Living As Enemies | Pastor Daniel Ethridge | Liberty Live Church

Mar 15, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Focusing on Heavenly Things, Not Earthly Things

Our minds are constantly pulled toward the concerns and distractions of this world, which can lead to fear, anxiety, and despair. Yet, Scripture calls us to a different reality. We are citizens of heaven, and our true focus should be on the things above. When we set our minds on the eternal, we experience the life and peace that Christ promises, reflecting our true home even as we live on earth. This shift in focus is the first step in moving from being an enemy of the cross to a friend of God. [45:20]

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Colossians 3:2 (ESV)

Reflection: What are the primary "earthly things" that consume your thoughts and energy throughout the week? How might intentionally setting your mind on "things above" change your perspective and emotional state in one of those specific areas?

Day 2: Boasting Only in the Cross of Christ

It is one thing to struggle with sin, but another to celebrate and take pride in what God clearly condemns. Our words and what we find entertaining often reveal where our true allegiance lies. The call for the believer is to reject the temptation to boast in ourselves or our accomplishments and to instead glory only in what Jesus has done for us on the cross. Our greatest pride should be in His sacrifice and victory, not in anything of our own making. [55:16]

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:14 (ESV)

Reflection: In what conversations or environments are you most tempted to boast about yourself or things that are contrary to God's heart? What would it look like this week to intentionally redirect a conversation toward boasting in the Lord's work instead?

Day 3: Being Controlled by the Spirit, Not Our Desires

Every person is controlled by something, whether it is their own appetites, desires, or the Holy Spirit. Living as an enemy of God means being governed by sinful cravings, which ultimately lead to reckless living and destruction. But God has given us His Spirit to free us from the power of these desires. To be filled with the Spirit is to walk in true freedom, allowing His power to rule our lives instead of our own fleeting wants. [01:04:38]

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16 (ESV)

Reflection: Is there a specific desire or appetite that you feel has an unhealthy control over your choices or mood? What is one practical step you can take this week to rely on the Spirit's strength rather than your own willpower in that area?

Day 4: Understanding the End of the Road

The path we choose to walk has a definite destination. A life focused on earthly things, controlled by sinful desires, and boasting in shame leads only to destruction. This is the sobering reality for those who live as enemies of the cross. Scripture does not hide this truth but presents it clearly, urging us to consider the ultimate consequence of our daily choices and to choose the path that leads to life. [01:08:42]

Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
James 1:15 (ESV)

Reflection: When you think about the trajectory of your current habits and choices, what destination do they point toward? How does the reality of a final destination influence the importance of your decisions today?

Day 5: Embracing Our Citizenship in Heaven

Our most fundamental identity is not found in any earthly affiliation but in our citizenship in heaven. This truth changes everything about how we live. We are ambassadors for Christ, representing His kingdom in a foreign land. This means we carry the atmosphere of heaven—His life, peace, and hope—into every room we enter. We are not merely waiting for heaven; we are called to bring its reality to earth here and now. [49:39]

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:20 (ESV)

Reflection: As an ambassador of heaven, what aspect of its "atmosphere"—such as peace, joy, or hope—do you feel most compelled to bring into your workplace or home this week? How will you intentionally do that?

Sermon Summary

A season of revival and urgent spiritual examination emerges from Philippians 3:17–21. Revival unfolds with visible fruit — hundreds baptized and renewed hunger for God — prompting a conviction that revival is not a single event but a sustained season. The letter issues a stark call to examine personal allegiance: many live as enemies of the cross by embracing four defining behaviors. First, an earthly focus reprograms thinking toward fear, anxiety, and entertainment, turning minds away from the pursuits of Christ. Second, boastful celebration of shame demonstrates a culture that praises what God condemns, substituting the cross for self-glory and applause. Third, being controlled by appetite and desire makes cravings into false gods, driving choices and destroying life. Fourth, those patterns lead to an ultimate end of destruction — a spiritual and eternal consequence for persistent rejection of Christ.

Philippians reframes identity: citizenship belongs to heaven, not the surrounding culture, and that identity ought to shape daily conduct. The image of believers as an embassy and ambassadors of heaven challenges ordinary routines — workplaces, conversations, and social presence become windows of heaven when governed by the Spirit. The letter insists on preaching Christ rather than self: boasting belongs to the cross and to weakness made strong in Christ, not to curated public personas. The Spirit offers decisive freedom from fleshly appetites; walking by the Spirit breaks the control of the very desires that enslave.

A pastoral summons to repentance and faith closes the section: every person starts as an enemy of God, yet reconciliation through Christ’s death and resurrection remains the turning point. The promise moves from current humility to ultimate transformation — bodies will be remade in the likeness of Christ’s glorious body. Practical application threads through the teaching: set minds on things above, refuse the world’s programming, renounce false boasts, resist enslavement to cravings, and live as citizens who bring heaven into every space. The text ends with an open invitation to embrace Christ’s saving work now, allowing grace to reorient identity, desires, and destiny.

Key Takeaways

1. Citizenship in heaven changes perspective Keeping a heavenly citizenship reshapes daily priorities and loosens the grip of worldly anxieties. When identity centers on the coming Savior rather than present comforts, decisions begin to reflect eternal values and bring peace instead of turmoil. This reframing turns ordinary places into venues for gospel witness and compels believers to set minds on things above. [49:39]
2. The cross rebukes self-glory Boasting in shameful things reflects a deep inversion of worship; the only true boasting belongs to Christ’s cross. Embracing vulnerability and weakness exposes dependence on divine power rather than curated self-image. Redirecting praise toward God detaches status from possessions and performance and anchors worth in grace. [55:16]
3. Desires can become false gods Unchecked appetites — for food, power, approval, or pleasure — assume divine authority and dictate life’s course. Identification of those desires and reliance on the Spirit break their dominion, replacing compulsive pursuit with Spirit-shaped freedom. Intentional mortification of selfish cravings opens space for soul-rest in the things of God. [64:38]
4. Sin’s trajectory ends in destruction Sin grows from desire to action to ruin; spiritual death follows persistent rebellion against Christ. Recognition of that trajectory should provoke urgent repentance, not despair, because reconciliation through Christ interrupts the path to ruin. Turning to Jesus transfers destiny from destruction to transformation into glory. [68:42]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[36:01] - Revival and Baptisms
[38:02] - A Season of Revival
[39:21] - Launching Spanish Services
[41:52] - Opening Prayer and Scripture
[42:21] - Living With Joy Series
[43:02] - Living as Enemies (Intro)
[45:20] - Focus on Earthly Things
[55:16] - Glory in Shame
[64:06] - Preach Christ, Not Self
[68:42] - Stomach, Desire, Destruction
[73:10] - Invitation and Prayer

Bible Study Guide

Based on the sermon summary and transcript, here is a Bible study discussion guide.

Bible Reading: Philippians 3:17–21 (ESV)
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Observation questions

According to Philippians 3:19, what are the four characteristics that define those who live as "enemies of the cross of Christ"?
What is the contrasting identity and future hope given for believers in verses 20 and 21?
The sermon described our earthly lives as an "embassy of heaven" and ourselves as "ambassadors" [52:39]. What does this imagery suggest about how we are to live in the world?
What is the ultimate end for those whose lives are characterized by the four traits in verse 19, and what is the ultimate end for those whose citizenship is in heaven?

Interpretation questions

How does having a mind "set on earthly things" reprogram a person's thinking toward "fear, anxiety, and entertainment" [47:00], and how does this conflict with a mind set on the Spirit?
What does it mean to "glory in their shame" (v. 19)? In our current culture, what are some specific examples of things that are celebrated but that God condemns?
The phrase "their god is their belly" is a picture of being controlled by appetites and desires. How can an unchecked desire for something good (like food, approval, or comfort) become a false god that dictates a person's choices and destroys life?
The transformation promised in verse 21 is from our "lowly body" to a "glorious body." Why is the physical transformation of our bodies a necessary part of our salvation and future hope?

Application questions

Citizenship in heaven reshapes daily priorities and loosens the grip of worldly anxieties. What is one area of your life (e.g., finances, relationships, career) where your heavenly citizenship should most practically change your perspective and decisions this week?
Boasting belongs to the cross and to weakness made strong in Christ, not to curated public personas. How can you intentionally "preach Christ, not self" [01:04:06] in your conversations and social interactions, moving from self-promotion to boasting in what Jesus has done?
Unchecked appetites can assume divine authority and dictate life’s course. What desire (for food, power, approval, or pleasure) most often controls you, and what is one practical step you can take this week, in reliance on the Spirit, to break its dominion?
Every person starts as an enemy of God, yet reconciliation through Christ remains the turning point. If you have never fully committed your life to Jesus, what is holding you back from that moment of surrender? If you have, how does remembering your former state as an enemy fuel your gratitude and mission today?
The mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace. When you feel a lack of peace, what is your typical response? How can you develop a habit of immediately examining what your mind is set on and redirecting it to the things of the Spirit?

Sermon Clips

44s

“We have gotta get back to preaching and teaching the cross of Jesus. You don't gotta be a preacher in a pulpit with a microphone. Every day as you live, you're preaching somebody. You're either preaching yourself or you're preaching Christ Jesus. If you're preaching yourself, it might just be evidence that you're an enemy of the cross of Christ. Number three. They're controlled by their stomachs. This is such a funny phrase to me. Their God is their stomach.”

from 01:03:57

#PreachChristDaily

41s

“There is not one person who doesn't start as an enemy of God. There's not one person. I told you to evaluate yourself. Look at your own life. If you're sitting here convicted, if you're sitting here really questioning how you're walking and how you're living, amen. Me too. All week. Every one of these areas, I wanna get right. But I'm telling you why those things don't define me. Because there was a moment in my life where I realized my need for Jesus, and I surrendered to him. And he came into my life, and the power of his holy spirit overwhelmed me. So I'm no longer defined by those things.”

from 01:10:23

#TransformedByGrace

30s

“Well yeah, because this is a window into heaven right here. This place is sacred ground. When listen. When people in the city talk to you, they they should immediately know they're different. They don't sound like me. They don't look like me. They don't act like they're of another world. Who are these people who love so well? Who are these people who are so full of joy and peace while the world's falling apart? I'll tell you who we are. We're citizens of heaven.”

from 00:54:10

#AmbassadorsOfHeaven

32s

“You know where you look at determines which direction you're going. Come on Virginia drivers. I mean Lord, I can't drive when I'm looking at the road, much less when I'm looking at my phone. And you can either because I've been out there on 64 with y'all and y'all cannot drive. Bless it. Y'all need to get your eyes on the road because where you're looking at determines where you're going. And it's the same way in our spiritual lives. The focus of our mind and our heart determine the direction of our lives.”

from 00:45:36

#FixYourFocus

34s

“It's bad enough to live in sin and to live against the word. And there's no reason, listen to me, there is no reason you should live in sin and live in shame because of what Jesus has done. But it is a whole another level to actually boast about the things that God condemns. I have no interest in preaching at the world or society at large. I told you I came to preach to the church today. And as much as the world has their sins, we have sins that we tolerate.”

from 00:55:55

#StopBoastingInSin

38s

“And I almost rephrased it to say they celebrate what God condemns. But I wanted to I wanted to give you the exact verbiage that the scripture gives you right here. They glory in their shame. The the literal word means to praise or to boast in. They boast about things they ought to be ashamed of. The other translation in the original language is they're filled with pride about what they should be filled with shame.”

from 00:55:16

#StopGloryingInShame

32s

“and peace. Come on. We say all the time, it's not just church. It's life. Jesus said, I came that you might have life and not life to the fullest. And I'm asking you, are you really living? Are you living to the fullest? Look at this word. Do you have peace? Now come on, think about this. Do you have peace? If you're living in turmoil, if you're struggling to live with peace, it may be evidence that you're living as an enemy of the cross.”

from 00:48:53

#LiveInPeace

39s

“What a reality that we could live in. Y'all our minds are too consumed with the things of the world. The news, social media, your phones, the radio, the music we listen to, all programming our minds to think on the things of the world, the things of this earth. And I'm telling you, all of those things are demonic programming your mind away from the things of Christ. You say demonic? How can you say that? Well scripture says that the world is under the control of Satan.”

from 00:46:33

#UnplugFromWorldlyNoise

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Living As Enemies | Pastor Daniel Ethridge | Liberty Live Church

Devotional

Day 1: Focusing on Heavenly Things, Not Earthly Things

Day 2: Boasting Only in the Cross of Christ

Day 3: Being Controlled by the Spirit, Not Our Desires

Day 4: Understanding the End of the Road

Day 5: Embracing Our Citizenship in Heaven

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Living As Enemies | Pastor Daniel Ethridge | Liberty Live Church

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