Follow the Leader

March 16, 2025 homily on Philippians 3:17-4:1 for the Second Sunday in Lent, by Pastor Galen

“We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him”  — Philippians 3:21, MSG.

Simon Says: Follow the Leader

Raise your hand if you ever played the game “Follow the Leader” when you were a child. Follow the Leader is a simple game where one person is chosen to be the leader, and all of the other participants follow their lead. If the leader jumps, then everyone jumps. If the leader stands on one foot, everyone stands on one foot. If you don’t do (or can’t do) what the leader did, then you’re out of the game.

It’s closely related to another game: “Simon Says.” Raise your hand if you’ve ever played the game “Simon Says.” (Actually, let me rephrase that: Simon Says raise your hand if you’ve ever played the game “Simon Says”!) In the game Simon Says, you only have to do what the leader tells you to do if they preface their instructions with, “Simon says…” If they don’t start their statement with “Simon Says,” but you do it anyway, then you’re out of the game.

Recently I got to wondering, Who is/was Simon, and why do we only have to do something if he tells us to do it? Well, according to several online sources, the game Simon Says game is centuries-old, and was originally called “Cicero dicit fac hoc”– Latin for “Cicero says do this.” Apparently, back in Ancient Rome, when revered statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero said to do something, you did it! Eventually, the name of the game was changed to “Simon Says,” in honor of Simon De Montfort, a 13th-century French-English noble, who commanded so much authority from those around him that he imprisoned King Henry III. In other parts of the world, other names are used, such as in Ireland, where the game is known as “O’Grady says.” In Turkey, they say “Yakup der ki” (“Jacob says”), and in Spanish, they simply say “Mando” ( “I say”).

…As I Follow Christ

In Philippians 3:17, the Apostle Paul writes to the Christians in Philippi, saying, “My friends, I want you to follow my example and learn from others who closely follow the example we set for you” (Philippians 3:17B). 

This sounds a lot like the game, Follow the Leader, doesn’t it? Paul is telling his followers to do whatever he does — to imitate him, and to follow this example, which, when you stop and think about it, sounds a bit egotistical, right? After all, as Christians, aren’t we supposed to follow the example of Jesus? Why does Paul tell the Philippians to imitate him?

One reason is that Jesus was no longer physically present on earth—He had died, risen, and ascended into heaven. Additionally, the Gospel accounts of His life had not yet been circulated, so the Philippians likely had no access to His recorded teachings. As new believers who had never encountered Jesus in person, they needed a tangible example of what it looked like to follow Christ. And so, Paul offered himself as an example to them, encouraging them to imitate him, with the understanding that he was following Jesus. By following Paul, and imitating him, they were in actuality following the real leader, Jesus. 

Given what Paul says in other places, we know that Paul was only expecting those who received his teachings to follow his example insofar as his words and actions lined up with the instructions and example that Christ set for us. Paul made this clear in 1 Corinthians 11:1 when he said, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” 

In other words, rather than “Simon Says,” or “Paul Says,” we could think of this as “Jesus Says.” Paul was telling his followers to follow his lead — his example — and to do what he told them to do because Jesus was the source of his authority and inspiration. His words were not his own. As with any earthly leader, the Philippians were to follow Paul’s example, as long as his actions and teachings aligned with Jesus.

Follow Jesus, Not Your Gut Instincts

In encouraging the Philippians to follow his example as he was following Jesus, Paul was telling them not to do what we’re inclined to do, and that is to “follow our heart” or to “trust our gut.” Think about how many times our society tells us just to do whatever we want. To do whatever is going to make us feel good. To trust our own instincts. 

Sometimes this works out fine, like when you’re taking a multiple-choice test and don’t know the answer. In that case, it’s good to trust your instincts. And sometimes it’s rather harmless to trust our gut, like when you’re buying coffee creamer. I remember a time when I was buying dessert for an event, I couldn’t decide what to buy, and one of my leaders told me to “follow my heart.” In that situation, it turned out fine!

But there are other times when our gut instinct is to lash out at someone who insulted us, or to try to get revenge on someone who hurt us — like yesterday when my Amazon packages were stolen off of my porch, and my what I wanted to do was to run out of the house and find the guy who stole my packages. I knew exactly what he looked like, and what color and style of hoodie he was wearing, since he was caught right on my security camera. My gut instinct was to chase him down and demand that he give me back the packages that were rightfully mine. But that probably wouldn’t have ended very well! And so, following my better judgment, I decided not to try to find him or chase him down, and instead leave the catching of criminals to the professionals. 

But the point is that we can’t always trust our guts, or our hearts, because sometimes they lead us astray. And we certainly shouldn’t trust or follow the example of people who are led by their gut instincts, either. Paul refers to these people as “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18a). He says that “their god is the belly” — in other words, they are led by their gut instincts to do whatever they feel like doing, and to gratify their own fleshly desires. Paul goes on to say that “their glory is in their shame; [and] their minds are set on earthly things” (Philippians 3:19b). 

Paul warns that this will only lead to destruction. I don’t think he is being overly dramatic, either, as we see the destruction that is caused when people — especially those in leadership positions — look out only for themselves and do whatever they want. We see leaders all the time who are led by their own desires for more wealth, or power, and when they are willing to squash everyone around them to get what they want. We should certainly steer clear of people like that, and we shouldn’t follow their example.

Instead, Paul reminds us that “Our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). Jesus is our true leader, and we always need to keep our eyes fixed on him as our leader and guide. And, like the game Simon Says, we should always make sure that the instructions we are given match up with those of Jesus, not our hearts or the gut instincts of those in leadership over us.

Lent: Training Your Gut

Currently, we are in the season of Lent, which is a time of preparation leading up to the celebration of Easter. Historically Christians have practiced fasting, or self-denial, during this season. We might give up chocolate, or alcohol, or Facebook, or something else that we frequently turn to to gratify our desires, and instead, we focus our time and attention on Jesus. 

In many ways, Lent is a time when we train ourselves not to be led by our guts — since my gut really craves a second helping of dessert — and instead we look to Jesus for fulfillment and satisfaction. During the season of Lent, we are reminded that only Jesus can fulfill our deepest longings. Only Jesus can remove those longings of our hearts that lead us to destruction, and transform us instead into his own likeness. 

This is what Paul says in verse 21, where he tells us that Jesus “will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself” (Philippians 3:21 NRSV). Or, as it says in The Message paraphrase of Scriptures, “We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him” (Philippians 3:21 MSG).

And this is the beautiful thing about following Jesus, verses being led by our own hearts, or our gut instincts. Whereas following our hearts, or following the example of leaders who are led by their gut instincts will eventually lead to destruction, if we follow Jesus, and the example of those who are led and guided by Jesus, then we will be transformed to look more and more like Jesus. If we follow His lead, and do the things that Jesus instructed us to do, then he will transform us to be beautiful and whole like Jesus!

Becoming Like our Leader

Wouldn’t it be amazing if people looked at you, and said, “wow, she reminds me so much of Jesus!” or “Wow, he is so Christlike!” Wouldn’t that be amazing? Wouldn’t it be amazing if the people around us — our neighbors or family members, the people who look up to us, or who we have been given the holy responsibility of raising, could look to us as an example of what it means to follow Jesus? Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could say, “follow my example, do or say what I do, because I’m following Jesus?”

And the good news is that it is possible! Because all we need to do in order to set a godly example for those around us is to follow the example of Jesus, and do what he tells us to do!

Now, I know you’re probably saying: “that it is easier said than done!” And that’s true — we cannot do it on our own strength. But not only do we have the example that Jesus set for us to pattern our lives after, we also have Jesus as our friend and companion on this journey, even when we’re traveling through the wilderness, as we talked about last week. And most of all, as followers of Jesus, he has put his Holy Spirit inside of us, to transform and renew us and to empower us to live as Jesus instructed us to live. 

As Paul tells us in Romans 8:11, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you” (Romans 8:11 NIV).

Isn’t that amazing? Not only do we have Jesus as our example, and our friend, but the same Spirit that resurrected Jesus from the grave lives inside each and every one of us, transforming us, and helping us to be like Jesus. And not only that, but the Spirit is there to comfort us when we fall and get hurt. He is there to extend God’s grace and mercy to us when we mess up and fall short. It’s not like the game Follow the Leader where we’re automatically out if we mess up, or the game Simon Says where we’re out of the game if we fail to do what we’re supposed to do. Rather, it’s like the leader of the game is right there with us, helping us to jump, propping us up so that we can stand on one foot, and even empowering us to do the things that we never thought we could possibly do.

One day that same Spirit will resurrect our bodies, and our bodies will be transformed and will be glorious and whole, and we will have no more pain or suffering, or sickness, or dying, and we will be forever in God’s presence! But even here and now, that same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave lives inside of us, empowering us to follow our leader and to do what he says, so that we too can set an example for others. 

May we follow our leader, and may we do only what Jesus says. 

Amen!

Questions for Personal Reflection in Response to Today’s Sermon:

1. Paul urged the Philippians to follow his example as he followed Christ. Who in your life provides a Christlike example for you to follow?
2. Have you ever found yourself following a leader or influence that led you away from Christ? What did you learn from that experience?
3. In what ways do you struggle with relying on your own instincts rather than seeking guidance from Jesus? How does Lent help you refocus on Christ as your ultimate leader?
4. If someone were to imitate your life, how closely would it reflect Jesus’ teachings? What specific steps can you take to ensure you are following Jesus’ example rather than the world’s influences?
5. How does the Holy Spirit empower you to live as Jesus instructed, even when it feels difficult?