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A free verse 13.
Brother and I can't not myself who have apprehended, but this one thing I do for getting those things which are behind, and reaching forth onto those things which are before, I press for the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore as many as be perfect, be less minded, and if in anything he be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
Nevertheless.
Whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye 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, and whose glory.
Is in their shame.
Who mind earthly things, for our conversation is in heaven, from whence we also for whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that are maybe fashion like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Apprehend means to come up. To comprehend means to involve the whole thing and have a complete understanding. But it's remarkable that Paul uses that term.
The great Apostle had before him, as before us, an unattainable object, God.
Has set before us that Blessed One not to discourage us, but it is unplumbable. We cannot ever come to the end of learning of Christ. So he said. I haven't even apprehended, I haven't got approached. So if he hasn't, I'll encouraging it is for us to endeavor to learn more of that Blessed One.
He also gives some practical advice, doesn't he? There is.
Too much of A tendency for people who look back and think about their failures. They should have done this. I should have done that. And oftentimes it's things that cannot be changed. They have happened and they are. And so he makes it very plain. He says, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before. And that is really such a wonderful encouragement.
Because, and we know our God is one who is forgiving. He knows our hearts. If we do fail or slip or come short in some way, and we feel it, but we confess it and we're truly sorry about it, He knows.
And so this, I think it's just a wonderful encouraging word that don't dwell on that which is past, which you can't change, which is done, but to reach forth unto those things which are before and and our desire is to please the Lord and to walk according to His will. He makes it very plain he'll help it, even the good things that we might be proud of and look back and say that's pretty good.
We were to forget those things, too.
But there's progress here too, isn't there? It's not. It's not just standing still either. We don't stand still in our Christian pathway. It's forgetting and it's going on at the same time because they can't. We we don't just stand still and be stagnant. Sometimes what Bob was saying in his address there was perhaps sometimes we think that that's the way it is. There's we're stagnant in our souls sometimes you know and and that's why there's no there's no.
00:05:20
Perhaps why there's no praise.
In our assembly meetings, perhaps this little garden of our souls that we have been hearing about the garden down here, the Lord says it's my garden and he allows the north wind to come in some time and stir it up. I know at home, and anyone who has a garden knows the importance of killing that garden. You don't just let it grow, you don't just let it sit still because it'll grow. It'll grow up with weed and then it becomes unfruitful and non productive.
And so the garden of our hearts.
Sometimes needs to be stirred up.
Allow the Word of God to do its plowing.
And then maybe, if we allow this, and took care of those weeds brethren, that grow in there, sometimes, that there be a little more of that reaching forth unto him, and perhaps a little more praise and adoration from our own lips, and little more help in the assembly.
Is that not the reason why sometimes there seems to be stagnant in our own souls? It's not just we don't look around and say so and so it hasn't been walking with the Lord and that's why he's keeping his mouth shut. How about my own soul?
And so we need to allow the word of God to flow us up to there might be.
That S wind and that north wind that will blow those. Those.
The flower, the smell of those of that that fruit in the garden over the wall that others might smell it. Dude, I think we get that in that little verse there and strongest Solomon that someone referred to.
Reaching forward would be to that moment when the Father will receive us into the home, into his home of love, and he will recite to us all the wonders of the glorious person of his son and what he's done for him.
That is what the apostle was longing for. There's another verse that says in this week, Groan. I think it's Mr. Darby that points out that we don't groan because this is a oh, a hard life and but the day is going to come and it's going to be wonderful to be there. That isn't the thought so much as it grown to be enjoying what he's going to enjoy there in the presence of the Lord.
This is their ultimate brethren for us to find ourselves forever in the presence of the Lord that is going to just fill our vision and our thoughts and our hearts with overflowing forever.
The person of Christ.
Spiritual energy is called for here, isn't it? Verse 13. It speaks about reaching forth to saluted unto those things which are before, and so being concerned that our walk and our ways are in accordance with the Lord's mind. But then there was a clear goal, the target might say. In verse 14 I pressed toward the mark.
For the prize. And of course we all know it should be the calling on high of God and Christ Jesus. And so that is really the end, you might say, of this earthly path. That's what we're headed for.
If there is a temptation or an inclination to do this or that which isn't in keeping with that thought of the calling on high, the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Then we might well hesitate. Why am I putting any energy into that? Why am I occupying myself? I can remember when I was first saved in the example was given. I'm sure we've all heard it about.
You know, if there's an activity in which you might be occupied, would you be happy about that if the Lord came at that instant that you are occupied in that particular activity?
And that, to me, has the sense of verse 14. I pressed toward the mark of the prize of the calling on high that no matter what I'm engaged with, I have a clear mind about it. That it is something that the Lord would have me be involved with. And then if He gives a shot when I'm involved with it, I have no regrets, no sorrows.
00:10:21
And that, you know, we often talk about the young people. When do you stop being a young person? Not.
Sort of a very slow transition, so sometimes I like to think of myself as a young people. But nevertheless, if your friends say let's go do this or do that, then you're not certain. Should I do that or not? Just ask yourself the question, would I be happy to be involved with that at the time the Lord comes to catch me up?
No, I was thinking of the word in in relationship to this verse of appetite.
The wonderful thing if we can have an appetite.
You know when.
Well, I said to a brother that there was some little difficulty up at the lunch table and and to get around to the desserts, and there were people coming this way. But he made his way through there. And I said to him, love, find a way, huh? But he had an appetite to get there. And it's a wonderful thing. If we can have an appetite to things, we bought it. And you know, we can lose our appetite like even some food.
You know, and sometimes maybe I'm I'm not very hungry, but I might come home, maybe I've been stressed out at work or something or I've I'm upset or something. I come home and I start to smell food, you know, and then I start to get a little more appetite and I I my thoughts start to go in that direction. But.
So we need to be stirred up in a wonderful It's wonderful if we can have appetite to.
To want those things.
I think it's nice to see in this verse 14 that calling on high.
Surprised at calling them on high of God. In Christ Jesus is certainly includes the coming of the Lord. I like to think about it is what we are called to. We're called to a heavenly portion. It's the whole thing before our souls. And it's in contrast later on in this chapter with what we have in verse 19. Those who mind earthly things. Why do they mind earthly things? Because they don't have heaven before them.
But no, brethren, if we could just get a glimpse.
More of the vastness of the heavenly calling at his heart. Earth would necessarily fade into oblivion in our minds. And that's what had happened to the Apostle Paul when he got a glimpse of glory. What was earth? He was a ruined man as far as any earthly objective was concerned. He there was no use for him down here. And so they put him in prison that there's no use for us in that man. He's too heavily mine.
And that's what forms our character. It draws us that prize of the heavenly calling, the calling on high of God and grace, Jesus, I often say that's not necessarily that there's anything wrong with a lot of things down here in this world. People ask what's wrong with that?
It's not necessarily that there's anything wrong with it, but if it doesn't help you get to that price, there's something definitely.
That hinders you and you've got to get rid of those hindrances if you want to win that prize.
What's wrong if a man is going to run a race?
Say he's going to run 100 yard dash and somebody steps up to him just at the last minute and offers him a bag of gold. Here's 10 kilos of gold.
Anything wrong? So that goes nothing wrong with it in itself, But if he wants to win that race, he's going to throw that bag of gold aside just as fast as you would throw aside a bag of garbage. Why? Because it would be a definite hindrance to him in winning the prize. And that's the point, brother, to have heaven before us. A lot of things done in this world are not wrong in themselves.
00:15:16
But they definitely hinder a person that has heaven before him. And you have to evaluate things down here constantly in the light of the prize of that high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Extremely important if we want to run the race like Paul Randall.
It's not so much the coming of the Lord for us.
That is going to lift us up into the glory, but it's what's going to happen after. And so Paul speaks of the crown of righteousness to them that love, not the rapture, but love, is a fury. That's the day. That's the day of the Lord when the Lord then is going to.
Dispense to us rewards for our service and becomes as mentioned, they we replace the angels in the Millennium.
And according to our faithfulness down here, so will be our work in the Millennium. So the Lords, the crown of righteousness, is for them that love is appearing.
One author.
I enjoy about the appearing. Is that where the Lord today his name is used as a byword or first word and he's mocked and rejected in this world?
That is appearing before all of creation. He'll have his rightful place. That's what thrilled my soul to think, that every knee is going to bow to him, and there'll be no question he will not be rejected. He'll be recognized, if by sheer power, but nevertheless he'll have his.
Full place throughout all creation and I just think that's wonderful.
Not to change what you said, brother N, but when I think of the appearing, I just think of our precious savior and how men use his name just as a byword. Commonly they make jokes and all those things that hurt each one of us when we hear them. But in that coming day, he'll have his rightful place.
We wait for the rapture, but we can watch for the appearance, 13th of Hebrews says. And so neglect not himself. The gathering of yourselves together is the manner of summons, but.
Watch for His appearing. And so we watch it. We can see that approaching. We can't see the Rapture, because there's nothing to be fulfilled before the Rapture, before the Lord comes for us, but in the interval after that, and.
Before he appears, those things are beginning to shape up now, particularly in the Middle East, so we can see those that day approaching.
Captive in Rome?
But sometimes change to a soldier.
Chapter one, verse 23 says I'm in a straight betwixt 2 having a desire to be part of the be with Christ, which is far better.
What? What does he have here?
For getting those things that are behind, maybe you know, he could say forth only I had made the spirit voice and not thrown up in Jerusalem.
And forgetting everything from people.
There's someone before it.
There can be greetings from Caesar's household because he's been there, not.
Christ the proportion of the soul of.
Pressing towards a mark.
But imprisonment?
There are further and today that are Christmas.
Depressing towards the North.
Whether we've made mistakes in the past or.
Have gained some victories.
This passage says to forget those things which are behind, not dwell upon the past. We can't change the past, but we can go on today for him. And the only way we can do that anytime we we take inventory of ourselves and say how am I doing?
00:20:17
That's not what this chapter's teaching it's It's teaching not to be occupied with ourselves at all, but with Christ is the object before our souls.
And we and Paul, even Paul, the great apostle Paul, he says I'm not having to pay him the prize. I'm not perfected yet.
And that won't be until the Lord comes, when we receive our resurrection bodies and we're home. There He's He's laid hold upon us, apprehended us, got the possession of us for the glory. And so he wanted to take possession of the very things that He'd been laid hold of by God for.
He wanted to enter into these things God has laid hold upon us for glory. Not to enjoy the earth and this scene down here, but we're going to be enjoying the heavenly things, and he wants us to. He says, I want to enjoy them now. And the way he can do that is by having Christ before his soul. And so he says, I press toward the mark for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus. That's the perfect mind.
Of Philippians 3 is to have Christ and Christ alone before the soul and not be occupied with ourselves. Whether it's good self or bad self, let's be occupied with him altogether.
Verse the theme, we get a wonderful.
Encouraging words, don't we? Well, first it says, let us therefore as many as be perfect, mature. The thus minded. That is the same mind as Paul expressed here his object, and if in anything he be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. It's that last expression, I think it's so encouraging because I'm sure we all feel that. I just wish I understood better. I wish I was clear about this. I wish that I could.
Fulfill what Scripture is bringing before me, but here what a word of encouragement.
If in anything ye be otherwise minded other than what we have, just happy for us.
God shall reveal even this unto you.
It's not a wonderful word for my God, he he's saying. I realize you've got limitations, but I realize you may not always understand fully.
But I'll reveal it for you.
In that connection I was very fond of straightforward into Luke 818 because that carries that same thought, I think. **** we don't learn by studying the scriptures, we learn by walking in the truth that we have already learned. That verse says to him that has shall more be given.
It's not how much everyone of us here knows about the scriptures that makes us happy.
It's how much I'm walking in, the truth that I do have and then.
The spirit of God is going to teach me more, but I don't learn intellectually.
Knowledge puffs up.
So it's a wonderful thing. The younger ones here, I'd say, well, I don't know very much. It doesn't matter if you're living what you have already learned from in your home or at the assembly wherever, If you're living that God is going to teach you more. And then the warning is, if I'm not walking in, what I do have already been taught.
God is going to take away for me that which I seemed to have and I believe beloved ones that we've seen in the last five years, those things happening as a warning to us. We lose that. Not to lose it. He takes it away, takes our discernment away. So the great thing is to be not trying to learn more, but to live what we have learned when we go home now from these meetings.
It's so important because the Spirit of God teaches each one of us a little bit differently of what we have heard. Just what you need, you're going to remember if you concentrate on that and walk in that, you're going to be blessed and he's going to the Spirit of God is going to teach you more.
00:25:19
There seems to be a contradiction that says in verse 12, not as though I had already attained attained the prizes, the thought either were already perfect, he said. I'm not perfect yet as long as we're in this body of flesh and blood, we're not perfect. We have not arrived at the resurrection state yet and.
He's pursuing. He's following after.
And and seeking to be.
In conformity with the truth of Christianity and all that's been brought before him. But then in verse 15 he says, let us therefore as many as be perfect, be thus minded. So the word perfect is used in two different senses. The one, the first sense is we won't be perfect until we're with him and like him and fully conformed to his image in the glory after the resurrection. When he comes, he won't be perfect till then. But then there's the sense in which we are mature.
Full grown in the things of God and we understand the true character of Christian truth and so we're perfect in that sense. We're not babes tossed and cared about by every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cutting craftiness whereby they lie and wait to deceive. We're not we're not babes to be tossed about by these doctrines that are out there. We understand the truth of God and the the what is true Christianity. And so we're not diverted and.
And loved and to sleep, and attracted by these false things that are out there. And that's the thought of being perfect in verse 15. Let us therefore as many as be perfect. Be thus minded. And if you be any otherwise minded, that is, you have not achieved through the state that maybe some others have of understanding all the truth, he says, God will reveal even this unto you, but in the measure in which we do understand.
And I understand, and you understand the measure in which we can share our understanding of truth. Together we have fellowship, and that's where he says.
Where to verse 16. Nevertheless, where two we have already attained.
In whatever measure we've obtained to the knowledge of the truth.
He says let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
And if there is a measure in which we haven't attained, God will reveal it to us. But we can.
We can. I think we sometimes injure souls by presenting church truth to them too soon. They're not up to it, and they need to be established soundly in the truth of the gospel. For instance, if a person is not sure of eternal security, it's folly. Talk about church truth. To such a person, he has to be established as to his own soul salvation. Be sure that first one of the letters of Mr. Darby that I read when he was in Kennedy said he'd been laboring 3 months and he hadn't touched church proof yet. They needed to be established in the truth of the gospel first.
And once that is done, then we can go on to these more these other truths which are more of a collective character. But we need to be established first of all as to our individual standing before him and our walk before in his individuals that comes first and then the collective follows upon it.
I was thinking of a verse in thinking of Peter and his tremendous boldness after they were all in that upper room afraid. But the tremendous boldness that Peter had after that after the spirit of audience come and in what happened into the room and but in a thing you have a verse in Acts 413 it says now when they.
Saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceive that they were unlearned and ignorant man. They marvel, and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
Well, this is really sweet to my soul because the power and the boldness that they got was because they had spent time with the Lord, and I'm not much of A reader.
00:30:02
I don't like to read. I'm kind of antsy. I like to move around a lot. It's hard for me to sit in these meetings, but.
You know in our in our thoughts through the day, you know where do our thoughts go and.
As we make decisions, you know, the Lord knows with us all day. He's there all the time, His eyes upon us as we were hearing what a wonderful thing you know and.
To turn to him to say a little word to him. And here, here, this boldness, it says they took knowledge of him that he had been with Jesus. That's where we got, that's where we get our boldness. You know, you have a word from the Lord to go. Certainly we that gives you bold. And the Lord wants me to do this. I remember a brother asked he wanted me to do something. I said, no, I know I can't do that. I got, I got to go do that. He says, well, why you got to do that? He says, Well, the Lord wants me to do that. I had a word. He said, well, you got a word from the Home Office and stuff like that.
So when you have a word from the Lord to do something, doesn't act strengthen us and give us coldness to go forward?
That's a little borne out by verse 16, isn't it? Nevertheless, where to? We have already attained. Let us walk by the same rule. This is the point that our brother Norman was bringing before us, that we don't all have the same light, the same understanding. But if we walk according to what the Lord has revealed to us, why then the Lord can lead us on? We have the same life bringeth, life and life accepted. Or light walked and bring in more light. And that that's really what the Lord gives us. He gives us enough, you might say, for the next step that we take.
And and we don't learn everything all at once. And I think it connects very closely with verse 15 because.
If in anything he'd be otherwise minded, God shower you feel even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained. Let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. And others observe for my own self in reading Philippians, I I believe we we well recognize the the major themes of Philippians, and enjoy them about Christ. But one of the things that has struck me.
In reading it and it never changes.
Is that it's quite a word to us as going on as being 1 minded 1. Mindedness is touched pretty heavily in this epistle. For example, if you look back at the end of chapter one and verse 27, it says that the end of verse 27 that I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast and one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.
Then we well know the portion of chapter 2 where starting at verse 5, where we often read it at the breaking of bread. Let this mind be in you and which was in Christ Jesus. And we know that portion so well. What was that line? Here the Son of God in the form of man took a low place.
And it's right in keeping with the verses that precede it, where we are to esteem others better than themselves, better than ourselves. So let this mind be you and you will be 1 minded. And so we have that here in the first in the chapter where we're reading it says, nevertheless, we're do we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mine the same thing. It's a wonderful thing when we have, you know, issues that have to be dealt with in the assembly.
Now I'm convinced that the Lord doesn't make the assembly path easy.
There are no set rules as we know. Every time an issue comes up and has to be considered As for an assembly action, there's always something a little different about it and the Lord would have His cast on Him so He can guide him. We just don't have a formula answer as to what you do in this case or that case well when you have this issue before the assembly which is composed of individual believers.
And you want to act with the mind of God. You want one mind. You want one mind. If you don't have one mind and you have strong differences in the assembly that leads to discord, it's dishonouring to the Lord. So we have wonderful teaching in this book. I just suggest that is another theme you might be looking looking at is 1 mindedness.
00:35:04
And that mind? That one mind that we wanted. Whose mind? The Lord's mind.
But it would keep us on our knees. It's not easy. It's not easy. What this chapter is teaching as to the one mind is there's two ways of achieving 1 mindedness and that is we differ and we compromise. I'll give a little and you give a little and I'll meet you halfway. And that's not God's way. That's the that's the principle of compromise and.
The way that one mindedness is arrived at according to this chapter and according to all the Scripture, is that we all arrive at the mind of Christ and the one that has attained to it. If someone hasn't attained to it in whatever measure he has attained, you can have fellowship with that person, but God will reveal to the other one, or to yourself, that you're the deficient one. His mind but.
To deal with the truth of God on the principle of compromise is an unmitigated evil. We cannot deal with God's truth that way. We cannot compromise His truth in order to have one mindedness. And this is what is happening in Christendom. They are pursuing a path of unity based on giving up truth, and that's a wicked principle, and it's an evil thing. It's the ecumenical principle of attaining unity without.
Having the mind of God in the matter, and my mind is worth a straw. Neither is yours. We have to have the mind of Christ, and if we all have that, then we will achieve it and do it in a way which is according to the truth of God. But it's so important that the principle of compromise in order to achieve 1 mindedness and unity is a wicked thing. And that's the trouble with ecumenical unity.
It's achieving oneness at the expense of the truth.
And these all of these false movements that are around about in Christendom, that's the cardinal sin of each one of them is that it's not based on the truth of God, but it's based upon a unity of man's making and giving up truth in order to attain that unity. That's never a God.
To help, I think to see in the 15th verse the sovereignty of God. You look at it in a Broadway, you'll see it, the sovereignty God doing the work. But the 16th verse is man's responsibility, our side of using verse 15.
What God has the things that I don't probably will teach, but he's the teacher for the 16th, is to go on now using what the 15 first teaches us.
I think it's good to leave time with souls to grow. You can't force a person to grow up faster, to grow in the way that they will grow. Or a child grows up and it's imperceptible from day-to-day how much he's growing. But growth is something. If the spirit of God is working, it will take place. God will reveal this unto you. We don't have to force issues.
With people.
Them with the Lord. And like you say, Jack, it's not agreeing to disagree. That's the principle that you're speaking about. Don't say, well, you see it that way and I'll see it this way, but we'll just agree to disagree. No, we don't say that. Say, well, let's wait on the Lord about it. Maybe I have some growing to do. Maybe you do too. Maybe we both do. And God is going to reveal the difference. The spirit of God. That's teaching you and teaching me. One thing is certain.
We're going to come to a point of complete, like, mindedness. Somewhere along the way. It's waiting on the Lord about it.
1St Corinthians 110 That I beseech you by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that there be no divisions amongst you, but that you be perfectly united together in the same judgment and the same opinion, there is what God sets before attainable.
00:40:02
They have one mind.
Philippians 25 says, let this mind be in you, the last verses of 1 Corinthians. One says we have the mind of Christ. One is the sovereignty and the others responsibility. But it's so good, I believe, for us all to be seeing our standing before God rather than to be thinking about our state. Our state is before us. We just go down.
Get depressed. But if we see our perfect standing and price up comes my statement.
I like to suggest too that when there are differences.
In the assembly and understanding or acting, an element involved often is pride.
That one will prevail over another, or one feels that their view is superior to another. And then really, if there is humility in seeking the war, not anything to do with me, but just to know who's fine, then progress can be made. So pride is something that dies very slowly within us.
OK.
Well, in verse 17 and the apostle says, brethren, the following followers together of me and mark them which walk. So she have us for an image.
Example it's easier. I can't say end sample but X sample but isn't that wonderful. Who else could?
Say that about themselves because of the man of God.
Followers of me, I mean, it would seem like we're just talking about pride, that this would be an absolute arrogance. But here is a man clearly chosen of God, manifesting God's mind for us, and he can say with all confidence he followers together of me and mark them which walk so she have us for an example.
And then he goes on and says that many walk of whom I have told you often, and I'll tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, and things are no different today than they were then.
As we read the scriptures and we compare it to our lives at this day that when it comes down to the issues of men and their motives, their ambitions.
That nothing has changed. Technology may have changed in our modern life, but human nature hasn't changed a bit.
The last part of that 16th verse 5th.
18th verse is not referring to believers but unbelievers.
But it's interesting the way it puts it, isn't it? It didn't say enemies of Christ, Enemies of the cross of Christ.
Because the cross is what separates us from the world. There's the crop in between.
And.
To walk in such a way as to impractical and practicality be an enemy of the process of right.
Yes, there is.
Practically.
He's not actually his soul to be saved, but he's acting.
Wrongly.
Do you agree with that? Yes, that's right, mine. Because it's not. As pointed out, it's not enemies of Christ, but enemies of the Cross. That is, if I don't pick up, if I'm not willing to walk in separation and the cross is that which separates me from the world. If I'm not ready to walk and willing to walk in that on as it were casting my lot in with the world and and for all practical purposes the world looks at me and and sees no difference. In that sense I believe I'm an enemy of the cross.
But in verse 19, I think he makes it quite clear that the ones he's talking about are not the Lords whose end is destruction.
Whose God is their belly? Whose glory is in their shame? Who mind earth? Who thinks? You wouldn't say that of a true believer.
But we may be walking in such a way that that's the way it looks.
This is a word for the conscience. So is it not I I look at that and I say, wow, if that's really what it's saying, if that's the end of those, this is really what it looks like. I don't want to be a part of that. And so I I realized that this is what I'd be doing. I'd be walking.
00:45:09
In the same way that those have been walking who are going to be, they were going to carry. So what's the word to my conscience? I know I'm not going to perish, but I'm giving that idea that I'm casting my lot in with him and I'm ashamed of the cross of Christ.
I thought a helpful illustration was.
Might get on a road out here and ask where does this road lead? And the answer might be this road leads you to Chicago. That's the end of this road. And so you might be on that road, but that doesn't mean you will go all the way to Chicago. You may get off and I think the point is that a true Christian may be involved in some of this minding earthly things is a plenty of US who get involved in truthfully things to the point I'm afraid we have to.
Recognize, brethren, that we mind earthly things sometimes, but that's not the character of the Christian.
That's not the road for the Christian. It's to get off of that road because the end of that road is destruction. And so it's to recognize where does this weed, it leads to destruction. This is not my way. This is not my Rd. I'm going to have to change things here and to recognize it and to get off of it. True Christian can't be destroyed.
There's a class that's mentioned in Revelation quite quite often, and I think the first mention is to Philadelphia, and I'm going to read it. It's in Revelation 310 because I was kept the word of my patience. I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world. It's going to come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Now, I'm not going to refer to all those dimensions of them that dwell upon the earth, but in the 13th chapter.
Verse 5.
It says.
And that was given unto him, that is this this beast a mouse, speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given unto him to continue 42 months. And he opened his mouth, and blasphemy against God.
Blasphemy. His name and his Tabernacle.
And then that dwell in heaven.
And then later on.
Verse of the other beast, the Antichrist in verse 11 and then in verse 13.
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire to come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast which had this sword wound of the sword, and did live, and so on.
So those that dwell upon the earth, and that's what we're talking about here in Philippians 3 in my earthly things, they're really earth dwellers, the real force of the verse, I believe, and they end up as apostates.
And they're the ones that call upon the earth. They're the ones that are still here. They as much as say we don't we we we want this earth, not heaven. And they're apostates and they're going to end up worshipping the beast and the false prophet.
Terrible thing, but they were Christians.
Nominally, Christians, apostate Christians, then they dwell upon the earth, and they're the ones that Paul is referring to here in verses 18 and 19. Really. It's true that a true believer may may get away from the Lord and show some of these signs, but he's not really among this class. He's going to be in glory when the Lord comes. But those that are left here, that profess to be Christians, they're the earth dwellers. They're the ones referred to in verse 18 and 19.
Philippines St.
Verse 19 makes it plain black characterizes them whose God is their belly and whose glory is their is in their shame, who mind earthly things, and so they're seeking for self. That's the God being their belly, that they want to gain money, power, whatever those things are, and they mind earthly things.
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Should be noticed of course that verses 18 and 19 are in a parenthesis.
So if you read directly from verse 17 to 20 it makes easy to see the thought than forever and be followers together of me and mark them which walk so she have us for an example for our conversation is in heaven, from whence we also look for the Savior of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so that's the example of Paul, because he saw himself as one who was a heavenly citizen.
And that he was just the stranger in the Pilgrim here.
That's a good question. We can ask ourselves, do we see ourselves as clearly as strangers and pilgrims that we have no lasting interest here? Sometimes when we have visitors and they like to see Chicago and the downtown area, the waterfront and so on, we and their fellow believers, we often talk about these huge buildings. They're all going to be burned out. Nothing's going to be left here. No monuments demand, no earthly things. We are heavenly citizens that we look for that coming day.
Isn't that nice? And so we can be followers of Fall or as not really following Paul as our brother pointed out, but to use him as our example.
At 20th, Versus has a little bit of a pitch that can help us for our conversations.
As an Old English word which means manner of life, but I like to pull the 2 words together and.
Ask myself, what is my conversation as a believer?
I've taken up with things of the world, politics and all the different things that concern this world. What's my conversation there?
Let alone the manner of life.
What am I talking about?
If we've enjoyed a happy meeting.
What's What's the conversation around after continuation of the enjoyment of the Lord, or back on those worldly things? It hits my conscience.
Because the valley here, now that is, we take that to be the infection.
Is that is that what that speaks of?
You know the enjoyment of things down here.
But I was thinking of the word that the Lord spoke there in.
On 737 it says, In the last day, that great day of the fees, Jesus stood and crawled and stayed with any man deserves. Let him come unto me and drink.
Believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Is it a nice thing if?
Well, I think this, I know this is back to the point of where those infections are, where your heart is.
You know you can't. You know your hearts in the world. You talk about the world. It's just the way it is. These men, they took knowledge of them. They attended Jesus. He's the only one that can change us. And here he says, come unto me, What a wonderful thing here in Philippians 3 where it says boss shall reveal even this unto you. You know, you may think you're insignificant. Maybe you.
Well, the enemy certainly wants to tell us that. The enemy wants to convince us that God pays no attention to you. You're really insignificant.
But that's not the case. And God tells us over and over again that his eye is upon the Sparrow, and He looks upon all of his children. All of his children are of the same words to Him.
And these men that had been with Jesus, that's the key to us too for our walk that we are with him. And then what happens here? Well, in the last day of Great Gator peace, Jesus stood and thrived. This was certainly in the Lords belly wasn't it? He came to seek and to save. That was his loss. Saying if any man thirst well you have a curse. Well that's good, that's good. Well.
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Let him come unto me and drink. Well, that's what we've been doing here is we've been drinking.
And letting our appetite he that believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, You know, right, right out of his inner being. It's going to come right out of there because that's what it's going to be. From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, Our heart has to be filled and worn. I like to illustrate it this way, brother. I've got to have my hand on the first part. I have to be drawing from The Fountainhead. And then it goes into my life, into my belly.
And I'm living and my other hand goes out in health and blessing to others. But I must have one hand here. Either believe that imperfect tense going on and on and on. If it goes in and affects my life, then I'm going to desire a blessing for others.
This word for conversation in verse 20 is not It's unfortunate the King James translators translated to this way because another word, an entirely different word which means conduct or behavior, is also translated conversation here. It's the word that we get our word politics from political our associations of life are Commonwealth. Like one says I'm born an Englishman. Well, if he's born an Englishman then he's interested in that which would further the cause of the.
English Empire, the British Empire and so on. That's what he is. Our Commonwealth is in heaven. We belong to heaven. That's why we don't vote, That's why we don't partake in these these things that have to do with improving this world. The world is a condemned thing and our Commonwealth is in heaven.
So our conduct follows upon that, but this is stating.
We're citizens there. We belong to heaven, that's where. And that's the great contrast that he's making with the verses that just preceded.
Beautiful 21St verse.
Just an up sweep.
To close our meeting with.
Who shall?
That's the strong word. That's like I will.
It's not future, it's determined who shall transform our bodies of humiliation.
That it may be fashioned until his body of glory.
According to the working.
Or by his able even to subdue all things to himself. All comes from him. Lived here in these few days, enjoyed I would go home and we lived. We lived until we hear the shout, and there we are in the glory forever.
We use the term savior.
I think sometimes I'm thinking, in other words, that is a title of the Lord Jesus, but it's really his work.
Saved us. So he is the one who saved. And it just strikes me that verse 21 really.
Gives substance to the term Savior because as our Savior he shall change our wild body that will be fashioned like His. Glory of body isn't at the end of our salvation. We have that term in scripture of course where we think of salvation and I think it's often turned 3 aspects.
Time when we put our trust in Christ and so we have salvation in. We think of salvation as day by day the Lord is interceding health and protecting health for us as we walk this path in that salvation as we have it here. When there will be translated from the scene brought into glory and how you might say the complete fulfillment of itself, it just strikes me that it's so if we could say from whence we also look for the Lord Jesus Christ, but no.
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We have no idle words in scripture, as we well know. And so it says the Savior because this is the fulfillment, you might say, of all that we have in Christ according to the.
Beautifully that thought that you're expressing 30th verse of the first epistle of Corinthians.
Chapter One.
1St Corinthians 130 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus will. God is made unto us. Now here's the order, wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. I think that redemption would be first, but that's bearing it, what you're just saying. But that's the fulfillment. That's the completion of the whole thing. Our bodies are going to be changed.
Lastly and that's that's finality.
Like the comment that was made recently, there is no incurable disease for the Christian. Every disease it's going to find its fullest answer of what we're considering here in verse 21.
We will have a body like his body of Gordon. Tremendous. Think about what's called in Romans Chapter 8, The Redemption of the Body. It's interesting the adoption because the world looks on us today and looks at us and they say, hey, you got great hairs just as well as we do.
You get sick just as well as we do. You've got your aches and pains just like anybody else in the world. What's the difference? Well, they don't see any difference.
In us it does not yet appear what we shall be, but when that change takes place, it will be evident. These people are the adopted sons of God. Look at them, look at their bodies, and the one leap into immortality.
Tremendous to think about it. Bodies fashion. Like his body of glory, he has a body. When he resurrected, he came back from the dead. He had a body that was capable of going right into the glory of God. We have bodies only adapted for life on earth. So man goes into space. He has to wear a special suit in space. He can't live in that body in space.
We're going to have bodies transform like his body of Lord, walk right in to the glory of God.
We're in the body of humiliation now, it said. It says vile body, but that's wrong. We know we don't have vile bodies. The spirit of God dwells in these bodies. They're not vile, but they are bodies of humiliation. That is they they can, they can suffer, they can die. The only part of man that does die is his body. His spirit and soul never die. So death always applies to the body. But when we receive the body of glory, death will have no application to it whatsoever.
Death will be swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is thy stain? Where, O Gray, thy victory?
Will be in bodies of glory, but now we're still in bodies of humiliation and not vile. But they are frail, they're lowly, they're subject to disease and sickness and death. But the body of glory will change all that.
Can I take the liberty of doing what I don't like to do? And that is to read a Darby new translation translation in the reading meetings. But I'd like to pass this on to you if you would turn to Ephesians before we close. Ephesians 415 and 16 speaking about the body.
And.
These two verses in the Darby translation are, to my mind, their soul elevating and.
Just lift up the soul.
Ephesians 4/15/16.
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But holding the truth in love.
We may grow up to him in all things.
Who is the head? The Christ from whom the whole body?
Fetches together and connected by every joint of supply according to the working of its measure of each one.
Part works for itself, the increase of the body to itself, building up in love.
You were saying 273?
273.
Oh Lord, how does thy mind change?
The Lord.
Remember. All right then we go and glory.
Text me tomorrow 5:32.
110.
Our God and Father, we thank Thee for Thy precious word. We thank you for these happy meetings we've had together, and we thank you for the truth Thou has registered to us from it.
Pray that by the Spirit of God who indwells each one of us, that will make these truths good to our souls and in our lives, we give you thanks. Now commit us to thee for the rest of the day and ask thy blessing on the gospel tonight. And thank people with our Spirit and in the precious name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
Amen.