Well, we turn our attention to Philippians chapter 3 and here to verse 20. For our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have by the Lord's Supper, we have shown the Lord's death till he come. It's fitting for us then to turn our thoughts and to think of His coming and its implications for our practice. In our text, we encounter the word conversation. And the particular word here is a rich one that has to do with citizenship. It could be rendered as commonwealth or citizenship. In that sense, our conversation represents what our privileges are as those have been granted access unto the city of God. However, the word can also represent the conduct of a person, their way of life, and therefore the conduct that is appropriate and required unto one who has such a citizenship and access to the city of God. And here in our context, especially The apostle is concerned about our walk, as in verse 17, be followers together of me and mark them which walk. So as he have us for an example. Strictly speaking, of course, verse 20 is a declaration or a statement. Our conversation is in heaven. It's a great fact, a great doctrine. that the Christian has these citizenship privileges in heaven. But by implication, then our duty based on those privileges is to have a heavenly walk. Indeed, the simplest sense of it is behave as if you were in heaven already. If we could keep that rule in our eye, we would have much wisdom. How then shall we live? walk as if already in heaven. To consider it under three headings, we'll consider first of all, the distinctness of a heavenly conversation. He says, for our conversation is in heaven. And in part, this means our conversation and not the conversation of others. There is an exclusiveness to that word, our. It's not the conduct of all. In fact, he says in verse 18, for many walk, many have a walk that is not heavenly. And verse 19, they mind earthly things. It's strange, but it's a spiritual truth. The things that are seeming opposites meet together because Paul is warning us in this chapter about those who are evil workers and they are the concision. He trumpets against them the righteousness of Christ alone and that received by faith alone as the believers ground of justification. It is strange to think that those who oppose justification by faith alone through Christ alone, it would be strange to think that their walk would be earthly, but so it is. It's because they are worshiping the idol of self. They are worshiping the idol of self-righteousness and therefore Their whole life is bent towards not walking before the face of God, but walking before men and securing the good opinions of men. It says of these same ones that their God is their belly. And that should remind us of what we considered on Wednesday night. They are dominated by this evil fleshly appetite. And once again, We may be surprised, but we need to be instructed. We need to understand that those who look unto a righteousness by their own works will end up being self-indulgent. They won't be able to break free from the grips and from the power of the lusts of the flesh. No man can deny himself without the spirit of Jesus Christ received by faith in a gospel way. We see, of course, a perfect instance of this in the Church of Rome, which has great boastings of outward religiousness, which is wrong in its gospel foundation and which gives birth to all manner of fleshly indulgence. The way to heaven is narrow. The gate is straight. It is not everyone who is on the way that leads to heaven. The apostle, he is telling us our conversation is in heaven. And that makes a distinction. Not everyone has this walk. And you shouldn't be content unless you have a heavenly walk. there is perhaps an objection that can spring up. We might be thinking, well, the apostle Paul had a heavenly conversation, but he was Paul. No, no, he doesn't say my conversation is in heaven, he says our. Paul and those who embrace the gospel that he preached have a heavenly conversation. we can hear things sometimes about holy men. And for instance, it said about Richard Sibbes, that heaven was in him before he was in heaven. Wonderful statement, but there's a kind of way you could take that and abuse it to your own harm, which would be namely, if you idolize the man, if you begin to think, oh yes, some few Puritan ministers back then lived a heavenly life, but the rest of us can't be expected to do that. No, no. We're not to idolize that and put it up here to be admired, but we are to imitate it. A heavenly walk is for every Christian. And see, the man who's still in the flesh won't like this one bit. because he's pursuing heaven as if by his works and so he wants to constantly be reassured what you're doing is enough. It's enough if you don't really have to love heavenly things. It's okay to continue with your mind on earthly things and slave to your appetites as long as you have this external appearance of religion and come on, you can't really expect me to walk as if I were in heaven. The hypocrite scoffs at that, but he's revealing that he is one of these many who walk in a way that brought the apostle onto weeping. No, it is for every Christian, every true Christian to have a heavenly conversation. It is not for monks who withdraw from everything, but it is for shoemakers and homemakers. It is for us. If anything, it is now for us more under the New Testament. Enoch walked with God, had a heavenly conversation. How much more should we for that we've received greater light and privilege Saints should have this heavenly conversation. And it won't do to say, oh, but I'll have to wait to have a heavenly conversation until I'm not a sinner anymore. You see, if anyone understood that the Christian has two conflicting principles within, he has the flesh and the spirit warring against each other, the apostle Paul understood that. And so he's saying, while you're yet in that condition, while you're yet grieved that you cannot do the things that you would while you have the flesh opposing you at every single turn. Oh, but you have the spirit also. And by the spirit, you must have your conversation in heaven. The Lord is able to bring us to walk in this way. That'll show us something about the distinctness of a heavenly conversation. Our conversation is in heaven. But what is the nature of a heavenly conversation? If we were to use a parable for it, I would... adapt perhaps the parable of Ezekiel that he tells about Israel being like a tree, which there's a great, beautiful eagle, beautiful plumage and the tree bends its roots towards the eagle and shoots forth its branches towards the eagle. And so there's the first eagle is Nebuchadnezzar. The second eagle is Pharaoh. And so Israel looks first to the one and then to the other. But see, the Christian needs to be doing that. If the godly man is like a tree, then he needs to be bending his roots towards heaven and shooting forth his branches towards heaven. A Christian, all his privileges are heavenly privileges. He has a heavenly father. He has a new birth, or as we can render that, to be born again is to be born from above. He is born from above, from heaven. He sings thy word forever is O Lord in heaven settled fast. He has a heavenly word, both the promises of the word and the precepts of the word. He has an inheritance laid up for him in heaven. What does it mean then for the Christian to have his conversation in heaven? Well, it means that he will be often thinking of God. He will want to be thinking upon the attributes of God. He will think upon the works of God in history. He will think upon the persons of the Godhead and each of their distinct works and hold communion with the Father in his love and with the Son in his grace and with the Spirit in his communion or fellowship. He will be thirsting after God. What is heaven anyways? but it's the place where God manifests his glory in a special way. Of course, heaven can't contain God, but heaven is a created place that God has made to display his glory to reasonable creatures, angels and men in order that his glory might be beheld and that with fullness and satisfaction To have a heavenly walk is above all, to be seeking as the first thing, communion with God himself. To have a heavenly conversation also means performing religious duties in the manner that is most like heaven as you possibly can. It means coming into worship, public and family and private, and seeking to do so with all your heart, seeking to bring, to pour out your heart to the Lord in your petitions, to recollect his faithfulness and to bring him handfuls of the incense of praise. To have your conversation in heaven means to come to the house of God, And as much as the Lord enables you and you have help from him, it means that you say, I'm not thinking about how we'll be perceived by others. When I come to the house of God, I want to edify them. I do love them. I want to see them, but I'm thinking my care is not what will others think, but my care is how can I please God to have a heavenly conversation? does mean something about a proportion of our attention. Where is the proportion of our attention given? If our walk is already in heaven, we'll be having much traffic, much business with heaven, which we do principally by prayer, asking for good, and then praise, returning thankfulness for the good that is given. To have our conversation, in heaven means that we don't simply pray because we know that we have a duty to, although there are times when nothing else can really bind us to the place of prayer but a simple sense of duty. We thank the Lord if he brings us by that tie and cord of duty to the place of prayer. But more and more, what we would desire after is that we would be inwardly constrained, wanting to come to the place of prayer and of praise. What would it mean to have our conversation in heaven? It would be to remember that heaven is a world of charity or love as a servant of God famously said that these three abide faith hope charity. The greatest of these is charity that to have our conversation in heaven would mean to think upon. the society of men and angels who are with one accord surrounding around the throne and who are in various degrees, yes, of glory, but there is no jarring and envying between them. There is a mutual delighting in one another and delighting in the portion that the Lord has given unto each one to have our conversation in heaven. would be to study, to avoid vainglory and strife and envying. To have our conversation in heaven is to have a sense of God's immensity and omnipresence. Even if we were to think about what natural religion teaches to us, It does teach us some important things. We walk outside and if we take thought and we look up at the expanse of the heavens above us, it gives us a sense, doesn't it, that we're before the presence of God. This great God that stretches out the heavens like a tent to dwell in. I'm under his heavens and he sees me. And how much more in revealed religion Should we say well to have my conversation in heaven means I walk Knowing that I am always before him. I am always in his presence to have our conversation in heaven Would mean to repent of all that we would be ashamed to bring with us into heaven to cast aside every thing that hinders our running heaven words, even if it's lawful in itself, if it doesn't help us in our all encompassing desire to be with the Lord in heaven, then we ought to cast it aside to have a heavenly conversation. That would mean that we would be careful in the way that we sanctify the Sabbath day. The way you spend the Sabbath tells you quite a bit. The Lord's given us six days of the week for our own employments, and he has required of us that we spend one day, not one hour or not just two diets of public worship, but that we spend the day with Him, that we turn aside our thoughts from our ordinary works and also from our ordinary recreations, that we make it our delight to spend a whole day as directly as we can in the things that are means of communion with God. Now, what a terrible sign it is to be weary of the Sabbath. And I know that we never tire of saying, of course, the believer, he he has this inward struggle. There's the flesh and the spirit. And so a converted man finds to his own shame and grief at times become weary of the Lord's ordinances in the Lord's day. That's the flesh. And he he seeks to mortify that flesh. However, if that's all that you have, if the Sabbath is just a weariness to you, if you have no inward liking for it, if you don't look forward to it coming, my friend, that's the flesh. That's not something worthy, that's sin, and you need to repent of it. But the believer seeking to have his conversation in heaven, He travels through the weary world, his feet become dusty with this world, and the cares of this life press him down. But he says, I'm headed home. I'm headed home and blessed be God. He's given me one day a week to be like an outpost of heaven. And I will seek to enjoy as much of heaven as I possibly can in this day. What does it mean to have our conversation in heaven? It means that the way in which we receive the joys of this life is transformed so that the joys of this life don't become the point at which our hearts come to rest, but rather the joys of this life serve to raise up our hearts to God in heaven, from whom every good gift and every perfect gift descendeth. Have I received any good gift? Have I received so much as a meal upon my table? Well, that's a gift that came down. And therefore, I use that gift to raise my heart heavenward to the God from whom it came. It changes also the way that we deal with the sorrows of this life, which at times can overwhelm us. The waves can come so that we can hardly see above them. But the Christian having his conversation in heaven, he thinks my true treasure and my true security is somewhere higher than these waves can reach. It's past the reach of changes, decay, moth and rust. And so the Christian should seek to carry himself with a kind of nobility where he's not undone by the sorrows of this life. That will tell us something of the nature of a heavenly conversation. But we also need to consider the, well, let's call it the expectation of a heavenly conversation. For our conversation is in heaven from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So minister, you're telling me that it's my duty to walk in some way as if I were already in heaven. Why should I do that? The answer is because Christ will come out of heaven and he will take his own to be with him in heaven. That's the reason. As I was mentioning, natural religion, can teach us quite a few useful things. Just think of, you know, man the sky watcher. Think of all the things you could learn by carefully studying the heavens. You could think, well, Psalm 8. It tells me that when I look to the heavens, then I should say, what is man that thou art mindful of him? If I would look up to the created heavens, I would have a lower opinion of myself. I would be, I would be lowly and meek just from looking at the sky. If I would look at the sky and see light, and if I would think about how pure light is, that would teach me to be pure and unsullied. If I would look at the stars in their courses, that would teach me to be regular and to follow a course of obedience to my maker. But yet with thousands of years to study the sky, how much has man profited from the possibilities of natural religion and sky watching? He has, instead of advancing by watching the sky, man has turned into an idolater and bows down and worships sun, moon and stars. So to have a heavenly conversation, we need something more than natural religion and sky watching. We need the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. The Son of God came down from heaven, taking our nature. and in our nature suffered and died, was risen from the dead and has ascended back to heaven. And Paul says, that's the mystery of godliness. Do you want to be godly? Do you want to be heavenly? You will never be heavenly and godly if you do not study the mystery of godliness. It takes more than the sky to make you heavenly. What do you need to know? You need to know Him that stretched out the heavens, coming down in our nature, dying, rising, ascending, and then coming again. And if you know Him, then you will be transformed and heavenly in your conversation. That mystery of godliness is great. It is a great wellspring. There is no end to that which you may draw out from it. Christ is in heaven and the believer expects and looks for the coming of Christ from heaven. That's the thing that makes the Christian heavenly. In what respects should we think of our savior who is currently in heaven and will come from there to make our conversation heavenly? Think on him. this way. He is in heaven as the one whom the world rejected. When he was on the earth, he found nowhere to lay his head. The place on earth to which he was consigned was a cross. Why then should this world that rejected the Savior lifted him up from the earth? Why should this world hold my affections? when this world had no place for him. Why should this world be a pillow for me to lie my head upon and dreams of happiness and fulfillment here when he had not so much as anywhere to lay his head in this world. The earth rejected Christ, that is, if you will, one thing implied in the fact that he's in heaven now. Studying that should make you heavenly. He's in heaven as one in our nature. Here the minister is telling you to, that you need to bend the roots and branches of your mind towards heaven. but you might say heaven is frighteningly high. And even if we look on the starry heavens, that's only the second heavens, the third heavens, that's where the glory of God is displayed. How can we send our affections there when it's so glorious, it's so bright? Well, there's one there who's in our nature. He has taken our flesh up to heaven as a pledge, and he sent down his Holy Spirit as a pledge to us. Not only in our nature, but he is our head. He's gone to take possession of that place in our names. He has gone to heaven as an advocate. who is also at the right hand of God, who maketh intercession for us. He is there in heaven to maintain our right and title and citizenship there. Because, sad story, we give by our provocations fresh matter of accusation every day. But our advocate is at the right hand of God to answer these advocates accusations, to keep that hope as an anchor for the soul, to keep it anchored there within the veil. Nothing can move it. He has gone to heaven as our Joseph and called for famine on the land. He break the staff of bread, but yet he sent a man before by whom they should be fed. Our Lord Jesus has gone to the Father's house. He has gone to prepare a place for us. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." And Thomas said to him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest. And how can we know the way? Jesus said unto him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the father, but by me. Jesus has gone to heaven to prepare a place for the believer. His word is trustworthy. But not only has he gone to prepare a place like Joseph did, he'll also come again like Joseph did. Joseph, to persuade the doubting and astonished heart of his father, he sent wagons. He sent 10 asses laden with the good things of Egypt. And he sent 10 she-asses. with corn from Egypt to persuade his father. And Christ has been sending you, believer. He's been sending you the wagons that will carry you to the far country. He's been sending you tastes of the heavenly feast to persuade you so that you won't be afraid to come and to follow him to that far country, so that you won't sink like Jacob in doubting and despair, but that your heart might revive and live, that you might know that he lives, and because he lives, I shall also live. Joseph sent wagons and asses But then the day came when he made ready his chariot and he went forth to meet Israel. Our Lord Jesus Christ shall make ready his chariot and come to meet his Israel. And that will be a happy day. Joseph came to Jacob He fell on his neck. He wept a long time. We've been remembering our Savior's death, but even that death is a means of what? Bringing us there, filling us with communion with God. And it is our lives, it is our walk that reveal whether or not we understand why it was that Jesus died. Those who mind earthly things, Paul says, are enemies of the cross of Christ. For our conversation is in heaven. Let the cross of Christ be that which secures you unto walking heavenly. Amen. Well, let's stand together for prayer. O Lord, our God and our Father in heaven, we confess that we have delighted to be in these times of worship to be offering a reasonable and acceptable service to thee, even the fruit of lips giving thanks to thy name for thy greatest of gifts, our Lord Jesus Christ. We confess that we are not worthy to stoop down and to loose the latchet of his shoe, that our richest gifts, our beauty and glory would be well bestowed if they were poured out on his very feet. We pray, O God, fulfill thy word, that his name forever shall endure, last like the sun it shall, that men would be blessed in him, and blessed all nations shall him call. Without give him the nation for his heritage, without hasten the day, when the assembled multitude shall cry, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and blessing and honor and might. We ask thee to help us to go then watchfully and carefully, but also with our hearts, sincerely our hearts set upon things above where Christ is. We ask it for Jesus' sake. Amen.