Clergy/Leaders' Mail-list No. 1-171 (Sermon)

REACHING THE GOAL Philippians 3:17-21

by Rod Benson

For some of us life often seems an unfinished puzzle, a conundrum, a series of hit-and-miss actions and random interactions, and there seems to be little direction and purpose to our lives. For others, life is a breeze and everything seems to fall into place with perfect timing and excellent results.

But you can spend your life climbing the ladder of success only to reach the top and find the ladder resting against the wrong wall.

The bad news is that many of us set ultimately unrewarding goals. The good news is that it is not too late to assess your direction and realign your purpose to what really counts.

Paul had his eyes set on the wrong goal, devoting all his energy to projects that appeared significant and important, but were futile and worthless in the light of eternal values. A turning point came in Paul's life when Jesus confronted him and led him to rethink his purpose and his commitments, and his life was transformed.

I experienced a turning point in my life in 1994. Until that time my goal was to enter the Australian public service as a policy analyst, bringing a Christian influence to decision-making in Canberra.

I started a PhD degree in media policy, received an Australian Postgraduate Research Scholarship, spent time studying in Canada, and had my work published in books and journals.

I was also writing and broadcasting on two Christian radio programs, and I felt I needed formal theological training if I was to make my radio ministry really count. So in 1993 I enrolled as a part-time student at the Baptist Theological College of Queensland, and took 12 months leave from my PhD degree.

At the end of that period the crunch came, and I took the hard decision to leave the promise of a career in Canberra to complete my studies and enter the ministry as a Baptist pastor - and within six months I was pastoring a brand new church!

Don't make the mistake of letting pride or comfort keep you from achieving the best, or rob you of the ultimate prize. It wasn't easy for Paul to transform his life and change his allegiances, and it certainly wasn't easy for me to walk away from a half-finished PhD degree to embrace an unknown future of Christian ministry. But it was worth it.

Head in a direction that pleases God and guarantees you eternal life and reward. Gather all the information you can, set the right goal, and make the sacrifices that count.

That's what Philippians 3:1-16 is all about: making sacrifices that ultimately count, and setting a worthwhile goal.

The remaining five verses of the chapter encourage us to follow Paul's example, and present a sharp contrast between two lifestyles: a lifestyle characterised by a focus on the present and on worldly values, leading to loss, destruction and death; and a lifestyle anchored in heaven, motivated by the return of Christ, and leading to eternal life.

First, Paul says, "Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you" (verse 17), referring to men like Timothy and Epaphroditus.

In the Old Testament, when Israel was preparing a place for worship, The Lord instructed Moses to "make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you" (Exodus 25:9).

In the New Testament, God leaves no instructions on how to construct church buildings, because where we worship is now irrelevant. But he leaves clear instructions about how we should live - so clear, in fact, that Paul can speak of "the pattern" he passed on to his converts at Philippi.

While he was in Philippi, Paul had instructed his converts on how to live to the glory of God through his teaching and his example (cf 2 Th 3:6-9), and now he reminds them of this.

Why is it necessary to remind them? Because false teachers are entering the community and threatening to lead them astray. "For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ" (verse 18).

We can't be sure whether the people Paul has in mind are pagans, Christian Judaisers or liberal Christians who use the grace and forgiveness of God as an excuse to sin. But from the description that follows, they may have been people at Philippi who had left the way of the cross for other attractions and enticements.

In any case, Paul gives them the terrible designation, "enemies of the cross of Christ," and adds four more descriptive clauses of condemnation: "Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is their shame. Their mind is on earthly things" (verse 19).

There are only two ultimate destinies for humans: life or death; glory or destruction. There are people in our world who appear to live as Christians, but they have not experienced saving faith, and they are not destined for glory.

Some who call themselves Christians demonstrate by their lifestyle that they live only for the present, focussing on pleasure and controlled by bodily desires.

Pleasure is good, and bodily desires need to be satisfied, but we can easily tip the scales and descend into libertinism, sacrificing the life of the mind and spirit for physical gratification.

For such people, Christian values are easily subverted, and "their glory is their shame." The things in which they find delight, satisfaction and significance are the very things that condemn them.

"Their mind is on earthly things" - the enemies of the cross of Christ are those who have abandoned the heavenly race and despised the heavenly prize in favour of pursuits and prizes that are exclusively worldly.

"By their fruit you will recognise them," said Jesus in Matthew 7:16, and Paul echoes his words in this passage.

How can we protect ourselves from the subtle influence of such people, and ensure that we don't go down the same path? We need to grow in our knowledge and understanding of the ethical teaching of the New Testament, and remain alert to shifts in our principles and values - perhaps with the aid of a mentor or spiritual director with whom you can share your thoughts and feelings.

A monk at Helmarshausen abbey long ago crafted an ancient copy of the scriptures for Henry the Lion, who founded the cities of Munich and Lubeck, and ruled Saxony and Bavaria. It contains 226 leaves of gold vellum, with 41 full page miniatures and thousands of brilliant, colourful illustrations.

Sotheby's recently auctioned the masterpiece for $11.7 million. To the buyers it was a cultural object representative of 12th-century German craftsmanship, yet the price they paid reflected only its artistic value. The volume went on public display at a research library where it could only be seen, not touched by ordinary people. Those who did have access to it were probably so intrigued by the artwork that they pay no attention to the meaning of the words.

Whether you pay $19.95 or $11.7 million for a Bible, it is the message, not the physical appearance, that carries the greatest weight and has the potential to transform your life. Let the Bible's timeless wisdom saturate your mind and shape your behaviour, and you will not find yourself an enemy of the cross of Christ whose destiny is destruction.

Instead, find your identity, and your destiny, in Christ! In contrast to those he has just described, Paul says, "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour 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" (verses 20-21).

By virtue of our faith in Christ, and his saving work on the cross for us, we are now declared friends of the cross, our identity is anchored in heaven (not in the world), and our destiny is glory (not destruction). Our faith will one day be vindicated by a supernatural event of cosmic proportions when Jesus our Saviour returns to claim us, and transform the bodies of his all people - living or dead - into bodies reflecting his glory.

Just as God transformed his eternal Son into a human being to become our Saviour, so he will transform our bodies into a form that fits us for eternal life.

We'll retain our bodily form - we won't become disembodied spirits - but we'll will be changed and endued with supernatural abilities. And some of us are looking forward to that more keenly than others!

As many of you know, Frank Sinatra's final curtain came down on Friday. 'Ol' blue eyes,' an icon of the 20th century, was perhaps most famous for crooning these words:

And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain. My friend, I'll make it clear, I'll state my case of which I'm certain. I've lived a life that's full, I've travelled each and every highway, And more, much more than this, I did it my way.

When it comes to stating your case before God, will you say, "I did it my way," or, "I did it God's way"? Will you have lived your life shaped by the values of the cross, or as an enemy of the cross?

Will God examine your life and conclude that your focus was on earthly things, and sentence you to a destiny of destruction; or will he see your heavenly focus, your faith in Christ, and your righteous life, and welcome you to glory?

Hear Paul's words to Titus:

"The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:11-14).

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E052 Copyright (c) 2001 Rod Benson. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: New International Version (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980).

You can contact Rev Rod Benson by e-mail at <>. To subscribe direct to his weekly sermons, e-mail him with "subscribe" in the subject.