Sermon Series: Jesus-Everything We Need 

Leaving a Legacy 

Philippians 3:16-19 

CBC Bishop, July 27, 2003

In a nutshell: Leaving a legacy that's worth something involves living up to who we are in Christ, following those who follow Christ, and recognizing your enemies in the process.

I. Introduction

A. Billy Graham Quote

In the winter of 1984, Billy Graham spoke to thousands of students and Christian leaders who had gathered at the Urbana Missionary Conference on the campus of the University of Illinois. His words from that conference have caused me to examine my life time after time over the past 20 years. Because there is a powerful spiritual challenge in his words. The statement I'm talking about is on front of your worship folders this morning…

"What will you be like as a Christian ten years from now? Many will be walking with Christ and serving Him in various capacities around the world, but for others there will be a tragedy. Because ten years from now they will have lost their burning zeal and love for Christ. Not necessarily because they wanted to or because they set their heart in rebellion against God's will, but because they set their life by the world's agenda. That agenda causes the power of Christ and the urgency of His Great Commission to gradually dim." (Billy Graham, The Urbana Conference, 1984)

B. SCRC

When I was at the motorcycle rally in Truckee two weeks ago, I took the opportunity to sit down and eat lunch with a two retired men who had come all the way from Atlanta, GA to participate in the Truckee rally. Actually, our event was just one part of a 2 month long trip across the country, where they were planning to participate in a number of rallies and see a lot of scenery together.

So, at lunch, I asked them, "What kind of preparations did you make for this trip?" Their answers included things like…9 months of planning, meetings together, purchasing special motorcycle luggage, one guy purchased a brand new motorcycle, pouring over maps, deciding which national parks to ride through, registering for different events, checking weather patterns, making hotel reservations and plotting how far they'd travel each day. They talked for almost 30 minutes telling me about all the preparations that had gone into their 10,000 mile trip.

I was impressed by all those guys did in order to make their trip a success. But as we got back on our bikes to continue our ride, the thought hit me…there are a lot of people I know and whom I've met, who are giving more thought to their vacations than they give to the outcome of their life.

C. Alfred Nobel Story

Illustration: Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite and one of the wealthiest men of his day, woke up one morning in 1888, and read his own obituary. The obituary was printed by mistake. You see, Alfred's brother had died, and a French reporter carelessly reported the death of the wrong brother.

Now, anyone of us would have been disturbed to read our own obituary while we were still alive, but to Alfred the shock was overwhelming because he got to see himself as the world saw him-"the dynamite King", the "weapon maker", the great industrialist who had made an immense fortune from explosives. From what he read in the paper, he realized that this was how the general public saw him-someone whose entire purpose in life was to bring about greater and greater destruction through war. In fact, in the obituary he was called, "The Merchant of Death."

Nobel was shocked and devastated. So he resolved to do something about it. His real passion, that few people knew about, was to encourage people and encourage ideas that would benefit the human race.

So, he made a plan. He changed his will. He determined that his last will and testament would be the true expression of who he was. And as a result, the most valued of all prizes given to this day to individuals who have done the most for the cause of world peace and discoveries that benefit the human race, come from the Nobel prizes-the most famous of which is the Nobel Peace Prize.

Few people today remember that Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, but everyone is familiar with the legacy he's left through the disposition of his last will and testament. That's not something that just happened, friends. That was something that was planned for and intentional. That obituary caused him to aim for something and hit it!

D. Transition

As a Christian, what are you aiming for? Do you have a goal for your life? What is the legacy you're wanting to leave to the generations that come after you?

In some of the previous verses that we studied in this book of Philippians, the apostle Paul expressed his passion to know Christ. There is no doubt that intimately knowing Jesus Christ was Paul's number one goal in life. Paul had an unquenchable desire to know Christ. He had an unstoppable determination to follow Christ. His ultimate aim in life was to fully follow Jesus.

Well, friends, by calling ourselves Christians, that should to be the goal of our lives, as well-Jesus Christ. Jesus called the first disciples to "follow me", and that's the same thing He does with each of us in this room, today.

But how do we fully follow Jesus? As our life goes along, we're going to come to a lot of forks in the road. Which way do we go? Yogi Berra once said that "when you come to a fork in the road -- take it!" But seriously, how do we follow Jesus so that the power of Jesus Christ and the urgency of His Great Commission do not gradually dim in our lives.

If you have your Bibles, I'd encourage you to turn to Philippians 3, and this morning we're going to find out how.

In verses 16-19, Paul is going give us some very practical and very important pointers for fully following Jesus, so our life truly counts for something. And so we leave a legacy that's worth following to the generations that come behind us.

II. Three Practical Pointers

A. Live up to who you are and what you have

The first pointer is found in verse 16…

Philippians 3:16 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

The first pointer is a challenge-a challenge to live up to who we are and what we have as followers of Jesus Christ. So, just who are you and what do you have? Well, let's take a look at that.

1. Forgiven and Forgotten

First of all, you're forgiven and forgotten. Let me explain…

When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, He forgave your sins. By forgiving your sins, He gave you right standing before the holy, perfect and completely righteous God. But not only does He forgive your sins, He also forgets your sins.

Illustration: The author and holocaust survivor, Corrie Ten Boom once said, "It's like God takes your sin, dumps it into the deepest part of the ocean, and then hangs out a sign that says, 'No fishing allowed!'"

Friends, this is something so wonderful. You see, I know that I'm a sinner. I am guilty of breaking God's laws-we all are. So, what we want is mercy, not justice for our sin. And that's what you and I receive as Christians-God's mercy to forgive our sins. That's a very precious possession that we have.

2. New Birth

A second thing you have because of faith in Jesus Christ, is that you've been given a new birth. Because of this new birth, you are now part of God's family. You become a child of God. The God of the universe is now your Father and you are his son or daughter. You and I are now royalty. We are children of the King. It's as if you were a beggar on the street, homeless and without a future, and suddenly you are adopted by the King and made a prince or princess. That's something that is ours.

3. Holy Spirit guides and teaches us

Still another thing we have is the Holy Spirit in our lives, to guide us and teach us. Before Jesus ascended back into heaven, He told us that He would send the Holy Spirit to teach us all things and to guide us into the truth. So, we have a guide for life. He is always with us. He points the way. He comforts us. And He encourages us.

Because we have the Holy Spirit to guide us, we are given insight into God's word. The Bible teaches that those who do not know Christ are blind to spiritual truths. But as Christians our eyes are opened. The Holy Spirit, is our spiritual Visine! He opens our eyes to see clearly what the word of God means to our individual life situations. We can read and understand God's written word because the Holy Spirit is our teacher.

4. God's love given to us

Yet another thing that we have as Christians is the love of God. What I mean by that is that we have the capacity to love one another unselfishly. We can now love one another with a God-kind-of-love--The Greek word for this love is agape. This is not an ordinary love. This is a supernatural love. Because we are the recipients of God's love, we are now free to love others unconditionally.

5. We can Stand on God's Promises

Yet another thing that's ours because we're followers of Jesus Christ is that all the promises in the Bible, belong to us. In other words, we can stand on the promises of God. We can base our lives on those promises. We can live by those promises.

6. Jesus is your Advocate

Yet another thing that belongs to Christians is that Jesus is our advocate. In other words, Jesus Christ is at the right hand of the throne of God making intercession for us. He is there pleading our case. Satan is called "the accuser of the brethren" in the Bible. But Jesus is the advocate-He's the defense attorney for Christians. When Satan accuses us before God, Jesus excuses us based on the fact that He has already paid for our sins with the price of his blood. A divine defense attorney, who is the son of the judge. That's something that is ours. 7. Spiritual Weapons

We have also been given all of the spiritual weapons we need to defeat our enemy and accuser, Satan. The Bible teaches that we have been given everything we need for life and godliness. In the book of Ephesians, Paul tells us that we've been given the spiritual armor to withstand demonic attacks. We have been given the weapons to defeat the enemy.

8. We have a home in heaven

Finally, (because I could go on all afternoon on this topic), we have been given a home in heaven. Our eternal destiny is certain. Our future is secure. One day we will see Jesus and we will be with Him forever. Heaven will be a place of eternal joy. There will be no suffering or sorrow, no sickness or death, no pain or regrets. What a wonderful hope we have!

Friends, when Paul says that we should live up to what we have already attained, we need to understand that we have attained a tremendous amount through Jesus Christ. We need to understand just who we are in Christ and what we have in Christ, and then live like it. We should never see ourselves as a separate entity that is apart from Christ. We are joined with Him. And because of that, we must live up to who we are and what we have. Doing that will help us live a life and leave a legacy that is worth something.

B. Follow those who follow Christ.

Another practical pointer for leaving a legacy with our lives is found in verse 17…

Philippians 3:17 17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

Here's the second pointer Paul gives: follow those who follow Christ.

Paul set himself up as an example for all the groups and individuals he taught and worked with, to follow. He said the identical thing to the church in Corinth.

1 Corinthians 11:1 1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Now, Paul wasn't perfect and never claimed to be, but he was someone who was giving his all to follow Christ. He worked hard at setting an example.

Friends, you and I need to look to others who are sincerely following Jesus Christ and imitate their lives. We've asked our elders to intentionally get involved in the lives of potential, future leaders, and they're doing that.

If you're a "younger" and not an "elder", you need to seek out someone in this church who is a couple of steps ahead of you in the faith, and learn from them. You do that by… a. intentionally spending time with someone you respect. b. Looking for opportunities to talk with someone who has more experience in the faith than you do. c. Asking questions of persons you respect about following God. …And then, follow their example.

You see friends, Christianity is personal but it's not private. Every individual must have a personal commitment to Christ-no one can decide that for you. But after that decision is made, we can't go it alone. Everyone of us needs help. And that's why God created the church. It's a community of God's people where we receive God's help.

-Sometimes we find ourselves discouraged. Things aren't going well. Life is beating us up. And when those times come, we need encouragement. We need other people to come along side of us and encourage us. (What you hope for is that everyone in the church isn't discouraged at the same time.)

-Sometimes we find ourselves becoming complacent. When that happens, we need someone to come alongside us and challenge us to grow.

-Sometimes we can start to stray from the truth. We all have the tendency to trust our own wisdom, rather than the wisdom that comes from God. At times like this we need people who care about us and our spiritual future to give a warning to us. Otherwise we will continue down the wrong path.

-And sometimes we'll rebel and willfully do something that is directly against what our Lord Jesus told us to do. At times like that, we need a strong rebuke. You may not realize it, but sometimes, the most loving thing a person can do for us is to get tough with us. It may save us from a lot of unnecessary pain.

The bottom line is that we need help, and God has given us that help through others. We should listen to them; follow them; and honor them. We need to follow those who follow Christ-and all of us should strive to be someone worthy of following.

C. Recognize your enemies

The third practical pointer Paul lists is found in verses 18 and 19…

Philippians 3:18-19 18 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.

The third practical pointer is this: recognize your enemies. Friends, understand this…as you seek to intentionally make your life count for the future, there will be those who oppose you. You not only have to recognize this, but you also have to prepare for it.

In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he says that the cross-the symbol of death, penalty, atonement, love and forgiveness-is going to be an offense to some. On the Cross Jesus laid down his life in payment for our sins. It is the way of sacrifice. It is the way of selflessness.

But we live in a very self-centered society. Our society is focused on what makes us happy now! The values of the Cross are, in many cases, the exact opposite of the values of our modern society. So, don't be surprised that there are a lot of people who are dead set against Christianity. They want nothing to do with Christianity or Christians. They reject our commitment, our way of life and our values. A self-centered society is our enemy. . But there are also some who say they embrace the Christian faith, yet they pervert the Christian faith. People like this are also enemies of the cross. They pervert the faith by either adding to or subtracting from the simplicity of the gospel. They would never view themselves as enemies of the Cross, but what they teach perverts the truth about the Cross. -Some teach that Christ's sacrifice is not enough, that we must add to what He's done through additional rules, or worship forms or traditions. -Others say that what is recorded in the Bible is only symbol or a myth that's designed to inspire us to lead lives that are good and noble. They subtract from the truth that the gospel is a living, resurrected person. -Others deny that it's a human being's personal sin that separates him or her from a holy God. They deny God's justice, and belittle the pure righteousness of God. -Still others say that Jesus did exist, He wasn't a myth, but He wasn't God-He was just a good man. That perverts the gospel and makes it human-centered rather than God-centered.

Paul describes these people who pervert the gospel in interesting ways.

1. He says that their destiny is destruction. That means that they're not really Christians at all. They may be religious and go to church, but being religious and going to church doesn't make someone a Christian, anymore than driving a car makes you a mechanic. The destiny of the true believer in Jesus Christ is heaven, not destruction.

2. He says that their god is their stomach. The Greek word that's translated stomach is talking about the middle of a person-from the upper thigh to the chest area. It's referring to the place of our appetites. In other words, when we place our appetites as our priorities they become our gods. No matter if it's food, or recreation, or rest, or pleasure, or sex, if any of those take priority over our relationship with God, they have become a god to us. 3. He goes on to say that their glory is in their shame. In other words, they are proud of what they should be ashamed of. If you don't believe this is happening, just watch 15 minutes of Jerry Springer's TV show sometime. People literally boast about lifestyles that are perverted and hedonistic. What was shocking behavior just a few years ago is now considered desirable. This is the direction our society is traveling.

4. Then as if to sum in all up, he says that their mind is on earthly things. This is the bottom line for them. They are not interested in eternity. They are living for today. They are living by the philosophy that you only go around once and so you have to grab for all the "gusto" you can get.

The people Paul is talking about are the influences that Billy Graham referred to in our opening quote, when he talked about "the world's agenda".

Anyone who is not totally committed to following Jesus Christ is two things to a Christian. Paul says that one of the things they are is an enemy. We must be on our guard against any philosophy any belief or any wisdom that doesn't center on Jesus, the Cross, and a commitment to the Words of the Bible.

III. Conclusion

But not only are those who are not totally committed to following Jesus Christ, enemies, they are also our mission field. They're part of the "all people" that we talk about in our purpose statement. Christians have been left on earth to tell people who are not Christians about Jesus. If we're not intentionally doing something that is designed to be a link in a chain of events that will bring another person to faith in Christ, we're just taking up space, not leaving a legacy.

And friends, Paul says, leaving a legacy isn't anything close to rocket science, nor is it something reserved for the professionals in the church. In fact, you don't have to be rich, like Alfred Nobel. You don't have to be perfect like Jesus. You don't even have to be smart like the apostle Paul. You just have to follow three things…

-1. Remember who you are in Christ. Remember what you have in Christ. Live up to that. Refuse to live like you are nothing and have nothing. Hold your head up high. Because, friend, you are a child of God.

-2. Follow those who follow Christ. Determine that you're going to be like them. Become someone who encourages others and leads them to be more like Jesus.

-3. Then, recognize your enemies. Don't be discouraged by them, and don't be taken in by them. Don't be shaken by them. Just understand them for who they are…people who need the good news about Jesus shown them and explained to them in a way they understand.

What are people going to say about you 10 years from now? Will they be inspired by your life, or will your life have meant nothing because you took your eyes off of Jesus and placed them on worldly things. A legacy doesn't just happen. It is something that is planned for and it's something intentional.

Amen.