Well we're back in Philippians
chapter 3 one more time. Pressing toward the prize. You'll
see those words in verse 14. I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. This chapter,
this third chapter of Philippians is quite remarkable, it is so
rich. It's one that I think we can
deduce that Paul actually didn't ever intend to write, because
right at the start of it he says, finally my brethren, rejoice
in the Lord. and then the Holy Spirit takes over him and proceeds. There's a lot more he's got to
say and so he continues to say it. He says finally again in
the middle of chapter 4 verse 8, finally brethren, da da da,
and so on. He keeps thinking he's finished
but then the Holy Spirit gives him more to say. It's a remarkable
chapter because it is such a strong personal testimony of the Apostle
Paul, who was Saul of Tarsus. Saul of Tarsus, from his youngest
days in the school of Gamaliel in Jerusalem, he was a strict
Jew, he had an impeccable heritage of the tribe of Benjamin, not
one of the northern tribes. The ones that stayed faithful
to Judah in the south, to the religion of the Jewish people
down around Jerusalem. He'd stayed faithful to it, and
from his youth he was very religious. Now why was he so religious? Why do people become so zealous
for their religion? Why is it? Why is it? Answer? Because in one form or another,
all of them All of the world's religions, why do they do it?
This is the reason. They're aiming for eternal life. It's in verse 11 of chapter 3.
If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the
dead. If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead. Sorry, can you stop that? Sorry,
my computer again. I'll have to stop this Siri thing.
This is ridiculous. Up in the top right there. Tell
it to go away. Sorry, we seem to be getting
more and more snags, don't we, as we go on. Right, I think it's
gone now. I think it's gone. Okay, but it knocks you off your
thought pattern, as you might imagine. Anyway, Saul of Tarsus,
he was a Pharisee, he was very strict, he lists it in the first
part of chapter 3, he lists what it was that he was so dedicated
to, his Jewish Pharisaical beliefs, his Pharisaical profession and
practice. He was zealous for it. It didn't
just affect his mind, it affected what he did. He was zealous.
He was zealous with hatred towards those he regarded as non-conformists
to his Jewish religion, especially those followers of this sect
of that Jesus of Nazareth. He wanted to crush it, to eliminate
it. He He couldn't understand them,
they didn't conform to what he thought was the one and only
way to eternal life, to the resurrection of the dead. But right in the
middle of that, on the road to Damascus, verse 12, he was apprehended
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not as though I had already attained,
either were already perfect, but I follow after, if that I
may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ
Jesus. He'd been apprehended of Christ
Jesus. You know, that's what a police
officer does when they arrest a felon. The felon is apprehended,
is stopped in his tracks, is arrested, has his freedom to
go the way he wanted to go taken away from him. He was humbled,
this Saul of Tarsus was humbled to see that the one he had been
persecuting, because it was a person, the light shone from heaven,
Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? I am Jesus
whom you persecute. I am Jesus. It's hard for you
to do this, isn't it? He was humbled to see that the
one he persecuted was not just this rebel from Nazareth, This
rebel from Galilee, from the northern area, the despised northern
area, the Jews, you know, it happens a lot. In America, in
the USA, it's the other way around, but in the United Kingdom, generally
speaking, the south of England tends to look on the north of
England with contempt. Yes, they've got nice countryside,
but oh dear, the people are not right up there. Well, it was
like that in Israel of this time. The Jews despised the northern
part of it. And this man, this Jesus, was
a rebel from there. But he was humbled to see that
the one he was persecuting was in fact Jehovah Jesus, was the
Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Saviour. He was the one in whom
God, that no man had ever seen or could see, was manifested. No man's seen God at any time.
But in Christ, this is where God is seen. He was brought,
Saul, arrogant, arrogant, proud, Saul of Tarsus, proud of his
religious lineage. He was brought to bow before
the majesty of God, before the majesty of Jesus, Jehovah Jesus. And he was converted in a moment. In that moment, he was converted. went in a moment from being an
enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ and his cause, to a willing bondservant. The thing, the very thing that
he was trying to crush and destroy, he became the prominent advocate
of it. He became the prominent preacher
of the gospel to the world around, especially the Gentile world.
In a matter of days, it was just three days that he was without
sight in Damascus, until Ananias came to him. And he was changed
from that dreaded, that feared, powerful persecutor to a gospel
preacher. Look at it in Acts chapter 9
and verse 17. Acts chapter 9 verse 17, let's
read the account of it, just a few verses here, down to verse
22. And Ananias went his way, and
entered into the house where Saul was. And putting his hands
on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared
unto you in the way as you came, has sent me, that you might receive
your sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.' And immediately
there fell from his eyes as it had been scales, and he received
sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptised. And when he had
received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with
the disciples which are at Damascus. Straightway, he preached Christ
in the synagogues. The very one he set out to destroy,
he preached Christ in the synagogues. What about him? That he is the
Son of God. That this is the manifestation
of God. This is God displayed. God that
is invisible, displayed to man. Show us the Father and that will
suffice us, said Philip. Philip, have I been so long with
you, said Jesus, and you have not known me? He who has seen
me has seen the Father. But all that heard him were amazed,
all that heard him were amazed, and said, Is not this he that
destroyed them which called on this name, Jesus, the name of
Jesus in Jerusalem, and came hither to Damascus for that intent,
that he might bring them bound to the chief priests? But Saul
increased them more in strength. and confounded the Jews, the
very ones that were his allies in this aim to destroy this fledgling
church. He confounded the Jews which
dwelt at Damascus, proving that this, what? Jesus of Nazareth. That this is very Christ. What does that mean? That He
is God come for salvation. He is God manifested for salvation. What a dramatic conversion. I've
said it many times before. I find this one of the most powerful. If you want a rational argument,
and don't worry, rational argument will never convert a man or a
woman. It's the Spirit of God that will
do that. But if you want a rational argument, there I think there's
little that's more powerful than that. the conversion of Saul
of Tarsus, the Apostle Paul. He went from being that enemy
of the Gospel to being utterly devoted at immense personal cost
to the service of Christ and his church, his people, calling
out his people. He embarked on journeys which
in those days were difficult. He was often in perils. He was
shipwrecked more than one occasion. He was put in prison. He was
punished really cruelly. He experienced extreme pain and
deprivation. He was constantly under death
threats from the Jews, from those that he was once a member of,
the Pharisees. And he worked as a fisher of men. You know,
Jesus said to his disciples, I will make you, you who are
fishers of fish, I will make you fishers of men. And now,
when he's writing this chapter of Philippians, he's under house
arrest in Rome for the last two years of his life. You can read
about it at the end of the Acts of the Apostles. He's certain
to die at the hands of the emperor Nero. That's guaranteed. But
he's given space. By the grace of God, and the
providence of God, he's given space for two years to live in
his own rented house, and be supported by people around him,
and have the opportunity to preach this gospel of grace. to not
a few people. Many came to his meetings, and
not a few of them were of the household of Caesar. There, where
does it say that? Verse 22 of chapter 4. All the
saints salute you, he says to those at Philippi. All those
in Rome, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household. Many of
Caesar's household were converted to Christ under the preaching
of this Paul the Apostle. So, he's encouraging the Philippians
and us as a sort of a historical by-product. He's encouraging
us on life's journey to heaven. Warning of hazards, encouraging
progress, for what reason? We saw it last week, but I'll
remind you of it. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 19, we read,
for what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Are not even
ye What about you? You out there on the internet,
we here, are not even you? What's Paul's hope? What's his
joy? What's his crown of rejoicing?
Is it not even you Philippians and us believers today to see
us in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? That's
it, for he is coming again. So if it's a journey, what is
the progress to date? How far have you got, Paul? Let's
ask him that question. Verse 12, he says, well I haven't
got there yet. Not as though I had already attained,
either were already perfect, but I follow after. I carry on. if that I may apprehend, I'm
aiming to apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of
Jesus Christ. You see, the Christian life is
one of a journey. John Bunyan, in his Pilgrims'
Progress, describes it so graphically in pictures and symbols and metaphors,
but so well, when in his years imprisoned in Bedford jail, The
life of a Christian is a journey from what Bunyan describes as
Vanity Fair, this world, this world, everything in this world,
from Vanity Fair to the Celestial City. From Vanity Fair where
all of his neighbours thought he'd lost his mind when he left
Vanity Fair heading for the Celestial City. And that's what it's like.
You don't have to physically move. but you have to mentally,
spiritually move out of that vanity fair to be on that road
to the celestial city. But while we're on the journey,
we've not arrived yet at the end goal. You know, I know people
that enjoy the journey. Dear departed friend, our brother
Don. I remember we took him a few
years ago to Paris on one of his trips over here, and took
him up the Eiffel Tower. But you know the bit that Don
loved best of all? of that trip. It wasn't the time
in Paris, though he did enjoy that. It was the train journey.
He loved being on the train, speeding through the countryside.
He loved the journey. And I used to be like that as
a kid. I loved the journey there. And then the bit in the middle
was the boring bit, waiting for the journey back home. No, Paul's
one objective in life was to attain unto the resurrection
of the dead, verse 11. He'd learnt to count his time
as a Pharisee, and not just as any old Pharisee, but probably
one of the best. He said when his fellow Pharisees
examined him to see how good a Pharisee he was, they found
him blameless. They couldn't find anything wrong
with his profession as a Pharisee. But he came to regard that time
as entirely negative, not in any way contributing towards
his progress to the attainment of the resurrection from the
dead. No, it was negative, it was loss, it was dung, it was
worthless. He must be rid of it. Look at
verse 8, he must be rid of it. He says, I countless, I count
all things, but loss. Why? For the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, and do count them, but dung, that I
may win Christ. You know, there's no kind of,
I'll have a bit of that and a bit of the other, some of my old
thing and some of Christ, no. must be completely rid of that
that he used to value so that he might win Christ. To win Christ,
to have Christ revealed in him, to have Christ in his heart,
to experience the excellency of knowing Christ. Now he knows
Christ better than I would say any other man has ever since
known Christ. You know, it's hard to say, you
can't think of anybody that's known Christ better than him.
His understanding of divine grace excels all others' understanding,
I would say. He doesn't come short of any
of the other apostles. No, no. He'd seen visions. He says in 2 Corinthians 12,
verse 2, that he'd been up to the third heaven, whatever that
is. And he'd seen things that it isn't lawful for him to describe. This is what he'd experienced. He'd experienced the providential
care of God's purpose in all things, in calling out his church. He'd seen again and again. He
was the man who was determined to preach the gospel in what
is modern-day Turkey today. And there he gets a call when
he's near Istanbul, I suppose it is geographically. And he
gets a call in a vision from a man in Macedonia saying, come
over to us. And so he went and preached to
these Philippians. the very thing that happened.
He'd experienced these things. It was as if the hand of God
was on his shoulder, moving him here, there, stopping him going
somewhere else. He'd experienced all of this.
Do you believe in God, Paul? Of course. He lived and breathed his experience
of God. He built churches, I don't mean
stone upon stone, I mean living stone upon living stone. As he
preached the Gospel and they were called out, and he says
to the Thessalonians, what manner of entry we had unto you when
we preached the Gospel. And he had great, great The burden
of pastoral care on the objects of divine grace, the people.
He greatly cared for them. You see it again and again in
all of his epistles. Individuals that he mentions,
you know. This is such a great thing that
he did. But look at verse 12. He hasn't
yet reached the journey's end. Not as though I had already attained,
either were already perfect. No, he's not there. He's still
short of heavenly perfection. Look at verse 13. Brethren, I
count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forward to those
things which are before, and so on. Right? He counts not. His careful estimate is that
he's yet to pass the finishing line. You would say, well obviously
it is, he hasn't yet died in the flesh, he's still here. But
you'd say, well surely, in terms of attainment, the attainment
of a believer, how could he get further? No, his estimate is
that he hasn't yet got there. If one of the stature of Paul
has this realistic estimate of his attainment towards heaven,
How should we who aspire to heaven be humble in our estimate of
our progress? You know what Paul said of himself?
Three times in the scriptures, in his letters, he said, he made
it clear, you know, he's the Apostle Paul, but he's still
preeminently a sinner in the flesh. He's not worthy to be
called an apostle, he says. Why? I persecuted the church.
They didn't. I did. I persecuted the church.
He's the least of all the saints. Oh, surely you're head and shoulders
above all the saints. No, he says, I'm the least of
all the saints. Why? Because of what I was and
how determined I was in my arrogance. I'm the least of all the saints.
And then he says to Timothy, you know, Jesus Christ came into
the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. He was the chief
of sinners. You see, this is his estimate
of himself. Ought we not to have similar
estimates of ourselves? The Christian life is one of
progress, yes, but we're not there yet. It's one of growth,
in grace and knowledge, as Peter at the end of his second epistle
says, grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. Grow in it, put effort into it. How do you put effort
into it? You make yourself, you subject yourself to the means
of grace, to the reading of the word, to the preaching of the
word, to prayer, to meditation on these things. Grow in grace
and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's not talking
about fleshly worth, or any idea of progressive sanctification.
No. No. Just, we need to grow in
the knowledge of Christ. And we need to heed the warnings
about where we've got to. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and
verse 12, he writes to them, let him that thinketh he standeth
take heed lest he fall. Let him that thinks he stands
take heed lest he fall. We ought always to be dissatisfied
with our spiritual state of progress towards heaven. Because you know,
in most walks of life, self-satisfaction rings the death knell of progress. Self-satisfaction rings the death
knell. You know, the best businesses
are the ones that are not saying you can't get better than us.
The best businesses are the ones that are always saying, how do
we deal with that? Oh, we did those things. We could have done
that better. Let's aim to do that better next time. But in
verse 12, he keeps going. He says, I follow after, that
I may apprehend that for which I also am apprehended of Jesus
Christ. He keeps going. Perseverance,
you know, it's the perseverance of the saints. What, in their
own strength? No, of course not. It is God who keeps his people. It is God who will complete the
work. Let me remind you of verse 6
of chapter 1. where he's greeting them and
he's confident, Paul is confident regarding these Philippian believers,
he's confident of this very thing. Why were they believers? Because
God had begun a good work in them. What was the good work
God had begun? Saving them from their sins, qualifying them for
his eternal kingdom. He which hath begun a good work
in you will perform it. until the day of Jesus Christ,
until Christ comes again, till this world is wound up, till
you go to be with him in glory when the flesh dies. He will
complete it, for God will keep his people and cause them to
persevere unto the end. Paul's ambition is to apprehend,
you know that word, arrest, like an officer of the law does, apprehends
a criminal, to apprehend, to grasp, to understand the facts
of saving grace. and to get increasing experimental
knowledge of that for which I am apprehended by Christ. There,
in second half of verse 12. I follow after, I press on, that
if I may apprehend, I'm striving to apprehend. I know quite a
lot, but I'm not there yet. I've had the most amazing visions
that I can't even talk about, that you will never have, but
I'm still not there yet, that I may apprehend, I carry on,
I follow after, that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended
by Christ. What is that for which I am apprehended
by Christ? It's gospel salvation. That's
why Saul of Tarsus was arrested on that Damascus road. And if
you're a child of God and have been converted to the gospel
of His grace, you've been arrested. In a similar way, maybe not quite
so dramatic, but you've been arrested in your thinking. You've
been turned around. You've been apprehended in that
you were chosen from amongst the rest. When? You say, when? When? When did this happen? When
I believed, when I exercised faith. Isn't faith the point
at which it turns around? No, no, no. by God in eternity. In eternity for knowledge is
when I was first arrested, apprehended, chosen from the rest by God before
the beginning of time. Do you have scriptural warrant
for making that outrageous claim? Many would say Ephesians 1 verse
4. You know, God who chose his people
in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and blame us before him in love. He chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. Could it be any clearer
than that? 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse
9. You know, you're called with
a holy calling, which God gave in Christ Jesus. Here it is.
God has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, not according to the fact that I've believed and
somebody else hasn't, not according to our works, but according to
his own purpose and grace. which was given us, when, when
Paul, when was it given us? In Christ Jesus, before the world
began. You couldn't have it clearer
than that, could you? No, I was apprehended of Jesus Christ in
eternity foreknowledge and predestination, in the betrothal of that multitude
that no man can number from every tribe and tongue and kindred,
in betrothal to Christ, in union with him, so that everything
that he did, The God-man, I am judged as having done in Him,
justified through that union. You know, the law would condemn
the sin, my sin would condemn, but justified through union with
Christ. My sin, oh the bliss of this
glorious thought, my sin not in part, but the whole, is nailed
to His cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise
the Lord, oh my soul. He was made sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. And he goes on and
tells us that we've been glorified in him, this is the verses in
Romans chapter 8, glorified in him, so that he can say when
he takes his people at that day of Jesus Christ into eternal
glory, behold, I and the children whom the Father has given me.
What is the will of the Father? That of all that he has given
me, I should lose nothing. of all the people in electing
grace, given to Christ before the foundation of time, in union
with Him, the will of the Father is that not one of them should
be lost, but that every one of them should be there in eternity,
justified, qualified, made meat, it says. This is why he was apprehended
of Christ. He's apprehended me in saving
grace. But in time, in this weak flesh,
my desire as a child of God is to increasingly apprehend his
saving me. And then to apprehend the reality
of it in heaven at the end, when that day of Jesus Christ comes.
It's like... Sorry, sorry, sorry. I will disable
this later on. I really will disable this. In fact, Peter, just turn the
volume right down. Turn the volume on my laptop
right down. No, no, the keys, keys on the top. Right, hopefully I can pick up
my thread again. Those of you out there wondering
what's going on, there's a thing called S-I-R-I, I won't say its
name because it'll start talking again, on Apple computers, and
it keeps thinking it's trying to be helpful to me. It did it
a couple of weeks ago when Stephen was reading, and now it just
will not shut up. Anyway, I'll shut it up later
on. Gosh, where was I? Yes, I was saying, this desire
to apprehend and go on is like a person obsessed, possessed
by a hobby. You know, people get a life-consuming,
constant objective. You know, they become bird watchers,
or whatever, and it consumes every minute. They become fishermen,
and off they go, and every moment is doing that. Or photography,
or painting, or whatever it is. You know the mindset that they
get? Well, the idea is that the mindset
of a true believer concerning Christ, the gospel, and eternity,
that's what he's talking about. But there are things that would
stop, that would hinder. And so he says there in verse
13, but this one thing I do, I haven't got there yet, he says,
but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind. You know, when you're on a journey,
you want to lighten the load. You want to get rid of things
which hamper progress, right? So a runner, an athlete in a
race, doesn't run in his day-to-day clothing. He strips down to shorts
and a simple vest. A swimmer strips down to a bathing
costume, doesn't go in clothed in clothes, which will slow you
down. For Paul, it is forgetting things which are past. It's remaining
conscious and aware of all the way God has led me, you know,
that's a good thing to remember the path, but not letting it
slow me down in my progress forwards by constantly looking back. Like
a runner who doesn't keep stopping to look back how far he's come.
You keep pressing on. If you're serious about climbing
a mountain, you're not constantly stopping and looking back at
the view. You carry on till you get to the top. Look at the view
on the way back down, but not on the way up. Not looking back
at the allurements of the world. You know, that's such a danger.
Forgetting the things that are behind. The things of the world,
when you become a believer, you leave behind the things of the
world. Not looking back at the allurements of the world. Do
you know, it is so true that in the flesh, the flesh of most
believers, No, let's not fool ourselves. The world is a great
allurement. Some of the movies, I know some
just turn you off straight away, but there are many that allure
you. Some of the music of the world
is a great allurement. Many, many things of the world
are allurements, but not looking back at them. not looking back
at them. Lot's wife looked back, if you
remember, coming out of Sodom, and was turned to stone. You
see, love of the world will sow way down the believer. There's
a danger, there's a danger. The Scriptures warn us. Proverbs
4 verse 23, it says, keep thy heart with all diligence, for
out of it are the issues of life. You know, if you let yourself
get wrapped up in the things of this world, you'll get entangled
in the weeds of this world. And the issues of life and eternity,
you know, the things of the world will strangle you and bring you
down. Look at John's warning in 1 John chapter 2 and verse
15. He says, love not the world.
This is John, the ancient, aged apostle, writing to churches
and he's telling them to believe as he says love not the world
neither the things that are in the world if Listen to this warning
if any man loved the world the love of the father is not in
him Jesus said the same, you cannot serve God and mammon,
you cannot serve both of them. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life,
the allumance of the world, is not of the Father, but is of
the world, and the world passes away. That doesn't endure, that's
not going to endure. And the last thereof, but he
that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Did you hear that? He
that doeth, what's the will of God? What must we do that we
do the works of God, the Pharisees asked Jesus. And Jesus said,
this is the work of God. What? That you believe on him
whom he has sent. Who has he sent? His son, the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's doing the will of the
Father. The world, for all that is in
the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life is not of the Father, but of the world. And the world
passes away, and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of
God abideth forever. Little children, it is the last
time. And as you have heard that Antichrist
shall come, even now there are many Antichrists." Right, so
we go on from that. So, seek out or follow good examples
of faith. He says this in these verses
in Philippians chapter 3. He says, seek out good examples,
do as he himself has done. Follow him, follow his example,
the example of Epaphroditus. their pastor. Follow good examples
and avoid bad ones. Look in verse 17. Brethren, be
followers together of me and mark them which walk so as ye
have us for an ensemble. For many walk, of whom I have
told you often and now tell you even weeping, that they are the
enemies of the cross of Christ. whose end is destruction, whose
glory is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who
mind earthly things, for our conversation is in heaven. See,
there are those who profess to be the people of God, but they
are not. They're not good examples. They're
ones that pursue the world. How do you do that when you're
not in a big church? In a big church, you can tell,
oh yeah, there are some whose example is good to follow, and
others that it's not good to follow. What you can do, even
if you're on your own at home just listening to this, what
you can do is guard what you read. Make sure you're reading
that which is wholesome, what you watch, what you listen to.
Look at verse 8 of chapter 4, where Paul says, Finally, brethren,
whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever
things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any
virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. Okay,
so then he goes on and says, he forgets those things which
are behind and he reaches forward to those things which are before.
He strives always to keep heaven in view. Look at verse 20. Look,
this is it. For our conversation, although
he's still in the flesh, our conversation, our manner of life
is in heaven. From whence we also look for
the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's where our aspirations
ought to be. Look at Colossians chapter 3,
just over a page, verses 1 and 2. If ye then be risen with Christ,
which you are if you're a true believer, you know, if you're
baptised, buried in the waters of baptism and brought up out
of the waters of baptism, symbolising your union with Christ in his
death and his resurrection, which is what is required to satisfy
the requirements of the law, if ye then be risen with Christ,
Seek those things which are above, heavenly things. Where Christ
sitteth, on the right hand of God, set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth. You know, yes, there are things
that are needful for this life on earth, but God gives us what
we need. It is not wrong to have possessions. Abraham had great
possessions, but don't be consumed by them. Hold them on an open
hand. willing to say that it is God
that gives and God that takes away. Blessed be the name of
the Lord. No, like that. Then in verse
13, he says, reaching forth unto those things which are before.
Striving forward, reaching forth. You know, there was a phrase
that I used to hear that somebody is too heavenly minded to be
any earthly good. But you know, A true believer's
objective is not to make the world a better place by avoiding
being too heavenly-minded. The truth is that those who are
heavenly-minded, in the way that Scripture puts it, they produce
the Spirit's fruit. unconsciously, to the good of
others. They do it anyway. And meanwhile,
look at verse 20 and 21 again, our conversation is in heaven. From whence also we look for
the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body,
this body of flesh, this, as Paul puts it in Romans 7, who
shall deliver me from the body of this death, this sinful body
that I cannot I cannot tame the flesh. Who shall save me from
it? Who shall change our vile body? Is the Lord Jesus Christ
when He comes again, that it may be fashioned like unto His
glorious body, according to the working, whereby He is able even
to subdue all things to Himself. He is able to do it, and He will
do it. So we look to our true home,
our true home. Going home is a phrase that's
used of the believer dying, going home to be with Christ, our true
home, and to Christ who is coming back for us to change this vile,
fleshly, sinful body into one like His. What a promise. And
then quickly, finally, verse 14, I pressed toward the mark
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus. That high calling of God is salvation,
citizenship of his kingdom. And I put effort in this life,
is what Paul says he does. I put effort into reaching the
finishing line. Like the runner, you see runners
in a race in the Olympics, and they stretch out, they reach
out to try to get there. Above all else, that's their
objective, is to get there. Are you a believer? Do you hope
to attain to the resurrection of the dead? How much of your
life, of your affections, the things you like, of your aspirations,
your ambitions, how much of it is consumed with longing for
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, as opposed
to the things that this world offers? In these days, this world
is one increasingly, isn't it, It's a big, broken cistern. Everything
it offers of the waters of life, it's a big, broken cistern that
can hold no waters. It's a broken cistern of deceit,
of corruption, of political ineptitude, of the wizardry of technology
blinding. Read the second half of Revelation
13. It's a world in which, without God, you're without hope, any
hope whatsoever, any hope. You know, it's appointed to man
to die once and then the judgment, that's it. Yet many who profess
Christ are actually, as it says in verses 18 and 19, many walk
of whom I now tell you often, even with weeping, that they're
the enemies of the cross of Christ. Do you know? We need to examine
ourselves honestly before God and ask, are we like them, those
in verses 18 and 19, or are we with those whose conversation,
as verse 20 says, is in heaven? I pray the latter. Amen.