Grace, mercy, and peace be to each of you from God our Father, and from our resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen. Let us pray…
“Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day and for the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let your grace and peace be with those gathered here today. Guide us and teach us “how to live a life of loss”. We ask this in the name of Jesus our Savior and our Lord. Amen.”
Welcome back to the third week in our series based on the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians, where he is teaching us how to experience joy during tough times.
During week one, we covered chapter 1, where Paul taught us how to live “as if” God is in control. During week two, we looked at chapter 2, where Paul taught us how to live as a servant, even during difficult times, using Jesus as our perfect example
Today we will look at chapter 3, as Paul teaches us how to live a life of loss, using himself a model for what it means to endure hardship.
Suffering and hardship should come as no surprise to us. Perhaps we cannot explain the meaning of suffering philosophically, but we can learn to go through hard times in a Christlike manner. Jesus said…
“If they’ve persecuted me, they will persecute you.” (John 15:20)
The Apostle Peter, in another letter, said…
“Don’t be surprised as if some strange thing were happening to you when you encounter hardships” 1 Peter 4:12.
And in another context, Paul himself encouraged new believers with these words
“Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22
In fact, one of the last messages given to us by Paul (in 2 Timothy) reminds us…
“All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 2 Timothy 3:12
Today Paul offers himself as an example for how to go through hard times. Very near the end of this chapter, in verse 17, he says…
“Join together in following my example … just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.”
This kind of encouragement is common in Paul’s letters. He often offered his own life as a personal example. But the Philippians had a unique perspective in understanding how Paul endured persecution.
The Book of Acts records that in the first days of Paul’s arrival in Philippi, he was thrown into prison, whereupon he proceeded to sing praises to God! And God responded by supernaturally breaking him out of jail!
The Philippian jailer was so impacted by Paul’s example … the jailer took Paul into his own home, bandaged his wounds, and became a follower of Jesus. He and his whole family were baptized as new converts.
Paul’s example while he was planting the church in Philippi is instructive in two ways … first it seems to indicate a connection between fruitful ministry and difficult days, and
We need to remember that the world is watching as we endure tough times.
How Paul responded, and how we respond today, is a means of outreach in the sense that our actions either authenticate, or discount, our message.
As you all know, difficult days come in many forms and we all face them. So, as we all face difficult days, let me encourage you as Paul and Barnabas encouraged the first church they planted in Philippi when Paul said…
“We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” Acts 14:22
The question is never … “Will we will face hardship or suffering?” That’s a certainty. The only questions are WHEN and, HOW will we face the troubles.
So today, in chapter 3, I would like to give you a few quick points to help you understand how Paul is an example for us in facing difficulties in life. In verses 1-3 Paul says…
“…rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again … watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh.” (Philippians 3:1-3)
Do you see Paul’s warning in verse 2? We should “watch out for those dogs” … people “who preach a false gospel”.
Now, false gospels come in many forms. During Paul’s day, it was common to hear a message like this … “in order to follow Jesus you must first submit to the Law of Moses” … you must first comply with the ceremonial laws such as circumcision.
This heresy had been met and dealt with when it was refuted by a council of the Apostles in Jerusalem. But the heresy just would not go away.
Today, we may similarly hear false gospels filled with false promises of things like comfort and ease. We may be told that following Jesus always leads to prosperity, or better health, or more happiness.
Now, of course, eventually those things are all true, but the false gospel in our day is all about becoming wealthier, healthier, and happy right now … while in this world.
It’s not unusual to hear phrases like, “whatever flows, goes,” as if following Jesus is just a ride down a lazy river. But the path of least resistance makes both men and rivers crooked.
Perhaps you have heard a gospel that says, “God will never let anything bad happen to you”, if your faith is strong enough.
Many people’s faith can be on the verge of folding simply because they begin to face hard times.
This bad theology of false gospels certainly creates difficulties since it can convince us to lie about our circumstances in order to convince others that everything is just ducky.
Paul is warning his friends in Philippi that they should be on guard against bad theology, the “theology of dogs”, the theology of false teachers.
At its core, “dog theology” says that you can impress God, and others, with your religious behavior. But don’t you believe it.
In verses 4-7, Paul explains his life’s example when “dog theology” had fooled him. He had been taught that he could impress God by keeping all the Jewish laws, and by “earning” his own salvation.
But notice what Paul says about his past life…
“If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider LOSS for the sake of Christ.” (Philippians 3:4-7)
Paul’s past, as a Pharisee, formed an impressive list of credentials. But now … these credentials mean nothing to him. Paul says that he considers the past to be loss.
And not only the Apostle Paul. As we journey with Jesus, we are called to leave behind whatever investment we have in our old way of life. Another way to say this is that JESUS IS FOR LOSERS. Yes, I said Jesus is for losers. And here is what I mean by that…
We must LOSE our own way of thinking, and we must LOSE whatever confidence we have in our past accomplishments. It’s not just the people who are down-and-out, who need the gospel.
There are people who are “up-and-out”, who also need the gospel. They may have climbed the ladder of success only to find they had placed the ladder on the wrong wall.
Both groups need to know that, in Jesus, their past does not matter, whether that past is good or bad. The only thing that counts is the new creation in Christ.
This brings us to my next point as we look at this chapter. Listen as Paul continues the same line of thought in verses 8-9:
“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”
Paul considered everything in his life to be loss compared to knowing Jesus … even the good stuff.
One lesson that Paul had learned, and that he shared with those in Philippi (and that he shares with us today), was that we should lay all our accomplishments on the altar of God.
The prophet Isaiah understood this well when he said that our righteousness was as “filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6) The gospel does not care about our achievements or about our failures. The gospel cares only for us, and what will happen after we come to faith in Jesus.
In fact, Paul calls this the “surpassing worth” of knowing Christ Jesus. Well, what about us? Do we consider knowing Jesus to be the greatest thing about our lives?
Perhaps we can learn a great lesson from Paul’s example … he considered everything to be a loss – even the good stuff.
Knowing Christ Jesus will surpass whatever difficulties you face or whatever achievements you have claimed.
Sometimes, it is all too easy for Christians to settle into trusting lives of comfortable religious habits instead of knowing Jesus more and more and more.
This is my next point from chapter 3 … there is more to know of Jesus. Here’s what the apostle Paul says in verses 10-11…
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”
We should be amazed at these words! Here, the great apostle who served Jesus and accomplished great things for the kingdom of God says plainly … “I want to know Christ.”
There was MORE OF Jesus for Paul to get to know. We might be tempted to think, “If Paul does not know Christ, then who does?”
But Paul’s point is that our eternal, infinite Lord always beckons us further into his goodness and his glory.
There was more of Christ for Paul, and there is more of Christ for us to know.
Notice, too, Paul’s list of those things, which he still wants to know and experience:
• the power of his resurrection;
• the fellowship of sharing suffering with Jesus;
• becoming like Jesus in his death;
• and attaining a new quality of life both now and in the resurrection.
Here Paul is most definitely an example for us. We are on a journey with Jesus. And because our Lord is infinite, there is no arrival point.
There is always more of him to know, always more of his love to receive, and always more of his mission to join. And, I wouldn’t have it any other way, would you?
This brings us to my final point from chapter 3. Jesus had something in mind when he picked the Apostle Paul, and Jesus had something in mind when he picked us to be His child…
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me … I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Paul understood that Jesus had taken hold of him for a reason. And it was Paul’s personal mission in life to lay hold of “that” … for which Christ Jesus took hold of him.
This one simple word … “that” … is important. We should all mark this simple word in our Bibles. This simple word reveals the fact that God lays hold of each one of us for a reason. He has a purpose in mind for us.
Jesus had something in mind when he picked you. Paul knew the secret of his life would be revealed as he followed hard after Jesus.
And notice the connection between Christian maturity and discovering our purpose … mature people trust that God will reveal His purpose for them. Do you long to know the purpose for your life? We can confidently follow Paul’s example … that in joyful obedience to Jesus we will discover that for which he laid hold of us.
What a beautiful letter we have in Philippians. Paul was writing from prison in order to encourage those who were not in prison. First, Paul pointed to Jesus as the example of living through difficult times. And in chapter 3, Paul asks us to consider his life as well.
This is the final question for us today … could we point to our own lives as a model for living through tough times? I truly believe that it is possible to demonstrate a joyful relationship with Jesus that is living and vibrant, whether in good times or in bad.
Next week, we will look at the generous gift that the Philippian church sent to Paul while he was in prison. What a fitting way to conclude this letter in this series … living a life of generosity, even in hard times. See you then! Amen