Sermons by Ken Trivette from the Living Word

The Book of Philippians
I'M PACKED AND READY TO GO
Philippians 3:20-21

1. Following a battle during the Civil War, a Confederate surgeon was going from body to body to see if there was any alive, as well as trying to give comfort and aid to the wounded. For three hours he had given about all he had attending to every he could. He was absolutely exhausted. He found a log and sit down to rest. Just as he sat down he heard a faint voice saying, "Here, Here, Here!" He pulled himself up and said, "Son, I am coming."

2. He followed the faint voice until he came to an eighteen year old soldier. His wounds were serious and it was obvious that he was dying. The surgeon said, "I am here. I will do everything I can to help you." The young soldier opened his eyes and whispered, "Sir, I was not calling you."

3. The surgeon said, "Son, you have been calling 'here" for the last several minutes. If you weren't calling me, why have you been calling out?" The soldier replied, "Sir, about ten minutes ago they began to call roll in heaven. I thought I heard my name and I was just telling them, I'm here! I'm here!"

4. There is one thing of which I am certain and that is that my name is on the roll. It was put there April 2, 1972. One day they will call roll in heaven and I know that my name will be called. You could say that I am packed and ready to go.

5. I read about a Sunday school teacher that was teaching her class about heaven. She was explaining to the children how beautiful and glorious heaven was going to be. When she finished she asked, "Class, how many of you want to go to heaven?" Everyone raised their hand but one little boy named Billy. The teacher asked him, "Billy, don't you want to go to heaven?" He replied, "Teacher, I'd like to, but my mommy told me to come home right after church."

6.One survey found that 77 per cent of Americans believe in heaven. Seventy-six per cent say their chances of going to heaven are good or excellent. I would like to say that my chances of getting to heaven is better than good or excellent. It is guaranteed. When it comes to heaven, I have more than a chance. I have a certainty.

7. Ted Turner once made the statement, "Heaven is perfect. Who wants to go to a place that's perfect? That would be just plain boring." From what I have read about Mr. Turner, I don't think he has much to worry about. Yet, you can be certain there will nothing boring about living in heaven. As we look at our text we see that heaven will be a blessed place. Not a boring place.

8. Let's consider verses 20-21 and notice what Paul had to say about our future destination. First we see that matter of:

1. AWAITING OUR LEAVING FOR HEAVEN!

1. Paul stated, "For our conversation is in heaven" (Vs.20). In verse 19 he spoke of those who minded earthly things (earthly minded). Now he speaks of those who are heavenly minded. As he does so, he speaks of a:

A. Country That Is Special

1. When Paul spoke of heaven he was speaking of a very special place. It is a place that is beyond human comprehension. The poet is at a loss for words to describe it. The artist lacks the skill to depict it. Even the theologian lacks the ability to adequately detail it.

2. The Bible speaks of heaven as a large place. We read in Revelation 21:16, "And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal."  

3. John was describing the capital city of heaven--the New Jerusalem. He speaks of the length, breadth, and height of the city as being equal in dimension, 12,000 furlongs, which is approximately 1,500 miles. To help you appreciate the size of the city, if you put the New Jerusalem on a map of the United States it would stretch from Florida to Maine and from New York to the Mississippi River.

4. It is not only 1,500 miles long but also 1,500 miles high. Imagine that the New Jerusalem is broken down in stories at 15 feet. That would mean that the New Jerusalem would have 528,000 stories and on each story there would be 250,000 square miles. It would be a city that has a total square mileage of 1 trillion, 188 billon square miles.

5. The Department of Eugenics has said that since man first man began on earth, there have been approximately 32 billion people that have lived on earth. If all 32 billion went to heaven, every family would have a room 198 square miles in size. If only half went to heaven they would have a room 396 square miles per family.

6. The Bible not only speaks of heaven as a large place, but also a lovely place. We get an ideal of how lovely it is in Revelation 22:1-2, "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. [2] In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."

7. I read about a little girl who was blind from birth and what beauty she knew of her surroundings had come from her mothers lips. A noted surgeon successfully operated on her eyes. When the bandages were removed, she ran straight into her mother's arms to behold her face for the first time. Then she ran around the room looking at each thing in the room. Then she turned to the window and looked outside. She turned to her mother and said, "Oh, mommy, why didn't you tell me it was so beautiful." The mother wiped her tears and said, "I tried to tell you honey, I tried my best to tell you."

8. There are no words to describe the beauty of our future home. It is beyond our comprehension. When I think about heaven I feel somewhat like the elderly husband who died in a car accident along with his wife. As they were walking the golden streets of heaven, beholding the beauty and wonderful sights, the wife said, "Isn't this wonderful?" "Yes," he replied, "and to think we could have been here years earlier if it weren't for your stupid oat bran muffins."

9. Billy Sunday said in one of his sermons, "If we could get a real appreciation of what Heaven is like, we would be so homesick the devil wouldn't have a friend left on earth." I say, Amen! Secondly, notice that Paul speaks of a:

B. Citizenship That Is Settled

1. Notice that Paul does not speak of heaven as a place he hopes to live in, but a place he is certain is his future home. He says, "For our conversation is in heaven." The word "conversation" does not refer to what we say, but who we are. The word refers to the seat of government in the country in which one has all the rights and privileges of being a citizen. Paul is speaking of the believer as a citizen of heaven.

2. As the songwriter said:

This world is not my home,
I'm just a passin' through;
My treasures are laid up,
Somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me,
From heaven's open door:
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.

3. The Bible speaks of Christians as "strangers" and "pilgrims." We are in this world, but we are not of this world. Heaven is our home--our eternal home.

5. I think of Philip Nolan in the classic tale, The Man Without a Country. Because Nolan had cursed the name of his country, he was sentenced to live aboard a ship and never see his native land again or even hear of its name. For fifty-six years he was on an endless journey from ship to ship and sea to sea. At his death was he buried at sea. He was a "man without a country."

6. Christians are not a people without a country. As the writer of Hebrews stated, we are a people that "desire a better country" (Hebrews 11:16).

7. Being a citizen of a heavenly country was the matter settled in Paul's heart. Notice carefully that he says that our citizenship IS  settled in heaven. It is not maybe or a hope on his part, but he was assured that those who have been saved are citizens of heaven. Paul was not hoping that he would get to heaven; he knew heaven was his home and he was but awaiting for the day when he would move into his new home.

8. For the believer, we are assured that because we have accepted Christ as Saviour that heaven is our home. We are citizens of heaven and our name is on heaven's registers. We are but waiting for the day when we occupy that eternal home. All that remains is our moving there. We not only see the matter of our awaiting our leaving for heaven, but also the matter of our:

2. ANTICIPATING OUR LORD FROM HEAVEN!

1.  We read in verse 20, "from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." Paul is telling us that moving day is coming and it want be Mayflower that moves us, but rather the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley.

2. Jesus said in John 14:3-4, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know." Jesus has gone away to get our new home ready. When it is completed He will come and move us to our new home. As pilgrims on this earth, our earthly tent is but temporary. When our mansion is complete we are moving out of this world and you can be sure that construction is right on time.

3. When I think of the Lord's return, I think first of all of the:

A. Return Declared In The Scriptures

1. It has been estimated that one-third of the Bible is about the second coming of Jesus Christ. It has been said that in the Old Testament there are 1,845 references to His return. In the New Testament, there are seventeen books that give His return prominence.

2. In the 260 chapters of the New Testament there are 318 references or one out of every 30 verses that refer to the Lord's return. More space is given to the Lord's return than any other subject. For every prophecy on the first coming, there are eight on the second coming.

3. During WWII, General Douglas Macarthur told the people of the Philippines, "The President of the United States ordered me to break through the Japanese lines...for the purpose, as I understand it, of organizing the American offensive against Japan, a primary object of which is the relief of the Philippines. I cam through and I shall return." Two years later, in October 1944, General Macarthur did return to the Philippines and over a loudspeaker the words were heard, "People of the Philippines: I have returned."

4. Jesus has promised that He will return and we can be certain that He will return. I think also of the:

B. The Return Desired By The Saints

1. Paul said, "we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." The word "look" means, "to eagerly await." God's people are counting the days when Jesus will return. They look and long for His coming. Their prayer is, "Even so come Lord Jesus!" The Bible tells us to look for His return. We read in 2 Peter 3:12, "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God."

2. Martin Luther said, "I preach as though Jesus Christ were crucified yesterday, arose today, and coming again tomorrow." G. Campbell Morgan said, "I never began my work in the morning without thinking that perhaps he may interrupt my work and begin His own. I am not looking for death. I am looking for Him."

3. When Ernest Shackleton was driven back from his quest to reach the South Pole, he was forced to leave his men on Elephant Island and go for help. He promised his men that he would return for him. Once he reached safety, he tried on several occasions to get back to his men, but the weather and ice prevented him from doing so. He kept trying and on one occasion, as he neared the island he found an opening in the ice. There was a risk that if he went in the ice would close and all would perish. Yet, he took the risk and was able to reach his men and get out before the ice closed. It was all done in half an hour. What allowed the quick rescue of his men was that when he reached them they were all packed and ready to leave. Later, he said to one of the men, "Well, you were all packed and ready!" The man replied, "You see, boss, Wild (the second in command) never gave up hope, and whenever there was a clearing in the ice, he said to everyone, 'Roll up your sleeping bags, boys; the Boss may come today.'"

4. May I say its time to roll up the sleeping bags saints. Jesus is coming and He could come today. The Lord's return is longed for and anticipated by the saint. Finally, notice with me the matter of:

3. ASSESSING OUR LIFE IN HEAVEN!

1. What will life be like in our heavenly home? Paul describes for us and gives us an assessment of our life in heaven. He says in verse 21, "Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."

2. Paul tells us that the life we will live in heaven is one of total contrast to the life we have lived on earth. We see this contrast as it concerns the believer's body. First we see:

A. The Earthly Humiliation Of The Body

1. Paul speaks of our earthly body as being "vile." When we think of something vile we usually think of something that is sinful, evil, and depraved. The word that Paul uses is translated "low estate" in Luke 1:48 and "made low" in James 1:10. When Paul speaks of our vile bodies he is referring to the humble station of our bodies or the earthly humiliation of our bodies.

2. The humiliation of our bodies came as a result of the fall. Before Adam and Eve sinned they lived in a body that was free and immune from sickness, sorrow, and suffering. But after the fall, they found themselves in bodies that was subject to all these things.

3. Each of us lives in bodies that are affected by age. We live in bodies in which we become sick. Our bodies are not immune from sickness of any kind. These bodies require medicine and surgery. We have bones that break, heads that hurt, noses that run, feet that smell, and stomachs that growl. We live in bodies that are humiliated by the fall.

4. One great evidence of this earthly humiliation brings up a problem that evolutionists cannot answer. Why is it that our bodies have to be clothed? Everything that is born in this world is born with its own clothing except the human being. The little pig is born with its clothing of shiny bristles. The bird comes into this world with a clothing of feathers. The puppy is born with a clothing of fur. The only thing born in this world that must be clothed is man. Why is that? Psalm 104:2 tells us that God originally clothed man in the garments of light: "Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment..." When man sinned that garment of light was removed and man had to clothe himself in earthly garments. The clothes that we wear is an example of the earthly humiliation of our bodies.

5. Hospitals, doctors, pharmacy's, rest homes, funeral homes, Chemo-therapy, radiation, blocked arteries, amputations, are all result of this humiliation. Everything from life-support to Bayer Aspirin reminds us of the kind of life we now live in our bodies. However, we see:

B. The Eternal Transformation Of The Body

1. Paul tells us that when we get to heaven everything is going to be totally different. There is going to be a change in our bodies. Our bodies will go through a wonderful transformation. Now we are mortal, but then we will be immortal. Now we have an earthly body, but then we shall have an eternal body.

2. The word "change" in verse 21 speaks of a total transformation of the body. It is more than a repairing of the old, but a replacing of the old. Now we live a life that is subject to sickness, suffering, and sorrow. But in heaven we will live in a body and live the kind of life in which there will never be any sickness, suffering, or sorrow.

3. I once heard about an old country fellow and his son that went to the big city for the first time. They had never been off the farm and were amazed at all the things they saw. But the thing that amazed the old farmer the most was an elevator. They were standing in the lobby of this building when they saw this old woman with wrinkled skin on a walker step into the elevator. The door closed and in a few minutes opened and out stepped this beautiful young woman. The farmer said to his son, "Wait right here. I'm going home to get your mamma and run her through that thing."

4. One of these day we are going to be transformed. These vile bodies will be changed and fashioned like unto our Lord's glorious body. We will move from a grievous life to a glorious life. How will this change take place. Paul explains that it happen, "according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself" (Vs.21). It was like Paul knew there would be those who would be skeptical and doubt that a total transformation of the body could occur.

5. Think with me about our bodies for a moment. Even though our bodies have been humiliated by the fall, they still are a marvel to the human mind. For example, our bodies are made up of billions and billions of cells. Every living thing is made of microscopic cells so small that the letter "o" on the page of a book could contain up to 40,000 cells. Yet, each individual cell is a world in itself with a specialized function and an intricate timetable that tells the cells when to grow, when to divide, when to make hormones, and when to die. In the human body, some 3 billion cells die and are replaced every minute. The human brain contains some 30 billion cells. The skin has about a million cells per square inch, and in some veins some 20 trillion cells go about their business.

6. I think you would agree with me that the God Who is able to create such a body is certainly able to re-create the body. The God that able to perform is also the God that is able to transform. These vile bodies will be changed according to His working, His power and ability.

7. Every time I get a call and have to rush to an emergency room because there has been an accident; every time I walk into an Intensive Care Unity and see bodies kept alive by machines; each time I pray with someone that is having surgery; each time I see someone who has lost their hair because of Chemo-therapy; each time I visit a nursing home and see minds that have regressed into childhood and bodies that have ceased to function, I can't help but rejoice that there is going to be a better day and that one day we will have new bodies.

8. As the songwriter said:

There is coming a day,
When no heartaches shall come,
No more clouds in the sky,
No more tears to dim the eyes;
All is peace forevermore
On that happy golden shore--
What a day, glorious day that will be!