|
DATE |
CHURCH |
SUBJECT |
PREACHER |
BIBLE
REF. |
|
25.10.08 |
All Saints Church |
The Right Mind-Set |
Tony Higton |
Philippians 3:17-21 |
|
“Two men looked through prison bars. One
saw mud, the other saw stars.” It all depends how you look at
things. This is an important lesson for the Christian life. We
can either have our minds set on earthly things or on heavenly
things.
Paul writes: “Join together in following my
example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a
model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have
often told you before and now tell you again even with tears,
many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is
destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in
their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 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.”
(Philippians 3:17-21)
Firstly, we think of
A mind set on
earthly things
Paul laments the fact that “many live as
enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their destiny is destruction, their god is their
stomach, and their glory is in their shame.” (verses 18-19).
These people live for material things: financial affluence,
material security, a multitude of possessions, endless
pleasure-seeking, self-indulgence in terms of food, drink and
sex.
Yet Jesus calls us to a totally different
form of life. Someone once said: “If Jesus Christ be God and
died for me then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make
for him.” We are called to a life of gratitude for this amazing
sacrifice, made on our behalf by none less than God himself –
God the Son. We are called to a Christ-centred life.
In other words, we are called to have:
A mind set on
heavenly things
In the modern era in the West we have
largely lost the sense of being on pilgrimage, of passing
through this world (though making the most of journey and the
best impact for good we can achieve). Heaven hardly enters our
thinking unless we are facing death or bereavement. We are not
pilgrims. Our feet are set in concrete here in this world. Hence
our priorities are in this world.
If things go wrong or are unfair in this
world, we bitterly resent it, as if this life were all there is
and we are not facing an eternity of joy and glory in heaven.
If we are called to sacrifice, we can baulk at it again as if we
have an absolute right to a comfortable life in this fleeting
world. If we want to follow the way of the world in behaviour
which the New Testament calls sinful we can give way to the
temptation, forgetting there is a judgment day when we all stand
individually before God. There is little sense of
accountability.
We are called to a very different outlook:
to remember that as Paul puts it: “our citizenship is in heaven”
(verse 20). We are on pilgrimage. We are not locked into this
world (although we should be committed to serve it as best we
can). This life, though very important spiritually, as a tiny
first instalment of an eternity in heaven. Death should be a
welcome transition to glory. Even amidst the trauma of
bereavement we can rejoice in knowing our believing loved one
has been “promoted to glory.”
We need to be more heavenly minded and to
remember that “we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord
Jesus Christ.” (verse 20).
In other words, we should be living in the light of
the return of Christ, our Saviour and our Judge.
Although, as good stewards of God’s
creation, we should be supportive of ecological responsibility,
we need to remember that one day God will infinitely outstrip
all our efforts at conservation. Paul speaks of the returning
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.” (verse 21). He will not only
redeem our bodies but also redeem the cosmos, bringing about a
new heavens and a new earth
If you want to honour God and live for
Christ, you need to be heavenly-minded.
Are you heavenly-minded? |
