Ep 81 – Philippians Pt 5

the Joy of the Lord to kill you. That’s the Book of Philippians and the Book of Philippians. This little incredible epistle of Joy. It’s a prison epistle talks about number one, The Single Mind. Chapter one, Chapter two, The Submissive Mind. Chapter three The Spiritual Mind and chapter four The Secure Mind. Today, we’re gonna look at the Spiritual Mind and Vicki and I are gonna jump into that discussion now. Come. So today we’re gonna be looking at the Spiritual Mind. Chapter three of Philippians. Now, I love this little book of Philippians, don’t you Vicki? I mean, it’s the Joy of the Lord wrapped up in these four chapters and how the Single Mind the Submissive Mind. Chapter two, chapter three The Spiritual Mind in chapter four. The secure mind. And that’s really just almost like a little beautiful diamond package. Uh and we’re gonna look today at the Spiritual Mind and you’re gonna pick it up, Vicki first, beginning with verse one. Finally, my brethren rejoice hero in the Lord to write the same things again is no trouble Oak Nero’s burdensome or a delay to me. And it is a safeguard as felice for you. So, he’s gonna give them some really very pertinent truths and information. He’s gonna lead us into two different roads and he’s and he starts here, Beware of Dogs. Keep keep reading, Beware of the Evil Workers Beware of the false dichotomy to Tomi Tomi mutilate or circumcision. So this was a false circumcision that people had. And he talks about himself or we are the true perry Tomi circumcision. It’s interesting how he kind of pits these against one another, calling the circumstance the true circumcision and the mutilation dogs evil workers false. Uh you know, he talks about the full circumcision. So he’s giving you two different ways. He’s identifying two different ways consistently here. And we worship in the spirit of God and glory in christ, jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. So now he identifies what he’s talking about, not putting any confidence in the flesh. And he uses the word what peter, which we get the word peace t from which is faith. So confidence or so, no confidence in the flesh. So that’s one way. That’s the dogs, that’s the mutilation, that’s the wrong, the wrong way. And then he says, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. Uh if anyone else has a mind to put confidence of again, which is the source of the word for faith in the flesh, I far more now. So the question we’ve got to ask the question, what am I putting my confidence in? And when it comes to the spiritual mind, what God sees as the spiritual mind, I’ll come back to this. But let’s go forward here is the personal credentials that the apostle paul goes into. So I’ll let you go ahead and read the list. So he said, I was circumcised the eighth day of the nation of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin a hebrew of Hebrews as to the law of Pharisee, as to zeal a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness, which is in the law found blameless. So he was self righteous with all of his credentials, which really means nothing when it comes to salvation. And he’s and he, and he kind of summarized all of them as I’m not putting any confidence in the flesh and then he identifies what he’s talking about ceremonially nationally, the pedigree or privilege that he’s got because of the tribe of Benjamin. They were the first ones to have the king Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin, his parentage, uh, the hebrew of the Hebrews legally, as to the law of Pharisee, I mean, the strictest sect of the law uh, concerning uh, you know who he was. And then as to zeal persecuting the church sincerity. I mean, it was 100% into it thinking, hey, I’m doing what God wants me to do. And then as to the righteousness, which is of the law found blameless self righteousness. So he says, yet he says, this is of the flesh, putting confidence in the flesh. Now, this is the question to ask here, what am I putting my confidence in? What am I putting my faith in? And I think one of the best uh, descriptions of this Vicky uh, is the story of cain and Abel, maybe we could just look at it in Genesis Chapter four. And we have the two roads. We have the road of good works, self righteousness, all the personal credentials that cain brought to the table. And then we have the road of able. So please read for us. Uh and then we’ll see where we could stop from the first verse chapter four. Now the man had relations with his wife eve and she conceived and gave birth to CAin and she said, I have gotten a man child with the help of the Lord. And again she gave birth to his brother. Abel and Abel was a keeper of the flocks. But CAin was a tiller of the ground. So it came about in the course of time that CAin brought offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground and able on his part, also brought of the first things of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering, but for CAin and for his offering, he had no regard. So CAin became very angry and his countenance fell. Then the Lord said to cain, why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up. And if you do not well, sin is crouching at the door and its desire is for you, but you must master it. And cain told Abel his brother, and it came about that when they were in the field, that CAin rose up against his brother and killed him, wow, wow. And you know, here, here is an amazing thing that takes place, that the person that, who was rejected, not because he was any less than the other one, but simply because he didn’t come to God on God’s terms, God wanted a lamb sacrifice, he wanted the animal sacrifice, remember he killed the animal and he clothed Adam and Eve with the skins and so for sin, God doesn’t want the good works of our hands, even if it’s the best that we can give. Uh he wants that offering that lamb, that sacrifice. And it’s a picture of the sacrifice, of jesus christ, we know this and there are, there are images all throughout the whole bible. In fact, john the baptist and john 21 29 said, behold the lamb of God, going back to this very, this very beginning of this very in types of jesus christ here, just a beautiful uh story. And and so you have here, one man came putting confidence in the flesh, the other man able with the spiritual mind, just obeying God, doing what God says. Now, that’s the key. It isn’t that the works were bad, that cain did it, was that he disobeyed God, he didn’t come the way God wanted him to come. So you have anything more to say about the, the, the illustration of cain and Abel, it’s just the way that we decide things right now without the knowledge of the scriptures. We’re looking at our own good works, our own intelligence, our own abilities and thinking that we’re a good person. But we have no idea about the difference between our righteousness and God’s righteousness. It’s so extreme. There’s no comparison with Corinthians. The book of Corinthians says we judge ourselves with ourselves really not understanding God’s true judgment, you know, So a lot of people can judge themselves with someone else when I’m not as bad as he is or she is. And so this is really important. All right, let’s move on here. We have now, but whatever things were gain to me, those things I’ve counted. Now, here is the beginning of three words that we want to talk about. Hey, yo man, he he yelled me rather as lost Z Mia for the sake of christ. The word counted is what we’re looking at here. More than that. I count. He yelled all things to be lost. In the view of the surpassing value of knowing christ, jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. And count. Here it is. Again he yelled is rubbish. Ski Vallon, which which is really uh scraps that you throw to the dogs so that I may gain christ Now, here is the distinction of the two roads the one road, putting confidence in my flesh, putting confidence in my righteousness. I’m from this family. I’ve been circumcised the eighth day and so forth. The other road is looking away from all of that and regarding it as dog scraps garbage and putting my confidence in who God says we’re supposed to do and that is knowing christ, jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish. And then he goes on to say and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own, derived from the law, but that which is through faith in christ the righteousness, which comes from God on the bay basis of faith that I may know him in the power of his resurrection, fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Now he gives a clear picture of the gospel here, paul’s past. He looks at himself as an accountant and he’s saying and he said three times there, I count, I count. And he was looking at the things that he was counting for himself. He says this is garbage. I’m looking away from the list. Uh the credential list and looking just to jesus christ uh, to save me. So let’s let’s talk about that. And then we’re going to see that there are three words that could have been used, he could have used the word, he could have used the word uh but he no, he used the word for accountant, he yell me and we’re gonna see that in a minute. We’ll come back to the illustration. But here are the three words, why don’t you go through the words for me starts with a go to lead and properly lead the way or go before as a chief ACOG Nate with he he game on a governor or an official who leads others coming first in the priority like the leading thought or highly esteemed used of an authority providing leadership in a local church. And that’s the word that is used here. And and that’s why I keep saying we’re at a crossroad, we’re either gonna go this way to the left or we’re gonna that way to the right and God uses high ohm as a road that you need to be on and that is to look to jesus christ and not to the flesh or to your own credentials. The second word uh, now in this word, Robertson says is the perfect tense implies that he still counts them as loss. Notice the singular number los and the plural gains. The various gains are all counted as one loss. Okay, so the word what goes before in front of and then the second word is final man, go ahead. It relates to the standpoint of the object and expresses how a matter phenomenally shows and presents itself it is how it appears or is shown. Yeah. So this again, this word is translated count but not in the same way as he yells. He yells, is talking about a road. This word is talking about how something appears. And then the third word is Louisa, which is a secular greek term for accounting, implying, Reckon these things among your assets to put them in your account or take them out of your account. Doesn’t use that word for account. It’s very interesting to me that he uses that first word for account, meaning you’re going in this direction, drop everything else and go in this direction. Now let’s go back to the illustration given here in Second Kings 51 through 14, Namun and the servant girl, the prophet Elisha name and servant. So maybe you could just read those verses for us. Vicky. Second Kings Five. Now Naaman, captain of the army of the King of Aram was a great man with his master and highly respected because by him the Lord had given victory to Ram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper. Now the Arum Ian’s had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel and she waited on norman’s wife and she said to her mistress, I wish that my master were with the prophet who was in Samaria. Then he could cure him of his leprosy. And Naaman went in and told his master saying thus and thus spoke the girl who was from the land of Israel. Then the King of Aram said, go now and I will send a letter to the King of Israel, and he departed and took with him 10 talents of silver and 6000 shekels of gold and 10 changes of clothes. And he brought the letter to the King of Israel saying. And now as this letter comes to you, behold I have sent name in my servant. Behold I have sent him that you may cure him of his leprosy. And it came about when the King of Israel read the letter that he tore his clothes and said, Am I God to kill and to make alive that this man is sending the word to me to cure a man of his leprosy, but consider now and see how he is seeking to quarrel against me. And it happened when Elijah, the man of God heard that the King of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king saying, why have you torn your clothes? Now, let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. So norman came with his horses and his chariots, and he stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha and Elijah sent a messenger to him saying, go and wash in the Jordan river seven times and your flesh shall be restored to you and you shall be clean. But Namun was furious and went away and said, Behold, I thought he will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God and wave his hand over this place and cured the leper are not uh a a banana and far and far part the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel. Could I not wash in them and be clean? So he turned and went away in rage, in a rage. And then his servant came near and spoke to him and said. My father had the prophet told you to do some great thing, Would you not have done it? How much more Then when he says to you wash and be clean? And so he went down and dipped himself seven times in the jordans according to the word of the man of God and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a child and he was clean. Now here are the two ways again. I mean we expect salvation to sometimes come so hard. I’ve got to go through, you know catechism, I’ve gotta keep myself pure and holy. Always watch my words, my thoughts, my actions tried to be a pharisee legally with my external this was this was name and he was so angry because here he was given a simple command. Go to the jordans dip seven times. You’re gonna be clean. I mean what could be easier? He says, well we got rivers right here, why do I have to go over there Vicki Is this an incredible story? What do you see from this story? I see that God has a totally different way to save us. And to give we have to listen to the instruction and know the intent of the Lord. His intent is always to give us wisdom and clear direction and peace whenever we obey God and we do what he says his way. We have peace in our own heart despite what’s going on all around us, even in our own homes, if we have conflicts. So it’s very important to listen to, to know the character of God. God is love. That’s how he describes himself. He doesn’t say I’m an angry, all potent person. No, he said, I am love. God is love. And so when we know that God loves us enough to sacrifice himself for us, then we have confidence in his words. That’s why the scriptures are so important. And then God uses all kinds of people to bring his message of salvation to us. In this case it was leprosy. The problem, you have a problem. You don’t need God. Many times, people don’t need God, They’re rich. They don’t think they need God. They’re healthy. They don’t think they need God, They’re strong, they’re intelligent. What do I need? And yet here’s a man who’s got a high position, but he’s got leprosy, what a debilitating disease. Nobody wants to be around everybody immediately goes away about who told him the little servant girl from Israel that was captive in. Exactly. So God uses an immigrant, somebody who was taken as a slave probably. And here she is serving his his wife and God uses her to say, hey, there’s a profit, right? And then, and then uh, you know, the, the king is angry. He says, oh, they want to fight with us. I mean, there’s a whole story here and then Namun gets angry. He’s saying, why do I have to do that? And and then his servant says, well, what if he told you to do something hard? Wouldn’t you do that? So now look at all the people God is using, he uses the prophet Elisha. He uses a little servant girl. He’s using the the servant of Namun in order to bring the simple message of the gospel, jesus died was buried in a rosy. And that’s the picture of dipping seven times in the jordans. And uh, you know, you either do it God’s way or you you try to do it your own way and and pay the consequences. So this is a fabulous uh story. Hey, yo man, uh, to be led in the right way to do it the right way. Uh it also federal men we said is to appear in Louisa Minister reckon those words were not used for account, but he was that. It’s talking about the two ways of the flesh and of the spirit of having a spiritual mind or having a fleshly human self righteous mind. Alright, now paul’s present is from verse 12 to 16, the athlete, I press Yoko too aggressively chased like a hunter or a fisherman pursue a catch positive to earnestly pursue. Uh So now he’s going like an athlete after the perfection of the Lord. He says, not that I’ve already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press the Yoko on so that I may lay hold Catalan Bonneau, which is the same word as to to wrestle down and bring under your control of that. For which also I was laid hold of cattle Ambon. Oh, by jesus christ brethren. I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it, Catalan Bonneau. And yet but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward. Epic latino man to what lies ahead. I mean stretching out so he’s looking to heaven, he’s looking to getting to perfection. But he says, I’m not there yet. So, this picture is of an athlete, you know, running the race, reaching forward, stretching his neck to break the tape. Isn’t that a great picture? And then the final one? I would like you to uh keep reading it. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God and christ jesus. Let us therefore as many as be perfect. Tell yo having this attitude from now and if anything you have a different attitude from now, God will reveal that also to you. However, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained now we use these illustrations, Nehemiah also and paul who’s you know who and jesus who fixed his face like a flint. They knew where they were going, Nehemiah said, I don’t have time to go over there and and and talk to you guys. We got a job to do. He fixed himself there. The Apostle paul in Acts 2024 he said, none of these things move me or stop me, you know, And he had his focus was clear and uh and like the US also by the navy seals, they use that whole expression, you know, you fix your face like a flint like you’re not, you’re not gonna swerve to the left or to the right. So this is a beautiful illustration of the athlete, but then you have the future. The alien I look. So one I count the other I I press and the third one is I I look and and this is of the alien. Again. These uh were some of the illustrations that we got from warren where’s b you know, we’re not trying to uh anything I teach and preach and share is something I’ve learned either from the bible or from the great bible teachers all around me. The spirit zodiac pisces the warren weir’s bees, the various people I grew up with in my christian life. People like john macarthur and David Jeremiah and joe stole just wonderful bible teachers. People like chuck swindle, focusing in on the word of the Almighty God. Now these last few verses Vickie began to read from verse 17 rather than join in following my example. See me metes fellow imitator and observe Scorpio those who walk according to the pattern tipos. Uh tipos is like something that striked repeatedly makes an image. And what’s interesting is this word which is a mimic, it’s also used for example or type and here is tipos which is an example or type. One imitates another, the other is the example itself. So it’s, it uses both of these words in the text here. You know, it’s a very powerful thing that’s saying look brethren join in following my example. So we have to look at the teachers around us who are living for christ the people who are teaching us. We learn to pray because they show us how we learn to share the gospel because they show us how we learn to study the bible because we’re watching how they study the bible. They read the pass messages. They they ask the questions and we begin to do the very same and then eventually we become an example. Like it says in first timothy 4 12, it says 4 12, let no one look down on your youthfulness but in your words and your actions and your love and your faith in your puree B A. T pose an example of the believer? It also uses these words in first Thessalonians, chapter one mimicked becomes an example phenomenal. So paul is saying this to the Philippians in chapter three on how you get your spiritual mind for and then he says go ahead Vicki for our citizenship is in heaven from which we eagerly day home from apo away and go make welcome. So Ek is out from a triple compound. They wait for a savior. So tear the Lord jesus christ who will transform schema. Tiso. Tashima Tiso is a long, long word. Matiz oh right, the body soma of our humble state into conformity. Now this is an interesting play on words because they’re both found in chapter two as well. You know Jesus who is in the very character of God, which is the morphy, he now becomes in the character of a slave, Murphy of a lulus but he has the appearance of of a man and then he is found in the schema, the schematic of a man in the body and this is what it’s saying here notice it says now our body is gonna go through this. Seymour forces this this transformation, the very body now is gonna go through that transformation of his glory. The exertion and adhere and media rather of the power the enemies that has even to subject all things to himself. So what is he saying is that we’ve got our eyes on jesus coming, our citizenship is in heaven. The spiritual man is going to put no confidence in his flesh. He’s going to have a heart to run after perfection, forgetting what lies behind pressing for and he’s gonna keep his eyes going towards jesus christ who is perfect because this is not our home. We’re just passing through our treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue anymore. You could say about these three illustrations that we have in uh, in the third chapter of Philippians The Spiritual Mind. Well, we had the accountant to count and that’s uh was used in Philippians 236 and 25 then in verses 37 and 38. So he uses that term many, many times. He gives the accountant, which is like a legal term. And so it’s for real, it’s not an opinion. It’s weighed when you weigh the books, when you balance the account every month, there’s no fudging around. Yeah, not even a penny missing. And then he uses the illustration of the athletes. So he’s pressing on, he’s he’s got a goal, he knows where he’s going, he knows the mark, he has to reach. But he’s going to the goal that christ has already paved the way for him and he’s pressing on in light of the grace that God is going to give him to get to the finish line, Amen. That’s very well said, praise the Lord, what a wonderful time that we can have and this is my favorite books and in the spiritual mind and the spiritual mind is different than what we think, spirituality is, spirituality is not just getting up at six in the morning and having reading your bible, spirituality is not just praying at a certain time or you know, having going through some some ropes or hoops are almost legalism, that spirituality has to do with who am I trusting in? What am I going after in this life? And where is my destination? Am I really living for eternity? Or am I just saying it, but just living for myself and for what I want?