Radical Joy - Philippians 3:12-21

This is a sermon by Peter Birnie from the evening service on 24th November 2024.

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Philippians 3 v 12-21 “Radical Joy”

Intro:

(Slide 1) In school, when the normally patient and fun teacher shouts in anger, students sit up and take notice. In the pub when the normally quiet and reserved man speaks with energy and passion, friends sit up and take notice. At home, when a sibling puts their arm around you and seeks to comfort you rather than the normal laughing in your face, you know the situation is serious, you sit up and take notice. And so, in Philippians 3, we are to sit up and take serious notice of what is going on, we are to take urgent action in running to Jesus and praying for the Spirit to waken us up again to living radical Christian lives.

(Slide 2) In this letter to the Philippians, we have come face to face with one of the most joyful people ever to walk the earth. When Paul is in chains, he rejoices (because those guarding him are hearing the gospel). When others speak ill of him and try to damage him he rejoices (because the gospel is going out with urgency). When he faces the prospect of a death sentence he rejoices (because to live is Christ and to die is gain). But in Philippians 3 he is weeping…. This model of joy who can sing and pray in chains at midnight while his bloodstains congeal on his body, this man of radical joy is broken because of the true spiritual state of some people who call themselves believers in Jesus – 3v18 “For as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.” Are you sitting up right now and taking notice of this?

(Slide 3) Every one of us here right now should be thinking - “Imagine if I was one of these deluded people who called themselves a believer but was wept over by Paul. I don’t want that to be me?” That would be a good individual negative response to Paul’s tears in this passage - I hope we are all thinking that right now. But what would be a good positive corporate response to Paul’s tears? Here is one that I would love us to keep in our head as we go through this sermon - “How  can CCN/R/OP/H, how can we become the dream church where people are excited to gather together, full of welcome and affection, serious about sin, obsessed with God’s grace, hungry for God’s word, joyfully singing praise to Jesus, being inspired by the preaching, growing in deep, consistent urgent prayer. How do we move towards that? This passage has the answer to both those individual and corporate questions. Are you excited about this? Are you ready to listen well and then obey immediately?

 

        1) Radical joy is on offer to a church family full of sprinters (v12-16)

(Slide 4) In verses 12-16 understand that the radical joy Paul demonstrates in his life and ministry is on offer to us if we would become a church family full of sprinters. (Read)

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

(Slide 5) Have you ever walked up a big hill or mountain with children? Even if you haven’t, you can probably guess what they will do as you get near to the top? It won’t matter if they have grumbled from minute 1 until now, it won’t matter if their poor little legs are worn out and their blood sugar is crashing, it won’t matter if their awful blisters and sprained ankle is throbbing, the moment the peak is in sight, they will sprint to get there first. And Paul would say, good on them, absolutely right – we are built to sprint towards the great prize. Christians are in a race, and in that race what has happened up to the current point becomes totally irrelevant if you stop sprinting. In fact, as the prize comes closer and closer, then we should sprint even faster, with renewed energy, to get there first, to win, to delight in the very thing that you were in the race for.

(Slide 6) How do we even get in this race? 2 weeks ago as Rich preached on the passage leading up to this, his example of top trumps was so useful. Paul had loads of good cards that put him at the top of the religious class, and yet not one of those cards was enough to get him into the race that Paul talks about this week. Christ is the top trump that defeats all other claims, Christ offers a righteousness that comes on the basis of faith in him that can’t be gained any other way. How can a person even be in the race that Paul talks about? Only if they have come to Jesus and given up all other claims to righteousness, only if they bring their sin to him and in shame and humility ask him for the forgiveness, new life, and justification that only Jesus can give. In the language of verse 12, you can only be in the race for the prize if “Christ Jesus has taken hold of you.”

(Slide 7) Grace alone gets Christians in the Christian race. Our justification is passive (becoming right with God so that he judges us as holy and pure) it is external, it is achieved for us by someone else, namely Jesus Christ. When we realise that, then we have incredible salvation rest. We do not work to earn salvation since Christ has already done the work that we couldn’t do anyway. But in verses 12 to 16, mature Christians, that is, believers whose minds are thinking properly about salvation, whose lives are consumed with wanting to follow Jesus, mature Christians see that salvation rest leads to obedient zest. While our justification is passive, our obedience, as new creations, is active, deliberate, it is an outworking of the Spirit’s working within.

Paul “does not consider yet that he has taken hold of that for which Jesus has taken hold of him.” And that is because Paul understands what the prize actually is that God offers. The prize is not simply an eternity of avoiding Hell and instead enjoying the new creation. When people think like this then Jesus becomes the means to a different end. Jesus becomes simply the way we can book a decent place in the afterlife. For Paul that is missing the point of the race. (Slide 8) Yes, Jesus is how we get into the race in the first place, but Jesus is also the prize in the race! Paul forgets what is behind and races on in obedience and service so that in them he can know Jesus better, so that by his willing sacrifices he can grow in love and devotion to Jesus, so that in his dependence upon Jesus in prayer he can understand more of what Jesus has accomplished by his life, death, resurrection and reign.

A theologian called John Daille puts it like this – when Paul talks about forgetting what is behind and straining forwards; “he had not arrived at his desired end; he had not yet comprehended in all its fulness the power of this Divine resurrection; so deep, so grand is this study, so inexhaustible are the riches of this knowledge.” The greatest delight of the new creation will be seeing Jesus face to face, eternity will be spent being more and more amazed at God’s holy character, and so of course that is what our race right now is centred on.

 

(Slide 9) You don’t climb a mountain and then stop half-way up and say “that view will do, that is enough for me”, no, you press on all the time knowing that the view gets better and better until finally at the top you can just drink it all in. Paul knows that whatever he has experienced of Jesus so far, however close and united to Jesus he has felt as he has suffered for Jesus, he knows that there is far more to come, far better to come – so forget what is behind and strain towards what is to come (that straining will involve lots of trials and willing sacrifices and sufferings), but all that straining will be absolutely worth it. Are you making sacrifices for the sake of Jesus’ glory? (Obedience, service, giving, prayer etc) Good, keep going, sprint ahead, make even more sacrifices, there is none too big that you can make - the radical joy of Philippians is on offer to a church full of sprinters!

 

 

             2) Radical joy is on offer to a church family full of supermodels (v17-21)

 

This brings me back to the introduction – how can I make sure I am not the person Paul would weep over, and how can I help make our local church the dream church? (Slide 10) In verses 17-21 the answer is that a church full of sprinters will be a church full of supermodels (not the Kate Moss type!). Are you paying attention to Christian supermodels? Are you a Christian supermodel? Verses 17-21 contrast the most helpful people in this world with the most unhelpful people in this world. And the sharp truth is that you are either one or the other. You are either the person Paul sheds tears over, or you are the person who is raising the spiritual temperature in church, sprinting ahead, helping others to be full of joy too. Which one are you?

 

• The most unhelpful people in the world

 

(Slide 11) The most unhelpful people in the world are those who come to church and call themselves Christians and then live absolutely to suit themselves. Here is Paul’s description of them (Slide 12);

• • They live as enemies of the cross of Christ
  • Their destiny is destruction
  • Their god is their stomach
  • Their glory is their shame

To sum this life up – “Their mind is set on earthly things.”

None of us here would immediately think of ourselves that way I don’t think. But here is Don Carson helping us to ground this a bit more (Slide 13); “Far from being drawn to suffering for Christ’s sake, they are endlessly drawn to creature comforts. They please themselves, their god is located no higher than their belly… It is not that they focus on explicitly wicked things. But if all of their values and cherished goals are tied to what belongs to this world and this earth, and no part of them breathes, with the passion of Paul, ‘somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead’, they are to be pitied.” Paul, with his bullet-proof joy, is crying as he writes these verses and so it is vital for our own good and the good of our church family that we look at our own life right now and where needed we repent (power to change in Jesus).  

(Slide 14) Why is it so unhelpful to call yourself a believer and then to live for yourself, to shower yourself with comfort, to spend your resources on yourself – because it damages the ambitions and dampens the zeal of other believers. Does it matter what car you drive? Does it matter how many holidays you go on? Does it matter how many times you eat out? Does it matter how often you buy fancy coffee? It probably matters doesn’t it? Because in those seemingly innocuous questions patterns can be seen – patterns that might point to your god being your stomach rather than the glory of Christ! Patterns that don’t push others in your church family on to love Jesus more but instead tempt them to want what you lavish on yourself. Patterns that cool down love for Jesus. Paul weeps because believers should be supermodels but these people who call themselves believers are actually sewage-models.

• The most helpful people in the world

(Slide 15) Instead we are called to be the most helpful people in the world. We are to follow Paul’s example and in doing so we are to become models for others around us. We are to sprint forwards in gospel service, making gospel sacrifices, enduring gospel suffering. What a contrast is Paul’s description of supermodel Christians (Slide 16);

• • Their citizenship is in heaven
  • They eagerly await their saviour
  • They trust in Jesus’ Kingship
  • They anticipate becoming like Jesus in our glorious future

Fill a church family up with those people then it will become the dream church! (Slide 17) There is much to be encouraged by in our congregations. Many of you show where your true citizenship is, and eagerly wait for Jesus to return by serving hard in your church family, by giving much time and money for the sake of gospel progress, by being really committed to the gathering of God’s people on Sundays and in Life Groups and bible-study groups, by caring deeply for one another in trials and difficulties, by speaking the gospel to your friends and family and neighbours, by warmly encouraging your leaders, by a deep commitment to prayer. Sprint on in these areas, forget what is behind and do it more and more and God will use you to build up the brothers and sisters, to raise the spiritual temperature in church. Keep modelling well and you will be a blessing and you will be blessed by loving Jesus more and more. Radical Christian living leads to radical joy.

But let me finish with exhorting you to respond in obedience right now. If right now you aren’t eagerly awaiting Jesus’ return when he will transform you, if instead you are making do with the mere things of this world, then right now, immediately, realise that the tears Paul sheds are ones of pity and deep concern. Don’t make destruction your destiny. Realise that you have traded eternal radical joy for temporary, lukewarm comforts. And realise that this is not living up to what Christ has done for you. Repent, put your trust once more in Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit take concrete steps to pour your life out in service to Jesus once more. Forget what is behind, look at the models around you who love Jesus, aim for radical joy, start running again to win the prize.

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