SERIES: The Book of Philippians
TEXT: Philippians 3:1-11
MESSAGE: What Really Matters
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“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” — Philippians 1:21
“My great concern for you in life is not that you will fail, but that you will succeed in doing the wrong things.” — Howard Hendricks
TEXT: Philippians 3:1-11
“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.” – v. 1-2
Q: How does God transform our perspective on what truly matters?
By giving us: (1. A new source of confidence 2. A new way to count 3. A new intimacy with Christ)
- A new source of confidence (v 3-6)
“For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for 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; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”
“…Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” — Zechariah 4:6
2. A new way to count (v 7-8)
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ”
“The words surpassing greatness is (the) Greek word, hyperecho, which means the super-thing. Paul says, “I have found the super-thing. I’ve found something so brilliant the things that used to control me no longer have any power over me. The things that used to drive me no longer have any influence and control over me.” — Timothy Keller
3. A new intimacy with Christ (v 9-11)
“…and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
“Once you become aware that the main point of business that you are here for is to know God, most of life’s problems fall into place of their own accord.” — J.I. Packer
“We must not skip over this line about suffering because we’ll miss something very important. Paul says he wants to know the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. Earlier he told the Philippians that we have been given the gift of suffering for Christ (1:29). This flies in the face of prosperity gospel theology, which says if you have faith you will be healthy, be wealthy, and have no trials. Many don’t understand the truth about Christianity.”— Tony Merida
TAKEAWAYS: How can we apply this today?
- Identify your true source of confidence
- Ask God what truly counts
“Nothing is more often misdiagnosed than our homesickness for Heaven. We think that what we want is sex, drugs, alcohol, a new job, a raise, a doctorate, a spouse, a large-screen television, a new car, a cabin in the woods, a condo in Hawaii. What we really want is the person we were made for, Jesus, and the place we were made for, Heaven. Nothing less can satisfy us.” ― Randy Alcorn
- Remember your closeness to Jesus
“…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10-11