"The Expectant Life!" Philippians 3:20-21

"The Expectant Life!"

Captivated by Christ: An expository sermon series on Paul's Letter to the Church in Philippi (message #25)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

October 10, 2010

The Word of God from Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV) for a message entitled “The Expectant Life”, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” [Prayer]

Paul is directing our attention to the realities of heaven and the identity and security we have in Jesus Christ. We have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross. We have the assurance of eternal life through the victory over death Jesus Christ had in the resurrection and bodily ascension to heaven. And we now are left as people who are children of God, citizens of heaven, but have not yet fully attained all the promises of God. The completion of all things will happen when Jesus Christ returns to claim His bride—that’s us, you and me! Jesus teaches us of the last days in the Gospel of Matthew 24:3-8, “As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. ‘Tell us,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ’, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.’”

We are to live lives like an expectant and eager couple who are awaiting the gift of life into their family. We too are expectant for what God is birthing in His creation that will not be birthed until Jesus’ returns. Let’s unpack our Scripture lesson to understand what it means to live “The Expectant Life”. First, WHEN YOU ARE EXPECTING YOU PREPARE YOUR HEART! [Personal sharing-preparing the home]

Paul declares who we are in the first half of verse 20, ”But our citizenship [politeuma] is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20a).

This Greek word politeuma is a political word that the believers in Philippi would have clearly understood. It is more literally translated “commonwealth” and Paul was pulling at their allegiance to Rome as a Roman colony far away from Rome itself.

At the heart of the matter, what Paul is saying is that you are a colony of heaven in conquered territory. As more than conquerors for those you live amidst, ensure your loyalty does not fall in line with those that surround you.

Your allegiance cannot be to the savior and lord of the Roman Empire, Caesar. Our allegiance and ultimate loyalty transcends nationality and political affiliation. Our allegiance and loyalty is to the King of Kings, the Savior of all humanity, the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom every knee shall bow and tongue will confess! When Jesus Christ returns to bring to completion that which we eagerly await, He will not ask you as Judge your political party or your nationality, He will look to see if your name is written in the Book of Life, and that is dependent on if you have given Jesus your life and asked Him to be Lord and Savior, through faith!

We live as expectant people when we prepare our hearts for the coming King and that means we need to know who we are in relation to Him. We are more than loyal subjects to Jesus Christ; we are sons and daughters of the King, the children of God, rightful heirs to the rich inheritance of God’s covenantal promises! The Bible declares in Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

We not only prepare our hearts by knowing our identity in Christ, but we also must ensure our lives are in alignment with the values of the Kingdom of God. We cannot serve two masters and be a double-minded people, we must choose who we will serve and then live out that allegiance through our daily loyalties. Jesus directed our priorities in the Gospel of Matthew 6:33, stating, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

We live expectant lives when we prepare our hearts by ensuring our allegiance is the true King. It is to His coming that we focus our lives. That brings us to the second point, WHEN YOU ARE EXPECTING YOU EAGERLY AWAIT THE ARRIVAL! [Personal sharing with how Kimberly told me she was pregnant]

Paul finishes verse 20 explaining, “And we eagerly await [apekdechomai] a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20b).

This is to be the victory call of our lives. We read this promise of Jesus Christ and how we should respond from Revelation 22:20, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

Jesus Christ has promised to return; this is money in the bank and we must have a laser focus on His return. The Greek word apekdechomai is a concentrated and persistent expectation. It is the image of an eye detached from all other objects to watch only for this one thing. This is a laser focus!

Every generation of followers of Jesus Christ is called to live with expectancy of His imminent arrival! Since Jesus Christ ushered in the Kingdom of God with his life, death, and resurrection, we now live in eager expectation for the promised birth of the new world order! The Bible teaches in Romans 8:22-25, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

We eagerly await the redemption of our bodies, the completion of our imperfect status as adopted sons to the glorified state of being like Jesus Christ. This is our hope and we do not use the word hope like the world does where there is no certainty. We hope knowing that which has been promised will come true. We hope with certainty so we wait with eager expectation. This directs our focus on getting our lives right with God so that when Jesus does come we are ready to greet Him with all that we have. Jesus Christ taught of His return in the Gospel of Luke 12:35-37, “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes.”

Are you living in such a way that you eagerly expect Jesus Christ to come back today? Is there something in your heart that needs to be surrendered so nothing of this life and the loyalties of this world keep you from wanting to go to Jesus Christ when He returns for you?

Jesus Christ is coming back and when He does all of creation will be transformed! That is our last teaching point, WHEN YOU ARE EXPECTING YOU ANTICIPATE LIFE WILL BE TRANSFORMED! [Personal sharing—Do you remember life without Beorn?]

Paul concludes this sentence in verse 21 stating, “Who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly [humble] bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21).

This is a powerful picture of the power of the God of the Universe, who created the heavens and the earth, who uses His power to give you life. God, in His very character of love, uses His power to transform that which is humble and broken into that which is glorious and whole—we will be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. This will happen on the day of Christ Jesus. On that day, the day that has been preordained by God, our daily life of expectancy and faith will be rewarded by seeing our Lord and Savior face to face. The Bible declares in 1 John 3:2, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

Our very life is transformed on the arrival of the coming King! We know and believe this, but do we live each day in eager anticipation? Have we lost the anticipation? Have our lives become focused on other things, because day after day has gone by without the fulfillment of the promise?

Don’t lose focus! There is a reason we wait! But we do not wait without hope. We wait for the One we hope for because He is the One we have put all of our faith in! As certain as the Cross of Jesus Christ is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ! There is not one without the other!

The Bible teaches us in 2 Peter 3:8-10, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.”

The reason we wait patiently is because God has been and will continue to be patient with us! God loves you and does not want you to perish! God is always on time and He is calling out to every person to accept the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ. The Day of the Lord is coming and all will be judged! Don’t be taken by surprise!

Like a thief in the night! Do not delay; do not hold off your decisions any longer! Today is the day of salvation!

Have you been baptized? Don’t delay!

Have you accepted Jesus Christ? Don’t delay!

Are you ready?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What does it mean to place your citizenship first in the Kingdom of God? How does this affect your view of nationalism and ultimate loyalties? Are you able to love your brothers and sisters in Christ even if their national identity is of an enemy nation?

2. To “eagerly await” (v. 20b) means to have a laser focus on the imminent return of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. How does this focus on Jesus’ second coming inform Paul’s ambition in life and focused strategy laid out in Philippians 3:10-14? How should you live today if you really believe Jesus is coming back very soon?

3. Please read 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. In the context of this passage, what does it mean to live by faith and not by sight? How should this affect your attitude in and toward the aging process and the death and dying process? What has shaped your views of your body, aging, and death and dying: the world or the Bible?