Who Are You Following?

SERMON OUTLINE

• I. Godly Examples
• II. Ungodly Examples

TRANSCRIPT

I greet you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our text for this morning's message is taken from Philippians 3, verses 16-9. Recently, someone was sharing with me how he used to think in a certain way and behave in a certain way, which is the right way. But as he starts to associate with someone, his thinking and behaviour starts to change. And he starts to think like that person, which is the wrong way. That is how easily we can be influenced by the people we associate with, by the people we follow after. They can shape and alter our thinking and behaviour. If we follow after the wrong people, we will end up in the wrong place.

When we associate ourselves with people who love to gossip, we will become gossipers, right? Sooner or later, when we associate with people who always entertain negative thoughts, we will end up having negative thoughts. The same goes with worldly values, ungodly lifestyles, immoralities, and so forth. Like it or not, we will mimic, imitate, and follow the people we are close with. Remember, in the preceding verses, Paul talked about pursuing after spiritual perfection, to become more and more like Christ, to press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

So we must be careful of those people whom we associate with. We ought not to follow those who are ungodly examples, only those who are godly examples. This is what we want to learn from today's passage. The title of our message is, "Who are you following?" Our first point is godly example.

I. Godly Examples

Let us begin with verse 16, "Nevertheless, where to we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing." As long as we are alive, we will never attain spiritual perfection. We will still be pressing forward, but every day of our lives, we will be growing spiritually. We ought to be growing spiritually, and we will arrive at some point in our Christian walk. We should be more spiritual today than when we first began. In our pursuit for spiritual perfection, perhaps some of us may be at the halfway mark, while others may be just at the beginning. But whichever spiritual level we are in, Paul says, "Nevertheless, as far as we have attained already, as far as we have gotten, let us walk by the same rule". That is what it means. To walk by the same rule has the idea of a row of houses, a row of soldiers, or a row of priests in a straight, orderly and harmonious arrangement. Like when we drive across a rubber tree plantation, there will be rows and rows of rubber trees, all in a straight and orderly fashion. The original Greek word for “rule” is “kanon” from where we get the English word for the canon of the Holy Scriptures. So, here it speaks of walking according to the standards of the Holy Scriptures.

You see, believers are not to live their lives according to their own understanding, opinions, and views. They are not to bring their own humanistic ideas into the way they live their lives. They are to live according to the standards of the Bible. If I may give you an illustration, it is like a fleet of ships in a formation. In order to sail well, they must be in order, following a particular straight path, sailing toward their destination. Can you imagine if the captains of those ships were to drive their vessels according to their own whims and fancies? Some want to turn left, others want to turn right. What would happen? It would be a disaster. They would collide with each other, accidents will occur, they will never be able to reach their destination.

The same goes with the believers. If a believer says, "I feel this is the way I should live my life," and another believer says, "No, I feel that is the way I should live my life," or, "In my opinion, this is the way things should be done in the church," and another believer says, "In my opinion, this is not the way that things should be done in the church". Everyone brings in his own ideas, his own opinions. It will be a spiritual disaster, right? It is not about your understanding or my understanding. It is about following the standards of the Bible. That is what we must do: “walk by the same rule”.

"To mind the same thing" means to set our minds on the same objective. Our Christian objective is to attain spiritual perfection, it is to become more and more like Christ. In other words, every believer ought to live his or her life following the standards of the Bible and be focused on becoming more and more Christ-like. Then, Paul went on to say in verse 17, "Brethren, be followers together of me." The literal meaning means, "Be fellow imitators with me." Imitate and follow the way I'm following the standards of the Bible. Imitate and follow the way I am becoming more and more like Christ.

And Paul was not the only one doing that because he said, "And mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example." That would include people like Timothy and Epaphroditus, as well as the elders and deacons in Philippi and anyone else who was a godly example. To "mark" is to take note, to observe, to scrutinise. In other words, observe very carefully how those believers have lived their lives. Do you see a life of humility, a life of unselfish service? Do you see the willingness to serve and suffer for Christ? A devotion to Christ, a courage and dedication to spiritual things? If you see that, then follow those examples.

There are some people who are very good at instructing others about what to do. You must do this; you must not do that. But when it comes to their own lives, they do not apply what they teach. They are like those people whom we often joke about, "Just follow what I say, don't follow what I do." We laugh about it, but it is a reality that there are such people, even in the church. Such people ought to be disqualified as examples for the believers, no matter who they are—whether they be the pastors, elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, or even parents. I'm not saying that we are perfect; no man is perfect. But when we see a habitual trend in their lives, when we take note and observe that they are not living out according to what they preach, then the Bible tells us, "Mark them. Do not follow after them."

We need human examples, it is a fact. Church members would follow the pastor; children would follow their parents. We would follow people whom we look up to. We follow human examples, whether we admit it or not. We are influenced by other people. The question is, what kind of people are influencing us? Who is having an influence in our lives? Who are we following?

Take for example, the Corinthian church, they were following the wrong people. And what happened? The church was divided. Some said, "We belong to Paul." Others said, "We belong to Apollos." Yet others said, "We belong to Peter." And the whole church was fractured. That is why the qualifications for elders and deacons are so important. Why are there qualifications? Because God has called these people to set them as examples for the rest to follow. We are not to follow just anyone; we are to follow those whom God has called. And He says to us, "Follow them."

By the way, the qualifications for elders and deacons were also meant for the believers. It does not mean that only the elders must be blameless or the husband of one wife, and the ordinary church member does not need to be blameless; he can live any way he wants, or he can have more than one wife. Most certainly not. The qualifications that God has given to the elders and deacons were meant for them to set their lives as examples for the rest to follow. It applies to all of us too.

One of the essential aspects of our Christian life is discipleship. And discipleship is about following, about imitating. It is about one believer following the godly example of another believer. Dear friends, perhaps you have been a Christian for 20, 30, or 40 years. The question you need to ask yourself is, whom have you discipled? Is your life a good influence that others would want to follow? If the Lord were to take you home tonight, what legacies have you left behind? Will your children and grandchildren say, "I want to be like grandpa and grandma. I want to be like mum and dad"? Will they say that? If not, why not?

How wonderful it would be if God's people would be examples for one another to follow. How wonderful if the older men in our church will be able to teach the younger men how to lead their own families and to set their affections on things above and not on the perishable things of this earth. How wonderful it will be if older women will be able to teach the younger women how to submit to their own husbands, to dress modestly, and live in purity.

The only way we can do that is when the believers walk by the same rule, that is the Bible, and the believers mind the same thing, that is to pursue after spiritual perfection. And then the rest observe, take note, and mark them, and follow them. One of the most difficult places to disciple is in the home. Do you agree? When we try to disciple someone outside the family, it is relatively easy because they often see us only in ideal situations. In situations whereby it is easy for us to behave spiritually and respond positively, like in the church, we only spend a couple of hours together. It's not difficult for us to say the right thing, do the right thing, and appear to be spiritual.

But our children see us in all kinds of situations, in all of our moods, in all of our attitudes, in the way we respond when we drive our cars, and then suddenly someone cuts into our lane recklessly. They watch how we respond, in the way when we encounter a very rude waitress when we order our meals, they watch how we respond to that situation. They see us when our guards are down. But that is the true us. They see us first-hand, whether or not we are living our lives by the same rule, according to the Bible. They watch us, whether or not we are becoming more and more like our Saviour, Jesus Christ, if we are pursuing after spiritual perfection, they know.

If our behaviour is undesirable. You can say all you want; I can say all I want. We can be very sure our teachings, our instructions that we give to our children will fall on deaf ears. It is the same situation in the church, our spiritual family. They are the people whom we relate very closely. Perhaps you are a Sunday school teacher, a youth leader, a Bible facilitator, a deacon. The people will watch how you articulate the truth of God's Word in your life. Are you real, or are you just pretending? They will know.

Essentially, we are all in the business of discipleship. And discipleship is not just teaching the right principles; it is also about living out the right principles before the people. That is why Paul says, "Live out those principles, walk by the same rule, and mind the same thing." When the command is given “mark them”, take note of them, those good examples, follow them. It implies that not everyone is an example.

II. Ungodly Examples

Now, this is very sad, but it is a reality. Not everyone is a godly example. There are people who profess to be believers, but they bring into the church their own ideas that are contrary to the Bible. And instead of minding the same thing, as in focusing on pursuing spiritual perfection, they mind other people's business. They gossip, quarrel, strive, and fight. And they want things to be done their way. They are not growing spiritually. In fact, they may not even have a spiritual life to begin with because they are unbelievers.

Please do not think that everyone in the church must be a believer. The Bible tells us that there are sheep and goats in the local church, believers and unbelievers. The goats, the unbelievers, surely will not walk by the same rule; they will not mind the same thing. That is why oftentimes, churches have so much trouble and conflicts. It is very sad. Of course, sometimes it is because of our human weaknesses; the believers can also fall into those sins. But more often than not, there are those unbelievers who are not keen and will not walk by the same rule; they will not mind the same thing. They want to do their own thing. Are there such people in the church at Philippi? Most certainly.

That was why Paul said in verse 18, "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ". Notice, Paul said, "For many," which means not just a few, but a large portion of the people are not good examples. This brings us to our second point, ungodly example. The frightening thing is that they are in the church; they are not outside the church; they are in the congregation. Paul says, "of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping." He was always warning the Philippians to beware of those people. He did not do it gladly; it was not a delightful thing to do. It was a most painful thing to do, but it was necessary because it concerned the spiritual lives of the Philippians. That was the reason why Paul was weeping as he warned the Philippians.

Another reason why he was weeping and in tears when he warned the Philippians was because these were the enemies of the cross. In other words, they were unbelievers. They were not sheep but goats. Remember, these people were in the church. They were mingling with the people, and Paul was afraid that the people will pattern their lives after these goats. Some of them could even be in leadership roles, but they were the false teachers and false believers. And like their evil master, Satan, they were very deceptive, pretending to be messengers of Christ and servants of righteousness.

Remember, Jesus Himself warns us, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:15). An enemy of the cross is someone who rejects the gospel; he is an opponent of the gospel. But the enemy is very subtle; he may not appear to be hostile to the cross. He may even appear to be for the cross, but you can tell because he never exalts the cross; he never speaks about Christ and the gospel. In all your conversations with such people, never once will you hear them talk about the cross, or Christ, or the gospel. When you start to talk about these topics, they will quickly change the subject because they are not interested. The fact of the matter is that they themselves do not believe.

The true believer who is saved by the cross, who is washed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, he cannot help it but to love the cross. He cannot help it but to exalt the cross, and he wants to tell everyone about the gospel of his Lord, the one who has saved him from eternal damnation. He cannot help it but not the unbeliever, the false teachers who are enemies of the cross.

Paul went on to describe four things about these enemies: Firstly, "Whose end is destruction," which means his path does not lead to peace, happiness, or joy, in spite of what he claims. He may tell you that he is happy, he is joyful, and he has peace, but that is not true. It will lead only to misery, discontentment, unrest, and eventually a permanent separation from God because he has rejected the gospel. He's an enemy of the cross, having rejected the one and only true way to salvation. His final destination will be eternal hell. That is why Paul says, "Whose end is destruction."

Secondly, "whose God is their belly." The literal meaning means "God is their stomach." Okay, it does not only mean the sin of gluttony; it is a reference to sinful appetites. He's consumed with satisfying his sinful appetites, whatever it may be. It can be sexual immorality, worldly aspirations, sinful desires, prideful ego, sinful pleasures and entertainment, etc. To put it bluntly, life to him is all about satisfying those sinful desires. Life to him is all about eat, drink, and be merry. God is their belly.

Thirdly, "whose glory is their shame," which means he takes glory in his own shame. Things that ought to be shameful, he finds glory in them. That is very strange. What God calls good, he declares evil. What God calls evil, he declares good. As Isaiah the prophet said in Isaiah 5:20, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter". The opposite. Things that ought to be shameful, instead they find glory in them. They take pride in those things. Recently, I was watching a panel of people who profess to be Christians, and they were discussing gay marriage. In the end, they all agreed that gay marriage not only ought to be permitted, but it is a most wonderful thing. And the reason was they cited one example that two gay persons came together, and they raised up an adopted child. And they all said, "What a wonderful contribution to society," and they profess to be Christians.

Dear friends, are living in perilous times and the world's values are becoming so reversed that today honesty is a strange thing. If you are able to evade your taxes, they will say you are clever. Chastity is despised and mocked, isn't it true? If girls were to wear skirts below the knees, they will be mocked as old-fashioned. In the name of human rights, parents allow their children to decide their preferences in genders and then allow them to take hormone treatment to alter those things. They take pride in shameful things, things that ought to be shameful; they find glory in them. These sinful values are starting to creep into the churches. May the Lord have mercy on us and preserve our church. We are living in perilous times.

Lastly, "who mind earthly things." He will only mind earthly things, not spiritual things. He has no concern about spiritual things. James 4:4 warns us, "know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." 1 John 2:15 says the same thing, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

Have you ever spoken to someone, and you realise that throughout your conversations with him, he talks about a lot of things, from politics to science and technology, to the latest electronic gadgets, holidays, investments, enjoyments, pleasures, and so forth, but those conversations never centred on spiritual things. Never once would they talk about heavenly things, always about earthly things. The Bible says these people only mind earthly things.

In the past, before our conversions, you and I have lived that kind of life. We were once the enemies of the cross, and our end was destruction. Without Jesus Christ, we were eternally lost. Our God was our belly. We lived our lives to satisfy our own sinful desires. Our glory was in our shame, things that ought to be shameful; we found glory in them. And we were only mindful of earthly things. But since our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has saved us, transported us out of darkness into His marvellous light, all that has changed. Our new life in Christ is different from our former life. Our former standard, which we had before our conversions, is now replaced by a new standard, and that standard is the Bible. We now walk by the same rule, and we mind the same thing. That is why believers will find those worldly conversations very vexing. They will not want to continue those conversations; they will want to shy away.

Dear friends, the greatest danger of the church is when God's people are gullible. We cannot be gullible; we have to be discerning. We have only one life to live, and that one life must be lived to pursue spiritual perfection, to become more and more like Christ. Every day of our lives, we have to be growing spiritually. If we are not growing, something is wrong. And anything that will hinder our spiritual walk, anyone who is detrimental to the spiritual life of the church, to our family, to our children, to our individual lives, we will disassociate. We will not fellowship; we will not follow after, no matter how close that person is with us. That person may be with us for 40, 50 years; it doesn't matter. Our allegiance is always to God. Our lives must always be lived for His glory. Anything that comes in between must go.

God's people must be discerning to know who are those who are godly. Mark them. If you see that they are living a life of humility, a life of unselfish services for God, you see a willingness to serve and suffer for Christ, you see this dedication to Jesus Christ and His glory, then follow. We are to follow godly examples, not ungodly examples. There will be sheep; there will be goats in the Church of Jesus Christ, the local church, but we have to watch, observe, scrutinise, and then mark out those who are godly, we follow. Those who are ungodly, we turn away. Who are you following? Are you following the godly examples or are you following the ungodly examples?

Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank Thee for the opportunity to consider this portion of scriptures. Indeed, we have only one life to live. We must live this one life to pursue spiritual perfection. Every day of our lives, we ought to be growing spiritually; we ought to become more and more like Thy only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Anything that comes between us and our spiritual pursuits must go. Anything that will hinder, anyone that is detrimental to our spiritual walk with Thee, they must go. Help us not to be gullible but to be discerning, to be able to see spiritually who are those who are godly and who are those who are ungodly, that we follow the right people and we end up in the right place. We do not want to end up in the wrong place. Oh Lord, remind us always, because we always forget. We always allow ourselves to be enslaved and consumed by human relationships so much so that we can become spiritually blinded. Help us to know that the most important thing we ought to do in our lives is to walk by the same rule and to mind the same thing. Help us that we ourselves will be godly examples that others will desire to follow after. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.

THE BOOK OF PHILIPPIANS

The Church at Philippi

The Church at Philippi

Philippians 1:1-2

The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)

The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)

Philippians 1:3-5

Elements of True Joy

Elements of True Joy

Philippians 1:3-6

The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)

The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)

Philippians 1:6

What are the Things Most Important to Us?

What are the Things Most Important to Us?

Philippians 1:7-8

Growing in Godliness

Growing in Godliness

Philippians 1:9-11

Message 5: Praying for the Church

Message 5: Praying for the Church

Philippians 1:9-11

Growing in Godliness

Growing in Godliness

Philippians 1:9-11

Are All Things Really Working For Good?

Are All Things Really Working For Good?

Philippians 1:12-14

In Times of Adversity

In Times of Adversity

Philippians 1:12-18

Trouble in the Church

Trouble in the Church

Philippians 1:15-18

For to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is Gain

For to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is Gain

Philippians 1:19-26

To Live is Christ

To Live is Christ

Philippians 1:19-26

Living Worthy of the Gospel

Living Worthy of the Gospel

Philippians 1:27-30

Live your life worthy of the Gospel

Live your life worthy of the Gospel

Philippians 1:27-30

The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)

The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)

Philippians 2:1-2

Let's Have Fellowship

Let's Have Fellowship

Philippians 2:1-4

Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)

Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)

Philippians 2:3-4

The Ultimate Example

The Ultimate Example

Philippians 2:5-8

The Ultimate Example

The Ultimate Example

Philippians 2:5-11

What Is Christmas?

What Is Christmas?

Philippians 2:6-11

The Greatest Name

The Greatest Name

Philippians 2:9-11

Living a Sanctified Life

Living a Sanctified Life

Philippians 2:12-13

Work Out Your Own Salvation

Work Out Your Own Salvation

Philippians 2:12-18

Moving Forward Not Backward

Moving Forward Not Backward

Philippians 2:13-14

Stop Murmuring and Complaining

Stop Murmuring and Complaining

Philippians 2:14-16

The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: Paul

The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: Paul

Philippians 2:17-18

The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: Timothy

The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: Timothy

Philippians 2:19-24

The Importance of Spiritual Discernment

The Importance of Spiritual Discernment

Philippians 3:1-2

True Believers Worship God in Spirit and in Truth

True Believers Worship God in Spirit and in Truth

Philippians 3:3, John 4:4-30

Nothing to Boast Of

Nothing to Boast Of

Philippians 3:3-6

What Is Gain To Me Is Loss

What Is Gain To Me Is Loss

Philippians 3:7-9

The Power of Christ's Resurrection

The Power of Christ's Resurrection

Philippians 3:10-11

What are Your Spiritual Goals?

What are Your Spiritual Goals?

Philippians 3:10-11

Pressing Toward The Mark

Pressing Toward The Mark

Philippians 3:12-14

Pressing Toward the Mark

Pressing Toward the Mark

Philippians 3:13-14

Morning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for You

Morning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for You

Philippians 3:13-14

How to Know the Will of God

How to Know the Will of God

Philippians 3:15

Who Are You Following?

Who Are You Following?

Philippians 3:16-19

Heavenly Or Earthly Minded

Heavenly Or Earthly Minded

Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57

How Do You Stand Fast?

How Do You Stand Fast?

Philippians 4:1

How to Maintain Christian Unity

How to Maintain Christian Unity

Philippians 4:2-3

Having Peace in Times of Trouble (Part 1)

Having Peace in Times of Trouble (Part 1)

Philippians 4:4-7

The Cure for Anxiety

The Cure for Anxiety

Philippians 4:6-7

Message 6: Praying for the Troubled

Message 6: Praying for the Troubled

Philippians 4:6-7

Having Peace in Times of Trouble (Part 2)

Having Peace in Times of Trouble (Part 2)

Philippians 4:8-9

Learning To Be Content (Part 1)

Learning To Be Content (Part 1)

Philippians 4:10-12

How To Be An Overcoming Christian

How To Be An Overcoming Christian

Philippians 4:13

Learning To Be Content (Part 2)

Learning To Be Content (Part 2)

Philippians 4:13-19

My God Shall Supply All Your Needs

My God Shall Supply All Your Needs

Philippians 4:19

Living By Grace and For God's Glory

Living By Grace and For God's Glory

Philippians 4:20-23