Live Your Christian Calling!

2nd Sunday in Lent, 3/13/22 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Live Your Christian Calling! I. As a citizen of heaven II. Resisting the temptations of this world I suppose there is an infinite number of ways to describe life in our world. And one of them is that life is a tug-of-war. No matter what period of life you’re in, no matter what your occupation, no matter where you are, life is a tug-of-war. We get pulled this way and then back that way. Some of that tugging is from the people in our lives. One of them pulls us this way and another back that way. And we try to please both, but we can’t, at least not all the time. Some of that tugging comes solely from within us. We get confused about which direction we want our lives to go. One day we’re on this path, but the next we’re on a path that leads us over there. It’s not that one path is wrong, and the other is right; we can see blessings in both of them. We just don’t know which one to choose. And then there is the spiritual tug-of-war that we experience daily as Christians. We know what we ought to choose to do and there’s a part of us that wants to do it. That’s the new Christian person who has lived in us since the day we came to faith in Jesus. But that new person struggles daily against the sinful nature which we’ve had since our conception and birth. Those two want the exact opposite and we get tugged this way and then that way. While Jesus never experienced that same internal warfare because he didn’t have a sinful nature, he did face the daily temptation to do things that were not the way his heavenly Father had planned and laid out for him. We heard about one of those struggles in this morning’s Gospel. Our eternal future rests on the truth that Jesus always chose to obey his Father’s will. In this morning’s sermon text from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, Paul highlights that tug-of-war for the Philippian Christians. While Paul repeatedly informed the Philippians in this letter how joyful he was over their Christian faith and life, he also wanted them to be ready to face this daily struggle, because the stakes were high—eternally high. You and I face that same tug-of-war each day—the struggle over how to live as a Christian. Paul’s encouragement to you this morning is to live your Christian calling. He offers some practical Christian advice and motivation. Join me in seeing what those are. Part I. I’m certain you paid at least some attention to the news coming out of Ukraine this past week. The majority of it focused on the nearly 2 million Ukrainian refugees, most of them women and children. And their stories are heartbreaking. They’re dragging all their earthly belongings in luggage on wheels, as if they were entering an airport somewhere, but they have no idea where they will end up. They only know they want to get of out Ukraine as quickly as possible. Please be clear about what I am about to say. I’m not in any way minimizing the horrors and the extreme burdens these Ukrainians are experiencing. But, as Christians, our God has called us to live in ways that are similar to what these Ukrainian refugees are facing. Paul says it like this, “But 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. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends! As we live in this world, Paul reminds us that our circumstances here, whatever they may be, are temporary. Like earthly refugees, our Christian citizenship is not where we find ourselves now, it’s in heaven. That’s our final, eternal destination. This is just temporary. And as we live here, we live daily under the truth that we have been redeemed from one country or kingdom into another country or kingdom by the life and death of Jesus. Jesus has pulled us from the clutches of Satan and now he enfolds us in his loving arms. We belong to him and will live with him no matter what we’re facing now in this life. And his goal is for us to join him in another place, a perfect place, a place where we’ll leave behind every struggle and disappointment of life, a place where we’ll live in endless bliss and joy with Jesus and all of God’s people, a place where Satan will never tempt us again, a place where we’re perfectly isolated from the evil influence of our world. In fact, Paul reminds us that Jesus will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. There are many unique truths to Christianity, and this is one of them. While we may depart this life and leave our decaying bodies here, Jesus still has a glorious plan for our bodies. He redeemed our bodies and our souls, so, on the Last Day, he will return, raise our bodies from the dead, unite them with our souls and glorify our bodies. The resurrection of the dead in glory is one of the great truths of Christianity. That’s what your Lord has called you to as you live your life each day. You’re a citizen of heaven. Live your Christian calling! Did you notice something? Paul never urged the Philippian Christians and, by extension, you and me, to become something different than what we already are. He never took the strategy of a personal trainer, shouting the encouragement to work harder and dig down deeper to become something better than we are now. He simply reminded us that we are citizens of heaven, and that it’s all due to the work of our Savior, Jesus Christ. As we live our Christian calling, Paul doesn’t instruct us to complete a personal make-over from top to bottom, from the inside out. That’s already been done for us by our Lord and Savior. So, why does he make the effort to remind us? Because we struggle with that truth. We become so concerned and worried about our lives here and now that we push to the edges of our minds that our citizenship is in heaven. Our hopes and dreams are too often tied so completely to the next day of our lives that we fail to ponder the eternity we have as citizens of heaven. We wrongly think that our happiness is dependent on spending our days with the right person here, when the truth is that we are already spending time with the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ, and he’s destined us to continue that life with him forever. We put so much thought and effort into the bodies we have now, when Jesus has already promised to glorify them forever. I know life’s not easy, but you have this great truth before you every day: Your citizenship is in heaven. Live your Christian calling! Part II. I’m sure you know people who care nothing about the life to come. All their time and energy are spent living here and now and living well. That’s nothing new. It was that way in Paul’s day. It’s been that way ever since sin entered the world. So, Paul warned the Philippians not to forfeit or renounce their heavenly citizenship. And, once again, notice what is not included in Paul’s warning. He doesn’t remind them and us that you only forfeit your citizenship in heaven if you decide to be a Satan worshipper. I don’t think that was much of a temptation for them or for us. Nor does he warn them and us not to convert from Christianity to another world religion. Again, that wasn’t and still isn’t much of a temptation. And Satan knows that. So, he has devised other temptations to draw us away from our Savior and his kingdom. Listen to Paul’s warning, “For, as I have often told you before and now say 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 on earthly things.” Let’s take a little closer look at what Paul wrote. What does it take to be an enemy of the cross of Christ? That takes two forms. Either you deny that sin is really sin or you insist that you can save yourself by the good things you do. Both of those are an assault on the cross of Jesus. And so, Paul warns such people who believe those false teachings that they are in danger of destruction. How many of Satan’s lies does the Christian have to believe before he is no longer a citizen of heaven and, instead, he’s headed for destruction in hell? Be careful! Live your Christian calling! Next, Paul uses an interesting description of such people. “Their god is their stomach.” Paul isn’t referring to food. He’s referring to whatever fills their sinful desires. Such people think it’s great. It feels so good. But it’s pulling them away from their citizenship in heaven. Finally, he states that such people’s glory is in their shame. What they should be ashamed of, they think is desirable and rewarding. What God calls evil they call good. How far down that path does a Christian have to go before he is no longer a citizen of heaven? Paul’s point is clear. Resist the temptations of this world! Live your Christian calling! Yes, our citizenship is in heaven, but we’re not living in heaven yet. We’re still in this world, and that means Satan is going to throw everything he has at us to draw us away from the loving arms of Christ and into his hellish hold. Wherever that’s an issue in your life, recognize it now, realize that temptation for what it is, renounce it and turn to Christ for forgiveness and the assurance of your citizenship in heaven. The sinful world’s influence can be overwhelming at times. Seek the fellowship of your Christian brothers and sisters. Join them in hearing the word of God and receiving the strength that the Lord’s Supper gives. Those are the means by which our gracious Lord keeps you close to him. Live your Christian calling! As you do, may God bless you and countless others through you! Amen.