Lesson 18

Great Expectations

Philippians 3:20-21

Complete the following sentence: I am looking most forward to following three things.

1.

2.

3.

In today's message, I am going to show you from the Bible, the three things which you should be looking most forward to. I hope that your answers are the same as what the Scriptures say. If not, I hope that you will re-evaluate your priorities, your dreams, and your goals, and will make them what the Bible says.

I do not know what things are on your list of expectations. Perhaps you are looking forward most to an upcoming vacation, or the completion of some long-term task like graduation from high school or college, getting your children raised successfully (and a Bill Cosby says, getting your house back), or getting some debt paid off. Perhaps you are facing some dreaded moment and you are looking most forward to being on the other side of that event (surgery, childbirth, completing a remodeling job). Perhaps you are anticipating a financial success, a big payday, or some other personal achievement, like marriage. As I said, I do not know what you are looking most forward to, but I do know that most of us have great expectations. Today, I want to show you from the Bible what they ought to be. My text is Philippians 3:(20-21).

These two verses stand in a stark contrast to the previous two verses. Paul has just expressed his fundamental desire to be like Christ. Paul is making a maximum effort to be like Christ (vss. 12-14). In verses 15-17, he urges these believers at Philippi to follow his example. In verses 18-19, Paul describes "the enemies of the cross of Christ". They are destined to destruction, they worship their own appetites, lusts, and desires, they brag about their sin, and they can think only of things on earth. They "mind earthly things"; that is they have an earth-bound attitude. They love the world and the things of the world and the love of the Father is not in them.

On the other hand, in contrast to these unsaved people are the Christians. They are not the enemies of the cross of Christ, but the servants of the cross. They do not have their mind centered on things of the earth, but their conversation is in heaven. They are not living in the present but in the future. Their end is not destruction but a changed body, a glorious body, a body like the resurrected Christ!

Paul is saying that the difference between the sinner and the saved, comes down to what he is pre-occupied with. The unsaved man is pre-occupied with things of the earth, with sin, and with satisfying his own lusts, giving no thought to his hopeless, Christless eternity while the believer is pre-occupied the things of heaven, the return of Christ, and the ultimate redemption of the body.

Notice, 3 things that a Christian should be looking most forward to ...

I. The Anticipation Of A Celestial City

"for our conversation is in heaven"

Paul was pre-occupied with paradise! He had set his affection on things above, not on things of the earth (Col.3:2). Paul was laying up his treasure in heaven, not on earth. He was investing all of his life, his energy, his time, his talents, his assets in eternity and not in earth. The world had no appeal to Paul. In this world he was hated, imprisoned, beaten, stoned, left for dead, deprived of necessities, disappointed by human failure. But these things didn't matter, because Paul was not expecting to be rewarded on earth. His crowns were laid up in heaven!

He says, "our conversation is in heaven".

A. We Are Heaven-Bound - Heaven Is Our Hope!

Paul was not earthbound ... he was heaven bound! Paul lived during a period of persecution. We, on the other hand, live during a period of prosperity. Paul passed the test of persecution. But I fear that most Christians today are failing the test of prosperity. We are not pre-occupied with heaven but with earth. We mind earthly things, success, prosperity, pleasure. There was a time when Christians talked about heaven, preached about heaven, sang about heaven, longed for heaven. You don't hear very many songs today being written about heaven. If a preacher preaches a sermon about heaven, he may not even get a grunt. Heaven has little appeal to a materialistic, self-centered Christian.

B. We Are Heaven Born - Heaven Is Our Home!

The Greek word for "conversation" means "citizenship". When Jesus said that the prodigal son joined himself a citizen to that far country (Lk.15) he used the same root word as Paul used here. This Philippians, no doubt understood Paul's analogy. The city of Philippi was a colony of Rome (Acts 16:12). Every freeman born in Philippi automatically received Roman citizenship, giving him special rights and privileges. Remember how Paul's Roman citizenship entitled him to be tried in a Roman court rather than a Jewish court? That was his right and privilege as a citizen.

Paul is reminding us that our citizenship is in heaven. We are not citizens of earth. We are foreigners. Peter used the words "strangers and pilgrims" (see also Eph.2:19). Like Philippi was a Roman colony, a church is colony of heaven-born people living and working on earth. Jesus said that "we are in the world but we are not of the world." Our conversation, our citizenship is in heaven. Our Father is in heaven. Our home is in heaven. Many of our brothers and sisters are in heaven. Our names are written in heaven. Our inheritance is in heaven. "This world is not my home; I'm just a passin' through; My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue; The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, and I can't feel at home in this world any more."

But the Bible says, as Paul writes that our first great expectation should be heaven.

II. The Anticipation Of Christ's Coming.

"from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus"

The word "look" means eagerly await, a persistent yearning, a happy expectation, an earnest desire. It really has to do with our subject in this message, i.e. that which we are looking forward to. Christians should be earnestly desiring, happily expecting, persistently yearning, and eagerly awaiting the return of Christ.

Just as the city of Philippi would have been excited about a visit from the emperor of Rome; just as a wife or sweetheart would be eagerly awaiting the return of her husband or boyfriend from Saudi Arabia; just a dad and mama would be earnestly desiring the arrival of a son from the battlefront; just as expectant mother and her husband would look forward to birth of their infant baby; just a child would long for Christmas gifts or a birthday party; so should the people of God be earnestly desiring to see Jesus coming in clouds for them.

A. For The Saved, Christ's Coming Means Joy!

1. It will mean RESURRECTION, I Thess. 4:16b.

2. It will mean RAPTURE, I Thess. 4:17.

3. It will mean REUNION, I Thess. 4:17.

4. It will mean REIGNING, I Thess. 4:17

But in Philippians 4:20, Paul is not nearly as concerned about an event as he is about a person. He are not looking forward so much to a happening, as he is seeing Jesus Christ.

® The Saviour - He redeemed us by his death.

® The Soveriegn (Lord) - He rules us by his resurrection.

B. For The Sinner, Christ's Coming Means Judgment.

Perhaps this is why the enemies of the cross give no thought to death and eternity but live only for their gluttony, their garments, and their gadgets. They would rather not think about judgment, doom and destruction.

Christ's return comforts (I Thess. 4:18) the Christian but condemns the lost. How do you feel about the return of Christ? Are you excited? Do you desire his return or dread it? Do you pray "thy kingdom come"? Do you say, "Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus"? We should be looking forward to the return of Christ!

III. The Anticipation Of A Changed Condition.

Paul tells us that our body is going to be changed. The word he uses for "change" is the root word for "metamorphosis" which means "tranformed". Scientists use that word to describe how a tadpole becomes a frog, or how a catapillar becomes a butterfly. A dramatic change takes place from the inside out. That is would will happen to our body.

A. Our Present Body.

Paul says that our present body is vile. We use that word to describe something that is filthy and evil. But the Greek word here has more to do with the weakness the body. Our body is weak, it is fallen, it is coruptible, it is mortal, it is frail, it has the prospect of suffering, sorrowing, wasting away, and will eventually die. It tempts us, it cramps us, it confines us, it demands from us (food/sleep), it limits us.

B. Our Prospective Body.

Notice what Paul says that Christ will do to our body. He changes it into a glorious body. A glorified body. It will fashioned like unto Christ. Remember the glorified body which Jesus had after the resurrection? That's the kind of body Christ will give us! "We know, when he shall appear, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is!"(I John 3:1-2)

Our present body is weak. It gets sick or diseased. It eventually will die. But our new body will be glorified. (Read I Corinthians 15:35,42-57).

And Paul tells us that this transformation is done by power ("working" = energy) of Christ whose power enables him to bring everything under his control and rule, (v.21b)!

How different the Christian is from the world! The world worships their present body; the Christian looks forward to a new glorious body. The world avoids any thought of eternity because it reminds them that their end is destruction; the Christian eagerly anticipates the return of Christ. The world is pre-occupied with earthly things; the Christian is pre-occupied with heaven.

In this passage, are you most like the people referred to in verses 18-19, or those spoken of in verses 20-21. What are your great expectations?

ILLUSTRATION: When the Babylonian captivity ended after 70 years, Cyrus, king of Persia, allowed all the Jews who wanted to, to return to their homeland of Israel. However, of the multiplied thousands which had been taken captive, or had been born in captivity a relatively small percentage were willing and wanting to go back to their homeland. Most had settled down and gotten their roots in Babylon. Israel, their homeland had no appeal to them. So it is today. Most Christians are at home in this world. Heaven, their real home has little appeal to them. They are not even "kinda homesick for Beulah land."

Are you looking forward most to heaven, the return of Christ, and the changed body which you shall receive?