Joy in the High
Calling of God
Book of Philippians
3:1-21
We sometimes forget
that God has never intended for His children to lead defeated lives
and we are no good to God when we do!
Happiness is never
about satisfying our flesh!
Happiness is never
about having confidence in our flesh!
Happiness comes only
when our hearts are right with God, through and by the Lord Jesus
Christ!
Happiness can never
come from climbing to some imagined spiritual plateau and then
looking down on others!
The one thing we can
all say about the Apostle Paul is that he was never afraid to show
his true feelings about the Lord Jesus Christ nor to share his
testimony with anyone who would listen!
The Apostle Paul is
also a great example for us to follow but the Lord Jesus Christ is
our Greatest example!
*****Php 3:1
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things
to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.
Finally, means we
must consider what Paul has written in Chapters 1 and 2 to understand
what Paul is about to say in the remaining words of this epistle.
The Lord did never
say that to be a Christian would be easy, in fact the Lord Jesus said
just the opposite!
First, no one
escapes the trials of life that we all go through. We are confronted
with the evils of this world everyday no matter who we are!
The Scriptures put
it like this:
1Jn_2:16 For all
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world.
What do we see in
our nation that is causing us to be so divided?
2Pe_2:10 But
chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness,
and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are
not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
This describes those
who dividing our nation today!
We must also
understand, that as Christians we already have what the Jewish people
have been seeking since the time of Abraham!
A close and very
personal relationship with Jehovah God that cannot fade away!
It is always good to
review the facts.
Rom 8:1 There is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:14 For as
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15 For ye
have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit
itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of
God:
Rom 8:17 And if
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if
so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified
together.
These are
unchangeable facts to all those who submit to the Lord Jesus Christ!
There is great joy in knowing the truth of God no matter what we are
going through!
Even knowing these
things, we must always be aware of our surroundings.
*****Php 3:2 Beware
of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
It is the Jews who
said the Gentiles were dogs who did not know the true God Jehovah.
Mat 15:26 But he
answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and
to cast it to dogs.
Jesus was just
repeating what this woman clearly understood.
The Jews, while they
boasted of being the children of God, gave the name of dogs to the
heathen.
Paul writes the true
dogs of society are those who have rejected the truth of God!
The Apostle John
wrote that is those who have rejected the salvation plan of God:
Rev 22:15 For
without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and
idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Remember what else
Jesus said?
Joh 8:44 Ye are of
your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He
was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh
of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45 And
because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
These are the same
dogs, and the evil workers Paul was referring to.
The word concision
used here refers to all those such as the Judaizers who insisted that
the Gentiles be circumcised but not as intended when God gave this to
Abraham.
Circumcision was to
be a sign of a people separated to Jehovah God!
The Jewish
circumcision had only become a flesh cutting just as the mutilation
of those of false worship.
So, Paul adds.
*****Php 3:3 For we
are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in
Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Remember Paul is
writing to the Church. Christianity has become the sign of that
personal relationship with Jehovah!
Isa 12:2 Behold,
God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD
JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
Isa 12:3 Therefore
with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
You cannot be a
Christian if you cannot worship God in the Spirit.
You cannot be a
Christian if you cannot rejoice in the truth of Jesus Christ, the
Messiah, (God in the flesh).
You cannot be a
Christian if you still have confidence in your own flesh!
This is the
circumcision that is approved of God and the intent of the sign given
to Abraham!
Joh_4:24 God is a
Spirit: and they that worship him "must" worship him in
spirit and in truth.
Sadly, the Jews have
never accepted this truth.
God cannot be
worshipped in form, God must be worshipped in truth!
If we cannot give up
on our flesh and rest in the strength of the Lord we will never be
that true child of God!
We can attend church
regularly.
We can pray.
We can be
charitable.
We can be baptized.
We can keep the
ceremonies of the church.
We can pay our
tithes and then make offerings.
We can join the
church.
We can do all these
things and even more "but this is not worship"!
All worship must be
based upon the movement of the Holy Spirit and this will never happen
unless the Holy Spirit lives within us!
1Co 6:19 What? know
ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in
you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1Co 6:20 For ye are
bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your
spirit, which are God's.
This the place God
in Spirit, abides until He returns "in person" to takes us
home to Heaven!
If you cannot
worship the Lord within yourself, it will never show up when you
gather with others who are the same!
If we cannot rejoice
in Jesus Christ we will never have any part of the Holy Spirit and we
will never know Jehovah God!
We must clearly
understand; our flesh is only physical and material and it can only
handle physical and material things. God is Spirit!
Our confidence must
be in the Lord Jesus Christ who was sent by Jehovah God to solve our
flesh problem!
It is obvious that
we will battle with this flesh as long as we are alive as Paul
describes his own battle.
*****Php 3:4 Though
I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh
that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5 Circumcised
the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an
Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6 Concerning
zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in
the law, blameless.
Php 3:7 But what
things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
The Lord Jesus
Christ was 100% God and while He was on this earth before He was
crucified, He was also 100% human.
After we are "Born
Again" into the family of God we are still 100% human but we are
also now 100% saved by the power of God through the blood of Jesus
Christ which is "spiritual". We must abandon the flesh for
what it is, and feed the spirit within us that lives forever!
Gal 6:8 For he that
soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that
soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Jesus Christ is the
only sign of righteousness that is needed in this world but this
world must accept this to be the truth!
Confidence is
trusting in your own abilities to solve all your problems but we must
clearly understand we have no power to deal with our own sin problem!
Most of our world
suffers from self-righteousness!
Paul said he was
circumcised one the 8th day according to the Jewish law and according
to the sign given to Abraham.
Paul said he was a
true Israelite and from the tribe of Benjamin which had remained with
the tribe of Judah throughout all the years of Israel.
Paul said he was a
descendant of Jacob who was a descendant of Eber a descendant of
Shem, the son of Noah.
Paul went to the
best schools of the law in Jerusalem and studied under Gamaliel and
became a Pharisee at a young age.
Act 5:34 Then stood
there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of
the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put
the apostles forth a little space;
Act 5:35 And said
unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend
to do as touching these men.
There were the
Essenes, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees the 3 sects of Jewish law,
the Pharisees being the most accurate and precise in all matters
concerning the laws of Moses.
Paul had a zeal and
was perfectly sincere in persecuting the church. According to the
Jewish law he was innocent of any wrong doing as he murdered and
killed Christians in a feeble attempt to stop the Church of Jesus
Christ!
We should clearly
understand that until we come to know the Lord Jesus Christ in a
personal way we all suffer from moral blindness as was Paul who then
Saul.
1Ti 1:12 And I
thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted
me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
1Ti 1:13 Who was
before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained
mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
1Ti 1:14 And the
"grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant" with faith and
love which is in Christ Jesus.
The Apostle Paul
became a prime example for us all in the power of God's "Grace".
Before Paul met the
Lord on the Damascus Road, Paul, then Saul, was high up in the sect
of the Pharisees, could possibly had a seat on the Sanhedrin Court
and riches and prestige were certainly in his future!
Paul had strived all
his life to be in this position of prestige in the Jewish society of
that day and had made it!
But when you meet
the Lord Jesus Christ your life can change for the better!
We should clearly
understand there should be a change.
Like a wise black
Pastor said, "if you are what you were, then you ain't".
Paul did not mean
all the things of his Jewish life were evil. The things of the Jews
were only evil when they were used as an excuse to destroy the
Messiah and the work of the Church.
These things became
not only worthless but in reality, they were a loss in the
furtherance of the truth!
Mat 16:26 For what
is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Why is this so true?
There is nothing more excellent than the knowledge of the Lord Jesus
Christ!
*****Php 3:8 Yea
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be
found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law,
but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith:
We should ask
ourselves, what is the meaning of gain and loss in my life?
To gain is to obtain
an increase in anything.
What does God say?
Mat_16:26 For what
is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
A loss is best
described as destruction, waste, ruin, defeat and even puzzled.
A gain list might
read, good health, money, comfort and prosperity and such as these.
A loss list might
read sickness, disappointment, sorrow, bereavement and such as these.
That word "count"
being in the present tense means the Apostle Paul constantly counted
these things each day.
To Paul there was
only one gain and that was in the Jesus Christ. All other things were
loss!
Act 20:24 But none
of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so
that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I
have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace
of God.
How did Jesus
describe the Kingdom of Heaven?
Mat 13:44 Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which
when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and
selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
There is nothing in
this world that we can compare to the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The "knowledge"
of Jesus Christ just overwhelms all the thoughts of gain in this
world!
God says: Pro_8:10
Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than
choice gold.
There are things in
Heaven that we can only dream of because we have no knowledge except
to know it will be far better than anything upon this earth.
Paul clearly
understood what the Lord Jesus was saying and we should to!
Mat_6:19 Lay not up
for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Mat_6:20 But lay up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
The greatest
treasure we can find here on earth is righteousness and that
righteousness can come only by the Lord Jesus Christ!
The only means of
this righteousness is "Faith" in the work of the Lord Jesus
Christ!
How does the Bible
describe faith?
Heb 11:1 Now faith
is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen.
The knowledge of
Jesus Christ is the substance of our faith.
The object of saving
faith is the whole revealed Word of God!
Rom 10:17 So then
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
God wants us to know
all about Him. God has given us the Scriptures that explain
everything we need to know about Him and it is from the Word of God
where we will obtain enough faith to be set free from the burden of
sin!
When we study the
Scriptures, we will see all the wonderful things that the Lord has
done for us.
*****Php 3:10 That
I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship
of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11 If by any
means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
The Lord Jesus
Christ is a complete Savior!
The Lord Jesus
Christ showed the power of God when He raised Himself from the dead!
In His death, He
buried all things that stopped our salvation, in His resurrection, He
made all things new, including the new life.
If we are crucified
with Christ, then the things of this world will be meaningless and
just tools to carry us till the time we can go home.
Gal_2:20 I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
To be crucified with
Christ is to dead to the things of this world and they will mean no
more than "dung".
The Lord Jesus
Christ was perfect, yet He had the same desires of any man but He
never allowed His desires to turn to lust!
The truth is, the
more we know the Lord Jesus Christ, the more we will want to be like
Him!
If we know the Lord,
we will fellowship in His suffering because it was His suffering that
gave us the victory in our own lives!
We will then
understand that we will also be persecuted and this too is a victory
because in the persecutors eyes, we are seen to be acting like
Christ!
1Pe 4:14 If ye be
reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of
glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken
of, but on your part he is glorified.
To understand all
these things is to realize that we also have a resurrection to look
forward to one day.
Rom_6:4 Therefore
we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life.
Notice the
resurrection Paul is referring to is the resurrection of the believer
at the end of the "Church Age".
We may struggle with
our faith from time to time but the truth of Jesus Christ will never
change!
Luk 14:14 And thou
shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be
recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
Who are these that
have been justified?
Rom 5:1 Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom
also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and
rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
We that know the
Lord Jesus Christ on a personal level and trust in His words, are
"justified" but we have not yet reached perfection.
*****Php 3:12 Not
as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I
follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am
apprehended of Christ Jesus.
We may have a
perfect knowledge of Jesus Christ, we may have a perfect knowledge of
the power of His death, we may understand His sufferings and most of
all His perfection but we will not reach this perfection until He
comes to take us home or we go on to meet Him!
It is true that it
is only those who have justified who can be made perfect.
Heb 12:23 To the
general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in
heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men
made perfect,
Knowing all these
things then, our goal must be to reach perfection!
We cannot reach
perfection as long as we live in these bodies of flesh but it must
remain our goal!
Mat 5:48 Be ye
therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Our own perfection,
until we meet Jesus can come only by studying the Word of God and
applying it to our lives daily!
2Ti 3:16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the
man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
The Apostle Paul
knew he had not reached perfection but he knew he was not going to
quit trying as long as he lived!
*****Php 3:13
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing
I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth
unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus.
If you are true
Christian then you have called of God at some point.
Rom_8:28 And we
know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to his purpose.
Even out of those
who are called most will never accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their
personal Savior.
Mat_22:14 For many
are called, but few are chosen.
Some will say, well
why then is it so important to follow the Lord during the "Church
Age"?
It is all those
saved during the Church Age who will miss out on the wrath of God and
those who were called and rejected the Lord will never get another
opportunity after the Church Age".
1Th_1:10 And to
wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even
Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Eph_5:6 Let no man
deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the
wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
2Th_2:11 And for
this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie:
It is when the Lord
returns to take us home that we will reach perfection, for then and
only then will we be as righteous as the Lord has always been!
2Ti 4:8 Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but
unto all them also that love his appearing.
We may not
understand all these things but that is why it is called "Faith"
and without "Faith" we simply cannot please God!
Heb 11:6 But
without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.
Paul said let's just
all have the same mind toward the Lord Jesus Christ and the work He
has done for our salvation!
*****Php 3:15 Let
us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any
thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
We cannot be perfect
until we meet Jesus face to face but the fact that this is true means
that in this sense we are perfect now!
We are no longer
"babes in Christ" we understand the true "milk of the
Word of God"!
We worship God in
Spirit and Truth and we know why.
We have no
confidence in our flesh.
We are solidly
established in the things of God.
We are in the
"race", running the course, the Lord has chosen for us.
We understand the
"Mind of Christ" as it is written in the Word of God!
We understand that
if we are lacking in anything according to God's purpose for us, that
God will provide that also!
We understand that
we all have a ministry for God and God will provide all things
necessary for our ministry to succeed!
*****Php 3:16
Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the
same rule, let us mind the same thing.
Php 3:17 Brethren,
be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have
us for an ensample.
One of the most
important things we must do as Christians is to not lose the ground
we have already gained.
We must continue to
walk in Christ all our days! It is the wisdom of the Lord and the
wisdom He has passed on to the true men of God that will lead us the
remaining days of our life.
It is not the wisdom
of this world.
It is not the wisdom
of the politicians of this world.
It is not the wisdom
of the leaders of this world, including our own president.
1Co 2:6 Howbeit we
speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this
world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
We must be examples
to each other and our wisdom must be the wisdom of God!
Jas_3:17 But the
wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and
easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without
partiality, and without hypocrisy.
When we strive to be
examples for each other we can be a force in this world for good that
this world has never seen.
As Christians, we do
not want to dominate this world, we only know that Christ will one
day dominate this world, which He already owns!
The strength of
Christianity lies in the close fellowship of each believer!
If we follow good
and always do good, we will encourage others to do good also.
If we follow bad and
do bad, it sets a pattern of bad for all the world to see!
The life we live
sets a pattern for those who are around us and if we look like the
world then we have allowed the world to influence us more than should
ever be allowed!
We must never
forget, God has decided that our relationship to Him must be as a
Father to His children. We must look up to Him not only for what He
says but just as much for what He has already done!
We are not to
"judge" anyone but at the same time God says to take a look
at your brothers and sisters in Christ and get the closest to those
you see walking in the ways of the Lord and be an example for those
who don't!
What was Paul's
example?
Paul had forgotten
all the things of his past because he given them to God and they no
longer hindered his ministry!
Paul had reached
forth to all the promises of God that lay ahead!
Paul was pressing
toward the mark of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ!
After meeting the
Lord on the Damascus road, Paul never looked back on that old life
but he also never forgot that he had persecuted the church that he
was now trying to build for Jesus Christ, who remains the head of the
Church.
The prize is not the
rewards we may or may not receive. The prize is the "High
Calling of Jesus Christ"!
Jesus Christ must
remain as our example of perfection!
We must strive to
get our whole congregations to seek the perfection of Jesus Christ!
As we look out over
those who gather with us we will also find those who are still
seeking their on righteousness!
*****Php 3:18 (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:
Php 3:19 Whose end
is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their
shame, who mind earthly things.)
Believe it or not,
we will find those even in our own congregations who are the enemies
of Christ.
They will be opposed
to some doctrine of Christ. Whether it be the virgin birth, or the
blood of Christ Jesus, or the death, the burial, or the Resurrection,
or even the Ascension of Christ or what gets most of them is that
"Jesus Christ is God in the Flesh"!
The "Doctrine
of Jesus Christ" is an all or nothing truth!
Jesus Christ is
indeed the second part of the Holy Trinity or better said, "the
Triune God" consisting of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit!
Notice Paul did not
write to condemn these unholy deceivers, Paul wrote to warn them.
Until we die, we
will have that opportunity to know the Lord as long as we have not
extended the Holy Spirit past His calling.
Paul even wept for
those he saw doing these things. We must have an earnest desire for
the lost to be saved!
Just as any other
prayer we must have faith that God can save anybody at any time
before their death.
We must realize that
it is bad to be mistreated by your enemies but it is a disgrace to be
mistreated by your friends!
As Paul looked over
these people he wept "because he knew their doom".
This is something we
must also realize, they are doomed unless they change their ways. It
is called repent!
The result is that
they will be destroyed!
If we cannot weep
for the lost, then we do not love them enough to try to get them to
Jesus Christ to be saved!
It will be just
awful to have spent so much time in the house of God and to have
never accepted the truth of Jesus Christ!
Notice Paul does
never say they will cease to exist because even the lost will live
eternally but not in Heaven and there will be only one other place
and that is the Burning Lake of Fire!
Who are the enemies
of the Cross?
1) They reject the
work of the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way to be reconciled to
God!
2Co_5:18 And all
things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,
and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
We were all the
enemies of Christ at one time!
Rom_5:10 For if,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his
Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
2) They do not
accept that the death of Jesus Christ paid for their sins.
3) They do not
believe the Jesus Christ could have died because He was God.
4) They do not
believe their penalty of sin was settled at the Cross.
5) They believe they
can approach God in their own righteousness.
6) They claim that
there are other ways to get to Heaven.
7) They consider the
doctrine of Christ to be foolishness.
8) They intend to
stamp out the truth of God.
9) Their god is the
god of their belly!
The truth is they
will glory in their own shame!
Their conversations
are never about Heaven!
The true believer is
just the opposite!
*****Php 3:20 For
our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Php 3:21 Who shall
change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious
body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all
things unto himself.
It is not important
to know all the things of this world because this place has never
been our home.
Heaven is our home.
Our citizenship is in Heaven!
There should never
be a time that we will not talk about our home and the Savior who
made the way for us to get back home!
We must deny the
earth is our home.
We must deny
ourselves and give our flesh to the Lord.
We must set our
affections on things that are above not the things of this earth.
Our only obstacle in
serving the Lord is the flesh that houses our eternal soul.
As nations have
their heads, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of Heaven but also the
Head of the Church.
If we cannot be
loyal to our true home and our Savior who is our God then we do not
deserve Him!
What did Jesus say
to the Apostles?
Luk 10:20
Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject
unto you; "but rather rejoice, because your names are written in
heaven".
It is these things
that can bring peace to the Christian even as we face the problems of
this world.
After salvation, the
greatest thing we can look forward to is what will happen when we
meet Jesus face to face!
This flesh has
weighed us down all our lives but not when we meet Jesus!
If we focus on our
salvation.
If we focus on our
home in Heaven.
If we focus on our
place in the Father's house, which the Lord said had many mansions.
If we focus on our
new glorified body.
If we focus on all
these things, why in the world would we allow this world we live in
to break us down?
The Lord will
fashion each of our bodies not like His body while He was upon this
earth but like His glorified body after His resurrection!
This will be a body
that is permanent, constant, unchanging, and without sin of any sort,
a body of perfection, a spiritual body.
1Jn 3:1 Behold,
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should
be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not,
because it knew him not.
1Jn 3:2 Beloved,
now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for
we shall see him as he is.
1Jn 3:3 And every
man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
We must understand
that the world hates us because we understand this truth and they
reject this truth.
These things are
only possible because our Savior is also our Creator!
Jesus Christ is God,
who is sovereign over this world and all of creation.
He can control the
world.
He can subdue the
world.
He can recreate this
world.
He can change my
vile body into a body just a He has, and He will!
If we cannot realize
the happiness and peace and then the benefits of the "High
Calling of God" then what does that say about our "faith"!
Let's quit talking
about this evil world and talk about our true home of Heaven and the
never-ending life with our precious Savior who is our God!
Amen!
