Choosing Excellence Over Loss-2 Series

CHOOSING EXCELLENCE Over Loss-II—Php. 3:7-16

Attention:

“On April 21st, in the year 1519, the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez sailed into the harbor of Vera Cruz, Mexico. He brought with him only about 600 men, & yet over the next two years his vastly outnumbered forces were able to defeat Montezuma & all the warriors of the Aztec empire, making Cortez the conqueror of all Mexico.

How was this incredible feat accomplished, when two prior expeditions had failed even to establish a colony on Mexican soil? Here’s the secret.

Cortez knew from the very beginning that he & his men faced incredible odds. He knew that the road before them would be dangerous & difficult. He knew that his men would be tempted to abandon their quest & return to Spain.

And so, as soon as Cortez & his men had come ashore & unloaded their provisions, he ordered their entire fleet of eleven ships destroyed. His men stood on the shore & watched as their only possibility of retreat burned & sank. And from that point on, they knew beyond any doubt there was no return, no turning back. Nothing lay behind them but empty ocean. Their only option was to go forward, to conquer or die.”—Alan Perkins, Aug 19, 2001 @ SermonCentral.com

?Do You maintain the level of commitment necessary to honor Jesus?

Need:

Josh. 24:14-15—[Joshua to Israel after conquering the Promised Land]—“Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity & in truth, & put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River & in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me & my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Paul told the Philippian Christians the value & means of maintaining a high level of commitment to Christ.

Christians are expected to maintain their commitment to Christ.

How can Christians maintain their commitment to Christ?

4 secrets to maintaining commitment to Christ.

Last Sunday morning we found that

Those who maintain their commitment to Christ...

1. SEPARATE TRASH From TREASURE(:7-8)

Today we will also discover that...

2—Those who maintain their commitment to Christ...

CHOOSE The TREASURE(:9)

Explanation:(:9)Prioritize God’s Standard/

:9—“& be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;”

Paul declared/considered his self-righteousness to be rubbish/trash when compared to gaining Christ. Therefore, trash must be dumped or Christ cannot be possessed/had. We possess either trash(self) or treasure(Christ).

Mat. 16:25—“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

The purpose of Paul’s life was to “be found” in Christ.

But Who was it that would think it tellingly important to find Paul “in” Christ? Paul wanted to be “found” by God Himself because to Paul’s own Master he stands or falls(Rom. 14:4).

Being “found” by God—the searcher of our very hearts—“in” Christ ensures that our righteousness comes to us by His power thru personal faith.

It is inconsistent with God’s righteousness to have a self-made or an ‘earned’ righteousness.

*You can follow your church’s by-laws ‘to-the-T’ & spend eternity in hell! Your actions may produce a mere appearance of godliness.

2Tim. 3:1-5—“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

I have met all of the above church members thru my years as a pastor.

“Righteousness” = Your particular standard of morality.

It is Never enough to separate/know right from wrong....

We must also choose God’s right(eousness)...You individually must make a choice to walk with the Lord! We corporately must choose to walk with God rather than with the world!

Argumentation:The following all deal with the Choice you make!

Ps. 1:1-6—“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day & night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”