Emulating the Joy of a Spiritual Mindset

In this transcription, the speaker discusses the importance of following Jesus Christ and seeking to be like Him. They emphasize that the goal of Christians is to be conformed into the image of Jesus and to make Him the priority in their lives. The speaker also highlights the significance of knowing and understanding Jesus through reading and studying the Bible, as well as through the work of the Holy Spirit in applying the teachings of Jesus to one's life. They stress that Jesus is sufficient for both salvation and sanctification, and that everything we need can be found in Him. The speaker encourages listeners to make Jesus their everything and to prioritize Him above all else. this morning, turn to Philippians chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3. We'll be finishing out chapter 3 this morning, and then we'll only have one chapter left, a couple of more weeks, and we'll move on to another study. But hopefully you have enjoyed this study. Hopefully you have learned from this study. I know that I have. I have enjoyed studying this, and God has really spoke to me and shown me a lot of things in my own life. And hopefully, it has done the same for you. And hopefully, your joy is just a little bit better today than what it was when we started this several months ago. Because that's what it's about. It's about the joy of having that spiritual mindset. Having our focus on Jesus Christ. And as we look at that, we think about spiritual living, and we're to the point to where how do we flesh all of this out? How do we make it happen? And Philippians is a lot like the rest of Paul's books. You have the first two chapters that dealt with doctrine and where we are and what's happening. And then you have the last half of the book that deals with practicality. How do we take these doctrines and put them into effect? And the same thing is what we see here in the book of Philippians. And if you remember, Jesus Christ, when He began His ministry, He began with the words, Follow Me. Follow Me. And I want us to think about that phrase this morning in Matthew 4 and verse 19. He says unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And He didn't change His call. He didn't change what He was doing. But we find later on in Matthew 16 and verse 24, it says, Jesus said unto His disciples. Now they're following Him. Now they're disciples. Now they're in His group. And He says, if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. And I want you to understand this morning, this message of Follow Me has not changed. It's the same message that you and I have today. And our goal as Christians is to be like Jesus Christ. We are to follow Jesus Christ for the purpose of imitating Jesus Christ that we may look like Jesus Christ. And so that is our goal. That is our purpose in life is to pursue Jesus Christ. The problem is we end up pursuing all kinds of other stuff, right? We end up getting all of these things into our way and we pursue this and we pursue that. And Jesus Christ said quit pursuing these things. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and then all these other things, they'll be added unto you. But we've got it backwards. We pursue the things and then hopefully, we will catch up with Jesus Christ. And so, remember what Philippians 3 in verse 12 that we talked about last week. Paul said, not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but then notice what he said, but I follow after, if that I may be apprehended, that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. He said in verse 13, Brethren, I have count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Paul is saying there is absolutely no perfection here. Paul was not a perfect man. Paul was a sinner that was saved by grace. Guess what? None of us here in this service this morning are perfect either. We are sinners saved by the grace of God. And so this morning, we're left with this question in our mind, how can we make this happen? If our goal and our purpose is to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ, who is perfect, who is holy, how in the world do we that are sinners, how do we accomplish that? Well, Paul says he does it by, first of all, knowledge of Jesus Christ. This apprehension of Jesus Christ. When you look at the Bible, and you start in the Old Testament, and you think about the Bible for just a minute, in the Old Testament, every bit of the Old Testament sets the scene for Jesus Christ. This week in Bible school, we're going to start in Genesis, and we're going to go all the way through the Bible to the book of Revelation with our young people and in our adults' class this week. And you're going to find out in the Old Testament, every bit of it was setting the stage for Jesus Christ. It presents the people with a need for Jesus Christ. See, they didn't even realize they needed Jesus Christ. But the Old Testament shows them why they needed Jesus Christ. The Old Testament announced the coming of Jesus Christ. And then you get to the Gospels. You get to the New Testament. The point there in the middle, and all of a sudden, now it presents His arrival. Jesus Christ is here. John the Baptist set it this way. He said, behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. And so the Gospels record His arrival. And then you come to the book of Acts. And the book of Acts records the impact that Jesus had on the world. It starts out in Acts 1 that Jesus Christ ascended back to the Father, but He left the men and He left those in the church there, and He said go to Jerusalem and wait until you receive the Holy Spirit in power. And so, all of a sudden, men, because of what Jesus Christ did, Peter and Paul and John and all of these became witnesses of Jesus Christ and His ministry and began to tell all the things and explain what Jesus Christ had done. And then you get to the epistles, to the letters that were written to the church, and they explain the significance of His life and ministry. And then you come to the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. And there we see this consummation of Jesus Christ. We see this conclusion of Jesus Christ for how we needed God in the Old Testament, how He came to us in the Gospels, and how He will be presented to us in the future. And so the whole entire Bible is about Jesus Christ. And so if we're going to be like Jesus Christ, folks, it's about time we learn about Jesus Christ. We've got to be reading our Bible. We've got to be studying. We've got to be involved. But the second part of that is making this happen comes through the application and the apprehension of Jesus Christ. This is accomplished through the Holy Spirit working in our lives. See, as we read the Word of God, Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit to guide us and direct us in truth. To convict us when we're doing things that we shouldn't do and directions that we shouldn't be going. He said in 2 Corinthians 3.18, But we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. And so when you take your Bible and you read about Jesus Christ, the cool thing is, is the Holy Spirit comes into your life because the Holy Spirit is there. If you are a believer, you have the Holy Spirit. And so the Holy Spirit begins to take and apply what you're reading and what you're finding out about Jesus Christ to make you have the same glory as Jesus Christ. It's a phenomenal thing that God does in each and every one of us as believers. And that's why Paul said in Philippians 3, verse 7, But what things were gained to me, I counted loss for Jesus Christ. He said we've got our priorities messed up. We want to focus in on this world. And Paul said everything that I've accomplished in this world is nothing but dung. It's boot scrapings. It's nastiness there on my feet. What's good is Jesus Christ. And so Paul began to pursue Jesus Christ. All of our desires that we thought were assets, all of a sudden we realize that they're liabilities. And so the question that we ask and the question that you need to ask this morning, is Jesus Christ sufficient? Is Jesus Christ sufficient? We want Jesus Christ and we say He is sufficient for salvation. Amen? Man, we ought to be getting amens on that because nobody can save their self. There's nothing that we can do in order to be saved. Jesus Christ has already done it. All we have to do is accept it. Jesus Christ is sufficient in salvation. But then somehow or another, we forget that Jesus Christ is not sufficient in our sanctification in conforming us into His image. And so it starts with either Jesus is sufficient or He's not. And if He's not, we're wasting our time. But if He is, then we ought to buy into it and we ought to be giving it 100%. Christ should be your everything. Christ should be your everything. As a matter of fact, Colossians 2 and verse 3 talks about Jesus Christ as it says, "...in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in Him." Everything that we need is in Jesus Christ. And so Paul is telling us, walk in Him. Live with Him. Focus on Him. Make Him the priority because Jesus Christ is sufficient. It goes on in v. 9 of Colossians 2 and it says, "...for in Him, Jesus Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." The Father, the Son, and the Spirit is all there and seen in Jesus Christ. If you remember, it is baptism. When Jesus Christ was being baptized, it said that the Holy Spirit descended as a dove. The Father spoke from heaven, this is My Son in whom I am well pleased. And every bit of it was seen and viewed around Jesus Christ in Him. All of the fullness dwells in Him. In v. 10 of Colossians 2, it says, "...and you..." and get this, "...you are complete in Him." In Jesus Christ. Everything that you need, everything that you desire, everything that you need to have in order to have this life and have joy in this life, guess what? It's in Jesus Christ. And it says, "...if you're not for sure," it tells, "...which is the head of all principalities and powers." Jesus Christ controls everything. He is all-powerful. He is all-knowing. And then you go back to Philippians 3 to our context and he says, "...let us, therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded. And if in anything you be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you." If we come to the conclusion that Jesus Christ is sufficient, then our thinking should change. Our thinking should be different. Romans 12 and v. 1, "...I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you..." what? "...present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him, which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable will of God." See, if Christ is sufficient, then I am going to give Him my life. I am going to give Him my body. And I'm going to do it through the changing of my mind. And so all of Philippians has been talking about this mindset. Making Jesus Christ a priority. Making Jesus Christ sufficient in your life. If we come to that conclusion, then our thinking should be changed. Our attitude should be different. If not, then Paul said, God will reveal this unto you. He'll reveal it unto you. This is done through conviction of the Holy Spirit. Through chastening of the Holy Spirit. Through the molding and shaping of our lives into His image. But then we come to verse 16 where Paul says, nevertheless, nevertheless, Christ is sufficient, and we should be following Him nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. Wherever you are right now in your Christian life, wherever you are on this stage of looking like Jesus Christ and emulating Jesus Christ, wherever you are, stick right there, but then begin to move forward front. Not all of us are in the same place. Not all of us are the same spiritually. Not all of us are conformed to that. God wants us to be molded into the image of Jesus Christ. The One that was obedient to the Father. You remember Philippians 2? Who became flesh and did what? He was obedient even to the death of the cross. He was buried and He rose again. And He left us the Holy Spirit to mold and shape us into the image of Jesus Christ. And so Paul, as he has left this doctrinal, he's getting very, very practical. And now he is going to even get more practical in how do we make this happen? How does this work in our lives? And notice what he says in our text this morning in v. 17-21. Paul says, Brethren, be followers together of Me, and mark them which walk also as you have us for an example. 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 God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. For our conversation is in heaven. From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself. If we are going to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, the first thing that has to be done is we have to follow an example. We have to find an example. Because why? None of us have achieved it, have we? None of us that are here are like Jesus Christ. But there are some that look more like Jesus Christ than others. There are some that are closer to Jesus Christ than others. Notice what he says. He says, be followers together of Me. Be followers together of Me, and mark them which walk so as you have us for an example. Now, listen to me very, very carefully because you're going to get lost and you're going to stay upset and you're going to miss the rest of this message. Examples. Paul says, follow Me. Examples are not to be put upon a pedestal. You get that? Examples are not for a pedestal. Examples are not perfect individuals. Paul was not perfect. Paul said, I am the chiefest of all sinners. But here's what Paul knew. He knew that he said, I have not apprehended where I want to be. I'm not in the image of Jesus Christ yet, but I am working on it. I am trying to get there. I am trying to make my way. See, we need to understand we're imperfect people. We're all sinners. Hopefully, you are a sinner that has been saved by grace. But there are some saved people that are trying, and there are some saved people that could care less about looking like Jesus Christ. We need examples of people who we can model that follow in what Jesus Christ looks like. We need people that we can look at that is struggling with life, that has disappointments, that has fought with pride, that has gone through trials and tribulations. We need these individuals to look at. So we have an example. So we know how we can get there so that we can know what we can do. Failure at any of these things does not bring us closer to Jesus Christ. What brings us closer to Jesus Christ? When we overcome these things. And so we want to be overcomers. We want to do that. And so we need an example. If I'm going to get to where I need to be, then I need someone that has been there, right? I need someone that has already done it. And so we need an example. And guess what? Paul is not perfect. We've already determined in the book of Philippians Christ is the only one that is perfect. Christ is the only one that is sufficient. But sometimes, we need a physical model of what it looks like to follow Christ. Because guess what? We don't have the ability as the disciples did. We can read the stories in the Gospel, but sometimes the stories in the Gospels don't necessarily fit what I'm going through in my life, right? And so sometimes I don't know exactly how Jesus Christ would handle this situation. And so what I need is an example of someone that's gone through them trials and tribulations. Someone that has overcome pride. Someone that is moving closer to Jesus Christ. And so this is that collective challenge. This is for all of us. This is for every single one. He says, brethren. He says, let us. He brings everybody at the church of Philippi, every one of us together, and it becomes our responsibility as a team. He says in verse 15, let us be spiritually minded. Verse 16, he says, let us walk. Let us mind the same things. Paul says, you can follow me, not because I'm perfect. Don't put me up on a pedestal as being somebody perfect and great, but you can follow me because of verse 14, I press toward the prize of the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. You think about it for just a minute. Paul makes that statement. He also makes the statement that he's the chiefest of all sinners. But do you realize that the Holy Spirit trusted the Apostle Paul to write 13 of the letters that we have in the New Testament? There's 27 books in the New Testament. And the Holy Spirit entrusted Paul to write 13 of them. Was Paul perfect? No. But what? He was moved by the Holy Spirit. He was guided by the Holy Spirit. He models for us this worship and service. When you look at Paul, even in prison, what is he doing? Him and Silas are singing, right? They're praising God that they were counted worthy to be in prison. They were singing praises to God. He models worship for us. Worship is not just when things are going good. Worship is an attitude that we should have even when things are going bad. Paul models for us patience, endurance, suffering. Man, you look at everything that Paul did, but did he ever quit? Did he ever give up? I'm sure there were many times he thought, man, I could be doing something a whole lot better than this, right? I could be doing something different. But yet, he models this patience and endurance. He models handling his temper, possessions, and relationships. He told the church at Corinth twice to follow him. Follow me. He told the church at Thessalonica to be an imitator of him. In 1 Thessalonians 1.6, he says, You become followers of us and of the Lord, having received the Word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost. And so he says in v. 17, Brethren, be followers together of me. But then he says, and mark them which walk so as you have us for an example. What does he say in here? Mark is the same word as the goal. I press toward the prize, the goal. I've marked this in my life. What is the mark that I am trying to reach? The high calling of Jesus Christ. This is the same word. He's saying mark them, set them up as a goal. It literally means to look at the goal, to fix your eyes upon it, and to gaze at it. In other words, once you get your goal, once you get where you want to be, don't take your eyes off of the prize. And so he says, look, mark them which walk so as you have us. Who is us? Paul says, follow me. But then he uses the word us. Kind of strange there, right? I mean, we're following Paul, but then he says, mark them which walk so as you have us for an example. So who is this us referring to? Paul says, follow me, but you can also follow us. There's some others that you can look to. What are these that you can look to? Well, you go back and you look at the context of Philippians. I think one individual would probably be Timothy. You remember what Paul said about Timothy in chapter 2 verse 19? He said, I trust the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you that I also may be of good comfort when I know your state. And then he said, for I have no man like-minded who will naturally care for your state. In other words, when I send Timothy to you, you can look at Timothy for an example. Because Timothy thinks just like me. Timothy acts just like me. See, Timothy is following me. I am following Jesus Christ. And so when I send Timothy, even though I'm not there, guess what? You can see Timothy and he's an example. He's someone good that you could be. Another individual that he mentions is Epaphroditus. Do you remember Epaphroditus? He said in verse 22, but you know the proof of him that as a son, which the Father has served with me in the Gospel, in verse 25, here's Epaphroditus. He said, yet I suppose it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus. He tells him he's my brother. He's a companion in labor. He is a fellow soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. Because for the work of Christ, he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life to supply your lack of service for me. In other words, guess what? Epaphroditus was willing to give up his life and die in order to be an example. To follow me. To get molded into the image of Jesus Christ. And so that us could be referring to Timothy. It could be referring to Epaphroditus. It could be referring to some others there in the church of Philippi. But here's what I believe Paul is trying to say. Paul is trying to tell us, find someone that can be an example for you. Remember what he said just a couple of verses up. As many as perfect. Where you are at right now in your spiritual walk, in your relationship with Jesus Christ, all of us could be better. Amen? But find somebody that is closer to Jesus Christ than what you are, and follow them. That's why leadership in church is so very important. That's why when it comes to the office of the pastor, to the office of deacons, what did he say? He said they must be blameless. They must be blameless. They need to be a cut above everybody else. They need to be following and pursuing Jesus Christ. Why? Because you don't necessarily know how to live through life, but we ought to be the examples that you can see physically of how to overcome trials and tribulations and heartache. And so remember, he said in verse 16, nevertheless, whereunto we have already obtained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. And let me repeat one more time and mention it to you one more time. Christ is the perfect model. Christ is the only one of perfection. He is the only pattern of perfection. But Paul and other men and other women are patterns of the pursuit of perfection. And so find somebody that is going toward Jesus Christ and follow them. Get behind them. Can I tell you something that's just kind of plain and simple to you this morning? That's really what discipleship is all about. You know, we believe in salvation, but you know, the Great Commission is not just dealing with salvation. The Great Commission doesn't just deal with baptism. The Great Commission does with teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you. And so you ought to be living such a life that somebody can follow you. That you're an example to somebody. And if all of us as a collective group are seeking Jesus Christ, are going from where we are right now in this service today, and we're moving toward Jesus Christ, forgetting the past, knocking it away, and pressing toward the prize of the high calling, every one of us here ought to be able to find someone that we can follow. That's the purpose of the church. That's why we meet together. That's why we encourage each other, exhort each other, pray for each other. Why? Because none of us have a perfect life. None of us are perfect. None of us go through life easy and everything is just a thing of roses, right? No, we all have struggles. We have difficulties. We have health problems. We have mind problems. We have physical problems. All of these things. And so what he's telling us, Paul says we need an example. We need someone to follow. Someone that can model for us according to the pattern that you have seen in us. As they look like us. Get some models and follow them. And so we're here at this heart of discipleship. Find a godly pastor. Find godly leaders who are above reproach. Who live their lives blameless. Who are walking in a way a believer should walk. Who are being obedient. They're not perfect. We're going to make mistakes. We're going to take the wrong path sometimes. But do they repent? Do they confess their sins? Do they get back on the right track? See, because we're pursuing Jesus Christ. And so find you an example. But then we find the flip side of this coin. Sometimes we need to flee our enemies. See, not everybody in the church is an example. Not everybody is someone that you can follow. So how do we know who to follow and who to flee from? And Paul gives us this right here in verse 18. He says, and notice the word many. I want to emphasize that. That's not supplied. Paul literally put many in the Greek there. He says, for many walk, of whom I have told you often and now I tell you even weeping, that they are what? The enemies of the cross of Christ. Enemies of the cross of Christ. Now, he gets very, very specific here. He says they're enemies of Christ, but not necessarily enemies of Christ, but they're enemies of the cross of Christ. And so when he puts the cross of Christ, then what he's doing is he is narrowing this down and he's giving us an idea of these people and what they're doing. In other words, he said there are many that walk. What is walk? It's a lifestyle. It's when we go. There's a lot of people. We live in the Bible Belt, right? In Arkansas, as a matter of fact, sometimes we even claim that we're the belt buckle. We're the center of the Bible Belt, right? And man, everybody in Arkansas loves Jesus Christ, right? Go down there and ask them. Everybody's a Christian. Everybody goes to church somewhere. Everybody believes in Jesus Christ. Just go start asking people. There's many that walk and claim Christianity. But Paul says I've been warning you and I'm doing so even now with tears in my eyes, that there's many that are actually enemies of the cross of Christ. What is the cross of Christ? If we're going to narrow this down, we have to understand what is the cross of Christ. The cross of Christ is the Gospel message. Everything focuses. Everything in the Old Testament points us to the cross of Calvary. Everything in the New Testament points us back to the cross of Calvary. However, if you are saved, if you are a believer, you shouldn't have to keep going back to the cross. Paul says now, because you've already been forgiven of your sins, so now what should we do? We should be looking for that appearing of Jesus Christ, who when He comes, He comes with His reward in His hand. Paul didn't say I keep going back to the cross. No, what did Paul say? Paul said I press toward the mark of the high calling of Jesus Christ. And so there's these three stages that are in our life. And what Paul is saying is, we've got to move on, but there's many that are stuck there that are actually enemies of the cross. Why? Because they're perverting the Gospel. Two groups that we have that are perverting the Gospel that we find here in this passage of Scripture. He gives us the example of what these people are. Their end is destruction. In other words, they're going to face doom. They're going to face despair. God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, and they mind earthly things. Many, not few. In other words, he's talking about people that advocate Jesus Christ. They identify with Jesus Christ. Their names are even on the church roll. They have even been added to the church. And they want spiritual leadership. They want people to follow them. They want people to recognize them. But Paul says they are enemies of the cross. And he gives us this, and it's a very, very subtle thing. So what he's talking about here is it takes discernment to recognize those that are enemies of the cross. Matthew 7, Jesus Christ said, Beware of false prophets, which come to you in what? Sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are what? Ravenous wolves. In other words, on the outside, they look like sheep. They baa like sheep. They smell like sheep. But when you get out of the outward appearance and you get into their heart, they are a wolf and they will bite you. They will destroy you. They will consume you. And Jesus is warning this all the way back in Matthew 7 and verse 15. So how do we get past this outward appearance? Jesus warned us that man looks what? On the outward appearance, but God looks where? In the heart. You may say, oh boy, aren't they a servant of Jesus Christ. Boy, they really love Jesus Christ. Boy, they are pursuing Jesus Christ. But Jesus doesn't look on the outside. Where does He look? He looks on the inside. And He sees what's in our heart. And so that's what Paul is discussing and talking about right here. John warned us in 1 John 4, verse 1, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. I continue to be absolutely astounded at the stuff and the people that Christians will follow because they are so undiscerning. They will get behind somebody because he is a great speaker. He is a great motivator. He has a great personality. Maybe he has some wealth. Maybe he has these things. And they go and they follow him because they lack biblical teaching. And they're not sure when it comes to doctrine. They have a lack of precise, clear thinking. It says, many walk. Walk being the idea of daily conduct. Their manner of life. Their course of living for this is the pattern. Who are these enemies? Well, I think there's two different groups. Everybody that's in all the world is probably placed into two groups, right? You're either a Jew or you're a Gentile, right? And so I think Paul's looking at these two different groups here. First of all, and we're not going to get into this because we've kind of already covered it, but he said in chapter 3, verse 2, he says, beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. That's in the context of what we're talking about. What was he talking about? He's talking about the Judaizers. Beware of these. And what was the problem with the Judaizers? These Jews had been saved. They claimed Jesus Christ, right? They saw the gift of the Holy Spirit, but then what did they say? You still need to be circumcised. See, the Judaizers represent every one of these religious groups that we have in our world today that says, yes, Jesus Christ is by grace through faith. However, if you really want salvation in a relationship with Jesus Christ, you've got to be baptized. You've got to become a member of the church. You've got to do this. You've got to give your tithe. And see, all of these works become the reason that you are saved, not because of grace. And that's what he was aware of them. He said, beware of these dogs, these evil workers. Why are they evil? Because they are people that think they have been saved that are not saved because their faith and their trust is not in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross of Calvary. Their faith and trust is in circumcision. Their faith and trust is in baptism or church membership. And so that's what the Judaizers was doing. But then there's another group, and I mentioned the Gentiles. And we see that it comes away in the New Testament. You begin to really see this idea coming about, and it's a word that you may have heard before. And it's the word Gnosticism. Gnosticism. This is what the Gentiles believed. This is what the Gentiles did. And the Gentiles were those that take away from the cross of Christ. How did they do that? They had this dualistic philosophy. And at the very root of Gnosticism, this philosophy went something like this. They believed in a dualistic viewpoint that says the Spirit is good, the Spirit is good, but matter is evil. That's the basis of their philosophy. So, Jesus Christ, and I'm going to sum it up for you here, because basically here's what they're teaching. Jesus Christ saved me, right? He saved my spirit. Therefore, my spirit is good. But guess what? My body is still evil. So guess what? If my body is still evil, and my body is still a sin and sins, then here's where the false comes into. That I can live and do whatever I want to in the body, because what? I am going to die, right? And what's going to happen? Jesus Christ is going to give me a glorified body. And so my body is then going to be made perfect. And so this, to me, is more serious in our society today than adding to the Gospel. Because we have a lot of people today that believe that they're saved. They've made a profession of Jesus Christ, but then they decide on Monday through Saturday I can live and do whatever I want to. Because guess what? I am saved and going to heaven. I am there. Nothing can separate me from the love of God, right? And so if my body is already evil, then why don't I just sin and ask for forgiveness and go on? And we see this problem when it comes to Baptists. We see this problem all the time because we say, no, you were saved by grace, and yes, you can do whatever you want to do, but the problem is that you shouldn't want to. Because when Jesus Christ is in you, then guess what? Your thinking and your mind has changed. Paul said, everything that I thought was great and good, I count as done, except for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. See, there is a mindset. Yes, I am in a sinful body, but that doesn't mean I have to sin. That doesn't mean that I have to enjoy it, that I'm going to come and do this. So, if basically matter is essentially evil, then the body is essentially evil. And today, which basically says, sure, I'm a Christian. I received Jesus Christ. He changed my spirit. Now, my spirit can go with Him. You remember, Jesus Christ said if you worship Me, you must worship Me in what? Spirit and in truth. But what's the truth? The truth is that the only way we can come to God is by being holy as God is holy. Right? So therefore, we have to confess our sins. We have to make right. And we have so many people today that are worshiping Jesus Christ. And they think they're worshiping in their spirit, but their body is going away. And He's changed my spirit to where I want to live for Him. I want to live for Him. This kind of antinominy, this liberatism that says, well, yes, I believe in the Gospel, does the opposite of what the Jews do. The Jews said it was the Gospel plus, but here these Gentiles were saying, no, it's God minus. It's God minus. Your flesh has nothing to do with your salvation. Jesus died. He was crucified on the cross. He was buried. He paid for the sins of my body. My sins are done away with. They're wiped clean. And so which one is worse? Adding to the Gospel or minimizing the Gospel? See, yeah, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He died for my sins. Right? But what happened? If I'm going to be conformed into His image, then I have to submit my body. Remember what Paul said in Philippians? He said Jesus Christ who humbled Himself and took upon Himself the form of a wife, of a man, but He knew no sin. See, that's what God tells us to do. He took a human body, but He controlled His sin. That's what makes Him different. And so it's only a body who cares what I do. And we have so many people in our society today that are living every single day, I'm a believer of Jesus Christ, but it's my body. If I want to mark it up, if I want to destroy it, if I want to go and do whatever with whoever, it's my body. I can do with it what I want. It's a sinful body anyway. That's what the Bible teaches, and that's not what's found in the cross and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In v. 19, He gives four things that their problem is. He said, first of all, know that these enemies of the cross, those that claim to be Jesus Christ, but then they want to live however they want to, their end is destruction. They're going to be destroyed. The doom is what they face. What is their destiny? Eternal damnation. Depart from Me, you workers of sin. I never knew you. They claim to be saved, but they're not even saved. God doesn't look on the outside. He looks on the inside. They subtracted the transforming essence of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5.17 says that we are in Christ and we are a what? A new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, my spirit is new. My body is new. My mind is new. What's new? All things. Your mind, your body, and your spirit. Everything has been changed. Everything has been made different. And then he mentions, not only is their end going to be damnation, but he says their God is their belly. What do they mean by that? The belly is the word that we get cloitis. It's your gut. And basically what it talks about is your appetite. It's your appetite. It's what you desire. In other words, these enemies of the cross, they desire what they want. I know what I should be doing, but I don't care, right? They feed to the flesh. I know I'm not supposed to have donuts, but guess what? You put me a fresh donut down in front of my face that's still hot and soft, and guess what? It's going to be hard for me not to eat that donut, right? And so, the God is their belly. Why? Because they are focused on that that is there. Their God, who they worship, is found in their stomach, their appetite. They're driven by these desires. But then he mentions the third thing about these enemies of the cross. He said whose glory is in their shame. Now, in the Christian's life, who's supposed to be getting the glory? God. How does God get glory through my life? How do I as a sinner glorify God? By accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and applying it to my life and Jesus Christ changing me and showing me that guess what? That with God, if I'm seeking God... Paul said, I'm the chiefest of all sinners. But yet, he had the stamina and the wherewithal to say, hey, follow me. I'm following God. I'm not perfect, but I know where I'm going and I do know how I'm going to get there. But he said these, their glory is their shame. Glory means to boast. See, when we glorify God, what we're doing is boasting on God. In other words, what are they doing? They are boasting in their self. Look at how I'm living. Look at what I'm doing. I'm a child of God. But they're bragging about their selves and what they've done and what they've accomplished. And Paul said, I count all that as done. It ain't no good. When you get to 1 Corinthians 5, the Apostle Paul says to the church, a great example, he says, and it is reported commonly. This wasn't a secret. This wasn't something that just a few people in the church knew. That there is fornication among you. And such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles. What kind of fornication were they doing? He's talking about incest. Even the Gentiles are not going to have relationships with their family, but he says you at Corinth are doing what? One should have his father's wife. Not only are you fornicating, but you are in an incestual relationship. And then look what he says. And you are puffed up. You're proud. You're boasting that this is going on within your congregation and have not rather mourned that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you. You've allowed it to come in. They boast in the very thing that ends up shaming them. I think this is a good thing having an incestual relationship. You're bragging about it. But then you have on the other hand that Judaizer. They're boasting in their self-effort, which does what? It also shames them. It shames them. This person is boasting in the sin which should shame him. They're proud of their shameful lifestyle. And then the last thing he says is they set their minds on earthly things. And the Judaizers, they're into earthly ceremonies, to rituals, the circumcision that's there and stuff that is nothing more than earthly symbols. But in the case of the liberals and the Gentiles, where, James 4, verse 4, you adulterers and adulteresses know you not that friendship of the world is what? An enemy with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is what? An enemy of God. What did Paul say? I've warned you. And I'm warning you even now, weeping, that these are enemies of the cross. Many that are enemies of the cross. John said, neither the things that are in the world, if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. You ought to be able to tell the enemies of the cross. You ought to be able to discern who is following Jesus Christ and who is following their gut and their appetite and their desires. You shouldn't have to be on Facebook but about ten minutes and it'll let you know real quick. Some people you can visit with a few minutes after church. It doesn't matter how we live. It's only the flesh. Paul says beware. He tells us to find an example of the Gospel that you can follow. Find somebody that you can follow. Not somebody perfect, but someone that is trying to be perfect. Someone that is trying to get there. So flee your enemies. Those that add to the Gospel. Those that take away from the Gospel. And the last thing, real quick, and we're not going to deal with it because it's pretty self-explanatory, is we have to fix our expectation. Look at what he says in verse 20. For our conversation is where? In heaven. From whence also we look for the what? The Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you remember that word Lord? We were introduced to it back at the beginning of Philippians. Remember? And because he was obedient, he thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made of himself of no reputation, what? God gave him a name that is above all names, that at every knee and every tongue will bow and confess that He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And he said our conversation is in heaven from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have a heavenly perspective. We view heaven as our primary preoccupation. This is what motivates us. We are motivated because we are concerned to see the Savior. We are concerned to hear Jesus Christ say, well done, thy good and faithful servant. We're concerned to be rewarded by the Savior. We're concerned for the eternal glory. That's our preoccupation. It's not that I will be glorified, but it's that I can take my crowns and the glory that God has bestowed upon me and give it right back to Jesus Christ because I cannot be who I am and what I am without Jesus Christ. That's what we're looking for. That should be our desire. And this is the focus of life that is required. If you are going to pursue Christ's likeness, then Christ is a heavenly being. Christ is in heaven and from heaven and in heaven. Heaven is the place of Christ. Heaven is where He is. Heaven is where He's going to come. And He says, I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I will come again. That what? Where I am there, you may be also. He's taking us to heaven where He is at. So heaven should be our perspective. Heaven should be our prize. The prize is not heaven though. Everybody wants to get to heaven. The prize is not heaven. The prize is Jesus Christ. That's the prize because He's in heaven. That's why I want to go to heaven. Listen to me, and I'm not trying to be rude. I'm trying to show us our shallowness sometimes. When I get to heaven, I don't care about seeing my grandmother and my grandfather. I don't care about meeting them. I'm going to see them. And I'm going to meet them. But guess what? I want to see Jesus. That's who I'm going to heaven to see. And guess what? That's what I'm looking for. I'm not looking for these others. I don't want these others to meet me at the gate. I want Jesus Christ to meet me at the gate because Jesus Christ said if I go, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I will come again that where I am, you may be also. I love my grandparents. I love my brother. I love some people that I've lost. But listen to me, not like I love Jesus Christ. That's why we do what we do. So look at what he says in verse 21. My grandmother and grandfather did a lot of things for me, but they didn't do what Jesus did for me. Look at what he says. "...who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He," Jesus Christ, "...is able even to subdue all things unto Himself." What is the first thing when we see Jesus Christ that He's going to change? Your vile body. Your vile body. And He has the power to do it. He spoke your body into existence. I think He can change our body. He has the power to subdue it. Well, here's the question that I want to ask you. In Romans 8 and verse 29, which so many people get messed up. And they get caught up in on this predestination. But listen, the context here is not predestination. The context is for whom He did foreknow, He also did predestine to be what? "...conformed to the image of His Son, that you might be the firstborn among many brethren." When we die, we are instantly a perfected spirit, soul, and body. We're the complete package. Everything that we are. The bodies are raised. Paul talks about it in 1 Corinthians. These corruptible bodies are raised incorruptible. Right? We're given a body that cannot die, that has no sin or anything on it. And folks, that's what we ought to be longing for with all of our hearts. What is your prize? What is your prize? What are you seeking? What do you want? Who's the God of your appetite? Is it your belly? Is it what you want? Are you more worried about right now where am I going to go for lunch and what am I going to eat? Or are you worried about seeing Jesus Christ? Or are you worried about apprehending Jesus Christ? Because see, when I was 9 years old, Jesus Christ apprehended me. And unfortunately, I have not always sought Him. I'm not always following Him. But now at 55 years old, I can tell you and I can promise you that I am with everything in my being trying to apprehend the One that apprehended me way back yonder. My eyes are fixed on Jesus Christ. I am looking for Him to say, well done, Donny Haynes, I'm proud of you. Not that I had the biggest church. Not that I may have led most people to Jesus Christ, but I want Him to look at me and say, you were faithful. Over a few things, what I put into your life, you were faithful. You went after it. When hard times happen, when things go wrong, guess what? You pursued and you kept going. You didn't let it get you down. You didn't let it set you back. So that's our goal. I'm not perfect. I'm not perfect. But if you want to know how to go through life as an imperfect person and seek Jesus Christ, I tell you, you can follow me. I tell you, you can follow our deacons because they're following Jesus Christ. There's others within this church that you can follow. Find someone to follow. But flee those that are after their self, that are inwardly enemies of the cross. And fix your eyes on heaven and anyone that can help you to find that. That's what we want is joy, right? That's the whole thing of the book of Philippians is that we want to have joy. You can't have joy without being spiritually minded. And you've got to get away from this earth. There is no joy in this earth. There's been all this mess going on. I don't know if you watched the Olympics the other night or whatever, and I'm not trying to get into all of this, but folks, we live in a wicked world. We live in a corrupt world. And we need people to know the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This world is not my home. I don't want anything to do with this world. I am focused on that world. And one of these days, I'm going to be able to see Jesus Christ. And hopefully, I'll be able to hear Him say, well done, my good and faithful servant. Is that what you desire today? Is that your prize? Is that what you're wanting? Or are you stopping yourself short and saying, man, I just want heaven? You know, I think there's an old Stamp Baxter song. Just give me a cabin over in the corner side of glory, right? I don't want a cabin in glory. The Bible promises that I can be in the house with Jesus Christ. That's where I want to be. I want to be in Jerusalem sitting by His throne as His bride. I want to be married to Him, not outside the city visiting Him. And that can only happen through faithfulness. Faithfulness. And you've got to want it. You've got to desire it. As we stand, I have a verse of invitation. What's your prize? What's your prize? What do you do out there in glory?