Follow The Spiritual Leader

Philippians 3: 17 "Brethren, zbe followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have aus for an ensample." [1]

I.   Family

     A. Related

     B. Respected

II. Follow

     A. Travel

     B. Together

III. Finish

     A. Protect

     B. Preserve

Introduction:  Today we continue the exposition of Paul’s letter to the Philippian church.  Last week we discussed our present position of not yet having arrived at that state of perfection even though we have been promised that hope through faith that we will arrive there one day.

It seems that the overwhelming theme of Paul’s letter is that he respects this particular church.  This letter of encouragement reminded them to stay together in faith though forces from the outside would always be there to dissuade them.  Being the loving church that Paul knew they could continue to be was possible if they kept their eye on Jesus.  Paul didn’t talk to them as a scolding father; he spoke as a father encouraging right behavior.

Paul explained his own journey as an example in verse fourteen, "14 I inpress otoward the mark for pthe prize of qthe high calling of God in Christ Jesus." [2]  Paul was on his way and he wrote to those whom he understood to be alongside him in his ministry, “15 Let us therefore, as many as be rperfect, be thus minded:”  [3]

The last half of verse fifteen reminds me of a thing I heard years ago.  If you want to make sure that God will answer your prayer, ask Him to remind you of your sin.  “and if in any thing sye be otherwise minded, tGod shall reveal even this unto you.” [4]  If you are truly ready to confess and repent, ask and God will reveal.  Otherwise, if you are like the majority today, don’t ask.

In verse sixteen Paul was back being the encourager again.  Keep on going along together as if you have already attained perfection.  Be of the same mind!

In the focal verse today, Paul reiterated that which he stated in other letters to other churches.  He said something that once made me shudder to think about.  In 1 Corinthians 11:1 Paul said it this way, “1 aBe ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” [5]

That is what the church is supposed to do today.  We are supposed to be Christian.  Some think Christian means Christ like.  Others translate Christian to be little Christs.  For the world that does not know Him, we are to be the example of Him to those who don’t care to know Him.

Scripture:  Today’s scripture is Philippians 3:17.  When you have found it please rise to your feet for the reading of God’s written word.

Prayer: Please be seated

Message:  Paul used that salutation “brethren” several times in this particular letter.  He truly felt as we should realize today that the Church is God’s family.  We were adopted together into God’s family when God elected us and we accepted that election to be followers of Jesus.  We have the Holy Spirit breathing through us and the blood of Jesus flowing through us.  Through His blood we are related to each other and God allows us to call Him Father.  When we are in the presence of a family member, there should be that respect that comes along with being a member of the same family.  There should be.  There could be.

Unfortunately in this world, often the ones that we should count on to trust are those who we lose sight of when the times get rough.  When a catastrophe happens such as the loss of a loved one, sometimes the eye is distracted by the world.  It is so easy for the intruder to come in and break the family relationship when love leaves and all that is left is lust and greed.  When we need to relate to each other and rely on each other and respect each other more than at any other time, if Christian love is not there, the family is often forfeited for failure.

Paul’s simple salutation of brethren reminded the Philippians firstly that they were family that could be counted on when the going got tough.  Paul was certainly in a tough place and he knew more than most anyone else that the church was being persecuted because he himself was once one of them that persecuted the church.

He started with “brethren, to encourage them to always remember that they were family and had a bond much more secure than anything this world holds dear.  We should always start with encouragement and not discouragement.  We must be ready to correct before we allow someone get off course but first we should encourage each other.

Be ye followers of me!  But Paul actually said more than that didn’t he?  He said followers together of me.  Have you ever watched a bunch of ducklings behind the mother?  It is an amazing thing.  They don’t follow along scattered wherever they feel like.  One right after another duckling!  Who do you suppose assigned them their place in line?

It isn’t enough that Paul said that they could trust him enough to follow him.  Paul included us.  When he said there in the last of this verse, so as ye have us, Paul meant us.  Others have us to follow each other.

That is hard!  One time I actually considered it impossible for me.  Follow me?  Did I want to be pastor?  Ya’ll know the answer to that.  Kicking and screaming.  Follow me?  I don’t know about anyone else but I had no desire to lead because if someone were to follow me I would lead them astray.  How could anyone say what Paul said?  How could anyone tell a group of people that they could trust him to the point that they could follow him?

In the military and other forces of service such as first responders, fire fighters, police, and others; there is much training required for those who lead and for those who follow until a unit us formed which will follow that leader together.  I’m going out on a limb here, there has only ever been one man that could make a statement like Paul did and He descended to earth from heaven.  So how did Paul do it?

You see, Paul had his eye on Jesus.  His thought was not on looking back to see who was out of step with him.  In formation flight there is only one plane that you need to keep your eye glued to and that is your wingman.  Each pilot has a wingman and as long as those in formation do not become distracted, they will follow the lead plane together.  This spreads the responsibility for following together to each one in the formation.

Could this possibly be the thing that Paul was attempting to get us to understand?  We are all responsible for each other and therefore we should watch the one who is watching the one.  Now do you understand why so few want to be pastors?  But if you are watching me and I get distracted and you immediately help me to get back on course, we are all safe.

The main reason most people in the marketplace would give for not attending church was someone did something that caused them to lose respect for church people.  As corporate chaplains one of our goals was to encourage people that we served to connect with their local church of their choosing.  It was great to attend church as a chaplain and watch as that one who once was so against church to be baptized or ordained as a deacon.

Sometimes we would officiate in a wedding ceremony at a church where the pastor would yield the pulpit because the couple would feel closer to the chaplain than the church pastor.  One heartbreaking aspect of being a commissioned chaplain was the knowledge that though many of my closest allies in the ministry were pastors, some pastors disregard chaplains as brethren.

Some pastors even feel contempt for chaplains.  Some pastors feel that chaplains actually pamper people who have contempt for church.  Of course some chaplains feel that pastors pamper church people who have driven people away from church.  We are all in the same ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ whether we are pastors, chaplains, or members who attend church and wrongly think nobody is watching them.  It is a shame when someone uses whatever excuse to stop attending church.

Okay, another duck analogy.  Have you ever noticed when the seasons change how geese or ducks fly in formation?  There is a certain thing called drag when a body is flying.  Drag is reduced when a body follows another body.  Race car drivers can also attest to this.  You might have learned this phenomenon following Jerry on the interstate.  If you can stay the right distance behind that semi-truck in from of you, you can actually save fuel.  Staying in front, unless you have a much higher power, can wear you out.  Getting back to the ducks, when the lead duck gets tired, it moves over and allows the one behind to take over as it falls in behind.

You can’t always be the lead duck!  Only Jesus has that higher power that I mentioned before.  One of the most impressive ceremonies to watch in a military funeral is the missing man formation.  That plane falls out of the formation and the others fill in the hole.  That is to signify that we must all maintain the formation or we will all fall apart.  We all take our turn at being the leader or the wingman whether we like it or not.

Each church member is as important to somebody even more than the pastor.  If God had not finally convinced me of that, I would not be your pastor today.  Everybody can and should be a wingman to another Christian.  We all need each other’s faith to count on.

I used the term finish as the last main point in the outline to represent the idea of a mark.  Not so much that the person who is marked is finished in the ministry of being a wingman for others but like a coat of paint.  That finish distinguishes them as having received that final coat that shows who they truly are.  We all have someone in our past with that finish, that mark that shows others who they are and who they stand for.  That finish preserves our faith and protects the gospel from losing the luster that it has always had.

The church is seen by the world as the one and only formation that has withstood all that the world has used to divide us.  There have been those wingmen like Billy Graham in each generation.  We keep on by keeping our eye on those who lead us in Jesus’ name.  The church maintains formation though the world believes it can break us.  Who is your wingman?  Who is looking at you as their wingman?

Whether you like it or not, people are watching to see if you are a proper wingman.  There is probably nobody here today that doesn’t have someone or maybe many in their past which marked them as those who have walked with Jesus as Paul described in the last part of this verse.  What ensample or example are you setting for those who are lost?

Prayer:

Invitation:  When Russel paints a car he does it to give that final touch of recognition.  That finish does more than give a shiny finish.  In the case of those saints that are still even here among us, the finish serves to protect and preserve the image of the one that person represents.  You can stand a long way from that car and know it is a 1957 Chevy.  There is no mistake.

To be a real genuine Christian does carry a load of responsibility.  Each and every one of us must carry that cross of being a Christian in someone else’s view or else someone will fall out of formation.

Are you ready to carry that mark that so many others have carried?  We are here now to continue what Jesus started and that is a heavy burden.  If anyone said it was easy to be a wingman they have never been one.  Jesus is always there to help.  Matthew 11:28, “ Come unto pme, all ye that labour and are qheavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 rTake my yoke upon you, and slearn of me; for I am tmeek and lowly in heart: and uye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For xmy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [6]  Let us learn to not only follow the spiritual leader but to be someone else’s spiritual leader.  Consider as we sing…

z See 1 Cor. 4:16. So ch. 4:9.
a 1 Pet. 5:3. See 1 Cor. 10:6.
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Php 3:17). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
i Comp. Cant. 1:4.
n See 1 Cor. 9:24, 26.
o So Wisd. 5:12, 21.
p 1 Cor. 9:24.
q See Heb. 3:1. Comp. Col. 3:1, 2.
[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Php 3:14). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
r 1 Cor. 2:6. See Matt. 5:48. Comp. 1 Cor. 14:20 marg. Heb. 5:14 marg.
[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Php 3:15). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
s So Gal. 5:10.
t See 1 Cor. 14:6.
[4] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Php 3:15). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
a See ch. 4:16.
[5] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Co 11). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
p Comp. ver. 3.
q Luke 11:46 (Gk.).
r Ecclus. 51:26. So Lam. 3:27.
s So John 13:15. Phil. 2:5. 1 Pet. 2:21. 1 John 2:6.
t Zech. 9:9. So Phil. 2:7, 8.
u Cited from Jer. 6:16.
x 1 John 5:3.
[6] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 11:28–30). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.