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Into heaven, but it transforms us in the present, changes how we think, it changes how we live, it changes how we speak, we are completely transformed in that transformation, that transformed life, when we then go out, it's visible to the world around us. It's what Calvin calls that we as the church are the theater of God's glory. It's the idea that we are so changed by the gospel and how we live that when we go and meet our neighbors, our teachers, our friends, coworkers, baristas, there's something that is so compelling that they that the hope of the gospel seems tangible. It has real substance. And that is our simple mission here at Newsong. We want to increasingly know and love and worship the beauty of Jesus such that we are transformed to think like him. And that as we begin to think like him and then we begin to live like him, the world around us will see it is the gospel made visible. We talked about abounding in love as being marked by Jesus, as well as our humility of Christ. Today the title of the message is Is Revival Too Far? Is it too far? Is revival too far? You can read that really in two ways. Two ways we can read that. One, it's either asking too much. Revival is expecting too much, it's demanding too much, it's just too much. Since carrying on from the sermon last week of saving private private Ryan, I don't know if you remember the story, but there's there's one private Ryan that these eight guys are going out to save, to look for. We're getting hurt for this one. Captain Miller, played by Tom Hanks at one point, asked, This Ryan better be worth it. He better go home and cure some disease or invent a long-lasting light bulb. Because is this worth it? I feel like, in some sense, for revival, we can kind of similarly think that. Is that worth it? Is that a good mission? Is it costing too much? The other way we can look at the question, is revival too far? Is that it could be too far to attain. In fact, it seems unattainable or it's an impossibility, something we read about in history or in books or in other countries, but here and in New Song Church in Gunnison, Colorado, can is revival too far? Too far away? Can we accomplish that or be there? I don't know if you're familiar with the Brooklyn Bridge, but if you've ever done a tour in New York, when they first proposed the Brooklyn Bridge in the 1880s, they thought it was absolutely madness. It was impossible. This and what they what they with the commentary, the span is too long. The river too dangerous. It simply cannot ever be done. If you've learned about what they did, they built these massive boxes, then they sunk them into the river, then they pumped compressed air down into it, and then they had people down in it digging out the dirt. And when this was proposed, the the city, I mean, the whole engineers, all kinds of people were like, there's no way this will work. Meanwhile, then they they built up out of cut stone the pillars and hung with with wire with wire this road. But once it even after it was completed, it was one of the marvels of the 19th century. But I in some sense, revival can feel similar. The span is too long, the river too dangerous, it simply cannot be done. It is impossible. Is revival too far? So we'll be in Philippians chapter 3. If you want to turn in your Bibles, Philippians chapter 3, and I will pray for us, and then we will get started. Lord Jesus, we do just thank you for this morning. Lord, I thank you for Lord, just all that you've already done. Lord, in that, Lord, you just continue to be here and be present. Lord, speak to us, encourage us. Lord, may we hear your voice this morning. Amen. Well, revival is a term thrown around a lot. But what is revival? Is it just emotional fervor or some emotionalism or religious fervor? Or is it extended services? You know, when I was young, the revival was just multi-day services. We had multiple-day services, or is it a big crusade or gathering? I'm not sure this definition has ever been proposed for revival, but I like to propose a revival is a community submitting to the mind of Christ, leading to the tangible expression of Christ in our world. In other words, revival is when the gospel is made exceedingly visible in and from our lives, but it only becomes visible when we start thinking like Jesus, so that we start living like Jesus. So we need revival, leading us to repent toward the mind of Christ. Spurgeon says it like this the Spirit of God renews the mind. And when the mind is renewed, the life will soon be transformed. It is the gospel made visible. And I'll expound on this from chapter 3, verses 15. Starting at verse 15, Paul writes, All of us then who are mature should take such a view of things. And what are those things? If you remember from last week, this view he is talking about is not considering ourselves as having attained this perfection, but we are pressing on toward the prize of Christ Jesus. He is our ambition, our hope, our steadfast focus. And here, in a kind of play on words, he says, those who are then perfect or mature continue to set their minds on arriving at the perfection when we shall see him face to face. And he continues, and if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. If on some point you think differently, that God will make clear to you. These are actually the same words in the Greek, such a view and think that we're translating here in English, but it's basically just setting your mind on it, being of the opinion or being intent on some mindset. And it's interesting that here he's saying that we need God Himself to even reveal our wrong thinking, or where we're thinking differently. We need God to reveal to make clear our wrong thinking. We in other words, we don't even know when we are thinking wrong or differently without God making it clear to us, which is why I believe that this is in fact the beginning of revival, where God begins to reveal our wrong thinking, so that our thinking begins to change toward the mind of Christ, leading us to repentance or change of outlook where our mindset is changed. Because without the revelation of God, we will wander in confusion without even knowing it. We need Him to reveal to us our wrong thinking. It's in our mind or in our thinking and are like-minded to Christ where revival begins. Last week we talked about how we are in the midst of this cosmic struggle, this eternally significant war. And we focused on how we remain steadfast in the mission of God, but we never mentioned where that war is fought. Is it fought in our finances or relationships or our sicknesses? Or as John Stott argues, the battle for the Christian life is fought primarily in the mind. In the mind. So Paul is telling us that we should have the mindset of setting our minds to be like or think like Christ. And if we are misguided in any perspective, we need God Himself to reveal it to us. It continues in 16. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Let us live up to already attained. Implied here is that we can grow less mature in our thinking. We can forget, we can lose sight or actually become less like Christ. For most of us, life is not this linear progression upward because we do forget. We do get confused. And the word revival directly means that we are made alive again. So we need God to revive us back to right thinking. In that sense, revival is being made alive again in our thinking, or even being made alive for the first time. That God reveals our wrong thinking so that we can become more conformed to the mind of Christ, who lived in obedience and submission, offering his life through pain and torment and sorrows. And I have three points today in how we experience this revival of our thinking that leads us to a revival in our living. First point, we follow the right example. Verse 17, Paul writes, join together in following my example. Brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. This join together is a compound word in the Greek. It is that it's really just fellow imitators. We join together in following the example or pattern of Paul who is following Jesus. We don't do it in isolation. We are in fellow imitators of Paul, of his example. And how do we follow Paul's example? We read the New Testament. Reading our Bible is not merely for knowledge or duty, but is one way in how we are following Christ, imitating Christ, learning from Paul and others as they are following or conforming to the mind of Christ. For as I have often told you before and now tell you again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross. Many live as enemies of the cross. Most agree here that he is referring to people within the church, and they are deceived. So there are good examples of those following Jesus, and then there are those that are confused or deceived. Here he says they are enemies of the cross. Enemies of the cross. So what does it mean to be an enemy of the cross? There are two ways that people interpret this. Either there are some who are saying that they're within the midst, they are rejecting the salvation in the cross of Christ alone. So there's some that are saying that in in it's not only in the cross of Christ that we are saved, thus they are an enemy, or there's others that say they are rejecting the metaphoric cross of our own life. They're rejecting the cross of our own life. Kind of lean towards that just because in a couple verses earlier, Paul writes, I want to know Christ. Yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. We are crucified, we're all being crucified, becoming like him in his death. In Galatians, he writes, those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. In Philippians 3, I'm participating in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. So in that sense, in the sense of our metaphorical cross, it's easy to see why some would be enemies of the cross. Honestly, who wants to do that? Who wants to be that? Who wants to live that? Participating in his suffering, becoming like him in his death. He convinced continues in verse 19. Their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. I've wrestled with this verse a lot over the last week, asking myself, why is Paul so harsh? Why can't he lighten up? Just let us live a little bit. But I know he's riding for good to revive us through his love and longing, wanting us to be set free in our thinking. So let us work through these one at a time. First, their destiny is destruction. Their destiny is destruction. Another way that it's translated, their end is dead. It's a dead end. The road goes gets you absolutely nowhere. You can drive your whole life. You can think you're going somewhere, but in the end, it gets you absolutely nowhere. It's a complete waste of time. It's a wasted life. Their destiny is destruction, their end is dead. They are on a dead end path. What does that path look like? Their God is their stomach. Their God is their stomach. Their God, what they worship and serve, is their own fleshly satisfactions. Stomach here is used to describe the frame of mind of pursuing the gratification or fulfillment of all our physical appetites. And it manifests in a variety of ways. All those earthly longings where the attainment of those pursuits becomes the measure of our own happiness. It's a self-centered or self-indulgent existence in the word of one commentator. Their God is their stomach. Their glory is in their shame. Really, it's what they think is glory. And it's really not hard to imagine how they are defining glory. Because it's pretty much how the world defines glory today. It's not all that far off from how we define glory. Paul is saying that that glory is actually shame. Why? Because as we read last week, it's empty, it disappears. It's a dead end. So what we think is actually glory is not glory at all. It's a mirage and a myth. As we read last week, it's empty or vain. Finally, their mind is set on earthly things. Setting their mind on earthly things. Sadly, in many ways, this describes the American gospel. That's why I was wrestling with it. This is the American dream, which is why I it struck me so hard so so much this week. And asking Paul, I mean, why are you ruining our party? Why are you asking too much? He continues, but our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control will transform our lowly bodies so that we'll be like his glorious body. It is being heavenly minded versus earthly minded. Paul is communicating, we are either living for the vain and empty glory, satisfying our stomachs in a wasted life, a dead end, setting our minds on earthly things. Or we are living with our aim, ambition, hope, dream, longing toward Jesus and his eternal mission. I don't know if you are like me, but sometimes when I hear a message like this, um I can think that the way of the cross is just pain and humiliation, and it's no fun, and even that it's joyless without any glory. And why, in that sense, you can almost relate a little bit to the enemies of the cross. And I don't particularly want those things either, but in reality, there is a way, what Paul is communicating, there is a way of true and lasting pleasure and glory that is eternal, which is in which is in the way of Christ. And there is the dead in life that is vain and empty. Pursuing true and lasting pleasure and glory is the way of Christ. He continues in chapter four. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you who I love and long for, you who I love and long for, as somewhat of an aside, for years the idea of love seemed somewhat disconnected from emotion in the church, at least in my experience. And I can't tell you how many times I've heard that love is an action, not a feeling, almost in a corrective sense in sermons, and and don't feel too much that love is obedience, not an emotion. Even some critics of modern worship suggest that we've drifted from true love to an empty emotion. But we thankfully seem to be coming out of that with the writings of people like Dallas Willard, Eugene Peterson, Pete Schizero. If you want any of their books, I can send you a list. But I want to make it clear that it seems love includes longing, deep emotional desire. We long for God, we long for Jesus, we desire Him. We even long for others in our love for them. My joy in my crown, likewise, joy is not void of emotion and happiness, it is actual enjoyment, gladness, true happiness and rejoicing, true and lasting joy in his crown or his reward, his victory, his glory. Another way that he said this in a clear place in 1 Thessalonians. For what is our hope? Our joy, or the crown in which we will glory. This is the true joy, the true glory, right? What is our hope? Our joy, the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes. Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. So the way of the cross may seem like this, this life of self-loathing, but it actually is eternal pleasure, eternal glory. It is your true enjoyment, your lasting reward. For the joy, for the happiness set before him, Jesus endured the cross. So the first way we are renewing our mind. We're following the right example. And there's plenty of examples out there. There's those examples that are they're demonstrating the life, the humility, the meekness of Jesus. They're demonstrating that the sacrifice, the service, the love of Jesus. And then there are those who might confuse us or distract us. Second point, constant prayer guards your mind. Constant prayer guards your mind. He writes in chapter or verse 4 rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Anxiety affects at least a third of Americans, but in reality, we all can relate to it. We all get anxious. And that anxiety in our mind can corrupt or confuse our thinking. Paul gives us the antidote, though, that in every situation at all times, we pray and petition with thanksgiving, and then the peace of God will guard or protect our minds. I think it's it's easy at times to think of prayer only in terms of what God will accomplish through us. We were praying to receive things we were asking for, but prayer doesn't. Don't stop there. It also protects or guards our very mind from the cute confusion and chaos seated in our anxieties. Spurgeon says, the mind can descend far lower than the body, for in it there are bottomless pits. And it is seems to be true. But through constant prayer of petition with thanksgiving, our minds can be guarded. Finally, think joyword. Think joyword. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Think about them. Set your mind on them is really what it's saying. Set your mind on those things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, put into practice, and the God of peace will be with you. Here he lists eight positives to think on. What is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy, peaceful. Those are the things we are to set our minds toward, thinking joyword. And as we read the list of positives, there's also negatives of the opposite of those things. In reality, we're going through life. He's encouraging us to not focus on what is false, deceptive, dishonorable, disgraceful, unjust, corrupt, impure, immoral, hateful, repulsive, shameful, disgraceful, inferior, worthless, blameworthy, condemn, condemnable, fear, or anxiety. No, he's instead telling us not to focus on those things, but to focus joyword on what is true, noble, right, and just. But I found in life a lot of times this is more the way we think. We're focusing on what's false and deceptive and blameworthy and inferior and worthless and condemnable and fear, anxiety, and shameful and disgraceful and hateful and repulsive. And he's trying to pull us back. No, focus on the other side. There's something in psychology called negativity bias. And there's an article that was published in 2001 called Bad is the Stronger Than Good. And it was this groundbreaking study. Groundbreaking study. I studied psychology in college, and it was always funny. The groundbreaking studies were the most clear common sense that anyone who is remotely self-reflective could have told you a long, long time ago, right? But it was a groundbreaking study that led to this a ton of research, negativity bias. And I'll read just the first summary section. The greater power of bad events over good ones is found in everyday events. Bad events have far more power over us than good events. Major life events like trauma, close relationship outcomes, social network patterns, interpersonal interactions, and learning processes. Bad emotions, bad parents, and bad feedback have far more impact than the good ones. And bad information is processed more thoroughly. We think about it continually than the good ones, right? The self is more motivated to avoid void bad self-defined definitions than to pursue good ones. We don't want to, it's not that we want to be good, we just don't want to be bad. We really don't want to be bad. Bad impressions and bad stereotypes are quicker to form and more resistant to disconfirmation than good ones. This part's the craziest. Hardly any exceptions indicating greater power of good can be found. Not weddings, not like birthdays. I mean, they're saying hardly any exceptions can be found. Taken together, these findings suggest that bad is stronger than good as a general principle across a broad range of psychological phenomena. This led to a whole bunch of research now that we are focusing on that bad behavior outweighs good behavior. In behavioral finance, we used to we talk a lot. There's all these studies that if if someone loses $100, the pain they feel is a multiple of them gaining $100. So if they're gonna lose $100, you're fired. If you gain $100 or $200, it's fine. Like it doesn't really gain much to them. My favorite ones are there's there's lots of brain studies now where they're they're looking at MRIs and they'll show pictures of like an angry face or a bomb or anything that that's that's scary, right? The brain is lighting up like a Christmas tree, it's going crazy. They show a picture of someone hugging, someone smiling. Oh, well, that's nice. You know, that's nice, you know, and I think that there's a lot of of research out there, the negative negativity bias that bad is stronger than good, that we're we're generally focusing on the negatives more than the positives. But Paul is telling us to live differently, set our mind on things above, where Christ is, who we love and long for. We set our minds joyword, focusing on the things that are truly good, right, true, and worthy of our attention. Protecting our minds in the peace of God, we continually, daily, constantly pour out our prayers and petitions to Him. So, how can we revive into the mind of Christ? We're following the right example. Paul is giving us very clear examples. He's telling us we might not believe him, we might not we might not want to accept it. Of Paul, this is a little harsh. Like you wanting me to live in this mind of Jesus, this humility of Jesus that seems like a lot. He's saying, no, follow the right examples. There's right examples and there's there's there's there's corrupt examples. Constant prayer to guard your mind, continually petitioning with thanksgiving to guard our mind, thinking joyword. We started with the question: Is revival too far? Is it too out of reach or is it asking too much? And I think it all depends on how we define revival. I mean, is it the emotionalism of people climbing the walls when Jonathan Edwards was was speaking, or is it religious fervor, extended services? Or is revival simply bringing to life our thinking like Jesus, a genuine renewing of our mind, such that we become like-minded to Christ, and reflecting on his beauty, such that we are not enemies of the cross, but instead we are embracing the humility of Jesus, becoming like-minded to Jesus, no longer pursuing our interest, as Paul tells us, but in love pursuing the interest of others, and as we are renewed in our thinking, we go into the world with transformed lives. That is the mind of Christ is deeply radical in how that person lives. The world sees the power of the gospel, we become the gospel made visible. But it is a challenging race, it's a long journey. How do we not get distracted or disoriented along the way? There's a runner by the name of Eliad Kipchuga, who is probably the greatest marathon runner ever lived. He's run pretty much all the major marathons, he's won them several times, he's had gold medals. He's the first one to do it under two hours. And he has this thing when he's running, in the place where he's the most painful, he waits. And when it's the most challenging, where he wants to give up, he starts smiling. He starts smiling, and he it's like through 20 miles of running, nobody a lot of times you know, in sight, and he is just there smiling. And people ask him, Why are you doing that? When you smile, you're happy, and you can trigger the mind to not feel your legs. And a similar way, I think Paul is continually telling us throughout Philippians that the journey is long and difficult, but we keep on rejoicing. And in chapter one, Paul tells him, I rejoice, and yes, I will keep on rejoicing. Chapter 2. Even if I am being poured out, my life is is over. I'm giving all of my life, everything of my life. I am being poured out, a hundred percent of me, on the service and sacrifice coming from your faith. I'm being poured out so that your faith continues to grow. I am glad. I'm happy, and I rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad. You too should rejoice, you should be happy. Verse chapter 3. My brothers and sisters, rejoice, celebrate, be happy in the Lord. It's actually no trouble for me to write the same things to you again. It is a safeguard for you because he's telling them on repeat, finally in chapter four. Rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again. Rejoice. I'd like to encourage us today that I think we can be revived in our thinking, and revival is not too far, it doesn't cost too much, it's not too difficult, it's not out of reach. So let us run the race with endurance. And I say it again through the race, we rejoice. Even if we are being poured out like a drink offering, we are happy, we are glad, we rejoice, always rejoicing until our joy is made complete when we shall see him face to face. Let's pray. Well, Lord Jesus, we thank you that you do renew our minds. We thank you that you gave us your example, Lord, and Lord, your humility is our standard, and it is beauty, Lord. And so just as we gaze and celebrate and know, Lord, the beauty of Jesus, that Lord, we would be transformed in our thinking to become like-minded with you, Lord, not enemies of the cross, but Lord, we would just submit ourselves, Lord, in the way that you were obedient, God, and that just be revived to a place of love and generosity and gentleness and just just no longer living this self-indulged, self-serving life. God, I just pray that you would encourage us today, you would speak to us, Lord, that yeah, you would we would we would just be full of hope. We thank you, God. Amen. So we'll close just in communion. If y'all want to come and pass the elements, you know, and it just in reflecting, you know, the enemies of the cross, people say it was one of two two groups of people. Either as those who were saying that the cross is not sufficient in itself to save us. We need to add things to it, right? People called them Judaism. So they were the enemies of the cross that we need to do works in addition to the cross to be saved. There were other quote-unquote potential enemies of the cross that Paul is telling them, I am building up in my own flesh the sufferings of Christ until I become like him in his death. And obviously, and that we are both crucified, but also being crucified in our flesh. And there are people that naturally didn't like that. They're saying, no, I'm not, I'm not down with that. We need to live and let live, right? Um, and so as we we work through communion, I think just reflecting in both places, that that the cross of Jesus is sufficient in our salvation, it is complete, it it does grant us the grace, the forgiveness of God entirely. And there's nothing we need to add to it, and we are in desperate need of it. And also that, like Paul says, becoming like him in his sufferings. So I will pray for us, and then we'll go. But Lord Jesus, we do just thank you that Lord, your your you your body was broken and your your blood was shed. And Jesus, we acknowledge you and celebrate and honor you. And thank you, God. We know that, Lord, we are just in continual need, Lord, of you. And Lord, without your rescue, Lord, we would be nowhere. Um, so Jesus, just as we reflect, as we remember who you are, God, I just pray that you make it clear in our own minds and hearts, and that we would just be in a posture of worship.