WEBVTT 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:12.720 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:26.559 You know, it's really hard sometimes to throw things away. 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:28.800 Have you ever thought about that? 00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:33.119 I still have a key to my first car. 00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:39.759 It was old when I drove it, and it's probably scrapped out somewhere now, but I still have the key. 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:44.960 That sort of sentimentality is one reason. 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:48.159 Probably of many that it's hard to throw things away sometimes. 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:54.079 But how often do we keep things around just because they might still be useful to us someday? 00:00:54.240 --> 00:00:56.320 That one really obscure bolt. 00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:57.920 You know what I mean? 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:06.159 Or because we hate the thought of the landfills filling up with junk, or maybe it's just the cost of the thing. 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:09.680 We know that somebody we love, or we love ourselves, right? 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:18.719 Or somebody spent good money on one thing or another thing, and throwing away an old pair of boots hurts because there's there's still a little bit of value in them. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:22.560 There's still it's like throwing money away, right? 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:30.879 Recently I watched an old piece of equipment finally go the way of all the earth after 30 plus years of service. 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:43.840 The thing was a dinosaur, probably two or three times the size of its replacement, horribly inefficient at its task, and it was beginning to fail significantly and repeatedly. 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:50.560 And when the technicians hauled that old furnace out, they said, Well, I think they got their money's worth out of that thing. 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:51.439 Right? 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:54.319 And all the old men in the room said, Amen. 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:57.120 There they are. 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:07.439 I think, though, we all acknowledge that sometimes moving on is the right thing to do. 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:14.400 Is the wise or correct or even righteous thing to do. 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:22.479 Maybe, just maybe, that old furnace is costing you more than not replacing it is saving you. 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:32.000 Maybe that old pickup is becoming a safety risk now that the power steering is finally gone and traffic goes about 30 miles an hour faster than it used to, right? 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:38.800 Maybe, maybe there's just something better. 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:42.639 It's worth the cost of letting it go. 00:02:43.039 --> 00:02:43.680 Right? 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:57.360 300 years before Jim Elliott walked into an Ecuadorian jungle and gave his life for Christ, Matthew Henry records something his father used to say all the time. 00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:09.759 His dad was a pastor, and he used to always say, He is no fool who parts with that which he cannot keep, when he is sure to gain what he cannot lose. 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:12.560 Have you ever heard that before? 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:17.360 That's what Paul models for us in Philippians chapter 3. 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:19.919 There's a lot more we can learn if we look a little closer. 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:24.560 So if you haven't already turned there with me, turn to Philippians chapter 3. 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:27.840 And we'll be in verse 8 this morning. 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:34.560 Last week, Pastor Jason covered for us verses 1 to 8. 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:39.840 We'll be picking up this morning about halfway through verse 8. 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:42.639 We'll go all the way through verse 16. 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:45.759 But we'll handle the text this morning in three questions. 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:46.800 Here's my outline. 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:51.280 I think. 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:01.840 Woo. 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:07.120 Interesting. 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:08.080 There's my outline. 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:09.520 What does Paul do? 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:12.159 Why does Paul do that? 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:13.919 And how does Paul live that way? 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:15.280 So look at verse 8 with me. 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:17.759 There's a break about halfway through verse 8. 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:24.480 Last week, Pastor Jason talked about how Paul counted his gains as lost for the sake of Christ. 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:29.279 Indeed, everything is lost because the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord. 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:44.240 And today we'll pick up right at that period where it says, For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him. 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:52.560 Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God. 00:04:54.240 --> 00:04:56.560 Last week Paul threw it all away. 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:02.639 He threw away all the gain he had from being a good Jew, a hero, Hebrew of Hebrews. 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:08.720 He takes his confidence in the flesh and he tosses it in the bin to take up Christ. 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:16.240 One commentator writes that when his first son discovered the bicycle, all the toy trucks in the sandbox were history. 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:17.600 That's the picture, right? 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:24.480 The surpassing worth of Christ makes all of Paul's claims to confidence in the flesh history. 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:30.639 But Paul goes even further when he says, Indeed, I count everything as lost. 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:34.399 It's not just his Jewish boasting, but everything. 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:40.240 And we see that because when Paul wrote this letter, he's sitting in prison. 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:41.759 He's let it all go. 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:54.800 He's obviously lost all of his civil freedoms, but somehow the apostle, bound in chains and shackles in a Roman prison, still rejoices, and we pick up with for his sake. 00:05:55.120 --> 00:06:08.399 As Paul gives us just a few more details of what it looks like to count all things lost, he says, for his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish. 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:21.759 And so Paul is saying that because of what Christ has done and in response to who Jesus is, he not only considers everything as loss, but he's actually done it. 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:28.240 He's actually suffered the loss of all things. 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:31.040 Let that sink in for a second. 00:06:31.279 --> 00:06:34.240 I don't know about you, but I was right there with Pastor Jason last week. 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:41.199 We were all ready to nod along that a Christian doesn't have to be a Hebrew of Hebrews to have confidence before God and to let it all go. 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:47.759 And as Paul said he counted whatever gain he had as loss, counting it's one thing, right? 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:51.439 Losing it's another. 00:06:53.199 --> 00:07:04.240 Hardly a breath later, he goes from just counting, considering, reckoning at loss, to actually suffering the loss. 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:07.199 And that's a lot harder. 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:08.720 It's a lot harder. 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:11.759 We're often like Peter, who swore he would die with Jesus. 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:14.720 Though everybody falls away, I won't, Peter says. 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:19.600 But then when push comes to shove and a servant girl says, Hey, aren't you from Galilee? 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:21.600 Peter loses it and runs away. 00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:22.079 Right? 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:23.360 We're often like that. 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:28.000 Maybe we say we're ready and that our and then our confidence is worthless. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:37.279 All the things we have are worthless compared to Christ until somebody or something or the Lord asks us to hand it over. 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:39.199 Oh. 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:41.199 Right? 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:46.879 Paul, though, here in this text, puts himself forward for us. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:50.240 As an example, we're supposed to imitate. 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:52.800 It's not just for Paul, it's for you too. 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:54.319 Look down at verse 18. 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:57.439 Brothers join in imitating me. 00:07:57.680 --> 00:07:58.319 Right? 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:01.920 He actually suffers the loss of all things. 00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:03.759 He calls us to do the same. 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:05.439 So look back on your life. 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:06.480 Just for a second. 00:08:06.639 --> 00:08:08.399 Think about all the good things you've done. 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:16.000 Think about the time you shared the gospel with a neighbor, all those Sundays playing on the worship team, all those Wednesdays serving kids. 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:17.920 All of it. 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:23.120 And Paul tells us to put the boasting away. 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:26.079 To let it go. 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:29.120 Drop the toy trucks, right? 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:34.559 And pick up Christ's death and resurrection instead. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:38.960 He's not just talking a big game about reckoning everything lost. 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:42.000 He's actually, he actually loses things. 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:46.240 He's sitting in jail right now when he writes this. 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:47.759 He actually does it. 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:49.120 That's the first thing he does. 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:50.480 Think about it for a second. 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:57.919 Paul used to have a respectable job and a respectable future, and now he sits in prison. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:03.120 Remember, the Philippians were proud to be part of a Roman colony. 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:05.519 They were proud Romans. 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:15.759 So how embarrassing must it be for the Philippians to see their apostle, their leader, their pastor, their founder at the rock bottom of Roman society. 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:18.080 Let that sink in. 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:19.919 He's sitting there in chains. 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:25.679 He's actually lost it all according to a Philippian value system. 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:33.759 And the quiet question in the text for the Philippians and for you and me today is are you ready? 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:37.279 Are you ready to lose it all for Christ? 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:38.399 Two. 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:46.960 That's hard. 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:52.320 But how much value does your reputation still have left in it? 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:02.000 And I think to a certain point, you need to. 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:09.919 You need to be able to see such loss in your own story of following Jesus. 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:13.600 And if you're if you're a believer, I'm convinced it's there. 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:17.519 You probably just don't recognize it because it seems small to you. 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:18.879 Think back. 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:22.639 Your losses may not be as dramatic as Paul's. 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:28.720 And in comparison, you might think poorly of your own story, but remember, guys, this is what it means to be a Christian. 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:30.480 Recall the words of Jesus. 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:32.080 This should be in Luke 9. 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:32.799 Yeah. 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:42.000 And Jesus said to all, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:46.000 A cross is a death. 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:48.720 It's the loss of all things. 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:49.519 Right? 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:58.960 Martin Luther, famous Martin Luther, the great reformer who, like Paul, forsook all the religious gain he had as a Catholic monk and scholar. 00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:05.600 He counted it all lost, and he taught us to sing, let goods and kindred go. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:09.679 This mortal life also, let it go. 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:12.159 Look back through your life. 00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:19.120 Have you made decisions because you're a Christian that were costly? 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:23.279 I'm sure you have. 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:25.120 I'm sure you have. 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:30.080 And if you can't remember any, you'll get a chance this week. 00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:31.200 I promise. 00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:33.440 Little things. 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:34.799 Look for the little things. 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:37.120 That's the first thing I wanted to show you that Paul does. 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:40.960 He suffers the loss of all things. 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:43.279 Really, in this passage, probably the third thing. 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:46.960 You see those two from last week there in a lighter font. 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:50.320 And you already see then the next thing. 00:11:50.480 --> 00:12:01.440 The next thing Paul does is he takes all those things that he's counted as lost and then suffered the loss of, and then he counts them as rubbish. 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:05.200 Counts all things as rubbish. 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:09.440 And in this way, Paul is totally inside the teaching of Jesus. 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:17.679 A little bit later in Luke's gospel, Jesus says, if anyone comes to me and does not hate, oh, that word makes me uncomfortable. 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:18.639 How about you? 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:33.279 If anybody comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:43.200 So therefore, any of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:44.799 Let that sink in. 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:48.480 Jesus calls us to renounce it, to hate it. 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:53.840 Or in Paul's language, to count it as rubbish, street garbage. 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:56.159 It's the same idea. 00:12:56.399 --> 00:12:58.000 Paul's just following Jesus here. 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:04.639 J up Acker, though, he calls Paul's use of Greek here coarse, ugly, and violent. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:08.159 The word for rubbish is a sharp word. 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:12.559 There's a time for everything, and for everything there is a season. 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:18.240 This is the only time in the New Testament this word gets used in all the New Testament. 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:19.919 Rubbish. 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:27.759 Compared to Christ, everything else is just trash. 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:32.399 We have a hard time letting go, don't we? 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:38.879 Throwing things away we think might still have some value or some use. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:53.120 But Paul is telling us that any claims to a righteousness of our own or any attachment to the things of earth, it's not just a rusted-out pickup truck we still love. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:56.000 It's trash. 00:13:57.919 --> 00:13:59.039 It's trash. 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:17.200 And so when you look at Jesus, when you think on Christ, when you sing these songs on Sunday mornings, can you say that in comparison to Jesus, everything, your best friend is like the contents of a used Pampers cruiser? 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:21.919 I know it's gross, but that's the language Paul's using, though, guys. 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:35.519 Jesus says that those who have left family and lands for the kingdom of God will receive a hundredfold for their losses in the age to come. 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:42.720 So, do you have a precious piece of furniture that was handed down to you from your great-grandmother? 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:44.399 That's the idea. 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:51.759 I know some of you will know what I mean when I talk about the house you were raised in or that that little patch of dirt where the barn used to be. 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:54.639 Grandpa used to milk cows. 00:14:55.600 --> 00:15:00.080 Does it stick in your throat to call it sewage? 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:03.679 Dumpster drippings. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:10.720 All things are rubbish when compared to knowing Christ. 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:17.600 They're just passing shadows, worthless, empty street garbage to be forgotten and trod underfoot. 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:20.399 You can't take any of it with you when you go. 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:21.759 Right? 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:33.759 So like Lydia's Philippian purple cloth and all of her wealth, those worthless purple rags, though, they can be used. 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:37.200 They can be used for Christ. 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:41.200 You can't take it with you when you go. 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:46.399 But all of this stuff, you can use it while you're here. 00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:51.279 Spend it for the kingdom. 00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:56.639 Spend all that you have and even let yourself be spent. 00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:01.200 Spend your very life for Christ. 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:03.279 That's the call in the text. 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:05.840 Let this earthly life go. 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:08.720 And spend it all to look ahead. 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:17.919 He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:18.879 Amen. 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:26.320 Another famous missionary once said this only one life will soon be passed. 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:30.559 Only what's done for Christ will last. 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:32.399 Have you heard that one before? 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:34.159 That's what Paul does. 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:37.519 And what Paul does so well, and that's what he calls us to. 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:43.279 But he doesn't just tell us what he does, he tells us more because he tells us why he does it all. 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:44.720 Why do you do all of this? 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:46.799 Look at the rest of verse 8 with me. 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:58.960 Paul does all that he does, he says, in order that, in order that he may gain Christ. 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:03.440 So Paul keeps this accounting metaphor of gains and losses going. 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:13.599 He had such and such gains from the law and being a good Jew, and he traded them all and he cashed them and he counted them as loss in order to gain Christ. 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:15.599 Why did he do it? 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:17.119 Why does he do it? 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:19.039 This is crazy. 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:20.960 I must hate my own life? 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:21.599 Yes. 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:23.039 Why though? 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:26.960 In order to gain Christ. 00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:40.960 And so we see that in order to gain Christ, in order to receive Christ, you must renounce everything. 00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:44.880 You must renounce everything. 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:54.240 In other words, belief in Christ, genuine belief in Christ, entails, it includes certain other beliefs about everything else. 00:17:54.319 --> 00:18:10.480 If you claim, if you claim to really believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He's the only way to the Father, if you believe that death, at His death and His death alone, is the sole sacrifice for the atonement and forgiveness of sins, and that Jesus Christ is the Lord of all to the glory of God the Father. 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:22.559 If you really believe that, then by necessity, you also are saying that nothing else in all of creation is worth comparing to the surpassing value of Jesus Christ. 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:24.400 They go together just like that. 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:25.519 Do you see it? 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:35.759 The apostle John said it so bluntly, he said, if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:44.000 So, in a way, gaining Christ is losing everything. 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:51.599 Jesus said, You cannot be his own disciple without hating your own life. 00:18:54.480 --> 00:19:02.960 Late in his ministry, speaking of his own life and death, Jesus gives us an eternal truth to remember and an example to follow. 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:05.519 There it is. 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:10.640 Jesus answered them and said, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:16.960 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:20.240 But if it dies, he bears much fruit. 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:22.319 He's speaking of himself there, right? 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:24.880 But now he gives us this eternal truth. 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:30.160 Whoever loses his life, whoever loves his life, loses it, excuse me. 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:36.079 And whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:38.960 That's true of Jesus' life and death. 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:41.440 But he's calling us to do the same, right? 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:42.559 See how he continues. 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:46.240 If anyone serves me, he must follow me. 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:49.519 And where I am, there will my servant be also. 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:53.759 If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. 00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:59.680 You have to follow him through a death like his. 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:06.799 And so the kernel, the seed of genuine saving faith commits us to this reality. 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:20.240 When we say we believe in Christ, we're saying that's true, and we spend the rest of our lives striving after Christ's example, renouncing everything with our hearts set on the kingdom to come. 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:22.480 That's the picture. 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:31.759 And for Paul, in many ways, it seems like all of his rubbish counting and taking out the trash of his life was all over and done with. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:33.839 Seems like he's got it figured out, right? 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:36.720 We'll see in a little bit that that appearance isn't reality. 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:38.079 It's not really what happens. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:41.759 But for now, just feel that tension with me, please. 00:20:42.079 --> 00:20:44.079 Just feel that tension with me. 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:47.680 In order to gain Christ, we must lose it all. 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:52.559 We must hate life in this world in one sense. 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:55.920 In order to keep our lives for all of eternity. 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:57.599 It's the way it works. 00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:03.039 I don't know about you, but I can hear myself already asking, how does that, what does that look like? 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:07.440 What how does that, how do I make sure I don't mess that up? 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:09.279 That sounds important. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:12.480 And Paul already told us, right, in verse 8. 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:18.960 He says you count your gains as loss, and then you count everything as lost, and then you suffer the loss, and then you count it as rubbish. 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:21.759 He's already given us this example of what to do. 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:24.480 Right now he's still just telling us why. 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:27.839 And that's the first reason Paul suffers the loss of all things. 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:31.039 He does it in order to gain Christ. 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:37.599 He suffers the loss of all things and calls them trash in order to gain Christ. 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:43.039 And the second reason is in order to be found in him. 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:50.160 Second reason tells us more about what gaining Christ means. 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:52.000 These two things are parallel. 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:57.359 Becoming a Christian, gaining Christ, receiving Christ means to be found in him. 00:21:57.920 --> 00:21:59.680 What does it mean to be found in? 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:01.279 Christ. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:06.400 I think the best illustration for this is something like a court decision, right? 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:09.519 Being found guilty or being found innocent. 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:15.200 But in our text, Paul doesn't want to be found righteous on his own. 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:18.480 He doesn't want to be found as a Pharisee. 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:19.119 No. 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:26.799 We know, don't we, that such a judgment would result in everlasting torment for our sins. 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:41.200 Being an almost good enough anything, an almost good enough son of Abraham, an almost good enough Christian, an almost good enough pastor, almost good enough whatever, does not guarantee a passing grade at heaven's gate. 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:42.880 It's not enough. 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:48.640 No, Paul says he wants to be found in Christ. 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:51.440 In Christ. 00:22:53.119 --> 00:23:01.599 When the judgment comes, when the end of all things is here and God sorts everything out, and every one of us has to stand before the judge of all the earth. 00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:07.119 Paul wants the verdict he hears coming back from God's bench to be in Christ. 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:09.359 Found in Christ. 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:12.160 Let's keep going. 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:18.720 If you look down at Philippians chapter 3, Paul tells us what in Christ means better than I can. 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:20.400 We're in verse 8 still. 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:26.799 Paul says, in order that I may gain Christ, verse 9, and be found in him. 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:36.000 Which means not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Jesus Christ. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:39.359 The righteousness from God upon faith. 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:41.759 Let me read that again. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:49.680 Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ. 00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:55.359 The righteousness from God upon faith. 00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:57.200 That's what it means. 00:23:57.440 --> 00:24:00.480 That's what it means to be found in Christ. 00:24:00.640 --> 00:24:09.359 And this, guys, this is the great and everlasting doctrine of the imputed or gift righteousness of God. 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:19.920 That's the promise that for those who believe in Christ, for those who have faith in Christ, they receive a righteousness that isn't theirs. 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:22.559 It's not their own. 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:27.920 And verse 11, Paul rejects his own righteousness from the law. 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:29.359 That's trash. 00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:32.799 Not having righteousness of my own, he says. 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:40.720 And he clings instead to that righteousness that comes from God through faith. 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:50.799 In other words, for Paul and for Christians, righteousness is a gift, not an achievement. 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:52.880 It's not an achievement. 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:56.559 And that, brothers and sisters, that is how salvation works. 00:24:56.799 --> 00:24:58.400 Salvation is a gift. 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:04.079 It's not a second chance to do better this time. 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:05.279 It's more than that. 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:09.920 God doesn't just save us by standing us up and brushing us off and patting us on the back and saying, go get them, tiger. 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:10.640 No, no. 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:20.480 The whole thing, the whole thing comes from God as a gift and a righteousness you don't deserve because of your sins. 00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:21.599 It's a gift. 00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:23.279 It's a donation free of charge. 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:23.920 It's not yours. 00:25:24.079 --> 00:25:27.839 Right standing before God doesn't cost you anything. 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:29.680 So what could you pay? 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:31.519 What could you give to earn that? 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:32.559 Nothing. 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:35.440 Your life is trash, right? 00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:38.319 Why would God give you righteousness in exchange? 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:39.200 No. 00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:45.519 No, it's a gift he gives out of the fullness and freeness of his heart and the love that he had. 00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:47.279 He doesn't need anything from you. 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:48.640 He's just that good. 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:53.359 And he gives righteousness to those who believe in him. 00:25:54.160 --> 00:26:12.799 And when you see that right standing before God doesn't cost you anything, when you see that, when you finally grasp the surpassing value of Christ's death in your place, though it costs you nothing, the more you know Christ, the more you let everything else go. 00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:16.640 The more you let everything else go. 00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:20.400 Imagine a little kid playing with a toy he loves. 00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:25.519 And dad comes home with a bigger, brighter, newer, better one. 00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:29.200 And then that old thing just falls from his hands. 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:32.319 Just drops it, reaches out for a new one. 00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:33.680 That's the picture. 00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:35.039 It's a gift. 00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:38.640 And when you see how good it is, you let everything else go. 00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:43.200 Except an earthly dad. 00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:49.920 He might say something like, I got you this because you did so well at school this year, or happy birthday. 00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:50.880 Right? 00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:54.799 But that's not how it works with salvation. 00:26:55.119 --> 00:27:01.759 The Bible says, While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:03.119 Let that sink in. 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:09.920 That'd be like dad coming home and saying, Because you broke mom's favorite lamp, I got you a present. 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:13.359 It's insanity. 00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:18.160 It seems foolish, doesn't it? 00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:28.799 But that, guys, that's just how amazing and how free and how large God's heart and God's love toward us in Christ Jesus is. 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:30.240 But it's even more than that. 00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:31.440 It's even more than that. 00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:40.319 As our Heavenly Father hands us the gift of righteousness over the shattered lamp of our sinful lives, he stoops and he gathers up the shards of glass himself. 00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:49.680 And Jesus' hands were pierced with your sins, far sharper than any nail or broken glass. 00:27:49.920 --> 00:27:52.240 And he says, I'll take care of it. 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:54.240 And I forgive you. 00:27:54.559 --> 00:28:02.480 And after I'm done cleaning this up, in three days, when I rise, let's go play together with that new life of yours. 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:04.960 I'll teach you. 00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:07.599 I'll teach you how to live this way. 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:10.319 That's the gospel. 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:12.720 That's the gospel. 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:13.759 That's the good news. 00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:14.880 And that's the promise. 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:27.599 The promise in Christ's atoning, death, the Father's gift of righteousness, and the Spirit's coming to dwell with us is that promise that one day we won't just be clumsy toddlers with our righteousness. 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:32.400 No, we'll be like we'll be like Jesus was with his. 00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:34.240 Right? 00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:37.279 It's amazing. 00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:39.759 It's a gift. 00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:44.720 It doesn't belong to you, but you get to keep it. 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:46.559 Right? 00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:53.680 Because, and because of that, because our right standing before God is a gift. 00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:57.519 There's no room for boasting anymore, guys. 00:28:57.759 --> 00:28:59.599 There's no room for boasting. 00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:12.480 Whenever we start to think that our righteousness is a little bit shinier than the righteousness that God gave to our brothers and sisters, whenever we start to think that way every time, we'll start to bicker, we'll start to fight, we'll start to quarrel. 00:29:13.279 --> 00:29:13.599 Right? 00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:18.640 Let me tell you when I was a kid, nothing upset my dad more than when my little sister and I fought. 00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:21.599 He used to threaten us all the time. 00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:22.079 No. 00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:24.079 Dad, you didn't threaten us all the time. 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:26.559 One time, one time dad threatened us. 00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:34.319 And he said that if he had to be our common enemy to make us friends, he would do it. 00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:39.279 And then he sent us outside with putty knives to scrape paint off the foundation of the house. 00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:42.160 Only one time, only one time. 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:46.960 But I remember it every time I go home and see the foundation. 00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:49.759 I'll tell you the rest of the story another time. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:59.599 I think, though, I think that sometimes God sends heavenly father discipline like that to entire churches to make them get along. 00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:03.119 To make them get along with each other. 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:10.000 Even if the discipline is just the Apostle Paul writing a letter to the Philippians, they have to read in front of everybody. 00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:14.960 So that's the second reason, though, that Paul counts all things as rubbish to gain Christ. 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:21.200 He does it in order to be found in him, to be declared in Christ. 00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:24.640 And to have Christ's righteousness. 00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:30.640 My friends, is that not enough of a reason to let those things go you just can't throw away? 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:33.680 You know we're talking about spiritual things, right? 00:30:33.759 --> 00:30:36.640 I'm not that concerned about the China Hutch. 00:30:38.079 --> 00:30:40.160 Unless I need to be, right? 00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:44.720 What about those extra finances that come from lying on your taxes? 00:30:44.960 --> 00:30:46.000 Let them go. 00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:52.319 What about the way the way we we tend to bristle if we think somebody's being condescending to us? 00:30:53.119 --> 00:30:54.240 Let it go. 00:30:55.759 --> 00:31:04.480 If you've never believed in Christ before, if you've never done this, if you've never let things go in order to receive Christ, hear me. 00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:06.720 You don't have to get it all the first time. 00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:08.240 You won't. 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:11.359 But I bet there's something. 00:31:11.680 --> 00:31:16.640 I bet there's something even now that you're aware of that you should let go. 00:31:16.960 --> 00:31:18.480 Something to count loss. 00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:22.079 Maybe it's partying or maybe it's an unhealthy relationship. 00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:22.559 I don't know. 00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:23.839