Last year I told you about an experimental art exhibit created simultaneously in New York City and Dublin called “The Portal.”

It was a very cool concept. Creating a live video feed connecting two different cities. Kind of like an always-on Zoom call. They arranged the cameras in such a way that it looked like you were actually seeing through a portal into a different place.

People could interact, wave at each other, hold up signs with hopeful slogans… It was meant to be a celebration of the shared connection of all humanity: beyond borders and prejudices… we are one.

…but it had to get shut down pretty much right away because people in New York started doing lewd and offensive things on camera just about immediately. This is why we can’t have nice things.

Well, guess what. I have an update! Apparently, after the catastrophe of the first unveiling, they relocated the portal to Philadelphia and have since built several others.

Today there are seven portals all around the world, which rotate which city you’re looking at every 3 minutes. So maybe there’s hope for humanity after all!

I bring up the Portal again because there is something compelling to me about the concept of standing in once place but seeing another. And I think it speaks to a truth about our faith: how we are called to live in such a way that our lives are portals to Christ.

SERIES RECAP

Welcome back to this brief, 3-week check in Reimagine: A two-year initiative focused on fanning the flames of our passion to reach our “ones.” As a reminder,

Your “one” – One person God has laid on your heart who is not currently walking with Jesus.

Through Reimagine we are investing in our physical space (our building) and investing in our relationships with our “ones” so that they will meet Jesus in us.

This is the final week of this series. Next week we are launching an 8-week invitational series called “What if it’s true?” The idea is that the series could be a great first step to invite your “one” to Grace.

The basic concept of the series is that there are core yearnings that every person shares: deep longings for things like justice, for love, for beauty, for truth. And the series will be all about why we believe Jesus offers exactly what our hearts have been yearning for.

But this series will not be a fist-pounding, argumentative approach to these concepts. In fact, quite the opposite.

The posture we’re taking throughout the series is very open-handed. We’re acknowledging that we could be wrong. The key phrase for the whole invitational series is,

I could be wrong, but here’s why I believe…

I think it’s going to be a really good opportunity for conversation.

Now, I know that some of your “ones” wouldn’t be caught dead in a church. Or maybe they don’t even live in the area.

But if you think your “one” might find this open-handed approach refreshing (maybe they’re a skeptic: “a church acknowledging it could be wrong!?!”), then maybe this is the right time to invite them. I want you to pray about it and consider it.

Oh, and I want to make one thing clear since some of you have asked. We are not talking about “ones” at all during this series. We don’t want anyone to feel like some kind of project.

Again, think about it. Pray about it. Perhaps this is the time to be bold and take the next step in introducing your “one” to experience the love of Jesus.

Speaking of which, let’s dive back into the book of Philippians and explore what that boldness is meant to look like. Turn with me to Philippians 1:20. While you’re turning there, I’ll pray for us.

TO LIVE IS CHRIST

Alright. Let me give you a little bit of context before we read. Philippians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul when he was in prison at one of the lowest moments of his life.

He’s writing to his dear friends in Philippi and essentially passing the torch on to the next generation of Christ-followers there.

He’s calling them to shine like bright lights in a dark world, as we talked about last week. Even though he knows he might die in prison, Paul wants them to carry on.

Now you’d think Paul would be down in the dumps about his situation. But when we come to chapter 1 verse 20, we see that that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Philippians 1:20-26

I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live. Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.

The key to this passage is the end of verse 20. “I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.” What does he mean?

Well, back in verse 12, Paul explained how even though he’s in prison, God is still working. For example, he says the palace guard knows he’s in prison for Christ, and the believers in the city have gained confidence and boldness because he’s in chains.

So he’s making a pretty compelling claim here. He’s saying, “I can’t really lose. When I’m free, I’m planting churches and teaching others about the gospel. When I’m chained to this prison wall, my guards are learning about Jesus and the believers here are inspired.”

“If I live, I get to see you grow. If I die, I’ll be resurrected to be with Jesus.” Verse 22. “I really don’t know which is better!”

In other words, Paul sees his life in Christ as a win-win-win-win situation.

Verse 20. No matter what happens, “my life will bring honor to Christ.” Or more literally in the Greek, Christ will be magnified. The word he uses is:

megalynō - to enlarge, amplify, manifest to an extraordinary degree

Think about a magnifying glass or a telescope: something small becomes huge. megalynō.

It’s like Paul is saying, “My life is a lens. It’s a portal to something else. When you look at me you’re seeing Jesus. In good times, in bad times, you’re seeing Christ at work.” Or, as he says in verse 21,

Philippians 1:21

Living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.

You might have heard that verse translated this way: To live is Christ. To die is gain.

In other words, “I can’t lose. Everything I do brings honor to Jesus. It amplifies him.”

This is how Paul sees his life. His ministry. He has a single-minded devotion to being a lens or a portal which magnifies Christ.

CITIZENS OF HEAVEN

And he wants his dear friends in Philippi to have the same mindset. Let’s keep reading.

Philippians 1:27-30

Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.

Now, with all this talk here about ‘fighting’ and ‘enemies,’ it may seem like Paul is changing topics, but he’s really not. Let’s take a closer look at verse 27. “You must live as citizens of heaven.”

This idea, which he comes back to in chapter 3, is kind of a way of taking that concept of magnifying Christ (megalynō), and making it apply to a whole church community. Let me explain.

Philippi was kind of unique as far as Greek cities went.

During the Roman Civil Wars, Mark Antony and Octavian (who later became Caesar Augustus) fought a big battle against the assassins who killed Julius Caesar on the plains right outside of Philippi.

So after their victory in 42 BC, they decided to re-found the city as a Roman colony, and gave land there to a bunch of veteran Roman soldiers.

But they didn’t stop there. They wanted this city in far off Macedonia to be a monument to Roman power, so they also implemented something called

ius italicum - Italian law

Here’s how that worked. Legally speaking, the city of Philippi was technically Roman soil under Roman law, and the people there were Roman citizens.

It’s kind of like an American embassy in another country today. You may be in Ghana or Turkey, but if you’re in the American embassy, you’re standing on American soil.

Well, the whole city of Philippi was like that with Rome. Philippi was Roman soil. Which meant the people there had a responsibility - in their actions, in their words - to live up to that Roman citizenship. “We may be far from Rome but here in Philippi, we’re Romans.”

So, Paul picks up on this idea and he runs with it.

“You are citizens of a far away place, right? Everybody knows that. Except you are not actually citizens of Rome. You’re citizens of heaven. You belong to God’s realm, even while you’re here on earth…

“Everywhere you walk, like an embassy, the soil beneath your feet becomes the territory of God’s kingdom. Which means you have a big responsibility.”

You are citizens of heaven. Live like it.

“Magnify Christ with your lives, just like I do. When people look at you, be a portal to let them see Jesus.”

Now. This was easier said than done. Because Philippi was so Romanized, living there meant constantly being pressured to bow the knee to Rome’s power.

It meant worshipping the Roman gods. It meant attending festivals in honor of the emperor’s divinity. It meant making sacrifices to the genius of the colony.

The point is, for these believers, having a new Lord and Savior, Christ (not Caesar), meant very much moving against the grain and rejecting a lot of what made Philippi proud.

The Christians in Philippi started avoiding the festivals, they stopped making sacrifices at the temples… And as you can imagine, it didn’t take long for them to start getting hate and abuse because of it.

One year of bad crops and who do people blame? The ones who aren’t worshipping the goddess of the harvest!

But Paul says, in verse 28, “Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies.” Verse 29, “For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.” Remember, “We are in this struggle together.”

Paul wants the Philippian church to share his single-minded devotion to magnifying Jesus with their lives, no matter their circumstances. It’s that win-win-win-win situation again.

With this mindset, there is nothing you can do to you that doesn’t amplify Christ. In your life you’re showing your neighbors there is another way to live. In your suffering you’re following in the footsteps of Jesus. Even your hope in the face of death points the way to resurrection and New Creation.

To live is Christ. To die is gain.

It’s like those portals between cities. My brothers and sisters… you are the portal between this realm and God’s. You’re citizens of heaven! You may be standing in Philippi, but when people look at you, they are seeing Christ and his kingdom. His healing. His life!

And remember: everywhere you go, you’re taking heaven along with you. The presence of our Savior. The soil beneath your feet becomes the soil of the kingdom of God.

So don’t draw back when the powers of this world threaten you; move in! Live like citizens of heaven - shine like bright lights in a dark world - and Jesus will be magnified because of it.

You are citizens of heaven. Live like it.

WE DON’T BELONG

It is not hard to imagine how those ideas can apply to us today. To Grace Church. To you and to me.

Obviously, our context is very different than ancient Philippi. But is our broken world today really so different than theirs?

The Roman emperor is long gone, but we still live in a society that worships power and might.

The slavery that built the Roman Empire has long been abolished, but injustice and violence and abuse are still all around us.

We don’t make offerings to the Roman gods anymore, but the gods of consumerism, lust, greed, and domination sure accept our sacrifices readily enough.

My point is, we still live in a broken world. And when we try to push back on the powers that undergird our society, those powers start to push back.

It is uncomfortable to reject society’s norms. To love the unlovable. To be generous in a time of greed and fear. To willingly choose humility & self-giving love when everyone else has their tribalistic knives out.

It is uncomfortable when we refuse to bow the knee to the powers of our world. Which is why it’s so important to remember that we don’t belong here. We are citizens of heaven. Members of God’s kingdom. We are under his law.

Now does this mean we’re supposed to withdraw from the world and keep the rest of humanity at arms’ length? No! Our job is to go into the brokenness of our world. Into the darkness… because we don’t belong.

Because we are portals to heaven. Our lives are lenses that magnify Christ. And Christ is in the business of healing the brokenness of our world. It’s our job to take him to where his love is needed the most.

Are you with me? Everywhere you walk the ground beneath your feet becomes New Creation. The soil of heaven. You are a conduit - a portal - to God’s life and healing. If you follow Jesus, then when people look at you they see him. I think it’s time we take that calling seriously.

You are citizens of heaven. Live like it.

It is time, as Paul says in verse 27, for us to be “standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith…” Fighting how? With violence and vitriol? No. That’s how the world does it. We fight with self-giving love, the way our crucified Lord taught us.

REIMAGINE

Now, let’s make this really specific and personal. I want you to think about your “one” right now. Not the world, but your “one.” The one person God has laid on your heart who is not currently walking with Jesus.

Think about their lives. Their brokenness. What are they facing? What are their struggles and fears? Now what would it look like if you thought of yourself as an instrument of God’s purposes in their life?

How would you interact with them differently if you saw yourself as a conduit - a portal - to Jesus? If you truly believed that the soil beneath your feet was New Creation and you were called to carry life into their brokenness? I want you to think about that for a moment. What is God’s invitation to you? [pause]

Now, we all have this responsibility - this opportunity - as individual followers of Jesus. We are citizens of heaven. But imagine what would happen if we also lived this way as a community. As a church. Not just to our “ones,” but to our world.

What would happen if we truly believed that Grace Church is a colony of Christ’s love in the middle of a broken world? A portal to the very heart of God?

Well it’s not hard to imagine, because I think it’s already begun. I see in you a community that wants to take this call seriously. Lives will change. Our world will heal. Because,

Philippians 1:6

I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.