“Stand Firm and Walk This Way” 2013

Psalm 119:103-114 Philippians 3:17-4:1

Psalm 119:103-114

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to observe your righteous ordinances. I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word. Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord, and teach me your ordinances. I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts. Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end. I hate the double-minded, but I love your law. You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

During seminary,

I spent several weeks traveling in the Middle East.

Before our group went into Syria, our professor emphasized

the likelihood, and the unpleasantness of food poisoning,

… and how careful we needed to be when we ate or drank.

He went through some very long, complex and detailed instructions

about what we could eat safely, and what we should avoid,

and from the questions we asked afterward,

he sensed our confusion and frustration.

So he told us, “just watch what I do for the next few days,

and only eat what you see me eating, and you will be fine.

* Learn by imitating, just follow my example.”

The ancient city of Philippi, located along a major trade route,

was very cosmopolitan, immoral and wildly pagan.

Paul, Silas and Timothy spent about a year and a half there

proclaiming the gospel and getting a church established.

As recent converts to Christianity,

they had much to learn about living as faithful Christians

in such an unrestrained pagan and immoral environment.

So while Paul and the other evangelists were living there,

they tried to teach by modeling how to live out their faith.

But once Paul had moved on to spread the Good News elsewhere,

some of the Philippian Christians, still young in their faith,

started to slip back into their former pagan ways .

Throughout Scripture,

morals and ethics are understood as a choice between:

- God’s Word; God’s Law, commandments, precepts and wisdom,

- against the destructive desires & corrupt ways of this world,

sin, that separates us from God and his will for our lives.

This contrast is described in Psalm 119:103-105, 114

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.

Paul is writing about the same contrasting choices, vs. 18-19

For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.

It breaks Paul’s heart, but some are headed toward destruction.

The ancients believed that all desires come from the belly,

and so when Paul writes that their god is their belly,

he’s talking about more than just appetite for food.

The whole way they were living

was mis-focused on pleasure and feeding their every desire.

vs. 19~ their god is the belly; and their minds are set on earthly things.

In sharp contrast, Paul writes, vs. 20-21

But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.

Citizenship is a crucial concept –

you may be living in Philippi, or Las Cruces,

but your ultimate loyalty, and your allegiance,

your citizenship is in heaven, God’s Kingdom.

Paul means that we are resident aliens living in this world.

This isn’t our home, but we are waiting for our Savior –

as Paul wrote: vs. 20b

it is from heaven, we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And while we are waiting and expecting, Paul explains

that we are also in the process of being changed, vs. 21

He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.

Paul chooses two very specific Greek words, that together

help explain this process of our lives being changed.

He will transform the body of our humiliation

“transform” is translated from (metaschmatzw).

We get the word schematic as in a schematic drawing,

- which is an engineer’s drawing that is intended

to show how something works or operates.

Paul is describing the process of our transformation,

of Jesus changing or redrawing our schematics,

the way we work, function, and operate in the world.

The next phrase,

that it may be conformed to the body of his glory

“conformed” is translated from (summorfw)…

… where we get the word morph as in morphology,

or the scientific study of form and structure.

** Paul is describing the process of our transformation,

as the form and structure of our lives, our being,

is changed to conform more closely to Jesus Christ,

by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us.

* This means, the way that we function and operate in the world

is gradually to become more Christ-like as we grow deeper,

as we increasingly live into God’s grace and Spirit.

But some in Philippi were blocking that process of transformation

by slipping back into their former pagan and immortal ways,

by setting their minds on earthly things, not Christ.

So Paul is urging these people he loves, vs. 17, 1

Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. My brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

* Just as I needed to follow the example of my professor in Syria,

so too the Christians of Philippi

needed to follow the example of Paul and the apostles,

- as he explains in 1 Cor. 11:1

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

* As Paul was trying to live and be more like Christ, he’s urging

the Philippians to follow his example of imitating Christ.

We all know that we connect and interact with certain people

who somehow seem to bring out the very best & most noble in us.

When we’re around them, our conversations are more elevated,

and we are more gracious, more optimistic and hopeful.

They help us have a more faithful and joyful perspective.

And there are others, who don’t

have that same up-lifting and building-up effect on us…

…no doubt, for better or worse, we are influenced by others.

I am very grateful for all the faithful mentors of my life,

whose own faith journey with God was visible and authentic,

and who affirmed & challenged me to examine my own walk,

and long for something more real, better and deeper.

There’ve always been people, saints like Paul present in my life,

whose life-example has demonstrated God’s grace and truth;

~ faithful Christians whose prayers showed me how to pray,

~ who shared the power of God’s word in Scripture,

and encouraged me

to dig deeper into the Bible on my own.

~ I learned Christian perseverance and faithful service

by observing the perseverance and service of others.

And so often it’s been just the right influencer

at just the right time with just the right message ---

* --- no doubt, it must have been a God-thing all along.

` In your life, who has influenced your faith and walk with God?

Who took an active interest in you, and who helped shape

your character and the person you eventually became?

` Who along the way did God sendà

who helped you to dream, imagine, and reach for the top shelf?

Perhaps a special teacher, a neighbor, coach, scout leader? ---

someone significant you admired and wanted to imitate,

and whose guidance, nurture, teaching or influence

made a real and lasting difference in your life,

by helping shape your values and character?

How do we learn to do something complicated, a skill or craft?

more than reading books, lectures or watching videos

we learn by the example of more experienced mentors.

Certainly one of the huge advantages of regular church attendance

and being an active participant in the life of a congregation,

is that our relationships within a Christian environment

with more experienced and knowledgeable Christians

can affirm and encourage us to grow in our faith.

To those who are open and attentive,

God will place people in our lives to serve as worthy models,

who by their example, show how us to live out our faith

and to glorify God in and by the way we live.

As we are passing through and deeper into the season of Lent,

the Philippians text suggests three considerations

for our growth through self-examination and reflection.

First:

Who have been your spiritual mentors and influencers,

and through whose examples has the Holy Spirit of God

worked toward your spiritual growth & transformation?

I urge you to remember,

and thank God for the gift of their influence,

and if they are still alive,

perhaps a note of appreciation for their effect.

As you remember who your mentors and influencers were,

also try to recall what they did that made a difference…

… which leads to the Second part:

our task to pass on the gift of influence entrusted to us.

* Our call is to help form godly character and values in others

by living out our faith, our character and values

in ways that consistently provide a worthy model to follow,

as an example of authentic faithful commitment.

And more powerful than anything we can ever say, are our deeds…

… it’s by what others see in us that gives credence to our words.

We are living and raising our children in a very difficult world -

increasingly hostile to our Christian faith and ethics,

a culture ever intent on crowding out the truths of God.

` How will we counteract the effects and influence

of our increasingly corrupt and godless, twisted culture?

* Our task is to demonstrate the truth and depth of our faith

by word and deed, by our ethics and the choices we make in life…

… as by our lives we demonstrate before the world

specifically what our words of faith really mean…

to show what is so special about God’s love and his grace,

why God's truth matters & informs how we live out our lives.

* Finally, as we journey further into Lent this year,

let us also consider what sources of influence

we are choosing or allowing into our lives and minds.

We do have considerable power and choice in deciding

who and what we will allow and permit to influence us.

We’re not leaves subject to the movement by every passing breeze,

but we can choose to hold fast and stand firm in the Lord,

to walk in ways that are honorable and pleasing to God.

We decide what we read, the movies and TV programming we watch.

We choose our friends and what we do on the Internet,

just as we choose our spoken words and our behavior.

So, about the influences we select and allow in our lives,

are they building us up, or blocking our transformation?

* Let us resolve to stand firm in the truth and word of God,

and to walk more faithfully in the ways of the Lord.

As the Apostle Paul explains it in Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out, for God brings the best out of you.