Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Philippians 3:17-4:1
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  March 13, 2022

I have fond memories of fishing with my Dad as a boy. I’m not sure we always caught fish, but we always had great snacks. As a good Wisconsinite, my Dad would go after walleyes, so we usually started out trolling. But after he had his fill of that, we would drop the anchor and cast into weeds near the shore for sunfish and perch. Our boat was a shallow, 14-foot Lund made of aluminum. It was easy to get in and out of the water but it would drift quite easily, even w nith the anchor down. So every 20 minutes or so I pulled up the anchor and Dad would reposition the boat. Then he’d give the word and I’d watch those 15lbs of iron sink out of sight.

A common misconception that many people have about anchors is that they never more. We assume that if we put it in the water, then our boar will never drift. But that’s not the case, not in fishing and not in life either. Just because you grew up as a Christian and your anchor point was set upon God’s Word doesn’t mean you can’t be dragged away slowly by the ceaseless waves. For the same reason, checking and resetting your anchor point is a necessary part of the Christian life. That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul talks to us about today in his words to the Philippians.

He writes: Brothers, join together in imitating me and in paying attention to those who are walking according to the pattern we gave you. 18 To be sure, many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. I told you about them often, and now I am saying it while weeping. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their appetite, and their glory is in their shame. They are thinking only about earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. The apostle tells us about people with two very different anchor points. There are those whose anchors firmly rest in the sand of earthly things, while Christians are called to set their anchors upon heaven, or the things of God. Paul knows that many lived as enemies of the cross of Christ in his day and it is no less true in ours. It isn’t necessarily the fact that Christ died which bothers them, it is the implication that for each individual who follows the Crucified, a cross must be carried as well. Many in the world are knowingly or unknowingly opposed to this path because “their god is their appetite” as Paul put it. They are chasing after earthly gratification. Their anchor point is set on earthly things and therefore their boat is restricted only to the pleasures and concerns of this world. As Paul says, with tears, their end will be eternal destruction if they continue in this path.

It takes determination to live as Paul did. To live as a citizen of heaven requires believers to stand firm against the mighty current of a world full of people going in a different direction. We are fools if we think that our anchors are unaffected by this current. In Psychology there’s something called “anchor point manipulation”. A common example  of this happens in sales. A shirt is listed for $40 or you see the same shirt listed for $50 but a sign next to it says “20% Off!”. The price is still $40 dollars, but the one on sale shifts your point of reference in assessing the value of the shirt. Your anchor is dragged and now the proverbial boat can reach new waters, in this case spending more money on a shirt. You weren’t planning to spend $40 dollars, but “ Hey, it was such a good deal!”

Anchor point manipulation doesn’t just happen in marketing. It happens in our own souls, where over time our reference point for what is valuable shifts when we focus on the world. Over time anchors can be moved far from their initial position, especially because they are moved subtly. The devil doesn’t grab our anchor and try to yank it off of Scriptural truth. He, in crude wisdom, blows a constant wind. Over time the incessant small waves of earthly thinking drag our anchors little by little away from a worldview that prioritizes God and his Word. I’m sure that many of you can think of dear souls from your own family who have been slowly dragged away by this worldly current. Perhaps you even know yourself that your anchor was dragged far into the broad road of destruction, before the grace of God brought you back to the narrow path.

If you aren’t focused on God’s Word, you will drift away from him. Faith is never static. If you don’t check your anchor regularly, you’d be surprised at just how far you can go, what kinds of new waters you can reach, the type of things you can justify. You might even be surprised at how casually you do things currently, things that would have at one time burdened your conscience. It happens to all of us to an extent.

Paul tells us to pay attention to the pattern of our lives…and this will tell us if we are drifting or standing firm. Consider the patterns of your life today: Is two hours of cable news at night setting your anchor on things above or things below? Is constant stimulation of social media fostering in you a heart that pines for heavenly glory, or one that longs for temporal and physical beauty? Is your hope for the future of church and school at Eastside, as well-intended as it may be, missing a grander perspective which rejoices in the greater kingdom of God? Are your dreams filled with longing for heaven in any way? The Lord’s prayer contains just one petition for earthly things, how do your petitions compare? Does your pattern of life correspond with someone whose citizenship is in heaven or someone who follows their earthly appetite? My friends, look down into the water and check your anchor, because it may not be where you assume it is. Is it possible that you have been drifting lately?

The apostle tells us, no matter what our current patterns are, to “walk according to the pattern” he laid out. That pattern is one of being found in Christ, not claiming a righteousness of our own, but fully trusting in his grace and forgiveness. It is a self-denying path of humility focused on the Savior who first showed us the meaning of the word. Paul writes in chapter 2: Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Jesus humbled himself because he had his eyes set, not on earthly things but heavenly things. He became obedient to even death on the cross because his heart was set on seeing you and me in glory one day. This mindset is the pattern, the path in which we are to walk. His love is the anchor point of our life here and in eternity. We walk the narrow way, come what may, all the while rejoicing that through Christ that our citizenship is in heaven!

It takes determination to stand firm against the constant waves of earth-centered thinking, but that determination is motivated and fueled by this eager certainty: 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. We are eagerly waiting for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 By the power that enables him to subject all things to himself, he will transform our humble bodies to be like his glorious body. 4:1 So then, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way keep standing firm in the Lord, my dear friends. The joy of knowing Christ and being with him is the only motivation which will give us the strength and determination to live as heavenly citizens on earth.

John Bunyan’s A Pilgrim’s Progress is a classic of Christian literature written in the 1600s. I finally got around to reading it in January and it was even better than I expected. It is basically an extended allegory of the Christian life as a journey following a man, aptly named “Christian”, as he leaves the city of Destruction and travels to the Celestial City. The way Bunyan personifies temptation and false teaching breathes life into these abstractions in a strikingly concrete way. One of the most dangerous stops along the way is the city called “Vanity Fair”, owned by Beelzebub, the Devil.This city is named Vanity Fair after the old King James translation of the oft repeated phrase from the book of Eccelisastes “Vanity of vanities”, signaling that everything in the city is ultimately trivial and meaningless. However, reading Bunyan’s description of the place, it’s a little hard not to get sucked into the allure. It’s glamor, glitz, fashion, and power. It boasts round the clock amusement and entertainment, and everything is buyable.

We live in Vanity Fair too, don’t we? There’s so many earthly things to think about. There are so many shiny, trivial things that our hearts run after down here. We can waste our whole life on distractions if we aren’t careful. It’s in Vanity Fair that Bunyan actually quotes the verses I just read from our text. He wrote that the merchants were astonished that the pilgrims placed such little value on the wares being sold, not even looking at all the beautiful things to buy, but instead casting their eyes upward to the sky, signifying that their true citizenship was in heaven. In the end it was obvious that they belonged to a different country. It took determination for Christian to get through Vanity Fair and the pilgrim Faithful didn’t make it out. He died a martyr there and was taken to heaven.

It is just an allegory, but the book’s vivid illustration of the difference between what a citizen of heaven and someone who lives as a citizen of earth stuck with me. It was a good reminder to me that sometimes I fit in too well in this world, that my anchor can drift too. But it was also a reminder to keep my eyes up, to eagerly await the heavenly country. We know what our Savior did to win our soul and we know that one day he will bring us into an inheritance that will never perish, spoil, or fade. He has given us meaningful work and eternal joys. I pray the Holy Spirit works in you a faith that is determined and eager for that Celestial City, for the place which is your true home. My friends, don’t drift. Stand firm!

Amen.