.359 --> 00:37:44.799 evil 00:37:44.799 --> 00:37:46.299 love will 00:37:46.299 --> 00:37:47.199 overcome hate 00:37:47.199 --> 00:37:49.400 life will triumph 00:37:49.400 --> 00:37:50.199 over death 00:37:50.199 --> 00:37:52.279 your story 00:37:52.279 --> 00:37:53.739 and my story 00:37:53.739 --> 00:37:54.859 and the story 00:37:54.859 --> 00:37:55.719 of this world 00:37:55.719 --> 00:37:57.000 is going to end 00:37:57.000 --> 00:37:58.420 happily ever after. 00:38:00.319 --> 00:38:01.639 That's the hope 00:38:01.639 --> 00:38:03.239 that King 00:38:03.239 --> 00:38:03.859 Jesus 00:38:03.859 --> 00:38:04.799 that's the hope 00:38:04.799 --> 00:38:05.539 that citizenship 00:38:05.539 --> 00:38:06.299 in the kingdom 00:38:06.299 --> 00:38:06.799 of heaven 00:38:06.799 --> 00:38:08.139 has given to us 00:38:08.139 --> 00:38:08.779 it's the hope 00:38:08.779 --> 00:38:09.960 that our world 00:38:09.960 --> 00:38:10.320 needs 00:38:10.320 --> 00:38:10.820 is the hope 00:38:10.820 --> 00:38:11.480 that all of our 00:38:11.480 --> 00:38:12.179 friends most 00:38:12.179 --> 00:38:13.000 desperately need 00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:13.400 and so 00:38:13.400 --> 00:38:14.559 I want to close 00:38:14.559 --> 00:38:15.519 with Paul's words 00:38:15.519 --> 00:38:16.240 in chapter 4 00:38:16.240 --> 00:38:16.740 verse 1 00:38:16.740 --> 00:38:17.079 therefore 00:38:17.079 --> 00:38:18.340 my brothers 00:38:18.340 --> 00:38:19.199 and my sisters 00:38:19.199 --> 00:38:20.800 you whom I love 00:38:20.800 --> 00:38:22.159 you whom I long 00:38:22.159 --> 00:38:22.480 for 00:38:22.480 --> 00:38:23.300 my joy 00:38:23.300 --> 00:38:24.800 my crown 00:38:24.800 --> 00:38:27.139 stand firm 00:38:27.139 --> 00:38:27.740 in the Lord 00:38:27.740 --> 00:38:28.760 in this way 00:38:28.760 --> 00:38:31.039 my dear friends 00:38:31.039 --> 00:38:33.440 in the name 00:38:33.440 --> 00:38:33.900 of the Father 00:38:33.900 --> 00:38:34.920 Son and Holy Spirit 00:38:34.920 --> 00:38:35.820 Amen