Sermon Preached at Grace Community Church (EPC)
Sun City Grand, Surprise, AZ
Sunday, April 10, 2016
by the Reverend Cooper McWhirter
The Pursuit of Excellence: “Finishing Life Well!” [Part One]
Philippians 3:1-11
A wise pastor once offered me this piece of advice: “Pursue your philosophy of ministry zealously: Develop it; Nurture it; Cultivate it!” At the time I wasn’t sure what he meant by that. I kept asking myself, “What is a ‘Philosophy of Ministry’? “And what might it look like?” Years past before it became evident what the Lord was calling me to do.
From the time I was a child I appreciated the wisdom voiced by adults. I would sit at their feet, listening to the stories of their lives. So, I suppose my philosophy of ministry began developing at an early age; decades before being called to ministry.
Yes, the Lord’s ministry, through me, has focused on preparing people, especially older adults, for their eventual “homecoming.” Life here on earth is nothing more than a ‘proving ground’, a ‘testing ground’ for our eventual, our inevitable eternal home!
Have you ever considered how many Old Testament figures experienced spiritual lapses in their later years? People like: Noah, David, Solomon and Hezekiah. Many of the great men and women of the Bible experienced downturns. Yes, even Abraham, the “father of the faithful” on occasions fell into a spiritual malaise!
So, if these great men of faith faltered, how can we make sure this doesn’t happen to us? To delve into this probing question, we can begin by…
TURNING FROM OUR TENDENCY TO STRAY (repeat).
That is to say, straying from the truths of God and His infallible Word. Whether you’re a neophyte to the faith, or a mature Christian, we all are prone to error. This is why Paul is being repetitive where he writes: “To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.” To the reader it becomes obvious that Paul was reminding the church at Philippi about matters he had previously spoken to them about while he was with them.
One of his greatest concerns had to do with false teachers and their heretical teachings espoused by these so-called “Judaizers”. They were proponents of archaic Jewish laws and traditions which were no longer considered binding. They infiltrated the early church espousing such things as: the need for circumcision of the flesh. However, Paul repudiated such nonsense by emphasizing that the true circumcision has nothing to do with flesh. The true circumcision has to do with the heart. That’s the heart of the matter!
More often than not, when heresy creeps into the church, the principal cause is that of PRIDE! Purveyors of falsehood, whom Paul spoke of as “dogs”, tend to be puffed up and boastful about their preconceived notions.
David Rhodes, an American novelist, spoke of pride as (paraphrasing): “the dandelion of the soul where its roots go deep…its seeds lodge in the tiniest cracks of our being…where it finds it nourishment in good soil. Yes, the danger of pride is that it feeds on goodness.” It’s been said: “Pride is the only disease that makes everyone sick but the one who has it.”
With respect to the pride of the flesh, Paul offers this disclaimer: “For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh – though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also.” To prove his point, the apostle asked them to look at him: “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”
In a moment in time, Paul’s credentials were suddenly spewed as though they were nothing of value! In an instant, as he gazed upon the risen Lord, he realized it was what Christ had done for him! Like that of Paul, followers of Christ are no longer bound by the laws of men. Rather, we are bound by the laws of God to which Christ Himself fulfilled at Calvary’s cross!
But another means of preventing us from faltering spiritually is by: LEARNING FROM OUR MISTAKES (repeat).
And this is where we have “the upper hand” on youthful exuberance! As we mature in both age and wisdom, we accumulate a wealth of knowledge based upon a lifetime of experiences. Young people, on the other hand, tend to view themselves as invincible…immortal! Few will ever heed the advice of those who are older and much wiser.
Following along this train of thought, Harry S. Truman once remarked: “I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want to do and then advise them to do it.” Yes, wisdom evolves from learning from past mistakes; learning, but not dwelling on them.
Prior to Saul’s conversion, he was considered an “up and comer” among this elite group called Pharisees. He was a Hebrew among Hebrews, born to the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the eighth day, trained under the renowned Jewish teacher, Gamaliel. By the standards of his day, Paul was a man of entitlement. Born into an influential family from Tarsus, he was even a citizen of Rome no less!
Yes, by all accounts Saul had all the right credentials. By today’s standards he would be likened to one of those preppy Harvard law graduates from a fine, upstanding New England family. You know, a person who has it all-together: polished, polite and need I say, ‘politically correct’!
But somewhere along the way, Paul came to his senses. Or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that God’s sense and His presence came upon him while on the road to Damascus. Paul exclaims: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish.”
As a result of this encounter with the risen Lord, Paul’s entire perception of the world was shredded! What was once deemed so crucial to his belief system, fell away like scales from his eyes. In essence, his worldview was turned ‘topsy-turvy’!
Suddenly, in an instant, Paul became all too painfully aware of his own fallen condition. But rather than dwelling in the past, he drew from a wealth of experiences. As a Roman citizen he was allowed to travel extensively throughout the then-known world; able to reach out to both Jew and Gentile, free man and slave, rich and poor.
Yes, it’s important for us to learn from our mistakes so as not to repeat them. But it’s also important for us not to linger in the past. For by doing so we forfeit the present and jeopardize the future. And perhaps this is what Jesus meant where He said: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” [Luke 9:62]. For when all is said and done, since the Lord can forgive us of our sins, it stands to reason that we, too, must learn to forgive ourselves and move forward.
But besides “turning” and “learning,” we must have a: YEARNING TO LEAVE OUR COMFORT ZONE (repeat).
Perhaps in a moment of quieted reflection, Paul writes: “…in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him…which comes through faith in Christ…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
Let’s pause for a moment and contemplate what Paul is saying. His worldview was irretrievably changed…irrevocably altered. In part this came about as a result of the world viewing him differently. He was perceived as a threat. But more to the point, it was God who came to view Paul differently! To God he was considered an asset; not a liability!
My wife, Sammie, recently sent me this ‘gem of wisdom’. It said: “If you are a Christian, you are not a citizen of this world trying to get to heaven; instead, you are a citizen of heaven making your way through this world.” In a nutshell, this is really what we all yearn for…our eternal home! Dear ones, this world is NOT our home! We are sojourners in a foreign land; illegal aliens as it were; yearning for our real ‘comfort zone’; a comfort zone which this world neither welcomes, nor helps us to prepare for it.
So I ask you, “What does it mean to finish life well?” You can encapsulate it with just one word…yearning! If perchance you’re fortunate enough to have a young ‘scallywag’ who desires to sit at your feet, then take my advice…wash your feet first! And by that I mean, let your life be a witness. Less so with words; more so with deeds!
For several days this week I struggled with how best to finish this sermon. I thought of numerous examples where people finished life well. But none of them resonated. People like: William Wilberforce, Isaac Newton, and Corrie ten Boom, to name but a few. And then it finally dawned on me. It is not yet the end for you and me. The Lord has not yet completed the final chapter of our lives!
So let’s take a que from the apostle Paul. Would we dare to write out our own obituary? Would we dare to boldly say: “We…turned our life around! We learned to live the way God intended us to live! And, in our waning years, we yearned for our real home! Yes, dear ones, we are homeward bound. For most of us we’re in the final stretch of this long endurance race…a race against time!
Let us pray…
