Good morning. Well, here we are. The day after Christmas. I don't know about you, but I've always thought that this is one of the strangest weeks of the year. It's certainly one of the strangest Sundays of the year. It can feel like living in a bit of a dream. like a dream world of lost time. Pastor Rob and I were joking earlier, this is the Sunday that time forgot. Christmas is over, but the new year hasn't yet arrived. The old year is taking its last gasp of air and has nothing more to accomplish or look forward to except a lackluster end when everyone celebrates its departure. And so we're all just waiting, waiting for the next holiday, waiting for the ball to drop on a new year. And so we all find ourselves this week, in particular, living in the in-between. Living in the in-between of Christmas and New Years. Living in the in-between of celebrations. Living in the in-between of the celebration that already happened and the celebration that is still yet to come. Living in the in-between of the Old and the new. And I think this time of living in the in-between serves as a kind of illustration, a kind of metaphor, if you will, for our life as Christians. As Christians, we are living in the in-between. We are living in the in-between of Jesus' first coming and his second coming. We're living in the in-between of God's promise of salvation and His final fulfillment of that salvation. We're living in the in-between of the already and the not yet. Along with the rest of the creation, we're waiting and looking and longing and groaning for the fullness of the glory of that which is yet to come and yet is not here yet. We're waiting for the return of Jesus. But until that time, we are living in the in-between. So how is one to live well in this time of in-between? Do we just wait it out? Do we just hunker down? Well, what wisdom does God's word have for us as we live in this time of in between? I want us to look this morning at Philippians chapter three. So take your Bibles, turn along with me to Philippians chapter three. where we see wisdom from God's word on how to live well in the in between. Philippians chapter three, verses 17 through 21 this morning. Brethren, Paul writes, join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven. from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory by the exertion of the power that he has, even to subject all things to himself. This is the word of God. Let's pray together. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Contemplate a new year. We have just spent a whole season celebrating your incarnation and thinking deeply about that. And yet, Lord, we know there is more yet to come. But we wait. We long. We groan. Lord, help us to wait wisely. Indeed, to look with longing that shows itself in even present transformation into greater Christ-likeness. That's our heart, that's our desire, that's our prayer this morning, that you would grow us in you, grow us in faith, grow us in Christ-likeness. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. We're gonna see from this passage this morning four keys for living wisely in the in-between. Four keys for living wisely in the in-between. All right, first of all, we're gonna see that living wisely in the in-between means finding and following godly examples. Finding and following godly examples, verse 17. Brethren, join in following my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. Now Paul, in the context of chapter three, has just urged his readers to keep on living by the same standard of Christ's likeness, to pursue Christ's likeness, to progress in their likeness to Christ. Look back with me at Philippians chapter three and verse 13, just a few verses. Talking about himself, he says, brethren, I do not regard myself as having already laid hold of it, that is, that perfect Christ-likeness, that perfect maturity, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. That's a great verse as we anticipate a new year, isn't it? A great New Year's verse to make our own and to meditate on. But Paul there is urging us to put the past behind us. Amen to that, right? I think we're all kind of eager to do that at this point. Put the past behind us and strive for greater Christ-likeness today and tomorrow and in the year to come. And now along these lines in verse 17, he urges them as they seek to grow in Christlikeness to seek out and to follow godly examples. Literally he says, all of you together be imitators of me. Now this is not an isolated statement for the apostle Paul to make. He says it again and again throughout his writings. 1 Corinthians 4.16, therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. 1 Corinthians 11.1, be imitators of me just as I also am of Christ. Follow me as I follow Christ. 2 Thessalonians chapter three, let me just read it for you, verses seven through nine. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. Verse nine, not because we do not have the right to be supported by you, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you so that you would follow our example. Now, though Paul has already admitted that he's not yet a perfect Christian, right? He is not perfectly Christ-like. He's not reached full maturity yet. He can say, follow me as I follow Christ. emulate me, imitate me. In the ways that I'm Christ-like, albeit an imperfect Christ-likeness, pattern your life after mine. But Paul didn't think he was the only example worth following. He says, observe those who are walking according to the pattern you have in us. Follow me as I follow Christ, and follow others as they are following Christ. To the degree that they are Christ-like, imitate them. Look out for them. Mark these people. Pay close attention to the way they live. Pay close attention to the way they love. Pay close attention to the way they pray, and relate to their spouse, and raise their children. and work in their workplace, so that having observed their conduct, you can emulate their conduct. The word pattern here is the Greek word tupos, which we get our word type from this, like a typewriter, which has a letter that leaves its mark, right? Leaves an impression upon the paper, And it referred to the impression left by a stamp that was struck with a mallet or a stamp that was pressed into soft wax. Paul says here, follow those who are patterning their life after us. And he's already shared with them two sterling examples of Christ-likeness that is worthy of their emulation. Timothy and Epaphroditus back in chapter 2 verses 19 through 30. And we're not going to turn there. But those are two examples that in this local context they could follow. Timothy and Epaphroditus. And no doubt there were others in Philippi who were pursuing Christ in a manner that was exemplary, worthy of imitation. Examples are important. Models are important. When I was a kid, my dad was finishing our basement and I wanted to help. So he gave me a board that he was going to stain and said, here you go, son, sand it. So I took some sandpaper and I began sanding in a nice circular motion. you know, trying to cover the entire board, you know, in a very rhythmic and systematic way, thinking I was doing a great job. And he happened to catch what I was doing out of the side of his eye and stopped me immediately because I was scratching the wood, right? You have to sand with the grain. So he came over, stopped me, showed me the grain and the pattern of it, and then showed me how to sand in keeping with the grain so that I wouldn't destroy a nice piece of wood. And then he said, now you do it. If you want to teach someone how to do something, one of the best ways is to model it for them. And then have them do the same thing. And that is what Paul is doing here. Here's how you should be living life. Now you try it. The Lord has given us, by his grace, many good and godly examples worth following. He's given us these examples in the Bible. through the life of Paul, and Timothy, and Epaphroditus, and Peter, and John, and David, and Moses, and Abraham, and Daniel. Not a single one of them lived a perfect life, right? But each of them lived lives worthy of emulating, worthy of following. Follow them as they follow Christ. Likewise, God provides us with many contemporary examples. of Christ-likeness. So look around you. God has placed us in a community of believers. And we're to encourage one another all the more. And one of the ways we encourage one another is by being examples for one another. Now we're not all gonna be examples in every area. But I can look out across here and I can see examples that are helpful to me in what it means to raise a family, in what it means to be a godly husband or a godly father, in what it means to be Christ-like in terms of how I pray, in terms of my involvement in the local church, in terms of what it means to be a faithful and loyal employee. God has provided us with Godly examples all around us that we would do well to take note of and emulate. When I say is there someone in this church who you look up to, who you would like to grow to become one day, does someone pop in your mind? If not, you're not as involved in this church as you ought to be. You're not as enmeshed in the fellowship of the saints as the Lord would have you be. Part of our being a body of Christ, of our being a fellowship of believers, is that we need to have examples and be examples to others. And in order to do that, we have to be close to one another. We have to live life together. We have to spend time together. We have to go through crises together. We have to go through good times together, and observe these things, take note of them, and then emulate them in our own life. That is a part of God's common grace to us, and that is how he intends for us to grow. So follow good examples. That's part of what it means to live wisely in this time of in-between. Secondly, second way to live wisely in the in-between, don't follow bad examples. And I might add, and don't be a bad example, right? Verses 18 and 19. For many walk of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their appetite, whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things." Don't be that person, and don't follow those people. Despite the number of good examples the Philippians had around them, whom they could follow after, Paul was also aware that there were plenty of bad examples too. Someone has said, no man is completely worthless. He can always serve as a horrible example. Every dark cloud has a silver lining, I guess. Well, Paul had warned the Philippians about these bad examples before, and now he's warning them again in this letter with tears, breaks his heart to know that there were so many bad examples. Notice he says there are many. The church is full of hypocrites. Yeah. Guilty. Anybody else feel guilty? of hypocrisy. We know far more and far better than our living, right? Our knowledge exceeds our living, oftentimes. And such was the case. Such has always been the case. But in this situation, there were many who were the enemies of the cross of Christ. Now, they didn't come out and say we're enemies of Jesus. In fact, the implication here is that they were somehow associated with the fellowship at some level. Who are these many? Who are these people? One commentator has observed that there are about 18 different views on precisely who Paul is talking about here. Whenever there are 18 different views, probably reasonable that we just, you know, take it easy, you know, a little bit. And, you know, you can come to your own conclusions, but probably, you know, this is probably not a central issue for us. Some have suggested that Paul has in mind here the Judaizers, those who were professing Christ, but adding the works of law to the simple gospel message of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. After all, he's just finished a significant section warning the Philippians about the Judaizers here in this very chapter, in chapter three and verse two. Others say that Paul is talking about a group of professing Christians who were living lives in open sin. They were antinomian, against law. These were the polar opposites of the Judaizers. They believed they were free in Christ to do whatever they pleased. Christ has freed us to do whatever we want. Our sins are paid for, so hey, we've got carte blanche. Well, whoever Paul is talking about, it's clear that he's making them out to be bad examples that the Philippians should be careful not to follow. Whether they were legalistic or libertarian, they were such a bad example that Paul can refer to them as enemies of the cross of Christ. though they profess to be believers, they were, in fact, enemies of Christ. He then shares with us a few more details about these bad examples, and you can identify them as bad examples by their behavior. First of all, he says their end is destruction, very unlike the true Christian's end, which will be eternal life. The end of these enemies of the cross will be eternal destruction. Though they profess Christ, they are like many who will say on judgment day, Lord, Lord, didn't we do all these wonderful things in your name? And the Lord Jesus will say, depart from me, I never knew you. Next, Paul says of these bad examples that their God is their appetite. They worry, or they worship, rather, the God of their appetite. Self-satisfaction. Self-fulfillment. They worship their bellies. They live to serve their appetites. Gorging themselves on food. Indulging their every fleshly desire. Feasting on pleasures of this world. All the while claiming to follow Jesus. They lack discipline. They lack self-restraint. And they give themselves over to self-indulgence it seems at every turn. Next Paul says their glory is in their shame. They glory in what they should actually find great shame in. Rather than glorying in Jesus Christ, chapter three and verse three, that's where our glory ought to be. These professing Christians gloried in their open-mindedness and their lack of restraint. Ah, we've come to this new understanding that we're now free in Christ, free to do whatever we want. They reveled in their absolute freedom, not realizing that they were in fact enslaved to their appetites. Their glory was in fact their shame. Finally, he says, these bad examples set their minds on earthly things. They're living for the here and now. Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. They've set their minds on whatever it is that the world has to offer them. They're earthly minded. And so they're no heavenly good. These professing Christians were bad examples indeed. They seem to be living life in a completely opposite way from the Apostle Paul, from Timothy, from Epaphroditus, and from the other good examples that were present within the Philippian church. And Paul says, mark them out, stay away from them, don't follow their example, and most certainly don't be one of them. You want to live wisely in this time in between? Then be discerning in terms of who you follow after, in terms of whose teaching you listen to, in terms of whose life you emulate. Pick good examples, stay away from bad examples. All right, thirdly, claim your true citizenship. Verse 20. Paul says, for our citizenship is in heaven. These bad examples, they set their minds on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. In stark contrast to these self-indulgent, self-absorbed, enemies of the cross, earthly-minded, Paul points out that in fact our citizenship is in heaven. We are a part of a heavenly commonwealth. And therefore, we do not live for ourselves in service to our appetites, rather we live for Christ our King. Colossians 3, verses 1 and 2, Paul says there, therefore, if you've been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is seated, at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things that are on the earth. Just about everything in this world is calling us to meditate upon baseness, upon that which is passing, upon that which is not eternal. and lasting and glorifying to God. But Paul says set your mind on things above. Set your mind on heavenly truth. Set your mind on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Set your mind on the realities of God's promises to us. Paul says we as Christians living in a foreign land are eagerly awaiting the return of the king. Jesus is going to come back. Is your mind set on heavenly things? Are you continually seeking those things that are above? Are you reminding yourself of God's truth on a regular basis? On a daily basis? Are you filling your heart with songs of truth? And encouragement? that keep your mindset with a heavenward focus? Or do you find yourself going days and days without a thought of the Lord Jesus? Without a thought of His truth? Without a thought of His soon return? We as Foreign citizens living in a strange land are to eagerly await the return of Jesus. Are you looking forward to and anticipating the return of our King? Is that your mindset this morning? John in 1 John 2.15 warns us, Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Hebrews 11 gives us that great depiction of all those faithful brothers and sisters who've gone before us. And Hebrews 11.10 reminds us of Abraham who was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. What was Abraham looking for? He was looking for heaven. He was looking for that final fulfillment of God's promise of blessing. He wasn't looking for an earthly city. Hebrews 11, 13 says, all these patriarchs died in faith without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles in the earth, For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed, if they had been thinking of a country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country that is a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. That's what faith looks like. It looks like longing. It looks like someone who is living for a different world, a different city, living by a different set of values, a different set of rules. Hebrews 13, 14, for here we do not have a lasting city. Can I get an amen to that? We don't have a lasting city here, right? None of this is gonna last. It's all gonna burn. The elements will melt with fervent heat. This isn't a lasting city. What are you building for? What are you preparing for? What are you investing in? But we are seeking a city which is to come. Is that what you're seeking today? Is that what you're living for today? First Peter 2.11 says, Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Live like an alien, live like a stranger in this world, knowing that you are living for a city that is lasting and eternal, a city whose Foundations and maker and builder is God. You wanna live wisely in the in-between? Well, claim your true citizenship in heaven. Fourthly and finally, anticipate your final transformation. Hallelujah, verse 21. As we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, verse 21, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory. Hallelujah. By the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, when He returns is going to transform us. You are not the best you you can be. And should the Lord tarry, you will not be the best you you can be in 2022. I hate to tell you, all the self-help books say you can be the best you you can be. You can't be. Right? I don't want to be fatalistic here. We are to pursue the Lord Jesus Christ, right? We are to grow in Christ-likeness. We are to look at examples that we can follow and emulate, and follow them as they follow Christ. We're supposed to do all that. But at the end of the day, we know it's not enough. We're honest with ourselves. We know we don't have the grit. We don't have the determination. We don't have the will to make it happen. And there's this gnawing reality of sin that resides within us still that we battle against it. And yes, we can be victorious, but oftentimes we aren't. No, we need some power from without us to finalize and finish the work that has begun in us. that God has promised to finish, right? God is going to do it. He's gonna do it by His own power. Our humble state, our bodies with our flesh and our unredeemed humanness are going to be transformed into conformity with the body of His glory. The body of His glory? Into conformity to that? To the resurrected Christ? What a truth, what hope, not by our power, not by our determination, but by His. Salvation from first to the last is a work of God. From its beginning to its completion, the image of God in us will be restored and perfected from its current corrupted state. Our imperfect image of Christ that we portray to others is going to be transformed into perfection. 1 Corinthians 15, 51 says, Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. Come, Lord Jesus. Make it so. Change me, Lord. Change me now, but change me finally and fully. 1 John 3, 2, Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not appeared yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is. We're gonna be like Him. How will God accomplish this transformation in us? Well, Paul says, by the exertion of His power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. This is not too hard a job for the Lord Jesus, who has the power to subject all things in earth and in heaven. All powers, all things. And mortality will put on immortality. Sin will be done away with once and for all. Every desire for that which does not please Christ will be snuffed out finally. Let me take you to one last scripture this morning, and turn with me there if you would. 2 Corinthians chapter five. One of the great, great chapters of the Bible. 2 Corinthians five. 2 Corinthians 5.1. For we know that if the earthly tent, which is our house, is torn down, he's talking about his body, right? this earthly tent, our house is torn down. We have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed, in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven. Inasmuch as we having put it on will not be found naked. For indeed, while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened. Anybody groaning this morning? Day after Christmas? A lot of groaning going on. Because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. The Spirit of God residing in you, Christian, is God's pledge that He will finish the work He's begun. Therefore, verse 6, being always of good courage. Who needs courage this morning? Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight, we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore, we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, whether alive or dead, whether in the body or with the Lord, to be pleasing to Him. Paul's earnest expectation and confident hope of a future transformation led him to seek to please the Lord in the present. Do you see that connection? He believed by faith, not by sight, but by faith, that a coming transformation was going to happen, that the Lord would do it by His power, and that caused him to want to be pleasing to the Lord even now. Not just wait and twiddle our thumbs and say, well, I wish the Lord would take care of all this sin in my life. But the promise of a future transformation fueled Paul's desire to pursue that transformation even now through dependence on the Lord. Beloved, we are living in the in-between. The in-between time of Jesus' first coming and his second coming. The in-between of the first moment of our salvation and the consummation of that salvation. But it's not to be a time when we sit around and do nothing. God has given us godly examples to follow. He's given us bad examples to avoid. He's given us a heavenly citizenship through which we're to view everything in this life. And he's given us the promise of a future transformation that is to fuel our present desire for current transformation. This is what it is to live wisely in the in between. As we wait, the final fulfillment of that work that has already begun. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Our Lord Jesus, thank you for your word which encourages us and challenges us and convicts us. Lord, if we're honest, probably all of us would say we are too earthly minded. The world, the flesh, the devil, All are far too enticing to us. And we have sought to find fulfillment in that which can never satisfy. Forgive us, Lord. And we. With newness of heart and freshness of commitment. Turn from those things and. Turn instead to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Which alone can bring forgiveness. And newness of mind. So, Lord, do that work in us. Which we are powerless on our own to do ourselves. Lord, make us aware of godly examples around us, protect us from following after bad examples. Help us to be heavenly minded. To recall that our citizenship is in heaven from which we eagerly await a Savior. That this world's not our home, that we're aliens and strangers. And remind us daily, Lord, of a coming transformation, Lord. What hope, what promise there is for us in your gospel that one day all the struggles we have are gonna be done. All the troubles, all the disease, all the heartache, the struggle with sin is gonna be finally finished. You're gonna wipe every tear from our eyes and you're gonna make us like yourself. through your own power to subject all things to your authority, including those troublesome, persistent sins in our own life and heart. Thank you, Jesus, for your promise. Help us to wait in the in-between with wisdom. In Jesus' name, amen.