“Continuing the Journey”
Philippians 3:4b-15
What do you want more than anything else in the world?
Is it a higher paying job?
Is it a bigger house?
Is it some “perfect career”?
Is it to be the envy of your friends, co-workers; classmates?
Is it to “know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead?”
Hold it…wait a minute…something I just said doesn’t fit with the others.
Remember when, on Sesame Street, they would have like three ice-cream cones and one hot dog, or three squares and one circle and then they’d sing that song: “Which of these things is not like the others…”?
It’s kind of like that isn’t it?
In this world we can become so focused on the things that fill us up, and puff us up…
…things we do to keep up with the Jones’…
…that we lose focus or never even get a glimpse of what it is that is most important in life.
In Philippians Paul reminds us that he has pretty good reason to be confident in his achievements, and to basically be an egomaniac obsessed with self.
He lists his very impressive credentials that gave him high status in the community and the world.
Paul was born a pure-bred Hebrew.
Paul had been a rich and powerful man…
…he had been able to push his weight around to get things done…
…people looked up to him and those under him quivered when he headed their way.
That’s power, and power is a very expensive commodity in this world.
It’s also something that many people would find very hard to give up.
But one day, Jesus appeared to Paul…
… and Paul’s entire purpose…
…Paul’s entire direction in life changed!!!
Having been saved on the Damascus Road…having begun to taste the goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul cast aside those claims, those credentials and worldly achievements on which he had once grounded all his self-esteem…
…he called them “rubbish”…
…because they were obstacles, stumbling blocks, weights and impediments in his journey toward gaining Christ and being found in Christ!
What do we consider as “rubbish” in order that we may “gain Christ… know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings?”
What do we consider as “rubbish” due to the fact that our greatest goal in life is to become like Christ “in his death, and so somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” ?
As we come to the end of 2017 and prepare for a brand-new year—what better time is there to make a life assessment?
What is it that shapes your identity and gives you security?
What holds you accountable?
Is it a house?
Is it a career?
Is it the envy and adoration you receive from colleagues and friends?
Or do you consider these things “rubbish”…which is a nice way of saying “cow dung” when compared “the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord?”
Who is your lover?
Where is your focus?
Paul’s focus was “heavenward,” and in aiming his life “heavenward” Paul was able to experience so very much more joy, love, peace, patience and confidence than he would have ever experienced otherwise!!!
He was able to experience much more in this life than most folks, due to his dedication to Christ…no matter what the hardships he was enduring.
Can we relate?
C.S. Lewis once said: “If you aim at heaven you get earth thrown in; if you aim at earth you get neither.”
How much hell do we cause for ourselves due to the fact that we are not “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead”?
What are we missing due to the fact that we are not willing to give up the old life for the new life in Christ?
What are we holding onto?
What do we still prize as “gold” when it is really just “dung”?
It’s interesting that Paul says he wants to become “like [Christ] in his death.”
How many folks have you heard say that with a straight face?
Christ died a bloody, painful death on a horrible wooden Cross!
How could Paul want to die like that?
Well, I don’t think he did want to die like that.
I think that Paul was speaking metaphorically.
Paul was so in love with Jesus Christ that he wanted to become more and more and more like his Savior.
And the epitome of being like Jesus Christ is emptying oneself completely for the sake of others.
And this is what Paul says Jesus did when he writes in Philippians Chapter 2 about how Christ gave up his privileges and did not consider equality with God something to be exploited.
And because of His self-emptying and death, Jesus has been proclaimed as “Lord.”
Paul wants that kind of righteousness—the righteousness which is through faith in Christ.
The Greek word translated as “faith” can also mean “faithfulness,” and would therefore refer to the “faithfulness of Christ.”
There is a lot to be said about this translation.
For it points us back to Christ’s own actions, reminding us how He behaved.
Listen to how different it sounds when read like this: “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.
I consider them rubbish, 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 the faithfulness of Christ…”
Christ’s faithfulness is what saves us.
And because of such a love as this—we want to be like Him, be found in Him, be close to Him, near Him, with Him forever.
This is what Paul has given up everything to attain.
But he’s not so delusional as to think he has “arrived” at his goal.
And so he writes: “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
Paul is talking about what Jesus has done for him.
He is saying that Jesus has “grasped me and has taken control of me, and all I want to do now is respond in love to that firm hand of God on my shoulder.”
Is there any higher goal to be had in life?
Is there anything greater?
Is there a price that can be put on this kind of life?
No wonder everything Paul once treasured is now no better than cow manure compared to knowing Christ.
Paul is on the most exciting journey possible.
He is on a journey with God.
That is what his life is about.
That is what I want my life to be about.
How about you?
2017 has been a good year for East Ridge United Methodist Church.
Some powerful new ministries have really taken off.
So many of you are actively involved in these ministries.
And by taking part in Christ’s work, we are able to see life resurrected from death and light shine in the darkness.
I had a dream a few nights ago.
I don’t remember the dream, but I do remember what I said with conviction as I awoke.
I said, “The most important thing in my life is my faith.”
I think I surprised myself a bit by that, but I was also very comforted.
As we worship God on the last day of 2017, I’d like us to think about something for the coming year.
For Paul, there was only one place worth going: into Christ Jesus, into knowing Him and the power of His resurrection, in “sharing his sufferings by becoming like him in his death.”
If that were to become our mission statement, what aspects of the ministry at East Ridge United Methodist Church would stay, which would go and what new ministries would spring up?
As we continue the journey, I look forward to a very happy New Year, in Christ Jesus, with all of YOU!!!
Amen.
