Philippians 3:12-21 Spiritual Growth to Eternal Resurrection

Good morning. How are you all this morning? Everybody okay? You're a good-looking crowd. I'll give you an A-plus today. Also, I want you all to pray for our neighbors next door, as Barbara said, John and Barbara Goodrum. John, in earlier years, was an accountant with a large oil company in Houston. Wonderful, wonderful Church of Christ people. In fact, such a wonderful Church of Christ people that John has been an elder for many, many years, and they are wonderful Christian folk who live next door to us. And I do think that finally they believe that Barbara and I are going to heaven. In fact, they have told us on several occasions how much they appreciate living next door to people who love the Lord. That gives you a little bit of help, you know, along the way. So, we're grateful to John and Barbara. He's a sweetheart, great Bible teacher, tremendous man of the Word, and just a wonderful man in the Church of Christ here in Fort Worth and in other places. And what's been his real hurt is that he has become incapacitated, and he can't go much anymore. And that's a real problem with him. Now, the Gateway problem. Yes, we have a problem at the Gateway Church. And the problem has been a problem that has been festering for over 40 years now. And you have read the story. I don't have to tell you the story again. You've read the story of what happened. The pastor, lead pastor, Morris, has had a moral failure, and he has been caught in the moral failure, and he has resigned from the Church. So, you know the story. So, I'm simply going to say to you all one thing that we mentioned in chapter 3 last week. And I tried to make a point by telling you all that my pastor at Lake Jackson, Brother John Beard, this chapter 3, verse 3 in the book of Philippians was his favorite verse. And he would always say to us in the staff, put no confidence in the flesh. That's what you need to remember. Do not put any confidence in the flesh. I don't care how good, bad, indifferent you think a piece of flesh might be. Every piece of flesh is worth nothing. It's a bunch of rubbish. And the Apostle Paul last week in our study said, I count all of what I had in the flesh to be nothing but refuse. Just rubbish. It's nothing. And so, don't ever put any confidence in the flesh, because the great gospel song that we don't sing much anymore, because we don't sing many of our hymns anymore, stand up, stand up for Jesus, in the second verse has a really imperative charge. It says, stand up, stand up for Jesus. The fight will not be long. Behold the noise of battle, the next, the victor's song. And then in verse 2 it says, stand up, stand up for Jesus. Stand in his strength alone. Now that's an imperative. Stand in his strength alone. And then the song says, the arm of flesh will fail you. Comes from that scripture, Philippians 3:3. You dare not trust your arm. Put on the gospel armor, each piece put on with prayer, and looking forth to Jesus, don't ever be lacking there. And so, the song said it. The arm of flesh will fail you. We are just pieces of flesh, and we have been redeemed, and we are saved, and we are being glorified, we have been justified, we're in the process of being sanctified, and eventually we shall be glorified. In fact, that's what we're going to talk about today. In fact, this chapter today, I'm really grateful that I'm going to have the opportunity to spend time with you in this chapter today, because this chapter may answer two or three major questions that you have had about eternity. And I don't know how many times, and as we get there I'll share with you what I'm talking about, I don't know how many times all of us who are preachers, all of us who are workers in the kingdom of God, professors, etc., etc., pastors, we have been asked these questions over and over and over and over, and one of the questions that we have been asked over and over and over, what will I look like in heaven? Have you ever thought about that? What will you look like in heaven? And then the second question, which I get at a lot of funerals, when persons pass away, and the question is, will I know my beloved wife in heaven? And will I know my husband in heaven? Will we know each other? And consequently, those questions are going to be answered at the end of this chapter. And they're going to be answered in full bloom of Jesus Christ. And you're going to find out at the end of this chapter exactly how you're going to look in heaven. And let me tell you something, it's good. It's great. You'll enjoy it. It's wonderful. You'll have a big time with it. Okay, now I kind of finished up last week by telling you that the Apostle Paul in verse 12, now that's where I got to last week, and I'm going to try to go ahead and get through verse 21 today. I hope, I plan to, I don't hope, I'm going to. In verse 12, the Apostle Paul, he's trying to help his dear friends who are in Philippi to come to live and work with the Lord and with Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit as he, Paul, works with the Lord and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. And he's trying to tell them that the very same thing that has happened to me and the very pilgrimage that I am making on the earth today, believe it or not, is the very same pilgrimage and the very same thing that has happened to all of us. The very same thing has happened. What happened to the Apostle Paul has happened to you. What went on in the life of the Apostle Paul is going on in your life. What the end process of the life of the Apostle Paul will be, because you are a child of God along with him, will happen in your life. And so the very thing that's happened to Paul is happening to you and to me at this very hour. And I'll show you what I'm talking about. He begins in verse 12 by saying, not that I have already attained or am already perfect, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me. Now, this is kind of an interesting statement here in this verse. It's actually a criminal justice statement. It means to be arrested. It means to be apprehended by someone. In fact, later on, the Apostle Paul in another verse just below this one will use the word apprehended. And when we come to the word apprehended, all of us understand that when a person is stopped by a policeman, that person is apprehended. That person is caught. That person may be arrested. That person may be stopped. He is stopped from what he's doing. And the Apostle Paul is saying that, I want you to know, I have not completed everything that I want to complete. I am not, now he uses the word, that's a very difficult word in the word of God, because we always have different kinds of understandings about it, and that is the word perfect. Now, this word perfect, in every situation in the word of God, a better term for that word is not perfect, because there's only one who has been perfect. There's only one who has been totally complete, and that one is Jesus Christ. He's the only one who has been completed. So this word is better translated than perfect, complete. And what the Apostle Paul is saying is, I have not yet been completed in everything for which he, Christ Jesus, has laid hold on me. Now, here's the question that comes to us. Have we grabbed hold of everything that Christ Jesus, God the Father, the power of the Holy Spirit, of everything that he has grabbed hold of us for? Have you grabbed hold of his redemptive grace and understand it totally? Have you grabbed hold of the reading of the word of God, so that the word of God might permeate your hearts and lives? Have you totally grabbed hold of everything you want to know about Jesus Christ, and you have studied and wanted to find out about him? Have you grabbed hold of everything for which he grabbed hold of you? You see, he was the aggressor. He captured you. In fact, another word that's used oftentimes in the word of God is the word grasp. He has grasped us. Now, you did not chase after him. None of us went after the Lord. All of us went our own way. We went our own way. We went the way of the world. We departed from him. None of us were chasing after him. None of us were attempting to apprehend him. But all the time that we were running away from him, he was in the process, through the power of the Holy Spirit, of grasping us, grabbing us, apprehending us. It's that criminal justice term. You've been caught, but you've been caught by Jesus Christ. What a wonderful policeman. You could not be caught by a better person. You could not be changed at all by any other than Jesus Christ. And so the Apostle Paul says, I want you to know, I am not complete, but I tell you what I do do. I press on. I keep on trying. I want to get to that place. And by the way, the Apostle Paul knew that he would not be completed until his glorification, until he saw Jesus Christ in the heavenlies and he face to face with him would see him as his glory. Paul knew that. He's going to tell you that at the end of this chapter. And that's where we're going to get to. So he says, I want you to know, I have not got hold of everything for which Jesus has gotten a hold of me. Now, I want you to stop and think just a minute. Have each of us gotten a hold of everything Jesus wants us to have? Or are you like Paul? Are you still pressing, still trying to get there, still putting the pressure on it, still trying to find where it is that Jesus Christ wants me to serve, where it is that Jesus Christ, what it is that Jesus Christ wants me to know, what does he really want me to do? Paul said, I press on. I'm not complete. None of us, ladies and gentlemen, will ever be complete until we are completed in his glory. Until that time, we keep on. In fact, that great old gospel hymn that said, but until then, my heart will keep on singing. And until then, my joy will travel on until the day my eyes shall see the kingdom. Until the day God calls me home. See, we're still pressing. And Paul said to his dear, he loved these people. In fact, I've had a hard time trying to convince myself, and you as well, how much Paul loved these people. These people were his salvation on many, many occasions. The people in Philippi were his supporters on many, many occasions when nobody else supported him. He loved these people and he loved their member, Epaphroditus, who was the one who took the letter back and forth. And so Paul says then in verse 13, brethren, I don't count myself to have apprehended. Okay. He said, I want you to know I'm not complete. But one thing I do, let me tell you what I'm getting ready to do. Forgetting all of what I told you about my heritage, forgetting all of that which is behind and reaching forward to everything that God has in front of me, reaching forward, I press toward the goal. I press toward the stripe. It's an athletic term. It came from the Olympics. It's where they put that piece of cloth across the track. And all of these runners were pressing because they were running for a crown. I press forward for the goal. I press toward the line. I press toward winning. I press toward the prize. The prize is a laurel leaf. The prize is a crown. Now, during the time of the Olympics and others, when someone won a race, they received a laurel crown. It's made out of leaves. I was just green leaves, kind of twisted together. And it was a laurel crown. And there's a name for it in the Word of God. It is called a Stephanos. Stephanos. That's the Greek word for laurel crown. It means a piece of green, grow, ivory, whatever, wrapped together, made into a crown, and put on your head. And it was called a Stephanos. Now, the other crown that our King Jesus will wear, and God our Father will wear, and all of those who are potentates and identify themselves as king of something, they all wear a crown that's called a diadem. And that's the big crown that Queen Elizabeth, and that's the big crown that King Charles, and that's the big crowns that these potentates wear. They are called diadems. That's not the crown we're pressing for. We are pressing for a green round of some kind of vegetation. And we're pressing toward the mark. And we're pushing every day for the upward call of Jesus Christ. We are pressing in order that we might do everything that he is asking us to do, and we might achieve everything for which he has grasped us. I'm trying to grasp him. And so in your life and in my life, simply sit down and take cognizance. What is it in your life with Jesus Christ that you still need to apprehend? What is it in your life that he has grabbed you for, and now you have to determine why he grabbed you? Why did he apprehend you for that particular thing? And you're going to have to determine that that apprehension of you requires an apprehension toward him and from you. So the apprehension of you also requires an apprehension from you. You must apprehend. You must grasp. You must capture. You see, the kingdom of God is always talking about captivity. And if you remember in the book of 1 Peter it says, and he has taken captivity captive. That's a mouthful. It says Jesus has taken captivity captive. You know what he just got through saying? He said Jesus just took hell captive. Because captivity is where everybody is who is outside the kingdom of God. Jesus himself took captivity captive. Jesus wants to apprehend everything and all part of our lives. And so he's saying to these great Christians at Philippi, look, there are some things that are still lacking. There are some things for which you still need to grasp. There are some items about which you need to be captured. There are some things that you need to do away with that have been put into captivity captive. And so the apostle Paul says, I'm reaching forward to things and I press toward the goal. I press toward the crown of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And he's saying to these people at Philippi, you too. Now he's saying this because he's going to follow with a statement of action. Now, these people only knew Paul for that one time that we know of, and perhaps a short visit on the third missionary journey going back to Jerusalem before Paul was arrested. We know that these people probably saw Paul at least twice. They saw him back when he first came to Philippi and had the first European convert, who was the seller of purple, Lydia, there in the city of Philippi. And that's when he established the church. And that's when the church began to grow. And that's when this church helped him go down to Thessalonica. That's when this church started picking up all of the needs that he had. That's when this, this was about 10 years ago, 10 or 15 years ago. And now the church is really growing. And the apostle Paul is saying to them, now, I want you to follow the same pattern that I have followed in pressing toward the mark. So what he's getting ready to start talking about now is example. Watch what he says. Therefore, now, every time you see a therefore, what do you do? You stop and see what it's there for. Now, the therefore means what I've told you up here about pressing, what I've told you up here about grasping, what I've told you up here about apprehending, what I've told you up here about grasping. Therefore, since I've told you that, here's what you've got to do. Here is your action plan. Look what he says. Let as many of us as are mature have this mind. What mind? The mind he just got through talking about with you. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not think it robbery to be equal with God, but made of himself no reputation, but took upon himself the form of a servant and being found in fashion as a servant, he humbled himself and became obedient. He was obedient to the death of the cross. Wherefore, God hath highly, that's the mind. He said, I want you as mature Christians to understand what your mind is. Your mind settles in Jesus Christ. Have this mind in you. If you think otherwise, if you think otherwise, hang on. God will reveal it to you. Watch. If you're not sure what I just got through telling you about your need for apprehension and your need for grasping, if you're not sure about that, just think about it, meditate on it, and God will reveal it to you. In other words, what the Apostle Paul says, if you don't have it now and you are in Christ, if you are willing to ask to receive, you will have it eventually. But you've got to be patient. That's the word that kills us all. We have a friend who said, God, give me patience. Give it to me right now. That's how we want patience. Give it to me right now. Well, what he's saying is, if you don't have this mind in you that I'm talking about, just wait. Wait on God. He will supply it. He will reveal it. He will give you a revelation. In 16, he said, nevertheless. Now that word nevertheless definitely means, oh, by the way. That's brother Jimmy's favorite. Oh, by the way. That's what the word nevertheless means. He could have just as easily said, let this mind be in you. Oh, by the way, since you're letting this mind be in you, that's what he's getting ready to tell you. To the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us be of the same mind. Now, Paul is getting ready to start using the word example. And he's going to tell these Christians at Philippi, I want you to know I'm not there yet. I'm not complete yet. I haven't grasped everything for which I've been grasped. I'm short on a lot of circuits and I still have some needs. Guess what, Philippians? I'm just like you. Guess what, class? They're just like us. We have a few loose ends, we call them. And so what he's saying here is, nevertheless. Oh, by the way, just in case you weren't thinking about it, you've already attained some of these things. So let us walk of the same rule of the same mind. And he said, brethren, in verse 17, join in following my example. What is his example? I have not yet attained, but I'm pressing. I haven't stopped running, but I'm pushing. I haven't gotten everything for which God got me, but I'm trying. You see what he's saying to these people? He is really loving the daylight side of these people. And he says, if you should be called upon to be imprisoned and persecuted, follow my example. Because I'm just like you. Paul never ever stepped outside of that position with us. That's why Brother Jimmy never stepped outside of that position with you. No, no pastor's perfect. Nobody's perfect. We all have hickeys. We all have warts. We all make mistakes. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory, not through who we are, but through whom? Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Now, the Apostle Paul is saying, I want you to know, I am not the great example. In fact, he's going to say that in a moment. He's going to tell these people to whom they should look for an example. And of course, you already got that one down in your bucket. So he says, brethren, I've joined in following my example. Note those who also walk. Now, you've seen other people who walk like I walk. You've seen Epaphroditus. You've seen Timothy. You've seen Dr. Luke. You've seen these people that have come to your church. You've seen other people who walk like we walk. Now, you're going to follow all those examples. You have all of us. He's pulling in all these people that he's brought to Philippi over the years, including Epaphroditus. You have all of us to look at. We all walk the same way. And so in verse 18, he says, for many walk of whom I have told you often. And now I want you to know, as I'm writing this on this paper, look at this paper. My tears are all over it. As I'm writing to you, I'm covering this paper with tears. Because as I'm telling you to look at the examples who have come before you in the church, namely Timothy and Luke and Silas and himself and others who've come through, I want you to know I tell you with tears that these other people who are not walking this way are enemies of the church. Now for a moment, Paul's going to slide back and talk about the Judaizers. And he's wanting to make this kind of comparison. Here are those who walk in faith, and here are those who walk in flesh. What did the Judaizers say was necessary to be saved? Oh, you can be a Christian. You can trust Jesus as your personal savior. That's all cool and good. Why? You can even go down there and join that first great Philippian church, whatever you want to do down there. Go down there and join that church. Yeah, you can do all that. But we got to get a little flesh in it. See the problem? The arm of flesh will fail you. Paul said, don't put any faith in the flesh. Have no trust in the flesh. It will say anything. So I want you to know, I'm telling you this one more time, and I'm telling you with tears, look at the paper, my tears are all over it, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, because they want to do everything in the flesh. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to pause for just a moment. We can do a lot of things in the flesh. And I've yet to meet a minister of the gospel, a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'll put Jimmy Draper in that category, along with many, many others of my friends. All of us are trying to be the example, but all of us are flesh. And each of us can fail. And that's the tragedy of what's happening at Gateway. And there's been a failure. And so the apostle Paul says, I want you to know the reason that failure is there is because of the flesh. That's why it fails. So he goes on in verse 19 to say, let me tell you what's going to happen to those people who are putting their faith in flesh. Now, he's wanting to talk about two different categories here. One who puts faith in flesh, the other who puts faith in faith. Those who have faith in God, faith in Jesus Christ, faith in the flesh. Look what he says. These people, their end is destruction. Now, there are four categories he's going to talk about here. What's going to happen to these people who walk in the flesh? What's going to happen to the people who want to put all of their eggs in the fleshly bucket? What's going to happen to these people who refuse to put their trust in faith, rather put their trust in flesh? What's going to happen to them? And the apostle Paul says four things are going to happen to them. Number one, their end is destruction. They are outside the kingdom of Jesus Christ. And all of us, through our Bible studies, understand that those who are outside the kingdom of God will end up in that place, which is called the place that it was prepared for the devil and his angels. Their end is destruction. Don't even think about it, just know it. Number two, whose God is their belly? Now, this is an interesting statement. In fact, do you know the word belly is used about 14 times in the New Testament? And one of the major times that it's used is in the book of Titus. In the little book of Titus, you know, Titus was on the island of Crete, and Titus was Paul's other young preacher in the ministry. He wrote that book to Titus, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus wrote it at the same time. Titus was his other preacher boy, and Titus was on the island of Crete. And the island of Crete was an unusually interesting island because the people on the island of Crete had had a great leader called the Noahns, and because of that, they were all into themselves. Everything they did was for me. Everything I do is for my. Everything I do is for our. It's not for the kingdom. In fact, the word belly is used in the book of Titus four times when he's talking about the character of these people. Now, think about it. When you get hungry, what do you eat? What do you do? You eat. You put it inside of you. And what he's talking about here is he's saying all of these people whose God is in their belly, they are more satisfied with what they eat and who they are than who he is. Got the picture? Their God is their belly. Not him. Then they say, then he says, whose glory is their shame. The very thing in which they would like to glory is the very thing which is to be their shame. Because you can't glory in anything except, tell me, I shall glory in nothing the apostle Paul said but the cross of Jesus Christ. You can't glory in yourself. And that's their shame. And the fourth thing is, who have set their minds totally on earthly things. Now, back to verse three. Have no confidence in the flesh. Go back to the psalm. The arm of flesh will fail you. Go to this verse, who set their mind on the things of the flesh. Paul said, I told you about these people. They're trying to come to your church. So when they get there, remember my example with them. And remember what I told you with tears about them. And remember how I told you to handle them. Treat them with disgust, which is what they are. Try to bring them into faith of Jesus Christ. But understand, they're going to try to bring you into faith of flesh. And it will fail you. So Paul is trying to get these people ready for a battle. Oh, by the way, nevertheless, he has been battling these people in Rome forever. The Judaizers were all over Rome. And they were all over Rome because Rome was so fleshly. Rome wanted to do everything in the flesh. And they were perfectly at home in Rome. And that even, that even, you know, I can write a poem. Okay, let's get to the end of this thing. 20 and 21. These two verses are going to tell you about what you and I are going to be doing and looking like in heaven. How many times have I been asked, Brother Jack, what are we going to look like in heaven? Okay, we're getting ready to find out. Here on earth, we don't look this way. Here on earth, we're a pilgrim. Oh, I love that old song. This world is not my home. A pilgrim, just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven's open door. And I can't feel at home in this world anymore. Rockwood Simlick John. What's his name, Barbara? He wrote a song. The cross upon which Jesus died is a shelter in which we can hide. And his grace so free is sufficient for me. And clear as a fountain, as wide as the sea. There's room at the cross for you. There is room at the cross for you. Though millions have come, there's still room for one. There's room at the cross. Rockwood Simlick John in Fort Worth, Texas. Pastor. He wrote many, many, who? Our stencil. Thank you. Thank you. Glad you remember him. He played Rockwood Park. He played golf at Rockwood. That's why you knew. I played golf there, too. Okay. You understand? Here, I'm getting ready to tell you what we look like. Now, I'm going to read these two verses, then we'll go back and look at them. Now, remember, Paul is telling these people what they're going to look like. Verse 20. For our citizenship is in heaven. Wait a minute. I'm here on earth. Yeah. We understand that. But this isn't where your citizenship is here. This word, my citizenship is in heaven, is a present active verb. Paul said, my citizenship right now is in heaven. Ladies and gentlemen, that's where your citizenship is. This world is not your home. I keep trying to tell you that. You're just passing through. You're not of this kingdom. You're not of this world. Jesus told us we were not of this world. He said, I am not of this world. I came to show you the world from which I came. I came to show you how to get there. I'm not of this world. Your citizenship right now. Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Savior? You are a citizen of heaven, and spiritually, you and I are living in heaven right now. You're not going to, although you are. You haven't gotten it yet, although you will. But I can tell you the present active verb means you are a citizen of heaven right now. We are citizens of heaven. Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait. Now, I'm going to draw a picture for you. I said back over here in chapter three that there was a, that was a word that came out of Greek. That was the extension of the eyes, the upward of the eyes and the extension of the neck. And that word back on the early part of chapter three was the earnest expectation. By the way, do you know you can't say that word without lifting your eyes and extending your neck? Try it. Try the earnest expectation. Try it. When you get ready to say earnest, what happens to your, your eyes have to go up. Earnest, and then expectation pulls your neck out. And that's what the Greek word means. It means to lift the eyes and stretch out the neck. That's what the word earnest expectation means, to lift up the eyes and stretch out the neck. What should you be doing every day when you get up? Even so, Lord Jesus. Earnest expectation. Come quickly. Even so. Okay, so he says, for your citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly expectation, earnest expectation, wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here's the picture. On one day in Jewish faith, the high priest went into the Holy of Holies. It was called the Day of Atonement, Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Atonement, the day that you are atoned. And he went into the Holy of Holies with the blood of a lamb, and he totally saturated the inside of the Holy of Holies, and the people of God waiting outside in earnest expectation, because they were waiting for him to come out. For if he went into that room with blood, saturated the Ark of the Covenant, and also saturated the mercy seat, and God accepted the sacrifice of blood, the high priest would get to come out. If God did not accept the high priest, then they drug him out by a rope that was tied to his leg. But they were waiting. He went in. What he went in with was their redemption. He took the blood from that lamb, he took it into the Holy of Holies, that blood was going to cover their sins, and he was going to come out, and his coming out would demonstrate that the lamb who would walk away with the blood would be destroyed, and their sins would be forgiven. Coming out meant God forgave them of their sins. Can you imagine what those people looked like standing in front of the tabernacle? Standing in front of a temple? Day of atonement? He's coming out? Is he coming out? Where is he? And all of a sudden he comes out, and a great shout goes up because they have been forgiven. Now, have you read chapter 9 book of Hebrews lately? Go read chapter 9 book of Hebrews. It talks about Jesus being in the Holy of Holies in heaven. There to make propitiation of our sins. There to appear in the presence of eternal God. There to be with God to make propitiation for us. There to use his blood as our sacrifice blood. And he is there sitting at the right hand of the Father this very day making intercession for us. Now, what are we earnestly, expectantly waiting for? Those of us who are children of God. What are we with necks stretched and eyes lifted up? What are you waiting for? You're waiting for God to say to his Son, Son, it looks great. Go get your bride. That's it. That's where we are right now. He's in heaven. He's in the Holy of Holies in heaven. He is waiting for God to say, Son, your wedding chamber looks great. Go get your bride. That's why the scripture says it could happen at any time. And the least time that you think it will happen, that's probably when it's going to happen. And so he says here, who will transform our lowly body, hang on, that that it may be conformed to his glorious body. According to the working by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself. Watch this. Peter, James, and John were with Jesus in Galilee. Jesus took the three up to a mountain, later to be called the Mount of Transfiguration. And while Jesus was up there, all of a sudden, Jesus was transfigured in their presence. And there stood with Jesus two ancient guys, Moses and Elijah. And Jesus' body was transformed. It was made into his eternal likeness. It was glorified in the presence of Peter, James, and John. And Elijah and Moses stood on either side of him in glorified bodies. That's kind of interesting. You read that story, nobody ever told Peter, James, or John who those two guys were. Yes. Peter says, Lord, let's make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Elijah, and one... Who told Peter that that was Elijah and Moses? He knew it. They were in a form with Jesus that they knew. Jesus was transformed. Now, let me share something with you. I'm going to read you something. As Christ's glorified body was essentially identical with his body of humiliation, it's on the last page, so our resurrected bodies as believers shall be like his. The transformation will not be a change of identity. It will be a change of fashion and form. It shall be essentially identical with our present bodies and yet will be glorified spiritual bodies. How many of you have heard it said, will we be 33 again? How old was Jesus when he was resurrected? We think he was about 33. Oh, there's a very interesting commentary on that one too. The only three men, only four men who could call, who could carry the ark of the covenant had to be 33 years of age. If they were not 33 years of age, they could not carry the ark of the covenant. They're the only ones who could crawl, who could carry the sticks. And those sticks were made into a cross. And our 33-year-old sight seer was nailed to it. Now, when we get to heaven, folks, we're going to look just like Jesus. Will you know each other? Did Peter and John know Elijah and Moses? Will I know you in heaven? Yeah, Ed. Are you going to look 33, Ed? Barbara, I got to thinking about that this morning a little bit. And I got to thinking, you know, when I was 33, it was 1967. Wow. Man, I'd like to look like that again. Wouldn't you? Would you like to go back and look like you looked when you were 33? And your hair the real color? Or your hair the real place? Or your size the real size? Jesus was 33. Are we all going to be 33? I've heard a lot of preachers say we are. I'm not sure about that. I am not an age deferential. I'm simply a deliverer of the word of God. We shall look like him. And ladies and gentlemen, whatever that is, that is glory. And the song said, and that will be glory for me. Glory for me. Glory for me. When by his grace, I shall look on his face. And mine will be the same way. And yours will be the same way. And yours will be the same way. And we'll all look on his face because we shall be like him. What age? Heaven is ageless. What kind of body? I don't know. All I know is the scripture says, we will look just like him. What door could you ask for? When those of the flesh are being destroyed and those of the spirit are being glorified. Jesus had an interesting statement that he said to his disciples. He said, follow my example. Paul said, follow my example as long as it follows the example of Christ. We are to follow and be imitators of Jesus Christ, the Lord, because one day we're going to see him just as he is. And for that, we can only say, hallelujah. Praise eternal God for his enduring love, grace, and redemption for us. Now, you know what you're going to look like in heaven. Go back and get a 33-year-old picture and ruminate and say, wow, did I really look like that? I don't know. But it's a good thought. And we shall be like him for he shall subdue all things. Perfect, complete, finished. Father, you said one time on the cross it was finished. But what you were talking about was not your life, but the plan that you and the Father and the Holy Spirit had developed since the foundation of the earth. I was going by the redemption of your precious blood to bring us into relationship with you, not through our own power, but through the power of yourself as you arrested us, as you grasped us, as you apprehended us and brought us into your kingdom by your power of redemption through the power of the Holy Spirit and becoming a member of your kingdom. We are now in spiritual resurrection in heaven. Our citizenship today is in heaven. And soon, very soon, our bodies will be there as well. And we shall have a glorious, glorified body. We will look just like him because we loved him and because we believed him and because we trusted him and because he saved us. Thank you for redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ. And we wait with eyes lifted up and necks stretched out in earnest expectation for your return. As John said in Revelation, even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.