Living FOR the Future . . . Again!

 

January 2, 2022         NOTES NOT EDITED
Living for the Future
Philippians 3:20-4:9

SIS: We can either “fight the future” or “fight FOR the future.”

There are two things I’m quite sure of:  one, the future is coming whether we like it or not. Time marches on, whatever time is, and time has confused men of such intellect as Albert Einstein. So, buckle-up buttercup, the future’s a’comin’.

The second thing I know about the future I learned from my favorite philosophers.  In one of the many brilliant things he never said, Yogi Berra said, “The future sure ain’t what it used to be.”

The future has always been an “incalculable quantity.”  In these Crazy Days of Covid, the uncertainty index has risen to stratospheric levels—partly due to the uncertainty of life itself, but compounded by the lying and maneuvering of politicians and profiteers who see a crisis as a means to move their own personal agendas forward.

Whatever the future may or may not be . . . it WILL BE!  We must face it.  We must also choose HOW we will face it.  Will we “fight AGAINST it, or will we fight FOR it?”  Will we fight the future so trying to preserve the past?  That is the typical point of view of most people—preserve the past; seek the “Good Ole Days.”

However, if we choose to “fight the future to preserve the past,” we will be as curious folk as the Amish who have chosen to remain frozen in the in the mid1800’s.  We will be like those people in my hometown who continued to invest in the Buggy Whip Factory even as the Model T’s were rolling steadily off the assembly lines.  Or, we could be like Cuba, that has been stuck in the 50’s for over half a century.  When we FIGHT the future—we lose. 

We need to put aside the Pollyannish naivete of Doris Day and her song:  Que Sera, Sera—Whatever Will Be, Will Be.  It is strange that this song is seen by many as a “positive approach leading to a carefree life.”  It was actually the hit song from a suspense thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock in which the son of Doris Day’s character is kidnapped.  The “future will be . . . but WHAT it will be can greatly be influenced by God’s people.  Otherwise, the Lord’s admonition to pray, “God’s Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven,” (Mat. 6) would be a fool’s errand.

This was a great song and rose to the top of the charts winning an Academy Award for Best Song in 1956.  The song may have been great musically, but it is a bust as a philosophy of life.  The future is NOT fixed—it is NOT determined, even though God already knows everything that is going to happen. This is a philosophical quandary that continues to baffle theologians and philosophers—is life a matter of free will and real choices, or is it fixed and determined by an “IMMUTABLE” plan of God? 

Accepting the future as fixed in every detail and something one must just surrender to is the doctrine of  FATE, not FAITH!

The Bible does not suggest such a passive surrender to the future.  In many places the Bible shows that our CHOICES really matter and our future is not determined by BLIND FATE but by REASONED FAITH.  We can prepare for the FUTURE.  We are instructed to prepare for the future.  The Bible speaks of God “changing His mind” because of the prayers of His people.  We don’t have to be able to explain this inexplicable phenomenon—we just have to believe it.

Que Sera Sera as a philosophy of life is, So Wrong, So Wrong.  Our choices matter.  We can affect the future—we must affect the future.  The souls of lost people are at stake depending upon how we as God’s people follow the leading of God’s Spirit and carry on the plan for God’s Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.

Much of what is coming in the future is NOT going to be good—in fact, it may be worse, indeed WILL be worse, than anything we have faced in the past or present—but, “fighting the future is a losing proposition,” as much as investing in buggy whips was a losing proposition as the automobile rolled onto our streets.

What we MUST do is “fight FOR the future.” Our battle is to continue to live out the prayer the Lord taught us to pray:

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on EARTH as it is in heaven.” (Mt. 6:10)

It does not matter how much change future brings—good, bad, or ugly—the mission of God’s people NEVER changes.  We must march into the future seeking to fight “for” God’s will to be done.

Every year for nearly half a century now, I’ve preached on how to prepare for “Living In the New Year—that is Living Boldly in the Future.” So, I’ve simply added a word this year to emphasize that while the date on the calendar changes—our mission as a church NEVER changes.  Today, let’s read our text and think about, “Living FOR the Future—AGAIN!”

A few years ago, 1985 to be exact, a movie came out that was very exciting and fun entitled, "Back to the Future."  Michael J. Fox plays an adolescent boy named Marty Mcfly who mistakenly gets catapulted into the past in a winged-door, stainless steel Delorean -- do you remember those? Time travel creates a lot of interesting scenarios for Marty McFly--not all of them good.  By going into the past, Marty McFly almost destroys even the possibility of his existence.  He has to find a way out of the past and into the future "Back to the Future."  Looking back is ALWAYS a losing proposition.

Think about the idea of eternity for a second.  Is there any other idea or concept (outside of God, Himself) that is so immense and so important?  The Bible teaches that our attitudes and actions in the present have consequences - some of them eternal consequences.  It seems in light of the fact we will spend a few years here on earth but a "gazillion" years in eternity, I think we should really consider deeply the way we are living our lives.

Like Marty McFly, we can get stuck in the past and not only will that paralyze our present, it will jeopardize our future. We have to find a way to break free of the past and live for the future.  Like, Marty McFly, we need to discover a way to escape from the past.  To help us think about this, let's watch how McFly gets, "back to the future."

SIS: To fight FOR the future instead of fighting the future, we need to “see the future with new eyes.”

1.  We need a New View of POLITICS (3:20-21)

I mention this first not because it is most important, but because it is most “obvious.”  Politics simply refers to how we live and interact with people, including government but not limited to it. 

20 but our citizenship [politics, politeuma] is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious  body,  by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself. 

For many people -- perhaps most of us to some degree -- "politics" is a dirty word, a dirty business.  Politicians promise us "hope and change" and leave us on the street corner hopeless and begging for change.

Modern Politics has become consumed by a lust for power and completely out of touch with morality.

A little girl was sitting with her Dad while he was watching some political talk show on T.V.  The Dad was engrossed in his political program.  The little girl was more interested in the Fairy Tale book she had on her lap.  At one moment the little girl asked innocently, "Daddy, do all fairy tales begin with 'Once upon a time'?"  The Dad was also engrossed in his political talk show and answered, "No dear, some fairy tales begin with the words, 'If I am elected.'"

Politics simply refers to “engaging people in the public square.”  For far too many years now, the church in America has been in retreat.  When the Moral Majority, led by Jerry Falwell and others for about 12 years from 1976 to 1988, fell of the monopoly board of the political arena, the church has been in retreat—and sadly, even in the heyday of political engagement of the Moral Majority and other populace, conservative, and Christian movements, most of the church continued to retreat.

Long ago, about half a century ago now, the church retreated from the messy, chaotic, noisy streets of our cities into the tree-lined solace of the suburbs.  The church “cut-off engagement with the cities” precisely at a time when the cities needed the church most.  Even great churches like the Church of the Open Door that hosted great preachers like R.A. Torrey, shuttered their downtown presence and moved to the suburbs. So, when the church stopped engaging with “people in the cities” (politics) the cities have become the godless, urine soaked, tent-lined hovels they are today.

We need to CHANGE OUR VIEW of politics—how we engage with people in the public square if we want to “fight FOR the future and not AGAINST it only.” Three principles should kind our participation:
1) God is ALWAYS in control; 2) we are called to SAVE SOULS, not save a political system; and 3) sin is always the main problem.

People often ask me, "What political party are you a member of?"  I'm no longer comfortable with either party.  While I believe we must stay engaged in the political process as believers, I believe we need to break free from being absolutely identified with any political party.  We need "new politics" to fit our "new citizenship." 

As Christians, our common beliefs and practices should not be dictated by any political party, but should be dictated by Heaven and Her King, Jesus Christ. We need to vote according to Scripture, not according to some political “talking points.”

But, make no mistake about this at all: Christians must get a “new view of politics” so we can fight FOR a future that is more Godly, more civil, more kind, and more free.

2.  We also need a New View on PRAYING (4:6-7)

The Lord is near.  6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

I have become absolutely convinced of two facts:  1)  Prayer is URGENT and 2) EFFECTIVE.  

A.  PRAYER IS URGENT

Look at how Phil.4:5 ends:  “The Lord is near.”  You could translate that, “Time is running out.”  If the church is ever going to “get right we must pray right, and we need to get started RIGHT NOW!”

What grieves me most about the life I’ve lived as a believer for now going on five decades, is that I’ve failed in the area of prayer.

Don’t misunderstand me:  I pray a lot!  I’m pretty sure I pray much more than the typical church goer, though I don’t know how to prove it and I’m sure I don’t want to prove it.  I don’t say I pray more to be boastful, because it is like an able-bodied athlete winning a race against bunch of one-legged pirates.  What I know about my prayer for sure is that I don’t pray enough and I don’t pray effectively enough.

And . . . I know why people don’t pray more.  We don’t feel a sense of urgency.  Recall the end of Phil. 4:5:  “The Lord is near.”  This throws up a red flag of urgency—time is running out!  This phrase draws the picture of a “crisis.” When a crisis hits, just listen to the people pray.  You will hear many, “Oh, my God’s” when the proverbial waste material hits the spinning blades of a cooling device.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR THIS WORLD!  The contractions of the birth pangs of God’s judgement are getting closer together and more intense. 

Mat 24:8:  All these are but the beginning of the birth pains

1Thess 5:3:  While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman.

Rev. 12:1-2:  And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.

Over and over the Bible warns of the “urgency” we need to have as we see the End Coming, and compares this coming crisis as “the contractions of a woman about to give birth.”  All the issues we see today from Covid to the Chaos in the economy, and other crises around the world are signaling the soon coming of the Lord Jesus.  We need to be urgent in our prayers to put us in a place to “bring God’s will to bear on earth.”  Fighting FOR the future requires we fight on our knees in urgent prayer.

For one, I know that a right view of prayer is to see it as an “urgent” undertaking as time is running out for this world. 

B.  Second, I know that prayer is EFFECTIVE. 

Listen to James 5:16^CSB:  The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.

Literally, this passage says that prayer “applies a very powerful energy or force to the situation.”  I must confess, I don’t always see this force applied immediately to every situation about which I have prayed.  For example, “I once prayed very fervently for my brother to be healed of a serious liver disease.”  He died a few days later.  What good did my prayer do? I must confess, I DON’T KNOW!  All I know is what God’s Word promises, “prayer applies a VERY powerful force to any given situation.” 

Now, that is either true or it is false.  Prayer is either a powerful force or just a powerful waste of time.  The Scripture doesn’t leave any room for a middle ground.  Prayer is either EFFECTIVE, or it is not.  So, here’s the logical conclusion from the two alternatives.  If I pray and it is nothing but a wishful, empty religious practice, nothing will happen.  If prayer is a very powerful force applied to a given situation and I pray, something WILL happen.  My responsibility is to PRAY, and let God take care of the details.

If we have any desire whatsoever to “fight for the future,” we need a

RIGHT VIEW OF PRAYER and need to fight on our knees.

Fighting FOR the future requires a New View of politics, a new view of prayer and

3.  a New View on How We Should Think (4:8)

Staying here in Chapter 4 of Philippians we read:

8 Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,  whatever is just,  whatever is pure,  whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence  and if there is any praise—dwell on these things.

The language at the end of this verse is very descriptive and well-chosen by the Holy Spirit.  It is a “Purple Cow” linguistically.  What is a “purple cow?”  Well, suppose you are driving out in the country and in field after field you see black and white spotted cows.  You see literally hundreds of these farm creatures as natural to the landscape as the green grass and rolling hills.  You see so many during your drive, you stop even noticing them.  Then, you spot a “Purple Cow” in the field.  You quickly turn your head for a second look.  If you are driving you might even slam on the brakes, jump out of the car, grab your iPhone and snap a picture.  A “Purple Cow” would be so different it would capture your attention.

That’s what happens here at the end of the text.  The word translated in the CSB as “dwell” or in most other translations as, “think” is a “Purple Cow.”  It is not the word you’d expect, and it is formed in such a way as to be intense.  It is a linguistic purple cow.

The word is:  logizesthe.  It means to think seriously in a logical way about a matter.  It requires effort and consistency.  If you have ever studied logic, you know how exacting and exhausting it can be.  That’s what it takes to gain, “Right Thinking.”

During the formative years of my ministerial training, a man with the strange name, "Zig Ziglar," held audiences both secular and sacred, spellbound by his whimsical words of wisdom.  Zig Ziglar was, and still is, a master motivator with a solid relationship with Jesus Christ.  Well into his 80’s, he still tought a Sunday School class at a mega-church in Dallas, TX.  He is the author of over 25 books, 10 of which were best sellers.

His motivation speeches are sermons without all the Scripture references.  One of the phrases that has always stuck with me over years was, "We must eliminate stinkin' thinkin'.  Zig Ziglar defined stinkin' thinkin' as negative, defeatest, worldly thinking.  Zig advocates a "heavenly way" of thinking--a Right Way of Thinking.  The kind of thinking described in 4:8:

It is so hard to "dwell on heavenly things."  We live in a world full of negative sounds, negative circumstances, and negative people.  Trying to eliminate stinkin' thinkin' from a human standpoint is like trying to sanitize a pig sty.  Even if you could manage to get is looking and smelling better, it wouldn't be long before it was once again smelling bad.

The word translated "dwell on" (HCSB) means to "deliberate about, or to think deeply about," as I just said. We might even say contemplate.  The idea is to take time and effort to align yourself with God's thoughts, not the world's thoughts.  The only way to do that is to "get into the Word of God and remain there."  The word says,

John 15:7 If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. 

Dwell on the words, "whatever you want," for a moment.  That's some powerful incentive it seems to me for beginning to "think God's thoughts after Him."  In fact, "thinking like God" is the very basis for all the historic breakthroughs in modern science.

Joseph Kepler, a Father of Modern Astronomy said to him science was "Thinking God's thoughts after Him."

Right politics.  The Right Way of Praying.  The Right way of Thinking all begin to orient us to "Fighting FOR the future, not AGAINST it.”

The Word also says we need the

4.  The Right Way of LIVING to prepare us for the future (4:9) 

9 Do what you have learned. 

I don't think Paul could sum up the matter much more succinctly than this:  "Do what you have learned."

The NIV says, "Put it into practice."

From beginning to end, the Bible admonishes us to conform our behavior to God's standards.  Simply knowing of or thinking about what God has instructed us does not substitute for "doing it." 

James 1:22-25 sums up the matter like this:

22 But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror; 24 for he looks at himself, goes away, and right away forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts—this person will be blessed in what he does. 

All of the "Right Thinking" in the world will be of little or no eternal value unless it results in "Right Living."  This does not contradict the doctrine of "salvation by grace alone through faith alone."  No, this verifies the power of God's grace. 

A grace that does not lead to Right Living is the wrong kind of grace, and in a biblical sense, no grace at all.  The saving kind of grace always leads to "Right Living."  Perhaps not "perfectly right," but definitely oriented to right living.

I heard the story about a Christian college choir which was all set to present a concert in a large church which was to be carried live by a local radio station. When everything appeared to be ready, the announcer made his final introduction and waited for the choir director to begin. A tenor was not yet ready, however, so the director refused to raise his baton. All this time, nothing but silence was being broadcast. Growing very nervous, the announcer, forgetting that his microphone was still on and that he could be heard in the church and on the air, said in exasperation, "Get on with it, you old goat!"

Later in the week, the radio station got a letter from one of its listeners -- a man who had tuned in to listen to the music from the comfort of his easy chair. When he heard "Get on with it, you old goat!" he took the message personally. He had been doing nothing to further God’s work, and this startling message was enough to convict him and get him going again.

Sometimes we need a wake-up call, don’t we? Maybe you’ve received that call this morning and God is saying to you, "Get on with it, you old goat...or young goat." It is time to act.  We cannot afford to sit comfortably in our "Religious Lazy Boy" while the world dies and goes to hell.

Well, one would think that having the right politics, the right way of praying, the right way of thinking, and the right way of living, would certainly be enough to prepare one for "eternity that waits just beyond death's door."  But, there's more.  To fully prepare to "Live for the Future," we need the

5.  Right Way of Dying (3:18-19; 4:3)

Pay close attention to verses 18-19, of chapter 3:

18 For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross  of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory  is in their shame. 

I can feel the pain in Paul's voice when he speaks these words.  They are hard words to hear.  The end of a person who does not surrender to Jesus as the Lord of Life is "destruction and shame."

I see evidence everywhere I go of "destruction and shame" -- which so often go together.  I see marriages being destroyed by infidelity or apathy.  I see young lives being destroyed by drugs and alcohol.  I see our nation being destroyed by avarice and greed.  I see our government being destroyed by corruption and lusts for power.  Destruction is all about us.  People are being dragged down into the abyss -- the pit from which the Beast of the Tribulation will arise:

Rev. 17:8  Why are you astounded? I will tell you the secret meaning  of the woman and of the beast, with the seven heads and the 10 horns, that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up from the abyss  and go to destruction.

 A few chapters later the Beast is mentioned again: 

19:20 . . . the beast and those who worshiped his image.  Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.  

Then after the final judgment, Destruction (Apollyon)
is mentioned again, 

Rev. 20:13 Then the sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades  gave up their dead; all  were judged according to their works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  This is the second death, the lake of fire.  15 And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. 

People who don't die right, face a horrible eternity in a Lake of Fire where their destruction and shame becomes an eternal state.  The thought of such a destruction and shame facing those who do not find the Right Way of Dying, drove Paul to tears.

What is the Right Way of Dying.  Phil. 4:3 lays it out as simply as possible:

3 Yes, I also ask you, true partner,  to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers whose names are in the book of life. 

The Right Way of Dying simply means that we have our names recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life.  That means we have surrendered to Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives.  By this single act of commitment, we are ready to "Live for the Future" because we have found the Right Way of Dying.

Oh, dear friends, so much more could be said in regard to "Living for the Future."  Like Marty McFly, we need to escape the past and get to the future.  Whatever sins held us back in the past year, we need to confess them and let them go. 

We can either choose to fight AGAINST the future and succeed at being greatly disappointed, or we can fight FOR the future and succeed greatly!  Let’s choose the latter!

Climb into the Delorean -- let's head back to a fantastic future!