Would you stand with me? Philippians chapter three, we're going to read together, beginning at verse 10, and we're going to read down through verse 17. I don't know that I'll be able to cover all that, but we're gonna try. Philippians chapter three, if you would, read out loud with me, beginning at verse 10. that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death. If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead, not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, reaching forth into those things which are before, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded. And if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. 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. Mark them which walk so as you have us for an example. Let's pray. Father, we do pray that in the minutes that we have, that this time would be sacred. I pray that you would bless this moment, the opportunity of preaching for the scriptures. Lord, we would pray that you would use a feeble instrument to do great things. I pray that you would speak to hearts Lord, for someone that might be hearing the clarity of the scriptures, the understanding of your work of redemption, that the blinders would be lifted and that they would see that which you have shown us in the scriptures. Lord, bless our time together, we pray all this in Christ's name. Amen. You can be seated. There are some things and qualities that you and I accept in infants and toddlers. There are things to be expected, drooling and whining and dirty diapers and poor table manners. We expect this when it comes to infants. But it is a tragedy when someone who is an adult and mature in years has some of those same qualities. And that same thing is true of us as believers. As we read the scripture today, and really as you read throughout the New Testament, there is an emphasis on spiritual growth and change. The matter of church and ministry and the fellowship together of God's Word is not a spectator sport. It is an opportunity of engagement and an opportunity of growth and change. I had lunch with someone this past week and they commented, they've been coming about 10 years, and they said, you know, pastor, in 10 years, I've seen you change. And I thought about some of you poor souls that have been with me 34 years. that I have grown and I have changed. But here's a question for you. How much are you growing and changing? How different is your life and your walk today compared to what it might have been 10 years ago or 20 years ago or even 30 years ago? Sometimes people will say, and I remember early on in ministry, I had someone say, well, you can't teach an old dog, what? New tricks. I don't hear anyone barking, so that's not your excuse. The fact is, as we open our Bible and we study in the Scriptures, Paul, even as he's writing in this passage of Scripture, he's illustrating for us the potential of spiritual growth and change that is with every believer. that you and I, until the day we die, we ought to be evidencing what it is to grow spiritually, to grow in our understanding of the scriptures, but also to grow more and more to be like Christ. You have your Bible open there. Would you go with me? And we're not going to take time to study through this, but I wanted to rehearse with you some of the things that we have studied earlier in Philippians 3. Here's the first one. Between verses 4 through 6, you see Paul's testimony, his example of what he was before Christ. Some of us who were saved young, we don't have the kind of testimony that is one of living this life of sin and what it means to be saved marvelously and transformed. And yet I would say to you that that is the greater miracle, in my opinion, is that God could take the heart of a child and in such a way transform that child's heart that that child has a longing and a desire to dedicate their life to Jesus Christ. But before Christ, Paul talks about who he was. Look with me, if you just quickly, let's do a quick review. In verse five, Paul gives us a little bit about what he would boast of before Christ. He boasted in his birth. If you'll notice in verse five, he boasts in his lineage, circumcised the eighth day, the stock of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law, a Pharisee, all of the things that came to him natural by birth. The latter part, that of being a Pharisee by the law, that begins another part of his testimony. Before Christ, not only was I a Hebrew of the Hebrews, but I was a man of spiritual accomplishments. Look with me, if you would, at those accomplishments. First of all, you can see his education in verse 5, the latter part, is touching the law of Pharisee. We know that he was a student of a famous teacher. Notice his reputation, if you have your Bible, Philippians 3, verse 6, concerning zeal, persecuting the church. These are all the things that Paul, before Christ, he would have boasted of. Notice if you were the latter part of verse 6, and he uses the word blameless. And so before Christ, this was Paul's testimony. I was a man of great birth. I was a man of a great lineage. I was a man of zeal, and I was a man of education. I was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. But after Christ, after He met the Lord on the road to Damascus, All of those things changed. In fact, his boast now is one of folly. Paul, after Christ, then begins to share with us his folly of self-righteousness. That all the things that he used to boast about, he realized were nothing. They did not in any way merit God's favor. They did not in any way lend Him to salvation. In fact, it was the abandoning of all those things that brought Him to Christ that day on the road to Damascus. Look with me at verse 7. If you have your Bible, just let's just jump through some of the Scriptures quickly. Verse 7, Paul writes then, after Christ, what things were gained to me, all my birth, my lineage, my good works, those I counted loss, literally worthless. for Christ. Verse eight, he goes on and he writes, and I count all things but loss, all the things that we used to boast about were of no value, and I want this, the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, my Lord. And he goes on and he writes, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. Three things we shared with you several months ago. Verse nine, Paul's hope. If you had to funnel down to the essence of Paul's longing and desire. First, in verse nine, it would be his hope that he would one day stand before the Lord, not in his own righteousness, which is of the law, but in the righteousness which is by the faith of Jesus Christ. Notice, if you would, his passion. Verse 10, Paul writes that I may know him. Long into Paul's life, was that he would know more about Christ. There's a hymn in our hymn book, More About Jesus What I Know, More of His Grace to Others Show. Paul's life passion was to know more and more about Christ. Now, let me pause there. To not just know about Him, but to know Him. to know Him personally, to know His mercy and to know His grace, to know the power of His resurrection, to know what it is to not only know His love, but to reflect His love. Look, if you would, at his focus. Philippians 3 in verse 13. Paul writes, Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended. The word apprehended is to attain this. All right, that's a big word, but it comes down to simply that which I've obtained or to attain. Now, let me read it to you. Philippians 3 in verse 13. I count not myself to have apprehended this one thing I do. Remember, several months ago, I asked you, what is the one thing that you do. What is the premier thing? The one thing above all things. And many of us might have different answers today. What would be the one thing? Some of us would say, well, it would be to glorify the Lord. Well, that comes by knowing him. Someone else would say, maybe it would be to be a soul winner and to be effective in that. Well, that comes down to being Christ-like as well. Someone else would say, it is to love my neighbor as I love myself. Well, that's Christ-like as well. Here's my point. The essence of Paul's spiritual drive is this, that he would be more and more like Christ. What is your passion and your desire? It should be what Paul's is, to be like Christ. Notice if you would, in verse 3, Paul goes on and he writes, I press toward the mark. You know, this is an athletic term that he's giving now. He's showing a runner who comes out of the racing blocks. And the focus is on the goal. It's on the end of the race. All the disciplines of life have been brought down to this. Maybe it's going to be that 100 meter dash. And everything, all the training, all the hours, all the preparation, all the dieting, everything that has gone into training comes down to this one race. I didn't see the Kentucky Derby, but I heard about it a little bit reading this morning on the news that the finisher of the Kentucky Derby yesterday won the race, only to be what? Disqualified. Why? Because the horse ran out of its lane and impeded the progress of others. One rule, and the horse that won the race ended up losing the race. Look it with me then in verse 14. Paul writes, and I press toward the goal. for the prize of the high calling of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Now here's a question, and I've wrestled with this over the last week. Why was Paul sharing his salvation testimony with a church that obviously knew his testimony? Why was he writing to the church at Philippi and he's sharing something that they already know? And the answer to that is this. He's telling them his saving faith, his experience, his walk with Christ so that he can then use his life as an example. Look with me. Look at Philippians 3. You have your Bible there. And we stop reading. I think it was at verse 17. Look at verse 17. Paul writes, Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example or an example. Here's something. I think it might be on your outline. Paul moves from sharing his testimony before Christ to now sharing and challenging us about spiritual growth in Christ. Now go back, look at Philippians 3, and this is one reason I did not go too far today in this study. I wanted to look at the word perfect. Look at Philippians 3, verse 15 again. Let us therefore as many as be perfect. Why would Paul write that? Why this idea? Is Paul going to use himself as the model of spiritual perfection? Is Paul going to say, brethren, follow my example because I have arrived? And the answer is found in verse 12. Look at Philippians 3 again and look at verse 12. In verse 12 we read then, Paul writes, not as though I had already attained. either were already perfect. And so Paul's not writing and saying, as I'm writing to the church and I'm challenging those in the church who are perfect, Paul's not using himself as the example of perfection. In fact, when you look at verse 17, brethren be followers together of me. But yet again, he is not given a testimony that he is perfect in his spiritual walk. Do you realize that our pursuit of Christ's likeness will not be accomplished in this life. But we should be pursuing it. Our lives should be a testimony of spiritual growth and change. Therefore, your outline. Paul was challenging the spiritually mature, not the spiritually perfect. Because you came to know Christ as Savior a year ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago, because you entrusted Christ as Savior many years ago does not mean that you're a spiritually mature believer. In fact, I would say to you that there are probably many in this auditorium, as well as in auditoriums across America today, that are gathering in the same church that they've been worshiping in for 10, 20, 30 years, but they've not arrived at the group that Paul's writing to. Paul is writing to, again, let us, look at verse 15, let us therefore as many as be perfect. So what is this perfection? It is a spiritual maturity, but it is something not arrived at. It is an ongoing spiritually maturing walk with Christ. In fact, I would invite you, you have your Bible, look at some of the words that he uses in Philippians 3 and verse 15. He challenges those who are mature now, spiritually maturing Christ. And three things, and there's other things we could point out, but notice number one, be thus minded. Okay, so the spiritually perfect are thinking the same thing. The mindedness is one of passion. Have this passion. And if anything be otherwise minded or a different attitude, God shall reveal even this unto you. Look at verse 16. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, that is the truth that we already know. There's things that we know that we didn't know. As a result of the things that we didn't know that we do know now, we are thus minded. And two thoughts with that in verse 16. Let us walk by the same rule. The horse in the race yesterday lost the race. Why? It broke the rules. It broke the rules. Well, what is the rule of the believer? Well, at Hillsdale, we have a rule book. No, we don't. You go to a Christian school. The Christian school has a what? A rule book. When I was in college, first thing I did as a freshman, they gave you a rule book. And you were expected to read that rule book and retain what was there because you would be given a test on it. There were things you could do and things you couldn't do. Hillsdale doesn't have a rule book, but God does have a rule. Now, what is the rule? The rule is a standard. How many inches would we have in a foot? Huh? 12. Can it be 11 1⁄2 and be a foot? Can it be 12 1⁄4 and be a foot? Now, if I was of this generation, I'd be up here talking about meters and all that, but I still haven't grasped that. I live in America, and I don't have to at this point. But we understand there are standards. I've shared with you before, driving, I was in my little Miata one day, and I'm scooting. Now, I wasn't speeding, but I was pushing the line, and I crossed the solid white line. And I was pulled over for that. A white line, I mean, and it was like 5.30 in the morning. I'm going to the hospital, and I figured this policeman must have nothing to do. And he pulls me over, and he says, sir, do you know what you just did? I haven't a clue what I just did. And he said, well, you crossed the solid white line. How many of you knew you weren't supposed to cross the solid white line? And the rest of you are lawbreakers. In fact, most of you that raised your hand probably crossed the solid line too. My point is this, God has given us a rule. We don't need a Hillsdale rule book. God's given us the rule. Here's another thought that goes with it. The latter part says, and let us mind the same thing or be careful about the same thing. Here's a quote for your outline. In the same way that successful athletes submit to the rules of their sport, spiritually mature, that is perfect believers must conform their thoughts to the scriptures. I think of the passage in Romans 12, verse 2, and be not conformed to this world, but be... Well, no, no, no. Let me go. I can't pull it out on my cobwebs and my wife's watching online and she's dying. Yeah. Oh, I got it right. Sorry about that. I was right and I thought it was wrong. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. I study the Word because I not only want to know it, but I understand the power of the Word to transform it. That's why we encourage you to have your devotions and to study the Scriptures. It's not enough what you get here, and I'm so glad that you're here this morning, but what you get here should be the icing on top of the cake that you've been eating all week long. Let me go on with this thought then. In the same way successful athletes submit to the rules of their sport, spiritually mature believers must conform their thoughts to the rule, to the scriptures, subject their lives to the same rule, and that is Christ being the standard and the Word of God, and keep minding the same things and follow the example of Christ and other spiritual examples. Philippians 3 again, now verse 17. Paul writes, be followers together of me. Why? Because of who Paul was following. Who was Paul following? Paul was not following the law of the Pharisees. Paul was following Christ. So Paul was saying this to the believers at Philippi. As I follow Christ, I urge you to follow me. You see, our lives carry an influence. People are following you. They are perhaps not physically walking in your steps, but they're following your life. Latter part of Philippians chapter three again. At verse 17 we read, mark them which walk so as you have us for an example. Now, I don't have time to finish this. In fact, I barely finished the introduction. But I want to give you two thoughts and I'll come back later. Two thoughts on your outline. What was the standard? What were they to walk out? And there's two things. The first is this. I want to challenge you by walking out the right attitude. Christ is the example. But we're interested in our attitudes and our actions. Now, I don't have time to go into it. I wish I did. We'll study this, maybe we'll look at it in the summertime on a Wednesday night, but it has been 10 years since we studied the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes, if you'll remember, are the attitudes of the citizens of the kingdom of heaven. So when we read in the Beatitudes, we see laid out what kind of attitudes believers are to have. You ever see a child in a grocery store and that kid is out of control? And the child's wanting cookies or whatever. And if the child doesn't get his or her way, that you'll see them fall down into the floor. I've seen this, you have too probably. And they're kicking like crazy and they're screaming. And you can look and say, that kid's got a what? An attitude. Now, some of us would say that kid needs a little bit more than an attitude adjustment, right? But we know how you can get that attitude adjustment, don't we? My point is this. There is an interest in our attitude. You know, as we get older, it doesn't mean that our attitudes get better. In fact, I would say, as we get older, we get more ingrained in our attitudes. if we're not constantly experiencing the changes that only we can have in Christ. Let me give you the attitudes. I don't have time to preach them, but I'm gonna read them off to you. Matthew chapter five and verse three, to be poor in spirit. What does that mean? It means I realize how depraved I am. I realize just how unworthy I am. And as a result of that, I realize I'm not in a position to be a judge of others. I need to recognize my own sin. As a result of knowing my own sinfulness, there's a humility that I have, poor in spirit. Another is to mourn. Mourn over what? Mourn over our sin. conscious of our sin. The Lord challenges again on this message of the Beatitudes to be meek. And I've written to accept all things that come into my life are working together for good. Another attitude, to hunger and thirst after righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, and to be a peacemaker, to be persecuted for righteousness. All those are attitudes. Are those our attitudes? Do people see that we, in our walking out our Christian life and our desire to be like Christ, that there are evident things about our attitudes that people can see and see that change that is happening over the course of the years and over the course of our lifetime? That there is a humility to us and not a pride. There is a sense of a sensitivity to our own sin. and not just to stand in judgment of the sins of others. There is a meekness to us that we realize that we have to rein in our strengths because who are we? We're nothing without Christ. but I need to rush on to the other end. I'm just gonna give this to you quickly, and we'll come back at a later date and look at this. So I've seen the attitudes. The attitudes are the beatitudes, the kind of attitudes I don't have. Let me give you quickly the action. And the action is the Doctrine of Sanctification. That's something you will not hear in most churches anymore. But the Doctrine of Sanctification could probably be summed up easily in putting off and putting on. I'm going to ask you to turn and look at a couple of portions of scripture. Would you turn with me and look at 2 Corinthians 5.17? Would you look? Just turn your Bible and look there. You might have it memorized, but look at it for a moment. We read in 2 Corinthians 5.17, if any man be in Christ, he is what? He is a new creature. Remember Paul's testimony? Before Christ, I was self-righteous. After Christ, everything changed. And I realized all the things that I boasted about were folly. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. And the old things of life, my way of thinking, my attitudes, my life of sin, all those things are passing away. And behold, all things are becoming new. Are there things in your life that you could look at and you could say as a testimony, I'm not who I used to be. I'm not the way I used to be. That my life has changed, a lot of it because my attitude has changed. I've realized who I am without Christ, and I realized with humility who I am now in Christ. A couple of verses that go with this thought here, the old man and the new man, that's the way I want to compare it. Here's the old man. Paul writes in Romans 6 and verse 6, knowing this, that our old man, now that's not your father. That is your old nature. That's your old flesh. Remember the old man that was angry and foul-mouthed. Remember the old man that would lust after things that were immoral. Remember the old man that would partake of the world and its sin and delight in it. Remember that old man? Paul writes that the old man is crucified. For a believer, our life is so transformed in Christ that it is though we were crucified. that we were dead. In fact, Paul goes on and writes, he says that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. If you're here today and you do not know Christ as Savior, sin is your pursuit. It is your pleasure. It is that which you take joy in. And yet it leaves no lasting joy. It comes with an emptiness that can never be satisfied. but Christ is the answer. Here's another verse. Paul, by contrast, all things have become new. Galatians chapter six and verse 15. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availed of anything, nor uncircumcision, and he goes on and he says, but a new creature. a new life, a new passion, a new desire. I don't have time to cover all of the things that I've had here. I want to close with a couple of thoughts. I'll do the conclusion. I'll come back and preach the rest later. Go with me down on your outline there to four exhortations to as many as be perfect. You're here today and you say, Pastor, I am a mature believer. I am I am growing, I am learning, I am striving to live like Christ. Here are two of four things I want to leave you with. The first is this, be determined. What does that mean? You read in Philippians chapter three, verse 15 and 16, be thus minded, mind the same thing. He's dealing with not just what I think, but he's dealing with my whole attitude. I'll give it to you in this way. When you have the right focus, you will retain the right attitude. Let this mind be in you. Well, who was the example there? It is the mind of Christ. It is the mind that is summed up in all the qualities that we read of in the Beatitudes. The things that we should, in our spiritual growth, become more and more like. If you're old enough to remember the 1960s, I can remember looking back and I thinking, now what were we thinking? But at the time, and they're talking about the space capsule, and now it's going around the moon. And do you remember looking almost at these cartoons of a space capsule? Because we didn't have live video back then. And so we're listening to the commentators and they're saying, all right, now the jets have sent out the air out of the capsule. It's making its way, it's beginning to turn. And I remember listening to this attitude. The commentators were talking about the space capsule with the astronauts aboard, and they were talking about the reentry. And do you remember that? And they would say, now there's the point of the crisis. Has the space capsule turned in such a way that the heat shield is facing the reentry at the right point. And they would make a point of saying, if the attitude of the capsule is not correct, all of the occupants within the space capsule itself would burn up as they enter the atmosphere. Do you remember that? Can I say this to you this morning? Our attitude as believers is so important. our spiritual discipline, disciplining our thoughts, that we are a spiritually minded people. Give it to you, I, Dr. Livingston, I went to the doctor. They have me come in every six months now. And I've been told when you get 62, that's what they do. So every six months, I have blood work done and, you know, the whole panel. I knew I was in trouble this time when the technician said they will be in to visit with you. And I said, who is they, right? Well, the PA and then the doctor will be in to visit. So they came in. The PA first, very nice to me, but then the doctor came in. And he says, and he knows me as pastor. He said, pastor, you've gained five pounds since your last visit here. I started thinking my knee You know, all the excuses. And then he said, you know, some things change as you get older. Now listen, there's a point in this. And I said, like what? I said, I'm eating less now than I've ever eaten in my life. And I'm trying to exercise, even the scientists will tell you, I get out and I walk, I'm doing what I need to do. And he says, you know, as you get older, it's 90% of what you eat and it's 10% of your exercise. And I said, what is your point? And the point was this, he said, you're not at 62 who you used to be. I said, well, I know that. And he said, well, you've got to cut out. I said, cut out what? I don't even eat bread anymore. He said, do you eat any kind of bread? And I said, well, I do eat rice bread and I eat some of this. And he said, that's got to go. I said, okay, I don't eat any sweets. He said, well, that's good. Do you put sugar in your coffee? Yeah, that needs to go. By the time I left there, I am a rabbit. Seriously, I'm a vegetarian at 62 and I hadn't planned on it. Things have changed because my body has changed. But I pray that things have changed spiritually for me as well. That I'm not just growing older, but I'm maturing in Christ. How about you? Paul's writing, and he's writing and he says in verse 17, follow me. You know, I, as a pastor, I'm very mindful that people will follow my path. And I never want to bring shame on my family or on you, because I know that there are those who follow. But brethren, I would say to you this morning, the same is true of your life. Paul is writing to those who would be perfect, mature. And he comes to verse 17, and he says, now mark them which walk, that follow in the right path, in the right example. The first thought then was be determined, here's the second, to be faithful. Paul's writing, and he's really saying in verse 17, follow my example. You and I are not neutral in our influence. We're influencing people's lives. And with that thought, I close with this. What you and I practice in moderation others will use as an excuse for excess. As a father, as a mother, as a grandparent, we are modeling how life is to be lived. We're leaving a legacy that carries a shadow that will touch the lives of others. What kind of testimony are you going to leave? One of spiritual growth and change. A life that is transformed because the theme of our life has been more about Jesus, what I know, more of His grace to others shall. I think the course goes more, more about Jesus. By the way, that's the invitation song. Let's pray. It's about eyes closed. I would ask you as I close this morning, what example are you giving others? Your children are walking in your steps. There are others that you don't even know who are watching how you live. Are they watching someone whose testimony is to be more like Christ? If you're here today and God spoke to your heart, I'd ask you, in the moment we're going to sing, and I ask you, can you say like Paul did, follow my example? If you're here today and you don't know Christ as Savior, there are many of us that would love to show you how life and joy to know that our sins are forgiven is found in Christ. He died for you because He loves you. And His salvation is yours by accepting Him. Our Father, we close as we sing in a moment that we would be like Paul That we would live in such a way that our life is a testimony not of who we were, but who we are in Jesus Christ. Lord, that we're not content with who we are today. That our desire is to know more and more about you. That our lives would be transformed by the things that we know. and the truths that we follow. Lord, that we're not measuring our lives by a church or somebody else, but that the rule of our life is Christ and His Word. Lord, help us to conform to His image. May we today make a decision that we would live in such a way we could say, like Paul, follow me, for I'm following Christ. Lord, I pray for that soul that is here today that is lost, that they would, in this invitation, realize the opportunity of accepting you and your sacrifice for their sin. Once this invitation, we pray in Christ's name.