Keep the focus where it belongs

Philippians 3:16-21

THE SPIRITUAL MIND -- or THINGS ROB YOUR JOY

"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 ensample.  (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 also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:  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." 

In the verses just before our passage today, Paul was making it clear that he is still chasing after or desperately seeking spiritual perfection and maturity.  No matter how much people praised him and built him up, he kept his focus on becoming more and more like Christ.  He did not stop and rest in his spiritual development, but kept learning, kept seeking God's guidance, kept bringing others along beside him.  As much as he could have bragged about his "accomplishments" and prestige before his salvation, he could have been focused on how much he had given up and how much he had changed and how spiritual he was now.  He had spent three years ALONE with God being taught by the very Master of the whole plan!  And yet, he always recognized the others with him and in the churches who were mature and who were following Christ correctly.  He shared the "spotlight."

And verse 15 is so very important.  He puts the theme of this whole chapter into that verse by saying, "let all of us that are mature keep this common focus as our goal; and if you have a different goal, God Himself will show you that this is the right way to think."

Verse 16 says, "whereto we have already attained..."  This is not contradicting the verses that come before it.  Remember that attained is referring to the level of maturity that has been reached by the people he is writing to.  Some of them were deacons, teachers, and pastors who had grown by instruction.  Some of them were tent makers, merchants, and women who had grown by receiving instruction at church from hearing the Word of God preached and taught.  They were all the same to him when he referred to their spiritual maturity.  It didn't matter HOW they had learned and grown but it mattered THAT they had learned and grown.  Each one of us has come from a different place and traveled a different path, but if we have the same goal (being more and more and more like Christ) then we are all the same.  We must understand that we all have much more to learn and so much more to accomplish for God!  We will have unity in this way only.

Verse 17 encourages the church to mark the people that are examples of this like-mindedness and follow them.  First of all, that means we have to understand where we are headed and what the spiritual mind looks like.  Then we are to notice those who are living this way.  We are clearly being told here to judge and evaluate others with the intention of qualifying them.  We have all had that special someone come across our paths who we could clearly recognize was following God with a pure heart and have wanted to be like them.  Following someone's example is not the same as "worshiping" them.  We need to look for examples.

There are false teachers and fake leaders out there.  It saddens me to tell you this just like it saddened Paul to remind the church of this.  There are people who just serve themselves.  They are driven by "their belly" or the benefits they can get.  Sometimes pastor's (and their wives) can get off focus and think they need to have the very nicest house and cars and clothes "because they are leading God's children and should set the example."  There are those "whose glory is their shame" meaning they brag and tell about how awful they were without ever shifting the focus to how God has changed them.  Have you ever heard someone who just told over and over what a rotten, vile sinner they were and got people's attention by shocking them with descriptions of their "old life."  I've heard of evangelists who were attached to the mob and had killed people and went to prison where they found the Lord.  If all they focus on is how terrible a sinner they were and do not talk about the new creature they have become, they are just getting famous for things they should be ashamed of.  Some Christians have a gruesome tale about where God saved them from, but the story should never focus on that.  It should focus on the change the Savior has brought them.  They mind, or are focused on, earthly things not the spiritual things.

In verse 20 the word "conversation" really means citizenship.  "This world is not my home / I'm just a-passinng through . . . and I can't feel at home / in this world anymore."  Have you ever met someone who was not born in the US but has come here to live?  Usually their dress is different, their speech is different, the terms and words they use are different, and the way they look at everything is different from those of us who have grown up American.  As Christians we should be different from the world because this is not our natural home.  We don't need to draw extra attention because we are so weird that no one wants to be near us, but we should be unique.  There is a limit to how low of a neckline I will wear and the ladies I work with at the dress shop learned that right away.  I would try on a dress, and sure, it was very flattering, but the neckline was too low for me and I would refuse to buy it.  At first this confused them, but now they understand it is my personal rule because I am a Christian and I just will not make exceptions.  Our lifestyle should be different.  We don't have to be "old fashioned fuddey-duddies" but we should be different.  Dressing modestly does not have to mean it cannot be fashionable or up-to-date.  Having a popular hairstyle is not wrong.  Living very nicely in a beautiful home and having an expensive car are not sins.  But there should still be "something" about us that is just different enough for the world to notice.

Verse 21 talks about the greatest reward for having this spiritual mind.  Christ Jesus will change our vile old bodies and make us like His glorious body.  He will take away our diseases, our hurts, our weaknesses, our imperfections and make us just like Him!  And He is the One who is able to do it!  He has proven He is able by subduing all things to Himself.  Would you like to step outside and stop the wind today?  He could do that.  He is the only One who can make us whole, so we must keep our mind on Him and His plan in order to keep the things of this world from robbing our joy.