Truth That Changes Lives

JP Jones: We understand, when Jesus comes back, he's going to come back to rule and to reign and to set things right. He's going to wipe away every tear.

Greg: Thank you for joining us on Truth That Changes Lives. Pastor JP Jones is the senior pastor of Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills, California, and a professor in biblical studies at Biola University.

Today on Truth That Changes Lives, Pastor JP will be giving us a message from a series entitled Joy. Let's listen as JP gives us part two of Philippians 3:17-21.

JP Jones: We need to be aware of and avoid those who will rob us of our faith and destroy our joy. Paul says in Philippians 3:18 and 19, "For as I have often told you before and now again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach, their glory is in their shame, their mind is on earthly things."

In the context, because he's moving towards this principle of an eternal perspective and the reality of heaven and the fact that when heaven fills our hearts and fills our lives, it gives us conviction and leads to joy. He says there are people who will really encourage us in that pursuit, and we need to hang out with those kind of people. But there are people who are the antithesis of that. In fact, they're enemies of Christ.

They are people whose whole orientation of life is the opposite of that, and those are the kind of people that will take us down. It's an interesting statement because the Bible is replete with exhortations to be positive witnesses for Christ. Jesus said that he hasn't taken us out of the world but that we should be transformed in the midst of the world. He says our light should shine before men that others would see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. How can people see our light and our good works if we're not hanging out with them?

Yet this is talking about people that we should actually avoid. That's not the first time Paul said that, by the way. Earlier in this chapter, in Philippians 3:1 and 2, Paul says, "Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It's no trouble for me to write the same things to you again and it's a safeguard for you. Watch out for the dogs and the men who do evil, the mutilators of the flesh."

Paul describes these people because I'm going somewhere with this and I want us to understand it. Paul describes these people very specifically. He uses five phrases to describe the kind of people that we should be aware of and avoid because they will take us down. He says they live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction. Their God is their stomach, their bellies, their appetites, their lusts. Their glory is their shame. Things they should be ashamed of, they actually glory in. Their mind is on earthly things.

Paul is describing a kind of person here within a larger category of persons. My son is in El Salvador right now with Campus Crusade. He was here for a little bit and we were having a conversation out on our patio just the other day before he took off, and we were talking about people. It was one of those conversations that was like both of us were right, but we had a little different perspective. Maybe it's because I've become cynical in my old age. Maybe it's because I've become wiser, or maybe it's just we will agree to disagree without being disagreeable.

But we were talking about people. My son, being so good-hearted, was just trying to say that it's true that we're all sinners, but everybody has value and everybody has an element of good in them. Everybody is a reflection of God because we're created in God's image. I was agreeing with that, but I was also saying the Bible describes some people. All of us fall short of God's glory. Every person is a sinner, but the Bible actually describes some people as "the wicked". That is a sobering truth.

Within the framework of everybody being a sinner, there are good people and there are bad people. There are bad people in the world. My son was trying to argue that we're all bad because we're all sinners. I agree with that, but there are some people that are evil. Evil is a reality and there are some people the Bible describes uniquely, not talking about making a statement about whether we're sinners or not sinners, because we're all sinners. Some people, even within the category of being a sinner, are wicked and evil, and they will take us down.

It's wisdom to know when we, as followers of Jesus, are to let our light shine or to turn and run to get away from certain people. There are certain people—let me just encourage you as your pastor—there are certain people you should just get away from. Pray for them, but from a distance because they will take you down. What Paul is saying here in Philippians chapter three is there are certain people who are enemies of the cross of Christ. Their God is their stomach. Their destiny is destruction. They are so determined and so convinced and so committed that they are toxic and they will spiritually destroy us.

Paul is giving a warning because his bigger picture here is joy, how to have joy. Our joy is determined here and now, largely by who we hang out with. Some people will increase our joy and some people will rob us of joy. It takes real spiritual wisdom and discernment to understand that principle and to put it into practice. But we need to do so, as Paul says, in a larger picture here with an understanding of eternity.

We need to know that our citizenship is in heaven. He states it just plainly. Verse 20: "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." It's the transition from the person who is an enemy of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, who sets their mind on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. We're moving in opposite directions.

This is an important term, this term for citizenship. It means the state or position of being a citizen. Philippi was a Roman colony and it was of great privilege to be a Roman citizen. You had rights and privileges as a Roman citizen that you didn't have if you weren't a Roman citizen. Paul is playing off of this reality and saying our citizenship, as followers of Jesus, as believers in Jesus, our citizenship is in heaven. Our end isn't destruction.

If you're a believer in Jesus, there's no doubt about your end, your future, your eternity. It is certain. Romans 8 says there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Right now, if you believe in Jesus, your citizenship is in heaven. Paul is relating this to a reality that when we understand that, when that's our mindset, he's just said in verse 18 and 19, their mind is on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven. We're to believe that. We're to think about that because when we know it and believe it and think about it, it transforms us now. It gives us conviction now, which leads to joy.

Our citizenship is in heaven. This needs to be the preoccupation of our minds. This is something the Apostle Paul thought very highly of. Over in Colossians 3, he says this: "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your minds on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not on the things of earth. For you are dead to your old way of life and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you'll share in all of his glory."

Heaven needs to occupy our mind because that's where our citizenship is. Our real life is in heaven. Our joy is fueled and sustained when we understand that we were created for heaven and we live right now with an expectation of heaven. That's where our citizenship is. That's where we're going. Earlier I shared kinging off what Corey had said, that I'm part of the 83 percent. I wasn't raised in church. I did not come to faith in Jesus because of the faith of my parents that was passed on to me. I came to Christ as a teenager through the influence of my brother.

When I first became a Christian, I attended Baptist Temple in San Jose, a little Baptist church, Southern Baptist church. On Sunday night, Sunday night church, it was Sunday night training union. As a brand new Christian, we used to go and the worship leader would ask for favorites from the hymnal. Our worship set on Sunday nights was made up of what people requested. I used to request "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder, I'll Be There".

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more, and the morning breaks eternal, bright and fair. When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, when the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there. On that bright and cloudless morning, when the dead in Christ shall rise, and the glory of his resurrection share. When the chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies, and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there. Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun. Let us talk of all his wondrous love and care. Then when all of life is over and our work on earth is done, and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.

That's true for you if you believe in Jesus because your citizenship is in heaven. It's true for me because my citizenship is in heaven. Paul says here in Philippians chapter three, we're not like those who are enemies of the cross of Christ. We're not like those whose God is their stomach. We're not like those who put our minds on earthly things, whose end is destruction. Our citizenship is in heaven. When we become heavenly-minded, it gives us conviction, which leads to joy.

We are to look expectantly towards Christ's return. Titus chapter two says this is the blessed hope of the church: the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul puts it this way in Philippians 3:20 and 21: "Our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."

We're to look expectantly to Christ's return. That's the focus of our lives. Jesus is coming back and we know that and we look forward to that because we understand when Jesus comes back, he's going to come back to rule and to reign and to set things right. He's going to wipe away every tear. He's going to heal every body. He's going to remove sin. He's going to make all things new and every holy desire that drives us now, every passion for God that we have will be satisfied and fulfilled when Jesus Christ returns.

Paul says we eagerly await a Savior. It's a great word. It's the Greek word "apodechomai". It means to anxiously long for. It's a word that's filled with emotion. This isn't just a dispassionate by faith type of commitment. This is a strong personal, life-transforming, emotional longing. It's used several times in the New Testament. Romans 8:19 talks about how the very creation anxiously awaits the revealing of the sons of God.

Romans 8:23 says that we, that is believers who have the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit within us, we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 1 Corinthians 1:7 says that we're not lacking in any spiritual gift right now and we are awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 9:28 says that Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. He will appear again for the salvation of all those who eagerly wait for him.

Every time this word is used, it's talking about the expectation of heaven, the longing after heaven, the looking forward to what has been promised to us and is going to be the fulfillment of everything our heart cries out for. We're to look expectantly towards the return of Jesus Christ. Paul says here that Christ has all power and all authority because he's coming back as the one who has the control and power and authority to actually right everything, even down to the detail of transforming us, changing our bodies.

Wherever you are in life, I've got some bad news and I've got some good news. The bad news is your body is wearing out. You say, well, I'm young, I'm lean, I'm mean. Well, it's wearing out. The good news is you're going to get a new body if you believe in Jesus. Brand new, transformed, can't be affected by cancer, by sin, by age. Perfect, just like Jesus. It's glorious. Jesus Christ, the resurrected one, has resurrection power and he's going to at his return exert his resurrection power to give us glorious eternal bodies.

We're to look forward to that. We're to long for that. In looking forward to it and longing for it, it gives us conviction to live right now, which produces joy. Paul says this as he sums up this section in Philippians 4:1: "Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, that's how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends." Because of Christ's return and our heavenly home, stand firm in the Lord.

That's a command. He sets up the command with a "therefore". Whenever you see a "therefore", you know what it's there for. It's a conclusion. It's a transition. He's just made this statement that whoever we're hanging out with affects who we become. So hang out with people that encourage your faith and avoid people that are going to rob you of joy because our citizenship is in heaven and from heaven we're awaiting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

He has all power and authority to transform our lowly bodies and actually conform them to become like his glorious body. Therefore—here's the payoff, here's how it affects us right now, this is what ought to be happening in our lives right now because of this truth—stand firm. Paul actually says it in a very tender way and a very revealing way. He says, "My brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown." Paul comes back to this whole idea that they were his joy.

We find our joy in our relationships with the Lord and with one another. He says, "My joy and my crown." The Philippians were folks that he ministered to, that he loved, that he shepherded, that he actually introduced to Jesus. He told them about Jesus. He started the church at Philippi. They were his joy right now and his crown in the future. In other words, God was going to reward him because of his faithful service in preaching the gospel and loving these folks and leading them to Christ and shepherding them. They were his joy and his crown.

We can look forward to eternal crowns when we give our lives to the kingdom and we impact other people for the kingdom. It gives us joy now and gives us a hope in the future of reward. Paul says, "Therefore, my beloved, my joy and my crown, stand firm." Have conviction. Live out of a core set of beliefs. Know what's true, be committed to what's true, stand on what's true, live out what's true. It'll give you conviction and it'll produce joy in your life because you know where your citizenship is and you are waiting for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible in the New Testament over and over again calls us to stand firm. It's the Greek word "steko". It means to persevere, to stay put, to live on the basis of what you believe and what you know to be true. He says in Philippians 1:27: "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then whether I come and see you or hear about you, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending for the faith of the gospel." Galatians 5:1: "It's for freedom that Christ set us free. Stand firm then, and don't be a slave to any law again."

1 Corinthians 16:13: "Be on guard and stand firm in the faith and be men of courage and be strong." 2 Thessalonians 2:13: "So then, stand firm and hold to the teachings that were passed on to you." 1 Corinthians 15:58, in the same context as Philippians 3 and Philippians 4, talking about the resurrection of Jesus and the hope of eternity, says this in conclusion: "Therefore, stand firm in the Lord. Always give yourselves to the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil in the Lord is not in vain."

When we understand the hope of heaven and the future of resurrection, what should that do for us right now? Give us conviction to stand firm. What will that produce? Joy. Every person here, we're standing on something. We are. Maybe we're standing on trying to earn more money or trying to hold onto our house, not lose it to foreclosure, trying to keep our family together. We're standing on something. The question is, does it have eternal significance? Because our citizenship is in heaven and from there we're awaiting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will conform us and transform us to be just like him. When that occupies our mind, when that grips our heart, that leads us to stand firm in the Lord and that'll give us joy.

Greg: What a great message for all of us today. Pastor JP Jones provides us with great insight. That is why we'd like to make it available to you on CD. Just get in touch and mention today's date. We'll send it your way for just five dollars. Or if you'd like to support this ministry, you can write us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653. Or give us a call at 949-916-0250. That's 949-916-0250. For your gift of twenty-five dollars or more, we will send you a signed copy of JP's new book, Facing Goliath.

Please join us every Sunday at 9:00 or 11:00 a.m. at Crossline Church in Laguna Hills. The address is 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653. Or check us out on the web at crosslinechurch.com. We're going to get to the address and phone number again in a moment, but before we do that, Pastor JP, do you have any insight from today's message?

JP Jones: Thanks, Greg. In this passage in Philippians chapter three, the Apostle Paul says there is a heavenly eternal perspective and then there is a temporary worldly perspective. When we have a heavenly eternal perspective, it gives us hope, it creates faith, and the byproduct is joy. When we see who we are in Christ and we see our identity in Christ and our citizenship in heaven, that gives us great confidence and expectation of life now and life to come.

The fruit of that is joy. On the other hand, when we become temporal in our thinking and worldly in our thinking, our focus is taken off of Christ, our focus gets on ourselves, and we become slaves to our own lustful appetites. Paul says we need an eternal perspective. We need a heavenly perspective and we need to emulate or follow the pattern of others who have an eternal perspective. People are going to influence either towards God or away from God.

There are people who love Jesus Christ, who are following Jesus Christ and, like the Apostle Paul, they're saying to us: "Follow me as I follow Christ." Those are the kind of people we need to hang out with. Those are the people we need to have fellowship with. Those are the people we need to allow to mentor us, and then we need to be those kind of mentors to others, helping others follow Christ, helping others put their focus on Christ. On the other hand, there are people who would influence us away from Christ and towards the world.

Paul warns us about that in Philippians chapter three because he says we are either drawn towards a temporal worldly perspective or we are drawn towards a heavenly eternal perspective. We're to have an eternal perspective because our citizenship is in heaven and Jesus Christ is coming back again from heaven and he has absolute authority. The Bible says that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus Christ.

Jesus is going to exert his power and literally give us a new resurrection body that will be the body that we live in for all eternity with God. It's glorious to consider. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 gives us in great detail this resurrection principle that is going to take place when Jesus Christ comes back again. Here in Philippians 3, we just have a glimpse of it and we're told that our citizenship is in heaven. we're told that Jesus is coming back from heaven and we're told that Jesus is going to give us a resurrection glorious body that we will occupy in throughout all eternity in heaven.

That mentality, that focus is to be ours. We're to have an eternal perspective and when we have it, we have joy. God's glorified, other people are blessed, and we experience joy. It's a win, win, win. But to have that kind of eternal perspective, we need to focus on who we are in Jesus Christ. We need to set our minds on the things above and not on the things that are on earth.

We need to actively seek after the kingdom. We need to seek first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness, and we need to surround ourselves with other people who will reinforce in us this eternal perspective. We need to have godly fellowship with other believers that we might sharpen one another as the Bible says, iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. This is the perspective that we're to have, an eternal perspective because our citizenship is in heaven. Let's thank God for that.

God, thank you that we have an eternal fellowship with you ahead of us in heaven. Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you're going to come back from heaven and you're going to reign and you're going to transform us to be like yourself. We praise you for this heavenly citizenship in Jesus' name, Amen.

Greg: We want to help you in your relationship with Christ. Please get in touch with us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653. Or call us at 949-916-0250. On the internet, you will find us at crosslinechurch.com. We hope to see you at one of our services every Sunday at our new campus in Laguna Hills. For more information and directions, please go to crosslinechurch.com. Please join us next time on Truth That Changes Lives.