Even though God is invisible, He is far more REAL than the world we see around us. God’s plan is eternal and unchanging. God is in total control even though the world we see seems out of control. God loves us and desires for us to bring every moment—every need—every circumstance to Him and He will fill us with His joy and peace. His message resounds through the ages to all who seek His face. God beckons us today to come to Him. Far too long we have put our confidence in the things of this world, but they are passing away. We hear much talk about citizenship today, but it involves this world and the things of this world. Paul reminds us in Philippians 3: 20 that our citizenship is in heaven, and from there we eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus the Messiah. Our aim and our goal as a born-again child of God is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings becoming like Him. (Phil. 3:10) We are called to know Him—that He is REAL and make Him known to others! That is the goal that we are to pursue here upon this earth.
It is time for us to wake up and realize that it is not about us, but all about God and His plan. In this world of “me first”—my rights—my body—my needs is driven by the god of this world and the pride born of him in opposition to God. God’s story as set forth in His Word is a story of redemption of dismantling all that Satan has done to destroy God’s creation. It is not about us but about God and we happen to be one of the targets of his agenda.
As we return to Paul’s writings in Philippians 3, he instructs us to press on and take hold of Jesus as He takes hold of us. (v 12) It is time for us to let go of the past with all its accomplishments and regrets and press on toward what is ahead—to press on toward the goal of God’s call upon us. (v. 13) It is time for us to get up and put on our big-boy and big-girl undies and grow up and mature in Christ—to fix our eyes on Him instead of the attitude of “what about me?” It is time we got real with God and ask Him to be real to us and reveal anything and any attitude that would separate us from Him. (v. 14)
Paul sounds a warning to us to walk according to the pattern Jesus set forth for His followers. (v. 17) He further warns us to be cautious of the enemies of the cross. We don’t have to look far to see them if we have eyes to see and ears to hear as they mock the ways and truths of Christ just like those who mocked Him at the time of His crucifixion. (V. 18) “Their end is destruction—their god is their belly and their glory is in their shame; They set their minds on earthly things.” (v. 19) They are vying for earthly treasures—the love of money is the root of all evil.” (I Tim. 6: 10) We see this displayed by the worldly elite driven by the god of this world to control the world with their global agenda—a plan that denies God and that He is REAL! Jesus instructed in Matthew 6:20 to “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
Paul urges believers to stand firm in the Lord and in the power of His might and love and long for His joy and crown. (4:1) In 4: 2-3 he sounds a special warning to fellow believers to stop squabbling among themselves and lay aside everything that hinders the work and call of Christ. This is a sad reality today as we argue and disagree over all sorts of things within the visible church body. God is in the process of purifying His Invisible Church making it without spot and wrinkle, making it ready for His Son’s Bride! His True Body of Christ is not confined to the four walls of a building. This means getting back to the Way—the Truth and the Life Jesus set forth. Any departure from the written Word is a departure from Christ—the Living Word. The question is “How much time do we spend in the Word which is the Bread of Life?” Are we like Martha, become so busy with the things of this world—even good works that we like Mary have failed to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn of Him?
Paul refers to believers in relation to crowns. He has other teachings concerning rewards in heaven for believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ in 2 Corinthians 5: 10: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for things he did while in the body—whether good or bad.” It is not a judgment of condemnation or punishment for sin as believers have already been forgiven through faith in Christ (Romans 8:1), but rather an examination of a Christian’s total life, including their works and service for God. The primary purpose of the Judgment Seat of Christ, also known as the Bema Seat, is to reward believers for their deeds, whether good or bad. It is a time of reckoning, where believers will be called to give an account of what we have done for Jesus in His Name and for His glory. The time of this judgment is after the Lord comes for His Church (I Cor. 3: 4-5) and the place is in heaven (1 Thess. 4: 16-17). The criteria for receiving rewards is laid out in 1 Cor. 3: 11-15). The result of this Judgment is “reward” or “loss.” Those works done in the flesh for mere human and secular motives will be burned up as they were self-motivated and done for the glory of man. Only those works that are led and motivated by the Holy Spirit for the glory of God is worthy of an eternal reward. As Tommy would say: “You better check to see who is getting the glory when we do something.” Are we doing what we do to get glory remarks from people or for the glory of God? This is another reason when doing works not to let the right hand know what the left hand is doing—not to be seen of man but of God who rewards us in heaven. (Mt. 23:5)
The New Testament speaks of Five Crowns: (1) The Crown of “Life”—Crown for enduring persecution and even martyrdom. (James 1: 12, Rev. 2:10) (2) The Crown of “Glory”—Crown for shepherding believers. (I Pt. 5: 2-4) (3) The Crown of “Rejoicing”—Crown for soul winners for those who are brought to Jesus by us. (I Thess. 2: 19-20; Phil 4:1) (4) The Crown of “Righteousness”—Crown for those who love His appearing and long for it. (2 Tim. 4:8) (5) The Crown of “Incorruptible”—Crown of victory to those who do not yield to their fleshy lusts and do not permit themselves to be diverted from the Master’s work by worldly amusements and pleasures, nor saturated their body with drugs. (1 Jn. 2: 28) The crowns are not to be desired for our glory but to be cast at the feet of Jesus in praise and thanksgiving to Him who loved us and gave Himself for us! (Rev. 4: 10) The question is “Do you want to get earthly rewards or heavenly rewards?
As we return to Philippians 4, Paul gives us further instruction as the coming of the Lord nears. “Rejoice in the Lord—again I will say rejoice.” (v. 4) When an instruction is repeated, it is to get our attention! Today we hear so many complaints as we witness these earthly woes. Christians are to reflect the joy of the Lord as our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10) If we join the crowd of nay-sayers, we are no different than unbelievers. In verses 8-9 Paul gives us our marching orders today in this world of woes. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any virtue and if there is anything worthy of praise—dwell on these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—put these things into practice, and the God of peace will be with you.” Words are powerful and like feathers released from a pillow that cannot be returned and regathered. We must therefore be careful of our words that have the power of both life and death. (Proverbs 18: 21)
We would be remiss if we skipped verses 5-7: “Let your gentleness be known to all people. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything—but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Paul shares his secret for peace and contentment in verses 10-13—to learn to be content in whatever circumstance he is in. That is huge today as we see all kinds of evil abounding that threatens our very existence! Paul understood the validity of the promise: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4: 13) That is a truth that we must embrace at such a time as this. Jesus promises never to learn or forsake us and we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us and gave Himself for us! Verse 19 gives us this assurance: “My God will fulfill every need of yours according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” “To our God and Father be the glory forever and ever! Amen” (v. 20) God is real, God has a plan, God is in control and God loves us! The best is yet to come!