Christ-Centred Pursuit

The scripture reading comes from Philippians, starting in chapter 3, verse 2.

Please follow along on the screen or your Bible.

Look out for the dogs. Look out for the evildoers. Look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

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 law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church,

as to the righteousness under the law, blameless.

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 kind them as rubbish,

in order 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 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.

Not that I have already obtained this, or I am already perfect,

but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it on my own.

But one thing I do,

forgetting what lines behind and straining forward to what lines ahead,

I press on to what to go for the price of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Let those of us who are mature think this way,

and if in anything you think otherwise,

God will reveal that also to you.

Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Brothers, join in imitating me,

and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

For many, of whom I have often told you,

and now tell you even with tears,

walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Their end is destruction,

their God is their belly,

and their glory in their shame,

with minds set on earthly things.

But our citizenship is in heaven,

and from it we await a Savior,

the Lord Jesus Christ,

who will transform our lowly body

to be like His glorious body,

by the power that enables Him

even to subject all things to Himself.

Therefore, my brothers,

whom I love and long for,

my joy and crown,

stand firm,

thus in the Lord,

my beloved.

Amen.

Great.

Thanks, Joanne and Mandy.

Good morning, everybody.

Great to be back with you again.

If you are new or joining us for the first time,

my name is Kevin,

and it's wonderful to join you

and have you join us this morning.

We are continuing to work through the book of Philippians,

and last week we started this chapter,

which Joanne and Mandy read to us,

and Paul starts off with this warning.

He says,

Watch out for the dogs.

Watch out for the evildoers.

And he's talking about these religious people

that have come to the church in Philippi,

and they are trying to undermine the confidence

that the Philippian Christians

have in Jesus Christ and in the gospel.

And they are trying to distract them

away from Christ and the gospel

to urging them to have a confidence in themselves,

to find their assurance before God

in a do-it-yourself kind of religion,

in their own pedigree,

their resume,

their religious achievements,

and their moral performance.

And Paul says to them,

That's not genuine faith.

Genuine faith are those who glory in Christ Jesus

and not in our own do-it-yourself religion.

He says,

Genuine followers of Jesus

are those who worship by the Spirit of God,

not by tradition or formula or structure.

And Paul then goes on to share his own story,

and he uses this accounting analogy.

And he says,

The thing that I previously considered to be a liability,

faith in Christ Jesus,

I've now come to see as the thing of all surpassing worth.

There is nothing more important than that.

And the things in my life that I previously considered to be really important,

the things I'd put a lot of stock in,

the things I'd really valued in my life,

which was my track record,

my spiritual performance,

the fact that I did the things I was meant to do,

and I didn't do the things I wasn't meant to do,

my previous track record,

which I previously had put so much hope and confidence in,

I've now considered to be,

I've disregarded it.

It's utterly meaningless,

compared to the all-surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus,

my Lord.

And so that's what we looked at last week.

But now what I want us to do is to go and look at the last two verses of that section of Scripture.

And look, because Paul says something very interesting.

And we need to understand what he's saying here in order to understand the next section.

Now I've got to warn you,

today's going to be a little bit theological.

So you're going to have to stick with me for the first half,

and then hopefully we'll get a little bit more practical after that.

So let's just remind ourselves,

the book of Philippians,

Paul is painting this picture of what the Christ-centered,

gospel-shaped life looks like.

And he is saying that the Christ-centered,

gospel-shaped life is one where we are learning to imitate Christ,

to know Him and become like Him,

becoming like Him in His death,

which leads to abundant life.

It's that J-curve that Chris spoke about a few weeks ago.

And we're going to see much of those same themes coming through again.

today.

And so we've got a couple of points today.

The first one is this.

The Christian's strength,

or maybe a better way of saying it is,

the Christian's life.

Firstly, the Christian's life.

Look at verse 8 with me.

Paul says this.

For His sake,

sake of Jesus,

I've suffered the loss of all things.

I count them as rubbish.

In order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him.

That's what we spoke about last week.

And then he says this really interesting thing in verse 10.

He says,

In the Bible,

to know something has a couple of different dimensions.

You know something intellectually.

You understand the facts and how this thing works.

But to know something is also deeper than that.

You also know something practically.

In other words,

in the Bible,

if it doesn't have a practical outworking in your life,

you don't really know it.

You can know it in your head,

but if it doesn't actually become part of your daily conduct,

you don't really know it.

But thirdly,

in the Bible,

to know something is to know something in a deeply intimate and personal way.

There's intellectual way.

There's practical conduct.

But there's also the personal aspect of knowing something.

Which is why so often the Bible actually talks about sexual intimacy as knowing someone.

The Bible says that Adam knew Eve.

And that's not Hebrew euphemism,

because the Bible is a bit shy about talking about sex.

No,

it's a way of talking about how when you really know somebody,

you know them deeply and intimately like a married couple.

In this passage that we looked at last week,

Paul says he has abandoned self-confidence,

self-assurance,

do-it-yourself religion,

in order that he may know Christ.

In order that he may experience Him.

What does it mean to know God?

What does it mean to actually experience God?

Look at what he says.

Look at what it involves.

It means knowing Christ and becoming like Him in suffering.

Look what he says here.

He says,

I've given up self-righteousness,

I've given up my self-religion,

in order that I may know Him,

and the power of His resurrection,

and may share in His sufferings,

becoming like Him in His death.

Alec Mottier was one of the great Bible theologians.

He died about five years ago.

He's one of the great,

great theologians of the last century.

Look at what he writes.

He says this,

We are often surprised when suffering comes our way.

But what did we expect?

Do we want to be made like Christ or not?

Christ-likeness must lead to Calvary.

We must be ready for,

and we cannot hope to avoid,

the downward path of the crucified.

This is the way of the Lord Jesus.

This is the way of Christ-likeness for Paul.

This is the way of Christ-likeness for us.

Friends, in the Bible,

God tells us again and again

that we will never really know God.

We'll never get to experience God deeply and intimately.

We never get to know the depth and the richness

and the power and the beauty of the gospel

until we go through some measure of suffering.

C.S. Lewis famously said that

God often whispers to us in our pleasure,

but He shouts to us.

He gets our attention in our pain.

But it's not just the way that God gets our attention.

It's the way that we get to know God

and actually really experience Him

is through the hardships in life.

The way we get to know the infinite worth of God

and the beauty of God

is through the difficulties of life,

which is why Paul says

not only does he not avoid suffering,

but actually he rejoices in it

because in it he gets to experience

this deep intimacy and closeness with God.

Friends, we've spoken about it so often at Watermark

and we'll say it again into the future, no doubt,

that because we live in a broken world,

suffering is part of our world.

It may come in the form of sickness

or cancer

or the loss of a loved one.

It may come in the form of retrenchment

or just the hardship in life.

It may also come in the form of persecution

or opposition for your faith.

And when you're vocal

and you speak out about the fact

that you're a follower of Jesus,

that will certainly attract opposition.

But when it comes,

the Bible promises

we will be richer for it

because we will know Christ in a way

that we would never have known him before.

But you might have noticed

we actually skipped over something here

because look at what Paul says.

He doesn't just say,

I want to know him in his sufferings.

Look at what he says.

He says,

I want to know him

and the power of his resurrection

and share in his sufferings,

becoming like him in his death,

that by all means possible,

I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Now, what on earth is Paul going on about there?

In the New Testament,

Christ's resurrection from the dead

is one of the most significant

and important events

in the entire New Testament

and in fact, the entire Bible.

Christ's resurrection from the dead

does many things for us

and for our Christian faith.

On the one hand,

it validates Christ's claim

that he's not just a good man

or a good moral teacher.

He's nothing less than

the Son of God himself.

Christ's death on the cross

deals a death blow

to our most significant enemy,

which is death itself.

Christ's resurrection

neutralizes or disarms

our enemy, death.

Christ's resurrection

also means that

if you're a follower of Jesus,

your eternal resurrection,

your resurrection after you die,

the fact that when we die,

we pass from life into death

and back into life again,

Christ's resurrection guarantees that.

It makes it absolutely certain.

We don't just live hoping

that maybe one day

we'll attain resurrection

of the dead.

Christ's resurrection

guarantees it.

It's absolutely certain for us.

And that's why Paul speaks

about this resurrection

from the dead

with such certainty.

He says,

I want to know Christ

through suffering,

through the power

of the resurrection,

even as I long for

and await that day.

But in the New Testament,

the benefit of Christ's

death and resurrection

are not just for that day

when we die and go to heaven.

The benefit of Christ's resurrection

for believers

is not just at Christ's return

that one day we will be

in eternal glory with Him.

Actually, through the work

of the Spirit,

followers of Jesus

get to experience

a measure

of that resurrection

power and life

in our lives

right here today

and this very week.

Look at what Paul says here.

He says,

I want to know Christ

and I want to know

the power of His resurrection

even as I share

in His sufferings,

becoming like Him

unto death.

For the Christian,

that promised new creation,

that promised eternal glory,

that promised life with Christ,

our new resurrection bodies,

which Christ's resurrection guarantees,

doesn't just begin

when we die

and go to heaven.

It actually starts now,

the day that you become

a follower of Jesus.

Because of Jesus' resurrection,

our own resurrection of glory

is not only guaranteed,

it's a measure of it

is given to us

in this lifetime now.

We get to experience

the power of Christ's resurrection.

Gordon Fee,

who's this amazing theologian,

says it like this,

To know Christ now

means first of all

to know the power

of His resurrection,

which is the power

that comes to believers

on the basis

of Christ's resurrection.

And Paul says the same thing

in Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

He says,

As believers,

the same spirit

that raised Jesus

from the dead

is now at work

within us

in our lives.

That spirit

is at work within us

as followers of Jesus.

So,

for the disciples of Jesus,

for followers of Jesus

in 21st century Hong Kong,

the Christian life

is empowered

by the resurrection life

and power

the same resurrection

that raised Jesus

from the dead

through the work

of the Holy Spirit.

Okay,

I told you this was going

to be a little theological,

right?

For the Christian,

a Christian is not just

someone

who looks back

at Jesus' death

and resurrection

on the cross,

believes that fact

in history,

and one day hopes

that when we die,

we'll get to be

with God in heaven.

Though that is true,

a Christian is someone

who because of our faith

in Jesus

and his death

and his resurrection,

gets to experience

something of the power

and the resurrection life

in our lives now,

in Christ,

and we get to walk

with him

even as we walk

towards our eternal destiny.

Friends,

a Christian is not just

someone who needs

to battle out in life,

try and hold on

to our faith

and hope that we make

it through at the end.

No,

if you're a disciple

of Jesus,

God the Holy Spirit

is at work

in your life now,

helping you

give the power

of his resurrection,

helping you to fight sin,

overcome temptation,

giving you faith

in the midst of difficulty,

helping you to live

obediently,

helping you to smash

your idols,

helping you to trust God

in the midst of your

day-to-day trenches

of life.

But,

and this is Paul's point,

this only happens

as we forsake

self-confidence,

do-it-yourself religion,

and we bank our hope

and our confidence

in Jesus

and his death

on the cross.

And in many ways,

this dual nature

and tension

of the Christian life,

one in which we

get to suffer

with God

in his life,

but we're also

empowered with his life,

it's this tension

in the Christian life

in which we find

that we get to know

God deeply.

We walk with God

and we know him

through both

the trials

and the suffering,

but also in his

resurrection power.

Look again at how

Gordon Fee talks

about this tension.

This is quite a long quote,

but it's amazing.

Listen up and pay attention.

Gordon Fee says this,

often in the church,

we find Christians

are uncertain

about this tension,

this tension between

walking with Christ

through suffering,

but also experiencing

his power

and his life.

We tend to think

of it either

as a matter

of either or

rather than

both and.

To know Christ

through the power

of his resurrection

doesn't not mean

participating

in his sufferings,

but the two go together

hand in hand.

Therefore,

there is no sense

of triumphalism,

but neither

does Paul emphasize

suffering

in such a way

as to diminish

the power

of Christ's resurrection

as genuinely present

for us.

Paul knows nothing

of the gloomy

stoicism

we often see

in Christians,

where the lot

of the believer

is basically just

that of battling

it out in the trenches

with little

or no sense

of Christ's presence

and power.

No, for Paul,

the power of Christ's

resurrection

was the greater reality.

In fact,

so certain was Paul

that Christ's resurrection

did in fact happen

and that Christ's resurrection

guaranteed his own

that he could throw himself

into the present

with a kind of

holy abandon,

full of rejoicing

and thanksgiving,

even in the midst

of his sufferings.

Not because he enjoyed

suffering,

but because Christ's

resurrection had given

him a unique perspective

on present suffering,

as well as

an empowering presence

so that the suffering

was transformed

into intimate fellowship

with Christ himself.

Okay, I hope you got

what he's saying.

What Gordon Fee is saying here

is that the gospel

gives us this amazing

perspective on life.

We know that suffering

is going to be part

of our journey

because it is part

of Christ's journey

and we are learning

to become like Christ.

We're learning

to imitate him.

So we're not triumphalistic.

We're not overly confident.

We don't feel like,

yeah, I've got Jesus

on my side.

I've got this thing sorted.

Nothing can touch me.

No, we know that part

of becoming like Christ

is joining him

in his suffering.

We're not surprised

or deflated

when difficulty comes our way

as if something strange

or unexpected

were happening to us.

When something goes wrong,

we don't think,

God, where are you?

How have you abandoned me?

Don't you love me anymore?

We know this is part

of the Christian life.

But we're also not morose.

We also don't feel like

real Christians

or those that are miserable

because if you really love Jesus,

you've just got to suffer

through this life.

No, no, no.

If you walk with Jesus,

you experience something

of his resurrection power,

his joy,

his life,

in the midst of even

the hardship

and the difficulty

that comes our way.

Friends,

to walk with Christ

means experiencing

his triumph over the grave

even as we live

in a broken world

because we live

knowing that this

is not the final journey.

We are making our way

to eternal glory

where there will one day

be no more tears,

no more suffering,

no more pain.

And part of that

resurrection life

is our experience

now in this world.

This is what it means

to know Jesus.

Paul says,

I've abandoned

self-righteousness.

I've abandoned

confidence in myself.

I want to hold on to Christ

that I may know him

and the power

of his resurrection

but also his sufferings

as I make my way

towards eternal glory.

this is the Christian life.

This is the Christian strength.

This is the Christian's confidence.

Friends,

a few weeks ago

we spoke about

in our sermon

about missionaries

and I must confess

I caught myself off guard.

I got a little excited

during that sermon.

I didn't expect

to get so excited.

But I've been thinking

about it the last two weeks

since then.

We spoke about

I said I hope

in Watermark

we can send missionaries

off to Afghanistan

and North Africa

and the Middle East

and North Korea

and some of us

won't get to do that.

Some of us will be missionaries

into Hong Kong.

And I've thought about that

a lot the last two weeks.

I really hope

that that is the case.

Friends,

I really hope

that as Watermark

we become

this radically

missional church

where some of our

young people

are men

and our women

really do sign up

to give their lives away

to the mission of Christ

in foreign nations

and difficult nations.

Friends,

I hope that all of us

as church

sign up

to spend our lives

for the glory of God

in this city

in Hong Kong.

And as we do it

we will know God deeply.

We will know the power

of His resurrection.

Suffering with Him

becoming like Him

in His death

but you will know

something of the resurrection

life and power of God

as we walk with God

in this city.

Friends,

that's only going to happen

as we abandon self-confidence.

As we count

our self-righteousness

as loss

as we hold on

to Christ

and the gospel

like Paul.

Paul says

that for His sake

I have suffered

the loss of all things.

I count them as rubbish

in order that I may

know Him

and the power

of His resurrection.

I may share

in His sufferings

becoming like Him

in His death

that by all means

possible

I may attain

the resurrection

from the dead.

Friends,

maybe I can just ask

if you consider yourself

a Christian,

that's good.

what does it mean

to be a Christian?

What does it mean

to know God?

Do you experience

His life and His power?

Do you walk with Him

through difficulty

and suffering

and hardship?

Do you know God

like this?

Or do you just know

the gospel in your head?

Do you know the Bible stories

and the theology?

You know how

the theology works.

Jesus died for our sins

but do you know Him

experientially?

Is He a part of your life?

Do you know Him

intimately and deeply?

Paul says

this is the Christian life.

Now,

secondly,

the Christian's ambition.

Look at what

Gordon Fee said here.

At the end of this long quote,

he said,

because of the gospel,

Paul is able to

throw himself

into God's call

with a kind of

holy abandon,

full of rejoicing

and thanksgiving,

knowing that

whatever he faces,

he will do so

empowered by Christ.

Well,

look at how

Paul lived this out.

Look at verses

12 to 14 with me.

Paul says this,

he's just spoken about

his followership of Jesus

and his goal

is to know God deeply

and then he says this,

not that I've already

obtained this perfectly

or that I am perfect,

in other words,

that I am complete,

but I press on

to make it my own

because Christ Jesus

has made me His own.

Brothers,

I do not consider

that I've made it my own,

but one thing I do,

forgetting what lies behind

and straining forward

to what lies ahead,

I press on

towards the goal

for the prize

of the upward call

of God in Christ Jesus.

What's Paul

talking about here?

For Paul,

being a Christian

isn't the goal of life.

His goal

is to know Jesus deeply.

And look at

what he says here.

He's just explained

how his conversion

to Christ

radically reorientated

his life.

It changed him.

It gave him

this overwhelming

desire to know Christ

more fully and deeply.

But he doesn't want

to be misunderstood.

He doesn't want to say,

listen,

just because I'm this

radical follower of Jesus,

I've ticked the box

and I'm all done

and now I just

am waiting to die.

He says,

for the rest of my life,

I'm going to keep

on pursuing Christ,

pressing on

to know Him

ever more deeply,

more powerfully,

more experientially.

For Paul,

this is what it means

to be a disciple

of Jesus.

This is Paul's life.

That whatever he's doing,

whether he's making tents,

whether he's traveling,

whether he's preaching

the gospel,

whatever he's doing,

his life revolves

around this wholehearted

pursuit and ambition

to know Christ

more deeply

and more intimately.

You know,

in the first century,

a disciple of Jesus

was somebody

who gave up

their life

in order to

learn from their master

and become like Him.

That was the definition

of a disciple.

Friends,

in the 21st century,

nothing's changed.

A Christian

is not just someone

who prayed a prayer

once upon a time,

who gave their heart

to Jesus,

whatever that means,

and now gets on

with their own life.

A disciple of Jesus

is somebody

who's giving their life,

learning from

their master,

Jesus,

and learning

to become like Him,

learning to know Him

intimately and deeply.

And so look at how

Paul says it here.

Notice how many times

he speaks of this

determined pursuit.

He says,

I press on

to make it my own

because Christ

has made me His own.

Brothers,

I do not consider

that I've already

got there,

but one thing I do,

forgetting what lies behind,

straining forward

to what lies ahead,

I press on

towards the goal

of the upward prize

of knowing Christ Jesus,

my Lord.

I'm sure we've all seen

pictures of athletes,

those who,

they are running

towards the finishing line

and they are straining

their entire bodies,

throwing themselves

over the finish line

in order to win the prize.

No Olympic athlete

that ever

wants to win the prize

just ambles

or just kind of strolls

over the finish line.

with everything

within them,

they throw themselves

over the line

in order that they may

win the prize.

That's the picture

that Paul's got here.

He's saying that

his pursuit,

his ambition

to follow Jesus

is he's pressing on,

he's straining forward,

he's throwing himself

at this goal

to know Christ

and to know Him

more deeply,

which means

that following Jesus

is not a casual affair.

Following Jesus

doesn't happen casually.

To know God

doesn't happen casually.

It's this wholehearted pursuit,

this laser sharp determination

to participate in the story,

to become like Him

even in His death,

to experience the power of God

in order that we may know Him.

That we may know Him.

This is the Christian's ambition,

to know God deeply.

Thirdly and finally,

the Christian's need.

Now,

in verse 17,

Paul is going to show us

what we need

in order to do this.

But let's first look

at verse 18.

Because in verse 18,

Paul actually gives us

a warning.

He's using this analogy

of somebody running the race

and pursuing the goal.

They've got their mind

set on the finish line,

on the goal.

The goal of knowing Christ

deeply.

But Paul says that sometimes

some people have got distracted

along the way.

Look at what he says

here in verse 18.

For many,

of whom I've often told you,

and he's talking here

about believers,

maybe some of Paul's

traveling companions.

Maybe there were people

in the church

that Paul wrote about

in his letters.

He says,

many of whom I've often

previously told you,

but now I tell you

with tears in my eyes,

are now walking

as enemies

of the cross of Christ.

they've abandoned Christ.

They've been distracted

from the goal

of knowing Christ

and they've walked off

on another tangent.

They've given up

on the race

and they're now enemies

of the gospel.

Paul says,

their God

is their belly.

In other words,

rather than worshipping

the beauty of Jesus,

they now worship

their own desires,

their own appetites.

There are things

that have distracted them

and caught them off guard

and they now have been

distracted

by these other desires.

They are slaves

of what grabs

their attention

in the immediate,

here and now.

They've become seduced

by the things around them.

Paul says,

their God

has become their belly,

their desires,

their appetites.

Their glory

and their shame.

The things that they boast

and the things

that they're proud of

are actually their shame.

They boast of their yacht

and their 17 houses

and how well they've done

in their careers.

But actually,

those things,

Paul says,

are actually their shame

because they've traded

insipid,

worthless,

dead idols

for the living God.

That's not something

to boast in.

That's something

to be embarrassed about.

Their minds

are set on earthly things

and their end

is destruction.

Friend,

what a description

of the wasted life.

their God

is their belly,

their glory

and their shame.

Their end

is destruction.

I remember

many years ago

in South Africa,

there was an advert

on TV.

I can't even remember

what the advert was for.

But it's the advert

of a guy,

he starts out

the first of January,

he's got a bit of a belly

and he wants to lose

some weight

and so he decides

I'm going to

start running

and jogging.

So he wakes up

early in the mornings

and he's jogging

along the road

and on the first morning

while he's jogging

and he's huffing

and puffing

and he's sweating,

this beautiful lady

jogs across the road

in the opposite direction

and his mind

gets distracted

and he's looking

at this lady

and he runs

straight into a tree

and he kind of like

falls over flat

and that's the end

of his goal.

Some of us,

friends,

as followers of Jesus,

we have said

I want to know

Christ deeply.

Yes,

I want to follow him.

And we've usually

become distracted

by other things.

Our God has become

rather than the infinite

all-surpassing worth

of Christ,

the maker of heaven

and earth,

the one who put

the cosmos

and the galaxies

and the stars

into space

rather than worshipping him,

we've become distracted

by insipid

and worthless

and useless things.

Our God has become

our appetites,

our gadgets,

our temporary things,

material wealth.

We've traded

the infinite worth

of God

for man-made objects.

We start to glory

in our shame

and our minds

are set

on earthly things

and we are wasting

our lives.

But Paul gives

and he gives us

some help here.

He says that

there's something

that can help us

from being distracted.

Look at what he says

in verse 17.

He says,

brothers join in imitating me.

Keep your eyes

rather on earthly things,

rather on the beautiful lady

that's running past,

rather than the gadgets

and material gain.

Keep your eyes

on those who walk

according to the example

that you have in us.

He's talking about

surround yourself

with brothers and sisters,

those who will glory

not in their self-confidence

but in Christ.

Those who will worship

not according to tradition

or ritual

but who glory in Christ.

He's talking about those

who because they've seen

the infinite worth of Christ

will consider all things

as rubbish

compared to the all-surpassing

worth of Christ.

He says,

find some brothers

and sisters like that

and set your mind on them.

Imitate them.

Let them speak into your life.

Let them help you

fix your eyes on Jesus.

Don't get distracted

by the things around you.

Find brothers and sisters

that will help you

keep your eyes fixed

on Christ

to glory in Jesus,

to worship Christ,

to be those who

who walk by the power

of the resurrection,

those who join Christ

in His sufferings

but do it gladly

because we're walking

with Jesus.

Find friends around us

who will help our eyes

be fixed on Jesus,

who will help us

to know Him

and to not waste our lives.

Friends,

this is why

Christian community

is so important.

The Christian journey

is a communal project,

not an individual project.

It's a communal affair

as we walk with those

who can suffer with us

but who can rejoice with us,

who can pray with us

and be with us.

Friends,

as we come to a close,

let me ask you,

what's going to stop us

wasting our life?

Friends,

if you're a young person

this morning,

you're 18 years old,

you're just finishing

high school,

you're a university student

or maybe you're a fresh graduate,

you've got your whole life

ahead of you,

what's going to stop you

wasting your life?

Friends,

maybe you're 70 years old,

you've retired from work,

you've lived a good life.

What's going to stop you

just sliding into retirement

and gradually slipping

into the grave?

Friends,

do you still have a goal?

Do you still have a vision?

Are you still pursuing Christ

with wholehearted ambition

and pursuit?

Are you still pressing on

and running into Jesus

even at 70 years old?

Friends,

what's going to stop you

wasting the final years

of your life?

Do you have people around you

that can encourage you

to do that?

As we come to a close,

I want to tell you the story

of a man by the name

of William Carey.

William Carey was a British man.

He didn't grow up

in a Christian family.

He was born around 1770,

250 years ago or so.

And he became a follower

of Jesus.

When he finished school,

he was a young man.

He was working as an apprentice

in a shoe-making shop.

And there was another apprentice

with him,

his colleague,

that told him about

the wonder of Jesus.

And William Carey

became a believer.

He discovered the

all-surpassing worth

of Christ.

And Christ grew in his heart

more and more.

And he wanted to give his life

to the things of God.

And so,

he eventually decided

with a bunch of friends,

they started this

missionary society

called the Baptist

Missionary Society.

And William Carey

was one of the first people

in the modern era

to become a missionary

to Asia.

And so,

in 1793,

he leaves London

with his wife

and his three children.

His wife is pregnant

and they catch a ship

to go to Kolkata

in India.

And for the next 40 years,

William Carey

becomes this incredible

missionary to India.

He buries

some of his children there.

But while he's there,

he starts orphanages,

he starts hospitals,

he starts schools,

he starts universities.

He was just

this incredible man.

And one of the things

he was passionate about

was translating the Bible

into the local languages.

And so,

he translated the Bible.

He himself translated

the Bible

into six languages.

Translated into Bengali,

into Hindi,

into the ancient language

of Sanskrit,

into Assamese,

into a bunch of

other Indian languages.

And he oversaw

the translation

of another 26 languages

of the Bible.

Just this incredible,

incredible man.

When he was in his 70s,

he wrote this letter

to his son.

And this is what he writes.

Listen to this letter.

He says,

to his son Jabez.

He says,

I am this day

70 years old,

which alone

is God's mercy

and goodness.

Though on reflection

upon my life,

I find much,

very much,

for which I ought

to be humbled

to the dust.

My sins are innumerable.

My neglect of the Lord's work

has been great.

I have not promoted

his cause

or sought his glory

or his honor

as I ought to have done.

Thus,

my only confidence

is the blood

of Christ alone.

And through him,

I hope to receive

that divine favor.

Still,

I hope to be more

entirely devoted

to his service,

becoming more like him,

demonstrating more

of his grace

in my life,

bringing forth more

of the fruits

of righteousness

to the praise

and the honor

of that Savior

who gave his life

as sacrifice

for my sins.

Friends,

in many ways,

part of the reason

why the gospel

is in Asia

is because of this man,

William Carey.

The man who spent

his life,

who poured out

his life

for the advance

of the gospel.

Friends,

here is a man

that did more

than probably most

of us could ever

dream to do

in ten lifetimes.

He poured out

his life like

a drink offering.

He ran this race

wholeheartedly.

And yet,

did you notice

how humble he was?

Did you know

the appeal

to the gospel?

He speaks about

how at 70 years old,

he reflects

on his life

and he says,

I'm so aware

of my shortcomings.

I'm so aware

of my sin.

And yet,

I'm so aware

of God's grace

and his mercy

and his love to me.

And yet,

even at seven years old,

he's not just

sitting back

and riding it out

into glory.

With an athlete's

determination,

with focus

and attention,

he's still pressing on.

He's straining.

He's throwing himself

into the call of God

with a holy abandon,

knowing that Christ

is with him

and that Christ's

resurrection power

is at work

in his life.

But did you see

the motivation?

It was the gospel.

Here's this man

who had zero confidence

in himself,

zero confidence

in his achievements

for God.

Like Paul,

he could look back

at this long list

of resumes

and say,

I counted all

as nothing,

as loss,

compared to the

all-surpassing worth

of knowing Christ Jesus,

my Lord,

of knowing him

and his sufferings,

but knowing the power

and the resurrection

life in my life.

William Carey,

the Apostle Paul,

hundreds of others

have spent their life

in pursuit

of knowing Christ

and knowing him deeply.

Friends,

let's join them

in this endeavor

as well.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Heavenly Father,

loving Christ,

Holy Spirit,

God,

when we look

at the Apostle Paul,

we look at men

like William Carey

and countless others,

God,

in some ways,

feel so embarrassed

what we've done

with our lives.

God,

we have not

embraced suffering

or hardship

like these men,

but God,

we in many ways

have not experienced

the resurrection

life and power

like them either.

Oh God,

we want to know you deeply.

We want to know you,

God.

Christ,

I pray,

won't you

do a work

of the Spirit

in our hearts,

won't you pour out

your Spirit in us,

that God,

we will suffer

with you,

that we will learn

to learn from you

and become like you,

becoming even like you

in your death

and your suffering,

but even more than that,

becoming like you

in your wholehearted

pursuit of the glory

of God.

Jesus,

help us,

we pray.

Help us to know you

more deeply,

more intimately,

to love you more.

We pray these things

in your wonderful

and your powerful name.