Citizens of Heaven

But our citizenship is in heaven. –Philippians 3:20a (NIV)

I was 4 years old. I stood with my daddy in front of the ice cream truck and when he said, "Jonny, you can have anything you want," my mouth opened wide, my eyes doubled in size, my hands started to sweat, and my head thumped with every rapidly increasing hear beat. I knew, with the trust only children possess, a trust without doubt, without question, without hesitation... I knew one thing.

Because my daddy had the power to get me whatever ice cream I wanted and HE was the one who spoke those words, I really could have any ice cream bar I wanted. Words cannot describe my joy in that moment, the exquisiteness of my expectation, the awesomeness of my anticipation, my giddy eagerness.

The words in Philippians 3:20 are from your true daddy–NOT your earthly daddy who may have kept many promises or only a few but your true daddy who is truly trustworthy. Your daddy who loves you and whose loving power defines the very makeup of reality is telling you, “You are a citizen of heaven.” What does this mean?

Citizenship is about what defines us and our value. The Philippians who were Roman citizens thought they had some great advantage over other church members who weren’t, but God invites them into a new citizenship that can unify and give an “eagerly awaiting” (Philippians 3:20b) hope. Over the course of my life, I’ve identified with all sorts of things God wants to redefine.

“My citizenship is in…

how productive I am.

what people think of me.

the United States and the choices of our leaders.

how things are going in my community, job, family.

how my day is going.”

To each, God replies, “Your citizenship is in heaven.”

Whatever you face in this life, let your question be, “How does the fact that I am actually a citizen of heaven instead of this broken world change the way I will affect, and be affected by, this situation?” I invite you to trust as a child and hold on for the ice cream.

– Pastor Jonny Moor

Abide in me

This was one of the last pieces of wisdom Jesus gave the apostles before His crucifixion. Though they were unaware that Jesus would be taken from them that night, Jesus spoke these words to them with this in mind. How were they to remain in Jesus if He was to be taken away from them that night? Fortunately for us, this was one of the few moments that Jesus was clear:

“If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love… My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” –John 15:10-12

They were to abide in Jesus by loving each other the way Christ had loved them: through self-sacrifice. This is how we abide in Christ: by laying our life down for our friends.

The timing of these words is important. Jesus could have taught them this important lesson earlier, but He did not. He chose the night of His betrayal because our natural impulse in response to chaos is to protect ourselves. Consider where the apostles were on resurrection morning. In the wake of the chaos, Judas had hung himself, Peter had betrayed Jesus, and the apostles had hidden themselves behind locked doors filled with fear (John 20:19). When their teacher was being tortured and killed, they ran. When chaos came, they did not abide, they did not remain, they did not love. They looked out for themselves.

Abiding in Christ means praying, reading Scripture, meditating on holiness, seeking wisdom and understanding, and developing spiritual disciplines. But we would miss a crucial part of what it means to abide if we do not take Jesus’ words seriously: “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love… My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

We do not abide in Christ alone. We abide in Christ together. And ‘together’ means more than proximity, it also means effort. In the wake of chaos, spiritual practices become hard, but abiding with each other becomes near impossible. But the wisdom of Christ challenges us to be steadfast in chaos: to abide in Christ by abiding with each other. In the concluding words of Victoria Wescott’s sermon: “In the chaos that is to come, will you remain in Jesus?”

Lord, may we abide in you as we abide with each other.

—Pastor Alex Portillo

Press Forward

"Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."—Philippians 3:13, 14

After each sermon, there is always a moment when I realize there was something more I should have or could have said.

This week, during my message, a section of the passage that I unpacked included the words “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

As I continued to think about this passage, I began to wonder if maybe we should be asking ourselves "am I pressing on or am I content with being a bench warmer?"

It also hit me that maybe I should be asking, “in what ways does Meadow Glade Church encourage its members to press on?" This is a hard question, but it is also an important one. We want to be a community which encourages the lifelong pursuit of growing in Christ.

Meadow Glade Church, YOUR church, offers a wide range of growth opportunities for members of all ages. Here are just a few examples . . .

Children's Ministries: Vacation Bible School; Children's Sabbath School; Children’s Church; Pathfinders

Youth Ministries: Anchor Cafe; Youth Sabbath School; Teen Midweek Bible Study; Youth Ignite

Young Adult Ministries: YA Sabbath School; MGC Podcast

Adult Ministries: Midweek Prayer Meeting; Adult Sabbath School; Connect Groups

This is not a comprehensive list and only represents very traditional forms of spiritual growth opportunities. But where do you think you might fit in this list? Are you taking advantage of any of these? What can we do to help promote, encourage, or participate in your spiritual growth.

We may stumble, but we keep pressing forward.

We may not know the placement of each step, but we keep pressing forward.

We may stumble, but we keep pressing forward.

–Pastor Jackie James

Success

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ”
–Philippians 3:7, 8

Gains and successes - as Christians we know we aren’t supposed to want those things. But… of course we do. And sure, sometimes it is selfish. We want to have nice things because they are, well, nice to have! And we often can’t help but want to be respected in other people’s eyes.

Sometimes, though, gains and successes are truly unselfish. We want to do well at work to help others. We want to succeed on a test or a project because it will help the rest of the group as well. Success isn’t always selfish, and that makes it a good thing… right?

Here in our text, this kind of unselfish success may be exactly what Paul is talking about being “garbage.” When my gains and successes are selfish, I already know, deep down, that they are not the goal of life, that these things are just surface. I don’t really need anyone to tell me that, I can feel guilty all by myself. However, when my gains and successes are for the benefit of others as well (though also for myself), I feel good about my own abilities and talents.

Sidebar–feeling good about ourselves is a good thing! God loves us and wants us to love ourselves! So, what is the problem? The problem comes when these things become our goals, and then we accomplish them and start to feel confident in ourselves alone. We see less and less of our need for God. Then, when failures come (and they will), we crash and burn–mentally, emotionally, but especially, spiritually.

What is the solution? If we are supposed to feel good about ourselves and accomplish good things for others, but we aren’t supposed to focus on success, what do we do? It’s not success that is the problem, it’s our focus on what makes something successful. If our own successes, or even the successes of those around us, are the goal, they become a block from Christ’s success. But, if in everything we do our goal is to let Christ shine–no matter the success or failure of our own wants, then we will become the Christians we are called to be.

What interaction was hardest for you this week? Where do you feel you struggled most? Take a minute to think on that. Then ask: how can I use that moment for Christ? This is where it starts.

–Pastor Jana Lee

Perfectly Loved

When John says that “perfect love casts out fear,” what kind of fear is he talking about? I don’t imagine, a person knowing they are loved, would make jumping out of an airplane or public speaking less frightening. I do not think physical fear is what John had in mind. Physical fear is not easy to overcome, but it can be overcome with a little courage. Courage is not action absent of fear, but action despite fear.

Then what is John talking about? John tells us when we read the whole passage, “This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment… There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.” (1 John 4:17-18) John is talking about fear of judgment!

Over the weekend Maddie made a very astute observation, “The root of our fear is doubt… Doubt makes us scared. Doubt makes us skeptical. Doubt makes us want to run away, to get out from whatever seems to be the problem.” Think about this statement for a minute. How many of us after a mistake become skeptical and run further away from God? Like the prodigal son we become slaves in a foreign land rather than go home because we doubt God’s love for us. We say things like, “if you only knew what I did” or “I don’t want to return until I get my act right;” that is fear talking. If we doubt God’s love for us, then of course we will fear judgment and punishment. How could someone who does not love us have mercy on us?

But reader, although you have heard it many times before, let me say it to you one more time: God loves you. God’s love for you is patient, kind, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, it protects, it always perseveres and it never fails! (1 Cor 13:4-8) This kind of love is searching to be reconciled, not to punish! If you still question it, look to the cross. There Jesus will reveal to you God as savior. For the cross is not what God inflicts upon Jesus in order to forgive. The cross is what God in Christ endures as He forgives. The cross did not make God willing to forgive, it is evidence that He was always willing to forgive. It is this love that moved Paul to write, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” (Eph 1:7) In other words, God wants to forgive!

When we realize how deeply loved we are, we rest knowing that our mistakes are not greater than His love, and that no imperfection of ours is above or beyond the healing hand of the Great I AM. When we know we are deeply loved, we do not fear judgment. My prayer for you is that you may know that you are perfectly loved by God. And in knowing this, that all your fear of judgment may be cast out.

–Pastor Alex Portillo

Models for Everyday

Philippians chapter 2 presents a cadre of examples for the members of the church in Philippi. It starts with the perfect example, Jesus Christ. Then Paul discusses his own leadership and example. Next, in verses 19-24, Paul holds up Timothy, who is without parallel in having “genuine concern” for the believers. Finally, verses 25-30, extol Epaphroditus (E-pa-fro-die-tis), a member of the church who almost gave his own life in service to the gospel. Philippians chapter 3 is going to build on the importance of our models because God knows what we celebrate in others we grow in ourselves.

On Sabbath morning we considered these examples and considered some of the deep effects they have on us, but it’s not Sabbath morning anymore.

The week goes on and now you may be discouraged. You may be facing a difficult problem. You may be hurt. You may be experiencing a great success and you may be afraid it will slip through your fingers. Perhaps you have even become discouraged because you feel like you don’t live up to some spiritual person’s example.

But be of good courage! These examples are not placed here to discourage us as we play the comparison game and feel like failures. These examples are here to show us what God can and does do in people. These examples are here to give us hope. Let’s adopt this attitude as we journey through Philippians together. Let’s reflect on these examples of godliness, ask God for grace and strength, and seek to imitate them in our all-in love for those around us.

–Pastor Jonny Moor

Lights In The World

Philippians 2:15 in the NIV reads, “Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.” What I love about the NIV translation is that Paul does not actually use the word ‘stars.’ Rather, he uses the word ‘brilliance.’ Why then do the NIV translators use the word ‘stars’ instead of ‘brilliance’? The reason is because most scholars agree that Paul is making a reference to Daniel 12, where Daniel has a vision of the end of the world. In his vision, Michael stands up, the righteous dead are raised and in verse 3 it reads, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

So why then does Paul say “brilliance” instead of “stars” if he is making a reference to Daniel 12? That is because the word for brilliance can include stars, moon, and sun. In other words, it’s a much more powerful word. By changing the word, Paul communicates a vision that is greater than Daniel’s. In Daniel 12 the righteous shine like stars, but for Paul, the righteous who live a life “worthy of the Gospel” by continually working out their salvation with fear and trembling are much brighter! They are like the brilliance of the stars and moon in the darkest night. They are like the brilliance of the sun at dawn chasing away the darkness.  

 In Matthew 5:14 Jesus says to us, “You are the light of the world.” Shining in the world means the same thing that working out our salvation means: it means being more like Jesus. It means making our lives just as beautiful as the salvation we have received by the power of God’s Spirit. It means becoming selfless, humble, considerate, and self-sacrificing, as was Christ. (Phi 2:3)

The light of the righteous shines brightly,
    but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out
—Proverbs 13:9

May we continue to work out our salvation, that we may shine with a brilliance in this dark age.

—Pastor Alex Portillo