January 7, 2024

Get It Right!

Philippians 3:20-4:9                NOTES NOT EDITED

 

SIS: Since we are eternal beings the future is going to last forever and we must Get It Right!

Most of you know that one of my favorite philosophers is a man by the name of Yogi Berra. Yogi Berra was such a deep thinker that he is the man most quoted for things he never said. There’s even a term for Yogi Berra’s philosophical wit. It is called, “Yogisms.”

Most people do not know that Yogi Berra, known for his “Yogi-isms,” was a Hall of Fame catcher for the NY Yankees and later a manager and coach.

"Yogi Berra won three MVP awards (1951, 1954 and 1955), made 15 All-Star game appearances, caught Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series and boasts an unprecedented 10 World Series rings. His career numbers: .285 BA, 2,150 hits, 358 home runs and 1,430 RBI. And, yes, he made it into the Hall of Fame easily in 1972." (copied)

 Yet, as I said, most people know Yogi Berra by his “Yogi-isms.”

 Once Yogi was startled by an experience in life and he remarked:  “It’s like de je vu ALL OVER AGAIN!” Now, if you don’t get that right off the bat it is proof of just how deep—or disturbed—a thinker Yogi Berra really was. Yogi also said, “A person can observe a lot JUST BY WATCHING.” Yogi had a deep sense of loyalty. He once told a young man, “You should always go to the funeral of your friends or when you die they won’t come to yours.” Perhaps Yogi’s most famous “yogi-ism” is: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” There are literally hundreds of “Yogi-isms” repeated often in our culture. Yogi once remarked, “I am often fascinated by how many things people say I said that I never said.” My favorite of all time from Yogi is this:  “When you come to a fork in the road . . . take it!” Life is too short to spend your time stuck in the mud of indecision.

 There is another “yogi-ism” that is ideal as the jumping off point for the first sermon of a New Year. Yogi once pondered the circumstances of life and remarked, “The future sure isn’t what it used to be!”

 If ever there were a relevant “Yogi-ism” for our troubled world today, that is it.

 So, here we are on the cusp of a New Year. 2024 promises us (should Jesus not return or we die) another 364 days—not counting today. What will we do with them?

 I’ve preached at least 45 New Year’s Messages. They always have a theme of hope and of great expectation for some New, Exciting, Fulfilling, or Spectacular happening in the coming year. Over the course of those last 45 plus years, there have been years filled with just that:  things NEW, EXCITING, FULFILLING, and SPECTACULAR!

 But, I must confess, these types of years have not been in the MAJORITY! In more years than not, I’ve failed miserably at my New Year’s Resolutions, and the years have failed miserably in regard to NEWNESS, EXCITEMENT, FULFILLMENT, and SPECTACULAR RESULTS.

 So, what do I do? I’m sure your years have followed a similar pattern. Maybe 2023 was the ALL-TIME, MOST DISAPPOINTING, WORST year of your life! Well, you are certainly not alone. I think I could be the President of That Club!

 So, what do we do? Give up? Climb under a broom tree like the discouraged Prophet Elijah and just give up and wait to die? Well, I say, NO! IN DEFIANCE IS SPIT IN THE FACE OF THE DEVIL AND SAY, 2024 IS THE YEAR I TAKE BACK MY LIFE AND LET GOD GUIDE MY DESTINY!

 Yogi Berra is right, “the future is not what it used to be.” The trail ahead seems dark and uncertain. But, joy and victory are not about the path we must follow but the Person we are walking with. The Lord promises us,

Go into the world and make disciples, . . . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

 In order to have a truly “Happy, Prosperous, God-honoring New Year” we only have to get a few things right.

 ❶ We need RIGHT POLITICS (3:20-21)

20 but our citizenship 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.

This is a PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION YEAR. Many say it will be the most defining election year in modern history—and maybe even the entire history of our nation. For many people -- perhaps most of us to some degree -- "politics" is a dirty word, a dirty business.  These last three years in politics have been the dirtiest in my lifetime. There is enough blame for this to go around for all parties.  Modern Politics has become consumed by a lust for power and completely out of touch with morality.  Christians must be engaged in the public square at this time more than any other time in modern history

 The word translated, "citizenship" is the word from which we get our English word, "politics."  The oldest form of the word means a "town, or large fortified territory."  It came to refer to any "city."  Citizenship refers to the common beliefs and practices held by those in a city, or polis, thus the idea of politics. 

 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.  At the same time, we should be exemplary citizens of our nation and communities.  We have “dual citizenship.”

 As citizens of heaven, our "new politics" mean:

 ❶ We have new citizenship papers.  Our names are written down on the census of heaven, if we are believers. (Phil. 3:20a, “Heaven”)

❷ We are under new leadership.  “The Lord Jesus Christ” (3:20b) Last January 20^th, 2017, leadership in the White House passed from the House passed from Obama to Trump.  The change has been radical—almost radioactive!  For a believer, when we were born-again, our leadership transferred from the "flesh," to the "Spirit," from the Devil to the Lord Jesus Christ.  That is an even more radical change.  While we may live and work in this world, we are no longer citizens of this world, but pilgrims and wayfarers whose allegiance lies beyond this world. Jesus is our New Leader (Gal. 5:16-18).

❸ As citizens of Heaven we not only have new papers, and new leadership, but we obey new laws.  Again, we have to live and work in this world with its set of laws, but ultimately as citizens of heaven we need to obey heaven's laws first and foremost. (Jer. 31:33).  Our new “Law Book” is the Bible, the Word of God.

 At one point (among many) the apostles came under attack from the religious authorities (the Sanhedrin) for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  In most matters, the Sanhedrin or Jewish Council were the civil authorities for the Jews.  The apostles were arrested by the temple police (yes the Temple had a police department), and thrown into jail.  An angel came at night and set them free with the command, "Go and preach."  So they went out and began teaching and preaching again.  Again, the authorities sent the police with the charge:

 Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name? (Acts 5:28)

Peter, speaking for the apostles, replied, We must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29)

 Living in such a way as to be fully prepared for heavenly citizenship in the eternal future requires that we practice, "Right Politics."

 ❷ We also need RIGHT 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:  ❶  Praying is absolutely essential to any hope of having a "Happy New Day," let alone a "Happy New Year," and in the final analysis, a "Happy Eternity."  We must pray often.  ❷  Everyone prays.  The horrors of WW2 gave rise to the phrase, “There are no atheists in foxholes” (though the exact source for the quote is uncertain.”

 People pray all the time.  I was once at the scene of an injury during a high school football game.  The star quarterback took nasty hit from a linebacker and snapped his angle in front of the crowd.  From several different people I heard this prayer, "Oh, my God!" 

 So, everyone prays at some point or another.  The key issue of learning to "Live for the Future" is "Right" praying.  What is "Right Praying?"

  First, it requires a right RELATIONSHIP to Go.   Look at our text again.  Vs 4:5 ends with the words,  " The Lord is near."

Praying right begins with a right relationship with God through Christ.  You can't pray right if you are not living right and you can't be living right unless you have a right relationship with God based upon the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

 Second, right praying requires an attitude of gratitude.  Notice in verse 6 the attitude we should have when praying: with THANKSGIVING. Praying with thanksgiving means at least two things:  ❶ you believe God is powerful enough to assist you according to your request; and ❷ God is good enough to act in your best interest every time.  The first issue is a matter of God’s omnipotence; the second All-beneficence. 

Third, praying right requires a solid FOUNDATION IN THE WORD of God.  Jesus said,

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 for learning to pray right!

Prayer is a powerful tool in mining for prosperity.  My big problem with the "health and wealth" preachers is that they distort prayer by confusing "confidence" with "arrogance."  We do not DEMAND God answer prayer, but through a solid knowledge of God in the Word, we have great confidence in both His willingness and capability.

 The Word of God does in fact exhort us to “approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time” (Heb. 4:16) 

Right politics and right praying begin to set us in the right direction for "Living in the Future."

 ❸ We also need a Right THINKING (4:8)

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 taught 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.  This is described in 4:8:

 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.

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 it 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."  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." 

Right politics.  The Right Way of Praying.  The Right way of Thinking all begin to orient us to "Living for the Future by Maximizing the Present."

While right politicking, right praying and right thinking all contribute to orienting our attitudes toward an eternal perspective, according to our text today, this is not enough to prepare us for our eternal fture.  The Word says we need the

❹ The Right 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 sums up the matter like this:

 1:22 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.

2024  is time to act.  We cannot afford to sit comfortably in our "Religious Lazy Boy" while the world dies and goes to hell.

We must remember:  salvation is spelled D  O  N  E! but holiness is spelled “D  O!”

Right Politics, right Praying, Right Thinking, and Right Living will still not give you ultimate victory in life in the future. It takes

❺ Right Dying (3:18-19; 4:3)

Pay close attention to verses 18-19, of Philippians 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.  They are focused on earthly things.

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. I see a massive collision ahead when our godless world runs head-on into Our Holy God. It’s time to wake-up.

I just read a story about two boys who wanted to become a long-haul trucking team. There names were Charlie and Leroy.

The two brothers were being interviewed for a truck-driving team. They were engaged in a hypothetical situation. The interviewer said, "Now, Charlie, imagine you're driving the truck and Leroy, your brother, is up on top asleep. Charlie, your truck is loaded down with hundreds of pounds of produce. You are going down a steep mountain when all of a sudden your brakes fail! You try your emergency brake and it fails. You try to gear down and your strip all of your gears! Now, Charlie, without any mechanical means of stopping this big truck, you are now accelerating at 80.....90...….100....110.....120....miles per hour! Now, at that rate the road suddenly narrows into one lane and goes over an old one lane bridge. Suddenly, from out of the horizon, you see another big truck coming towards you in exactly the same situation you are in. At that point, Charlie, what in the world do you do???"  Charlie thought for a moment and said, "Sir, I think I would wake up old Leroy!" Shocked, the employer said, "Charlie, why would you wake up Leroy at a dangerous time like that?" Charlie thought some more and said, "Well, sir, you see, old Leroy ain't never seen a great big wreck before!"

Well folks, I’d just like to say that this hypothetical situation seems to perfectly describe our current situation in the world. There is about to be a really, really big wreck and somebody needs to wake up Leroy.

The end is fast approaching either by death or the rapture. The future will come one day come in with a bang and go out with an even bigger bang.

The only way to be prepared for what future “living” will bring is know you are “Dying Right.”

People who don't die right, face a horrible eternity in a Lake of Fire where their destruction and shame become an eternal state.  The future of lost people is more horrible than we have words in the human languages to describe.  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 [Eudia, Synteche] 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. 

 

A married couple were on vacation and staying overnight at a motel. They had to get up early the next morning to continue their travel, so they called the front desk for a wake up call the next morning.

The front desk called, and the wife got up and began packing everything . She told her husband to get up, but he just lay there. She continued packing , and once again told him to get up.

He still just lay there. Finally she told him, " I am going to take our suitcases to the car, and you had better be up by the time I get back!

She took the suitcases to the car, and started back to the room. She mistakenly went to the room next door, and the door happened to be unlocked. She opened the door and said " I SAID FOR THE LAST TIME, GET UP!

She then realized she was in the wrong room, so she quietly shut the door. The man raised up, rubbed his eyes, and said " Now that is what I call a wake up call.

I hope you will let this message be a “Wake Up Call” for you at the beginning of this New Year! Determine right here and right now to GET IT RIGHT when it comes to facing the future. Get your POLITICS right, your PRAYING right, your THINKING right, your LIVING right, and most of all, your DYING right.

”The future sure ain’t what it used to be.” Get ready. Get right.