Stewardship Series: Temple
Preaching Portion: Philippians 3:10
Subject: Paul
Theme: Passionate Knowledge of Christ
INTRO: If you don’t know where you are going then any road
will take you there. If you aim at nothing you will hit it every time!
- We are
reminded of Jim Elliot’s words: “He is no fool to give what he cannot keep
to gain what he cannot lose.”[1]
- Excellence
carries a price-tag. Everyone desires it, but few are willing to pay.
- The
“tyranny of the urgent” robs people from achieving excellence and settling
for mediocrity!
- Do you
know where the most valuable piece of real-estate is located? It is not
gulf-side, or lake-side. It is not mountain-top or valley. It is not east,
west, north or south. It is the burial plots of man-kind. The untapped
potential that was never harnessed.
- I do
not believe that “determination is our problem. We are fiercely
independent and determined to do pretty much what we please. The real problem lies in our
determined focus to do what is most important instead of what is most
urgent.
Explanation
- Only
the Apostle Paul could say to us; “My determined purpose is that I may
know Christ” while sitting in jail.
- Yes
Paul is imprisoned while writing to the saints at Philippi. The theme of
this letter is “Count it all joy!” You can’t help but notice the contrast
of ideas with Paul: Prison Vs. Joy. The last time I checked, I would not
naturally associate these two concepts in the same sentence.
- The
sense of over-whelming joy from Paul spills out into his writing to this
church. By the time you get to the third chapter it becomes clear that
Paul is focused and is directing his passion to a single purpose: “…that I
might know him…”
- He
includes some items that probably don’t excite us too much; namely
suffering and death. These principled beliefs are not what the average
seeker is looking for when selecting a belief system or church to join.
- When
considering this aspect of our stewardship series, the temple in the Bible
is that place where the worshipper and God intersect. It is a place where
we can adore and receive life’s marching orders.
- We
cannot ignore this valuable facet of the Christian journey.
PROP: Every Christian must participate in a focused
devotional life.
T.S: Every Christian can participate in a focused devotional
life by gleaning the insights from the Apostle Paul’s losses in Philippians 3:7-11
1) My
Determined Purpose: The Knowledge of Christ – v.8
a) 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss
because of cthe surpassing worth of dknowing
Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I ehave suffered
the loss of all things and
count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ[2]
(emphasis added)
b) Paul
describes a sense of loss that is encased in the phrase; “ALL THINGS.” There is
not sense of sorrow over this loss and what was lost is not missed. Something
has taken its place as being more superior.
c) What
is it that Paul lost? He has lost all prior knowledge of what he thought about
the Messiah and how he thought the Messiah would act and perform. He surrenders
all previous understanding and comprehension so that nothing can get in the way
of what he now understands to be his determined purpose: “The excellent
knowledge of Christ as Savior.”
d) Mankind
cannot know everything. Perhaps that is why the Bible hints at those who always
strive toward knowledge and never coming to the knowledge of the Savior. Keep
in mind that Paul is writing from the context of a prison. He instructs us from
these confines that his determined purpose is to gain the knowledge of Christ.
He gets rid of all else to focus upon the quest for the knowledge of the
savior. Only in a dedicated devotional life will this ever be true.
2) My
Determined Purpose: The Righteousness of Christ – v.9
a) 9 and be found in him, not having fa
righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but gthat which
comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith[3]
b) Paul
suggests that he desires to “be found in Him…” This suggests the future meeting
with the Lord at judgment. He desires this meeting to reveal that without
question he had lived a righteous life according to Christ’s righteousness.
c) Paul’s
determined purpose was to have a righteousness not based upon the principles of
man, “…but that which comes…” or has its source in God.
i) This
is where the real challenge is for us – we must get rid of that which does not
have its source in Christ alone.
ii) This
righteousness of God is received through faith/on the basis of faith in Christ
alone.
iii) This
is not based upon man’s achievement as though he has perfectly obeyed the law
and all of its requirements. Faith is opposite of human works. It is the
reception of God’s work by those who acknowledge that it is futile in their
efforts to earn righteousness.
3) My
Determined Purpose: The Fellowship of Christ – v.10
a) 10 hthat
I may know him and ithe power of his
resurrection, and jmay share his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death[4]
b) Paul
picks up on his earlier thought in verse eight, “to know Him.” Here he gives a
more fuller explanation of what is involved. There are four things that Paul
will say about this fellowship that he is determined to know.
i) A
Personal Experience – “That I many know him…” can be translated, “My
determined purpose is that I may know him…” There comes a time when our
devotional; walk and relationship with the Almighty must be personal,
purposeful, and deliberate.
ii) A
Powerful Experience – The power of his resurrection indicates that
Christ was alive and at work inside Paul. Notice Paul’s words in Ephesians
3:13-19; 13 So I ask
you not to lose heart over what I am suffering ufor you, vwhich
is your glory.14 For
this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom wevery family2
in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that
according to xthe riches of his glory yhe may
grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit zin your
inner being, 17 aso
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being brooted
and cgrounded
in love, 18 may have
strength to dcomprehend with all the saints what is the
breadth and length and eheight and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ fthat
surpasses knowledge, that gyou may be filled with all hthe
fullness of God.[5]
iii) A
Painful Experience – Paul knew that it was a privilege to suffer for
Christ. As we grow in Christ we experience a buffeting of Satan. There are
battles that we must conquer. This death
resulted in a spiritual resurrection so that Paul could walk in the newness of
life.
iv) A
Practical Experience – There is a very real outcome for the person who
practically applies himself devotionally to Christ. Paul took up his cross and
followed passionately after Christ. “It is no longer I that live, but Christ
who lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in
the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me” Gal 3:20.
Conclusion
Yes, Paul gained far more than he lost. In fact,
the gains were so thrilling that Paul considered all other “things” nothing but
garbage in comparison! No wonder he had joy—his life did not depend on the
cheap “things” of the world but on the eternal values found in Christ. Paul had
the “spiritual mind” and looked at the “things” of earth from heaven’s point of
view. People who live for “things” are never really happy, because they must
constantly protect their treasures and worry lest they lose their value. Not so
the believer with the spiritual mind; his treasures in Christ can never be
stolen and they never lose their value. Maybe now is a good time for you to
become an accountant and evaluate in your life the “things” that matter most to
you.[6]
[1]Wiersbe, W.
W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition
of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (Php 3:7).
Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
e Luke 9:25 (Gk.)
[2]The Holy
Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Php 3:8). Wheaton: Standard Bible
Society.
[3]The Holy
Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Php 3:9). Wheaton: Standard Bible
Society.
h [Eph. 4:13]
[4]The Holy
Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Php 3:10). Wheaton: Standard Bible
Society.
[5]The Holy
Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Eph 3:13-19). Wheaton: Standard
Bible Society.
[6]Wiersbe, W.
W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition
of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (Php 3:7).
Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
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