Philippians 3:4-14
Friends, have you ever paused for a moment and thought, “What am I living for?” This is a question of purpose, isn’t? What is the purpose of life? What is the point in living? What is the end goal of my life? What gives you the zeal to wake up in the morning? Is it family, friends, work, hobbies, studies, personal enrichment and development programs? For believers, we know that the purpose of life is to know Jesus deeply, deep enough to enable us to say, “I want to grow in my intimacy with my Lord to the point that I will become like Him in every way possible.” But how do we get to that point? We are going to look at Paul’s life to learn where we have gone wrong.
1. Where we got it wrong: Building earthly credentials to gain heaven.
“If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 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; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.” Philippians 3:4-6.
· Paul was sharing where he got things wrong before his conversion to Christ.
· He presented his credentials and that he wrongfully thought would gain him heaven.
· He thought that being religious can make oneself right before God.
· His earthly credentials gave him a wrongful purpose in life which governed his major decisions and actions, obviously trying to earn his way to gain heaven.
2. Where we got it right: Allowing Christ to step into our life.
“7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 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 9 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.” Philippians 3:7-9
· The words loss and gain are accounting terms in Greek. He used them to describe his former credentials as business loss and Christ was his gain.
· Knowing Jesus surpasses the worth of all earthly credentials.
· Christ is the greatest treasure that unlocks other treasures – eternal life, heavenly rewards, sharing with His glory and reigning with Him in the coming kingdom.
· Paul realized the worth of Jesus when the Lord stepped into his life to show him the right way to heaven. See Acts 9.
· Jesus gave Saul/Paul a new purpose in life in Acts 9:16, not just to proclaim Him, but to know Him deeper through this ministry of the Word.
· When Christ stepped into the life of Saul, things were changed, a new purpose emerged, Saul was given a new name to go along with it, he was now Paul, the apostle, the evangelist, the bond-servant of Jesus.
3. What am I living for? I live to know Jesus deep enough to change.
10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 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. ” Philippians 3:7-12.
· Every believer should be able to say I live to know Jesus deeply, so deep to experience the power of his resurrection in my daily life.
We all know what’s it like to sit next to a person whom we want to increase intimacy with. We want to know more about the person. The more we know about that person, the more we get closer, and the more we get closer the more we participate in the person’s life.
· The reason why we sometimes feel distant from Jesus is because we have not made any significant effort, sustain that effort of getting closer to Him.
· The resurrection of true believers is two-fold, the physical resurrection of bodies and the spiritual resurrection (change of lifestyle).
Colossians 3, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:1-2, 5