032 Glorious Discontentment – part 2

Philippians 3:12-21 (17-21)

November 9, 2025

This evening we will conclude our study regarding

“The Necessity of Sanctification”

We are concluding by discussing THE DRIVE FOR SANCTIFICATION

Speaking of course of the necessary attitude and motivation

That every believer must possess to pursue righteousness.

WE BEGAN THIS TEXT THIS MORNING,

Let me just pull our minds back into it for this final segment tonight.

We are highlighting 4 realities that need to be necessary in our lives regarding sanctification.

#1 AWARENESS

Philippians 3:12-14

These 3 verses give us PAUL’S EXAMPLE.

·      They show us who he is and the motivation which drives him.

·      There is no doubt that Paul wants to be like Christ.

We looked at his awareness this morning

And we highlighted several aspects of it.

1) AWARE that you were laid hold of by Christ

Paul said, “I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”

We were reminded that in the great sovereign prerogative of God,

It was not us who chose Christ, but Him who chose us.

We were not the instigators, Christ is the instigator.

AND THAT IS IMPORTANT,

Not only for understanding the depth and beauty of the doctrine of grace,

But also for understanding the purpose.

We didn’t choose Christ that He might fulfill our goals and dreams.

Christ chose us that we might fulfill His.

You were laid hold of.

2) AWARE that Christ laid hold of you for a purpose

Paul said, “that I may lay hold of THAT FOR WHICH ALSO I WAS LAID HOLD OF by Christ.”

What is “that”?

In verse 12 when Paul says “Not that I have obtained IT”, what is it?

What is this reason for which Christ laid hold of me?

And the answer is RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Why righteousness?

Because your righteous life brings glory to Christ for His ability to make sinners righteous.

You were laid hold of by Christ

He did that for the purpose of saving you from sin;

For making you righteous; for conforming you into His image.

3) AWARE that you have yet to fulfill that purpose

That is also what Paul said:

·      (12) “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect…”

·      (13) “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet…”

He knew Christ laid hold of him for the purpose of righteousness,

And despite where he was, he knew he was NOT righteous like Christ yet.

There was still work to do.

The Christian must see that in their life.

4) AWARE that in this purpose only the present matters

Paul said, “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead”

We are talking about an objective to become like Christ,

And if I am not yet like Christ then that journey is all that matters.

·      This is no time to stop and rest on how far I’ve come.

·      This is no time to stop and grow content in my progress.

The mile runner focuses on the remainder of the race,

Not the part he’s already run.

All that matters from this point forward is what is left.

5) AWARE that it’s going to require action in your life to fulfill it

·      Paul said, “I press on”

·      He actually said it again in verse 14.

·      He said that is “reaching forward”

There is goal to achieve.

There is a prize to obtain.

And he will not get it if he sits down on the track.

He’s got to finish.

He’s got to take action.

And so we learned that

There must be a certain awareness in the life of a believer.

You must see who you are, why you’re here, what is expected of you,

Where you are in the process, and what it will take to finish it.

You need to grow discontent with your current position.

You need to see that Christ is not finished.

You need to see that you have not arrived.

You need to see that the race is not over.

You need awareness.

#2 ATTITUDE

Philippians 3:15-16

Once you get the proper awareness, then you need the proper attitude.

Once you see that there is work to be done,

Then you need the type of attitude that will get after it.

·      You DON’T need a lazy attitude.

·      You DON’T need an apathetic attitude.

·      You DON’T need a entitled attitude.

You need an attitude like Paul’s.

You need the type of GLORIOUS DISCONTENTMENT

That will cause you to strive.

THIS IS THE CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE.

This is the attitude that all those who are “perfect” (justified) should have.

We are to “keep living by that same standard”

·      We are to keep in line

·      We are to march in line

·      We are to run in between the lines

2 Timothy 2:5 “Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.”

THAT IS THE ATTITUDE WE NEED.

·      Get over yourself.

·      Crush your laziness.

·      Crush your apathy.

·      Get your mind right.

There is still work to be done.

So those where the first two realities we looked at THIS MORNING.

Let’s move forward tonight.

#3 ACTION

Philippians 3:17-19

The call of Paul here is obvious.

It keys on one very important word, “join”

It’s a big word in the Greek (soomi-MAY-TACE)

It comes from two words, one which means “to mimic or imitate.”

The other means “others.”

What Paul is asking for here is

For the Philippians to do what others are already doing.

And that is “following my example”

Paul has never been shy about asking others to follow his example.

Here he tells the Philippians to join that group.

Consider what he said earlier in the letter regarding his imprisonment.

Philippians 1:12-14 “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”

There were those who were inspired by Paul’s obedience

And God’s faithfulness to take care of the apostle.

That inspiration led them to join the evangelistic mission

And to “speak the word of God without fear”

In that same way Paul now wants the Philippians

To pay attention to those who are following his example

To press on for righteousness.

Paul has listed a couple of those examples in the letter as well.

Philippians 2:19-22 “But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father.”

And then we see it again with the man named Epaphroditus

Philippians 2:25-30 “But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.”

These were the type of men who were following Paul’s example.

·      They were growing in grace.

·      They were pursuing holiness.

·      They were preaching the gospel.

·      They were loving the brethren.

And now Paul asks the Philippians to

“join [them] in following my example”

And I like the way Paul presents that truth.

He doesn’t refer to those who are pursuing righteousness as excentric.

He presents them as the normal expectation.

There is sometimes a propensity among the church

To see those who go all out in pursuing righteousness

As some sort of an anomaly.

“They’re just fanatics…”

I heard someone say, “Do you know what the definition of a Christian fanatic is? It’s anyone who is pursuing Jesus harder than you are.”

We have that propensity to label that type of person as

Strange, or too committed, or overly zealous.

PAUL WOULD HAVE YOU SEE THEM AS THE NORM.

Forgetting what is behind,

And pressing on for the prize of righteousness

Should be the norm for a believer, not the exception.

And that is how Paul presents it.

Don’t look at those

Who have left everything to devote themselves to Christ

As some sort of radical fringe…JOIN THEM!

Paul says, “observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.”

“observe” is SKOPEO

It’s where we get our word for “scope”, like on a “rifle”

Or perhaps like a “microscope”

·      Examine these people.

·      Watch these people.

·      Observe these people.

·      Analyze these people.

When you see someone devoting their life

To obtaining the righteousness of Christ

You should not dismiss them as a fringe fanatic,

You should pay close attention to them and join them.

These are the example we are looking for.

These are the ones we are striving to be like.

How many kids have done this with professional athletes over the years.

You see kids all over the place today trying to fling a football sidearm like Patrick Mahomes does.

·      You see the imitate his hair cut.

·      You see them wear his jersey.

When I was a kid I wanted to swing the bat like Rafael Palmero (I realize now that steroids had something to do with his success) but his swing was sure sweet.

BUT THE POINT IS, when a kid looks at a guy like Patrick Mahomes

They don’t see a freak or a fanatic.

THEY SEE SOMEONE TO IMITATE.

They scrutinize his game, his technique, even his haircut.

They watch him, they observe him, they imitate him.

This is what Paul is calling for in the Christian walk.

You want to be like Christ?

You want to see sanctification take effect in your life?

I admit that taking Christ as an example can be somewhat intimidating.

Then find someone who is trying hard to imitate Christ

And you try to imitate them.

Run after someone who is running after Jesus.

If you’re that LOST HIKER we talked about this morning,

Don’t stay back in the pack with the grumblers

Who are tired of walking and just want to sit in the woods

And wait for someone to find them.

No, you find that one who is striving to get back and you follow him.

You find that one who is seeking and pressing and pushing to make it out

AND STICK CLOSE TO HIM.

THAT IS THE POINT HERE.

·      Don’t be complacent.

·      Don’t be content in mediocrity.

Find a group, find a fellowship, find one that is following Paul’s example And you follow their example.

And there is A REASON you need to be intentional

About choosing your role model.

(18) “For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ,”

The reason you need to pay special attention

To those who are fanatically following Christ

Is because there are many examples who are not.

There are good examples out there, but there are plenty of bad ones too.

Paul calls them “enemies of the cross of Christ”

WHAT DOES HE MEAN BY THAT?

·      People who persecute Christian?

·      People who hate the gospel?

Not necessarily.

Paul defines them in verse 19

(19) “whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.”

How does Paul define an enemy of the cross of Christ?

Like this:

·      Those “whose god is their appetite”

·      Those “whose glory is in their shame”

·      Those “who set their minds on earthly things.”

You see lots of kids wearing Patrick Mahomes jerseys.

But you don’t see many Bryce Young or Justin Fields jerseys.

It’s because they’re two of the worst starting NFL quarterbacks.

Young people want to follow someone who wins, not someone who loses.

But in the church, the propensity is to do just the opposite.

There are so many who prefer to look for those

Who are doing the bare minimum,

And say, “I’ll follow their example. I’ll do what they do”

·      They don’t evangelize

·      They don’t participate in much

·      They don’t give much

·      They still go enjoy the world

·      They focus on making money

“Yep, that’s the example I’m looking for.”

I’m looking for someone who is a Christian,

But who doesn’t take it too seriously.

Paul described them to Timothy as those who “gather around them a multitude of teachers who tell them what their itching ears want to hear.”

They find the least involved, least sacrificial, least bothered

So-called Christian they can find

And make that their standard example for Christianity.

The type of Christianity where you can do whatever your flesh wants.

PAUL DESCRIBES THAT TYPE OF EXAMPLE:

He said, “whose god is their appetite” (literally “belly”)

·      Their flesh calls the shots.

·      There is no self-denial.

·      There is no crucifixion of the flesh with its passions and desires

Paul said “whose glory is in their shame”

·      They are those who still find enjoyment and even humor in their baseness.

·      They don’t mourn their sin, truth be told they’re kind of proud of it.

He said they “set their mind on earthly things”

·      Their goal…Their prize is not righteousness or glory or anything like that.

·      Their goal is the world.

·      They want the world and the things of the world.

·      They are chasing fame and fortune

·      They are chasing pleasure

And far too many Christians are choosing them as role-models.

The packed churches of Joel Olsteen and Steven Furtick prove that.

When Paul thinks of such a reality, he says HE WEEPS.

WHY?

Because those low-level uncommitted Christians

Likely aren’t Christians at all!

Paul said, “whose end is destruction”

When you chose too imitate someone who is chasing the world

Instead of chasing righteousness

Paul says you are imitating someone who is going to hell.

That is a horrible decision!

I mean, when you come to those two gates,

·      One is wide which leads to destruction and one is narrow which leads to life,

·      You’d be a fool to imitate those who are filing through the wide gate.

THAT’S THE POINT!

YOU’RE FOLLOWING THE WRONG EXAMPLE.

Where have you ever read anything Jesus ever said about:

·      How you get to live in comfort,

·      Obtain the world,

·      Be fat and happy,

·      Grow rich,

·      Ignore evangelism,

·      Forsake prayer,

·      Abandon responsibility,

·      Dabble in sin,

·      Neglect the word,

·      Distance yourself from the fellowship,

·      AND STILL GO TO HEAVEN WHEN YOU DIE?

Oh I know…we are justified by faith and not works.

I get it.

But is the kind of faith which pursues only the world

Really the kind of faith that justifies?

That was James point wasn’t it?

James 5:1-5 “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.”

You say, “That can’t mean what it says”

What about Jesus?

Luke 6:20-26 “And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. “Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”

·      Did Jesus not say it is “hard for a rich man to get into heaven”?

·      Did He not say it is “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle”?

MY POINT IS JUST THIS.

Don’t imitate those who claim Christianity but only seek the world.

That is an ENEMY OF THE CROSS.

·      The cross bids you deny yourself.

·      The cross bids you die.

·      The cross bids you be considered a fool.

Paul says don’t imitate those people who are chasing the world.

Find those who are following his example and chasing righteousness.

And you join them.

Boy, you talk about a great verse for encouraging church membership, there it is.

You go hang around those who are seeking Jesus.

Follow those who follow Christ.

So Paul has addressed:

Awareness, Attitude, Action

#4 ANTICIPATION

Philippians 3:20-21

What a beautiful passage.

What a great reminder.

“O Lord, you know I have no friend like you, If heaven's not my home, then Lord what will I do? The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.”

This is where the drive comes from.

It is the anticipation that one day we will achieve the goal.

Paul says “For our citizenship is in heaven”

I LOVE THAT STATEMENT.

This is something you and Paul had very much in common.

You, like him, have perhaps the most valuable Passport in the world.

Every time we travel internationally you make sure everyone going knows that there are people all over this world who would give their right arm for an American passport.

Your earthly citizenship is highly sought after.

Paul knew that.

·      He was a Roman citizen.

·      We even see those who paid large sums of money in the bible to obtain such a

                   citizenship.

·      The Philippians enjoyed this as well as a Roman colony.

So when Paul says “For our citizenship is in heaven”

You know he understands your condition.

It’s not like you’re forsaking a Siberian citizenship or a Ukrainian citizenship.

This is an American passport; a Roman passport.

When Paul said earlier in the chapter that “whatever things were gain to him he considered as rubbish for Christ”,

HE WASN’T JUST TALKING ABOUT HIS WORKS.

Nothing was as valuable to him as his heavenly destination.

To Paul that was home.

“This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through…”

Our goal is not to make this life better,

It is to make our next life better.

How many of you go on vacation and while you’re there go buy materials at Lowe’s to renovate your guest house or your hotel room?

That would be dumb since you only live there for a few days.

This is why Paul was so distraught

By those who constantly sought to make their best life now.

·      This is not home.

·      This is not eternal.

·      We have a home.

·      We are citizens of heaven.

·      That is where we are headed.

AND NOTICE THIS.

“from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ”

·      We are people of anticipation.

·      Any day now our Savior could return.

·      We “eagerly wait” for Him.

And just for a moment I want you to consider

How quickly and drastically things will change when He returns.

You remember that story of the rich man and Lazarus.

·      On earth the rich man had every comfort and Lazarus had every grief.

·      But in a moment, at death, their fortunes instantly and drastically, and

                irreversibly changed.

Think about also when Christ returns.

·      He will come to judge the living and the dead.

·      He will come amidst a war where the wicked will be instantly destroyed.

·      He will set up His kingdom and reign on earth for 1,000 years.

·      Then He will destroy the universe and make a new heavens and a new earth.

What of the man who set his mind on earthly things when Christ returns?

What of the man whose god was his appetite when Christ returns?

IN A MOMENT THEY LOSE IT ALL.

Why would you follow that example?

But think of the one who pursues Christ.

·      They reign with Christ for 1,000 years.

·      They inherit the earth, like Christ said.

IT IS FOOLISH NOT TO PURSUE CHRIST.

BUT NOT ONLY THAT,

Paul identifies what will happen to His followers at His coming.

(21) “who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”

First let’s talk about CHRIST’S GREAT POWER.

Paul says that Christ has “the power…to subject all things to Himself.”

We already learned back in chapter 2 of Philippians that every knee will bow to Him and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

·      We know that the wicked will not stand before Him.

·      We know that all of creation will bow to Him.

·      We know that when He returns they will no longer do harm on His mountain.

We remember what Isaiah taught us:

Isaiah 11:6-9 “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.”

·      What kind of power can tell a wolf not to eat a lamb?

·      What kind of power can tell a young lion not to eat a calf?

·      What kind of power can tell a cobra not to bite a child?

When Christ comes He subjects everything.

THAT IS POWER.

And Paul says that when He comes

He will use that power for us as well.

He “will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory.”

We often read it at funerals, especially at a graveside.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”

And if you’re still alive when Christ returns

And don’t need to be resurrected, don’t worry:

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

Rather by instant transformation or resurrection

When Christ returns His children are getting a transformation.

·      No more perishable body that ages and wrinkles and eventually dies, we get one that is imperishable.

·      No more dishonorable body that is filled with embarrassment and shame, we get a new one that is glorious.

·      No more weak body that can’t pray too long or read too long or sit too long or endure too much, we get a powerful body.

·      No more natural body that wants only natural things, we get a spiritual body like the body of Christ’s resurrection.

A body fitted for heaven.

A body that can breathe heaven’s air.

A body that can see heaven’s colors.

A body that can hear heaven’s sounds.

A body that can navigate heaven’s streets.

A body that can enjoy the presence of God.

WHAT IS PAUL SAYING?

That for those who are in Christ,

Some day our sanctification will be complete.

·      That thing that Paul is pressing on for…

·      That thing that Paul is striving for…

·      That thing that Paul is reaching for…

He knows that one day he will achieve it!

·      He’s not a man who is running without aim.

·      He’s not a man who is boxing blindly.

·      He knows where he’s headed.

In the final letter Paul wrote he said:

2 Timothy 4:6-8 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

This church is our motivation.

THE WORLD HAS NO SUCH HOPE

This quest for sanctification is not an empty quest.

·      It is not a fool’s quest.

·      We are going to find it.

·      We are going to achieve it.

AND TODAY WE ARE CALLED TO PURSUE IT.

Don’t be like those who don’t care if they get sanctified or not.

·      We’ve read the verses, those people will not see the Lord.

·      Those people’s end is destruction.

Be like those who war daily to throw off sin.

Be like those who war daily to crucify the flesh.

Be like those who pursue Christ to know Him more.

These are the ones who will be delighted when He comes.

Don’t be lazy.

Don’t be apathetic.

Take those tools we have discussed…

·      Scripture

·      Prayer

·      Providence

·      Fellowship

·      Obedience

Take advantage of the freedom Christ won…

And pursue sanctification.

It is necessary.

And now tonight I want to end

With the passage we started with many weeks ago.

1 Peter 1:13-21 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

Pursue sanctification, “without which no one will see the Lord.”