"The Supremacy of Knowing Christ" Philippians 3:1-14

Lord, we ask for your blessing.

Lord, we pray that you would meet us where we are at, exactly where we are at.

Lord, your word is a blessing to us, and it's a blessing in different ways at different times.

We've all come from different weeks, so Lord, whether this, your word will be an encouragement

to us this morning, will be a conviction to us, will exhort us, will comfort us, whatever

it may be, maybe all of those things. Lord, would you do it, and do it by your spirit.

Lord, we thank you for this day where we remember the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Holy Spirit

given to us. Lord, let us trust that you are active amongst us, even now. We pray this in

Christ's name. Amen. If you have one of these, turn with me. Page 14 will be on 14 and a little

bit of page 16. Before we jump into God's word, a bit of an introduction. So during World War

II, there was a wealthy Serbian man who was a spy for German intelligence, a man named Dusko

Popov. He hated the Nazis. So what does a Nazi spy do? One that hates the Nazis, he goes to

MI6 and offers his service to the British. And he becomes one of the most valued spies for

the Allied forces. In the late summer of 1941, MI6 sends him to New York. He has some very

valuable information and he meets with J. Edgar Hoover himself, the head of the FBI, a very,

very famous, maybe infamous figure in American history, meets with J. Edgar Hoover and shares

with him some key intelligence saying that there would be a likely attack by the Japanese on Pearl

Harbor. Someplace, well, it wasn't so much Pearl Harbor as it was in Hawaii on the naval base, so

maybe it was Pearl Harbor. For whatever reason, whether J. Edgar Hoover decided not to pass it along

or he did pass it along and it got nixed, that information was not acted upon. That warning

was not heeded. And five months later, Imperial Japan made a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor,

the American fleet there, and just over 2,400 souls perished.

Warnings are valuable things. They're valuable things to consider, particularly when they come from

a trusted and reliable source. However, I mean, we often struggle with warnings, and for a variety of

reasons. They tend to create more anxiety than they do alleviate anxiety. Even when we recognize that

following a warning would be beneficial, we are hesitant to heed the warning, to deviate from our status

quo. And we do it, again, for all sorts of different reasons. And when we ignore such a warning that turns out to be true,

is this not the source of great regret?

A lot of frustration.

So a couple thoughts. Why do we struggle with warnings?

The first, put just very practically, in our day, we are very oversaturated with warnings and polemical discourse.

Social media, both the source and

the means by which such warnings and polemics are amplified,

it's just, it's a non-stop 24-hour news cycle.

Social media, all sorts of media,

just kind of washing over us. Warnings, watch out for this, don't do this,

avoid these plastics, avoid these foods, avoid these people, avoid these politics,

and it continues on and on and on.

And so, we can become inoculated with such warnings.

But the second reason, and I'm sure there's more than just two, but I'll just offer a couple.

The second reason, I think, is a much deeper human problem, why we don't heed warnings.

Warnings cause confrontation.

And confrontation can be very uncomfortable, for it disrupts

the way we live, and oftentimes our comfort.

We are told we are doing something wrong,

or what we are doing will lead to some kind of danger or pain or discomfort.

We think changing could be even more

uncomfortable than

if we just kept things the way they are.

We know that behavior and habits,

certain ones that do not lead to flourishing,

need to be stopped.

Reform needs to happen in our lives.

But change is costly, and change is scary.

And we can be all too excellent at

convincing ourselves that the source of these warnings,

they're not to be believed.

In the same way that Hoover, for whatever reason,

seemed to disbelieve this Dushko Popov.

But there's a place for warnings and polemics.

It's a huge part, actually, of the Christian faith.

From the very beginning, we'll see this in our text,

but if you go through the Gospels,

if you go through the Acts of the Apostles,

there is a bombardment of false teachings

and pushback against the Christian faith,

and against Jesus as the Messiah,

and against this picture of what human flourishing ought to be.

And it constantly needs to get battled and pushed back.

There has to be an offensive and a defensive

with the Christian faith.

Heresy has existed all throughout Christian history.

It continues to exist to this day.

The Apostle Paul, we come to our text now,

the Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian church in prison,

himself put in prison in a very unjust way.

A lot of leaders that saw Paul as a threat threw him in jail

or created the environment for him to be imprisoned.

And he is writing to this church he loves in Philippi,

in Macedonia, present-day Macedonia.

And his desire is to see them flourish.

And if you haven't been following along,

or if you just need a bit of a refresher,

because we haven't been in Philippians for a couple weeks,

the letter is a joyful one where Paul is really holding up the life of Christ

as the exemplary life to follow.

He loves these people.

He wants them to grow in their maturity.

And now he gets to a section where he is actually going on the defensive,

so to speak, and defending the faith

and issuing warnings for the church

to not just hear, but to act upon.

So we'll break up our text into three sections.

We'll look at a warning,

we'll look at a reflection,

and we'll look at a call.

So we'll jump right in the text.

We'll start in verse one.

And we'll continue on from there.

This is what it says.

Finally, my brothers,

it's a bit of a catch-all term for brothers and sisters.

It's a term of affection for a group of people.

Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.

To write the same things to you

is no trouble to me,

and is safe for you.

I'll stop there before we continue on.

Paul does not immediately begin with warnings.

Instead, he offers this affectionate reminder to the church

to find joy in Christ.

The letter of the Philippians is called

the joy-filled letter,

or the letter of joy,

or the epistle of joy.

And we see once again Paul making reference

to the importance of joy within the Christian life,

and specifically,

the joy that is found in Christ.

And I think he is reminding the people of this

because such joy in Christ

can easily fade away in the face of such difficulties,

especially some of the difficulties

that we're going to see in the next few verses.

Rejoicing in the Lord.

A reminder.

And I think it's important for us to remember as well

that Paul is reminding the people

to have joy in the Lord

because joy is less of this feeling that we have

and more of a practice

that we need to foster in our own lives.

It is a choice oftentimes

to embrace joy,

which seems like, you know,

willing ourselves to have a feeling

seems a bit counterintuitive.

It will make sense as we continue on,

but Paul is really imploring these people,

these Philippian men and women,

to practice having joy in Christ,

to embrace it,

to fashion their life around it,

to turn towards Christ himself.

In fact, he'll continue on,

again, this idea of joy

that's marbled throughout Philippians

and especially our section.

It is a reminder that joy in Christ

isn't just a disposition of the heart,

but it's actually the means

and source of stability

for the entire Christian life.

So with that as a bit of an intro

that Paul reminds his,

a reminder rather,

that Paul reminds the church,

he gets right into the warnings,

verses two and three.

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.

Three warnings

about three types of false teachers.

Now, they could represent

three distinct groups

or just one collective group.

The reality is,

the text, Paul's a bit ambiguous.

He is not specifying

who these people are.

They could be, again,

three different groups.

They could be a bit of a catch hall.

We're not exactly sure

what he's referring to,

but what we can discern

is that regardless of who

these people are,

these false teachers

are ones that are Jewish leaders

or teachers connected

to the Old Testament

or the Old Covenant,

but also connected to the church.

and they have profoundly obscured

the freedom that the gospel offers.

And this freedom,

particularly to non-Jewish Christians.

It would seem that at the very least

that they are promoting a teaching

that says Gentiles,

in order to become Christians,

need to first become Jews

or at least adopt a ton

of the traditions.

They're imploring the church,

especially, I guess, pagan men,

that they ought to be circumcised,

which is the covenantal sign

of ethnic Israel

that we read about

in the story of Abraham.

Paul is having none of it.

He's having none of it.

He states that they are not promoting

the biblical view of circumcision at all.

And there's a bit of a play on words here

because in the original language,

the word for circumcision

would be to cut around.

Obviously, that's what happens.

But when he says mutilators of the flesh,

he is saying they are cutting off.

That they have such a messed up,

broken, profoundly obscure view

of what circumcision is,

what it was meant to be,

that they aren't ones that cut around

but actually cut off completely.

And there's a bit of a double meaning here as well

because not only are they ones that cut off,

they dismember,

but in promoting such a theology

and a practice,

people that follow them

are dismembered from the church.

Bit of a double meaning here as well.

Again, Paul is having,

he is having none of it.

He states that they are not promoting

this biblical view of circumcision

for that sign in the flesh

of being included in the covenant community

has always had to include

also a circumcision of the heart.

What is that?

I mean, to sum it up,

there's more to be said about it,

but it's the trust in God

and in his promises,

to have faith in the one true God.

They are misreading the Bible,

misunderstanding how God relates to his people,

and misleading the Philippians

into a spiritual,

a kind of spiritual death.

Paul refutes this in no uncertain terms

in verse three where he says,

for we are the circumcision,

not them.

We are the circumcision

who worship by the spirit of God

and glory in Christ Jesus

and put no confidence in the flesh.

The real circumcision,

the real mark of being

in God's covenant community

is the one who worships

and serves the Lord God by faith,

empowered by the spirit.

I mean, he sums it up in verse three.

You could double click any of these

and it would be well worth your time,

but nevertheless,

the real mark of being

in the covenant community

is the one who worships

and serves the Lord by faith,

empowered by the spirit,

living for the glory of Christ

and therefore not putting confidence

in the outer signs

as if they are enough,

as if we curry God's favor

by doing merely the things

that he has asked us to do,

but having hearts

that are so self-centered,

not turned towards him.

It is the opposite of what he wants.

And what is remarkable here

is that he is certainly,

certainly including non-Jews

who are Christians

into this company of people

that are called the circumcision.

People that have not been circumcised,

people that aren't a part of Israel

are now called a part of the circumcision

because of faith,

because they are circumcised

in their hearts.

And just in case that wasn't clear enough,

Paul then gives his spiritual

and ethnic and cultural

and traditional bona fides,

so to speak.

It's as if he's saying,

listen, if this was the way to God,

just merely following traditions,

I'd be at the front of the line.

This is why he says this.

Look with me at verse four.

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,

the tribe of Benjamin,

a Hebrew of Hebrews,

as to the law of Pharisee,

as to zeal,

a persecutor of the church,

as to righteousness

under the law,

blameless.

Verse seven,

but whatever gain I had,

whatever gain I had,

I counted as loss

for the sake of Christ.

Before we go on,

let me just say this.

I think this is a very important thing,

especially given the past year we've had

and how our public discourse

has played out

since the terror attacks

in Israel in October of 2023.

This text is not an anti-Jewish one.

This is not Paul turning on his people.

This is not a stick to beat

unbelieving Jews over the head with.

We can't disregard

God's people,

Israel.

Paul has not turned on his people.

Paul is not disregarding

the entirety of the Old Testament.

He is not saying

that to be a Jew matters not at all.

Paul is saying

what the Old Testament

has always said.

That is,

salvation is by faith.

It's not in keeping Sabbaths.

It's not in keeping holidays.

It's not in keeping

dietary laws

and the giving of alms

and charity.

What Paul's saying here

is that

there's a proper way

of ordering

our loves

and our lives

that result in a life of faith

in the Messiah

rather than in the things

or the people

or the status

or the ethnicity

or whatever it may be.

So,

Paul is in line

with Jesus here.

If you remember,

Jesus in Luke 14,

Luke 14:26

verse 26,

he says this.

I would say equally,

maybe even more provocative

than what Paul is saying here.

If anyone,

this is Jesus,

quote,

if anyone comes to me

and does not hate

his own father

and mother

and wife

and children

and brothers

and sisters,

yes,

and even his own life,

he cannot be my disciple.

I think what Paul is doing

is using a type

of Semitic hyperbole.

Paul is saying

something very similar

to what Jesus is saying.

The reality is

Paul doesn't hate

his Jewish identity.

He is one.

He can't change

who he is.

He is not disparaging

of his ethnicity,

but he's simply stating

that he does not place

any,

any eternal confidence

in it.

His ethnicity

and heritage

are therefore

appropriately ordered.

In fact,

Paul says,

he continues on,

right,

in verse 7,

if you will read that again,

but whatever gain I had.

So he gives quite the list,

but then he says,

whatever,

which is a bit of a catch-all

for everything,

whatever it may be,

whatever that I have

put my gain in,

I count it as a loss.

He is further broadening

this list to include

anything that we could

possibly put our

eternal hope in.

Many of us in this room

have worked extremely hard

to obtain their education,

their career

to build businesses,

to serve faithfully

as public servants

or in the armed forces,

have strived really hard

reading dozens of books

on how to be a good parent

and a spouse,

how to create a home

that nurtures

and gives life,

to care for people,

to give charity.

These are all beautiful

and wonderful pursuits.

However,

if we elevate them

to a position

of eternal significance,

they are,

as Paul says

in verse 8,

rubbish.

And I will just say this,

the polite,

lovely people

at Crossway,

I guess they came up

with the English

Standard Version,

very nice way

of saying excrement,

but it's not even excrement

that they say.

It's a bad word,

starts with an S.

Like it is,

Paul is really

saying something

like listen,

anything,

anything apart from Christ

that you put your hope in,

it is excrement.

And you know

what it's supposed to do?

It's supposed to make you

feel uncomfortable.

And maybe some of you

are feeling uncomfortable.

Maybe if I actually said it,

you'd really say it.

I'm not going to say it.

But you're supposed

to feel uncomfortable with it.

What, my family?

My career?

The business I've built?

The charity

that I'm a part of?

I mean,

you name it.

Think about it.

Take a minute.

Think about that thing

that you value,

that you're proud of.

By the way,

it's not bad

to be proud of something

that you've worked towards,

but that you've put

an extra degree

of hope in.

Paul is saying,

you've turned it

into excrement.

It's a very jarring thing,

he is saying.

So he's warning

the Philippians

to avoid

these false teachers.

And really,

anybody,

it's not just

the Jewish false teachers,

it's any ideology,

any philosophy,

any other religion,

anything

that is pushing you

away from Christ

and towards

a false

sense of

eternal hope

to avoid

such teachers.

false

spirituality,

it devalues

Christ,

and it

will have the effect

of elevating

the self

to a very

disgusting

level.

So what follows

is a reflection.

Paul will,

he'll hone in

on what it means

to have

properly ordered

loves

and a properly

ordered life

and a properly

ordered

whole series,

a hierarchy of hope,

so to speak.

showing us

that the Bible

is incredibly

wise

and actually

this is for

our joy.

What it does

is it relieves

us of the

burdens we carry,

it frees us

to live

and love

in a properly

ordered way.

So,

the second point

of reflection.

Look with me

at verses 7

and we'll read

to verse 11.

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

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

may share

his sufferings,

becoming like him

in his death

that by any

means possible

I may attain

the resurrection

from the dead.

The only gain

that will satisfy

our deepest

longings,

that will give

us real,

true,

genuine,

eternal

satisfaction

is Christ.

It's Christ.

To have Christ

is to be united

to him,

to know him

is of surpassing

worth.

Again,

Paul,

right,

just previously

is saying,

if anybody

has confidence

in the flesh,

it's me.

Boom,

boom,

boom,

boom,

boom,

boom,

boom,

boom,

boom.

All of it

is nothing

compared to

knowing Christ,

to being found

in him.

This is because

we are created

to know Christ

and be known

by him,

to have a

relationship

with the living

God,

to be his

friend.

And if that

seems old hat

or this is just

a classic thing

that is said

in church,

I think it's

because the

church has been

lazy in reducing

the entirety of

the Christian life

into the phrase

it's not a

religion,

it's a

relationship.

But let's just

take a moment

to consider how

bold of an idea

this truly is,

that God has

made a way for

us to be his

friend.

human beings

are deeply

relational.

There's no way

around it.

A few weeks

back,

maybe you'd

remember if

you were here,

I talked about

the real life

Mowgli,

the story that

the Jungle Book

was written

about.

It was a

boy that

was lost

in the woods

and was raised

by a pack

of wolves.

No human

interaction

and as a

result,

never learned

to talk.

The best

he learned

to do

was smoke.

He died

in his

early 30s.

It was a

really horrendous

story.

But he didn't

have that

human relational

component.

And really,

there is no

way around it.

We are built

to know

and be

known.

We cannot

exist in a

healthy way

without meaningful

relationships

where bonds

of deep

friendship and

camaraderie are

developed and

are reciprocal.

And when we

don't have that,

we suffer.

We have all

the money we

want,

we have all

the opportunities

we want.

If our

relationships are

broken down,

we suffer in a

very, very

deep way

to be vulnerable

with people,

to have

friendships that

are deep in

their depth.

This is what it

means to be

human.

This is how God

has designed

us.

And so the

Bible is

incredibly wise

in this regard.

from the opening

paragraphs of

Genesis,

we see God

creating human

beings and

then creating

them to be

together.

And not only

that, the

implication of the

garden account

in Genesis and

then all of what

comes after that

is God walking

with man in this

relationship.

In the cool of

the day, there's

this really

profound picture of

what it means to

know God and be

known by him.

And because of

the fall, because

of sin entering

into the human

condition, almost

the entirety of

the Bible, I'd

say the entirety

of the Bible is a

story about how

we're trying to

figure out a way

to connect with

God again.

Except we fail

time and time

and time and

time and time

over.

Why?

Because we,

although we know

our deep desire

to know God and

be known by him,

our attempts to

achieve it are

futile.

we treat people

as a means to

an end.

We snub our

nose at the

lordship of

Christ, of

God.

To put it

another way,

humanity has

disordered loves.

They have put

trust and hope

and security in

created things and

not the creator.

And the result is

a further

perpetuation and

alienation from

God.

The Bible describes

this as enmity

with God.

We are not his

friends but actually

hostile enemies.

So the only way

that this is

remedied is not

through continual

willpower but

through the

provision that

only God can

give, that God

himself will make

us right.

or put another

way, that we

would have

right standing

before him.

Only he can

deal with our

disordered loves.

Only he can

make unrighteous

people righteous.

Only he can

mend what was

torn.

Only he can

clean what is

stained.

Only he can

offer his

friendship to

his enemies.

He makes the

first move.

He takes the

initiative in all

of this.

It's really a

remarkable thing.

And our

response is to

receive it by

faith.

James chapter

James 2 · chapter mention

2 reflecting on

the life of

Abraham says

that Abraham

trusted in God

or believed in

God and it was

counted to him as

righteousness.

And Abraham was

called a friend of

God.

A human being

is a friend of

the infinite

uncreated one.

It really is a

remarkable thing to

meditate upon and

to dwell on.

This is what God

offers.

This is what God

has done.

And this is what

Paul is getting at

here.

The ultimate prize and

desire of the human

heart is friendship

with God and this is

the surpassing worth

that Paul is talking

about in verse 8.

This is the high

point of our

existence.

And it is so

ultimate, it is so

ultimate that the

power of the

resurrection,

sharing in the

sufferings of

Christ, being like

him in his death,

even having Christ's

righteousness imputed

to us, him making

us right, it serves

the purpose of

knowing God.

The high point is

knowing God.

All this stuff is

interconnected.

I don't want to

start parsing out

all of this, but

knowing God, and I'll

just say this,

living forever without

knowing God isn't

heaven.

It is a type of

hell.

So it would be

great where we

were risen from the

grave, never to

taste death again,

but then we continue

on in this life.

Maybe we'll make

friends, maybe we

won't, maybe we'll

suffer loss, maybe we

won't, maybe we'll

be disappointed, maybe

we will hurt people,

but it continues on.

We don't know God,

we're not known by

him.

That isn't heaven,

that's a type of

hell.

So you see, the

ultimate prize isn't

the resurrection, the

resurrection leads us

to the ultimate prize,

which is Christ

himself, friendship

with God.

Years and years ago, I

had a layover in

Paris.

I was young and

single, I didn't, I

had a bit of money,

it was 11 p.m.

till 8 a.m., I was

going to see the

sites, I was going to

meet locals, this was

going to be great.

I was going to

take the train down

to whatever station

is at the Notre

Dame Cathedral, I

looked at it, it's

beautiful, it's all

lit up, and like

within an hour I'm

cold, I'm lonely, I'm

hungry, I have nobody

to hang out with, I

feel like this is not

what I envisioned.

We could go to the

grandest place in the

world, paradise on

earth, or in the

heavens, and if we are

alone without Christ, I

am telling you it will

not be worth it.

We are made, we are

made to know him, this

is what the pinnacle of

life is all about.

The prize is Christ,

being friends with

him, everything flows

to this, everything

flows from this, this

is reality itself, he

has made it possible

through the cross, he

has mended what has

been torn, again

healed what has been

diseased, and all of a

sudden we begin to see

what a rightly ordered

life can look like.

What a prize, God

himself, a friendship

that will never be

reneged, we will never

experience betrayal,

there will always be joy

and gladness and love to

be enjoyed for eternity.

The best friendship you've

had, and the best moment

in that friendship you've

ever had, it is on

steroids forever, it is

wonderful, it's something

that we can't quite

comprehend, but this is

the promise made to us

in Christ Jesus.

So, if we can consider

the warnings again, we

begin to see how this is

something that we can't

purchase, this is

something that we can't

have because we've amassed

so much wealth, this is

not something that we can

build towards, or give

towards, it's not a

transaction whereby we go

to God with more black

than red, or we say, I

have done everything in

the flesh, I am

circumcised.

We can't get that because

it is not our initiative

that connects us with God,

but his with us.

So what does this do?

It obliterates boasting,

it obliterates pride.

And to teach something

else, these false

teachers, maybe some of

us, God forbid your

pastor, but to teach

something else is hellish,

and it is evil, and it is

dismembering.

It promises something that

can never deliver, it robs

us of joy and delight in the

friendship with God himself

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God, we can also begin to

see that this really is a

joyful message.

What is being offered is not

one of difficulty, because

what we're going to see

next, right, in verses, in

verse 10 and 11, Paul is

talking about suffering like

Christ and even sharing in

his death, that doesn't seem

like a joyful thing, but what

ends up happening is that our

priorities shift, and such a

friendship marks our life, and

we see life through the lens of

friendship, eternal friendship

with Christ Jesus, not through the

broken lens of this world, and we

get the honor and privilege of

participating in the

reconciliation of the world.

We begin to be the tools in the

master's hands.

God uses us to achieve his means,

not because he needs us, but

because we get to participate in

it.

We get to see people come to this

beautiful realization as well.

But we live in this world, and when

the rubber hits the road, again,

Paul is reminding this church,

because the joy is almost certainly

faded, when the rubber hits the

road, we struggle to trust in

Christ. We struggle to believe in

his promises.

We struggle to believe that his

friendship is really on offer, and

is really ours forever, that he is

enough to satisfy us.

So Paul, in this final section, will

help us to recognize and admit our

frailty, and look to Christ for

help, and it really is a call to

look upwards.

And this will be our final section,

and we'll wrap it up with this.

Let me read verses 12 to 16.

Page 16, if you're following along.

Not that I have already obtained

this, or 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 my own, but one thing I

do, forgetting what lies behind and

straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal for the

prize of the outward call of God in

Christ Jesus.

Listen, we have heavenly citizenship.

If you have put your faith in Christ, if

you are baptized in him, you have

heavenly citizenship.

It's a wonderful thing, but you live in

an earthly reality.

We have a great day, and we have a great

time to be swayed, and we have a great

time to be swayed, and tempted to trust in

ourselves, and this world, and the promises of

wealth, and pleasure, and comfort, instead of

Christ himself.

This is our reality until the day we breathe our

last, or Christ comes home.

And such a life, it cannot be lived in

perfection.

It will be full of setbacks and slip-ups.

And Paul recognizes this.

Thank you to Paul, but thank you to the

Lord for recognizing our continued frailty, even

though we are saved.

And what does he say?

He doesn't give in to defeatism.

He says, no, no, no, I press on to make this

reality my own.

And this, I think, is potentially one of the

greatest promises and realities for us today.

Verse 12, I press on to make my own.

Here it is.

Because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

The language here is that he has taken hold of

me.

If you remember the Apostle Paul, he's on his

way.

He was Saul of Tarsus at the time, the

disciple of Gamaliel, the Pharisee full of

zeal on his way to Damascus to imprison

believers, bring them back to Jerusalem to

suffer, maybe to be killed.

And Jesus knocks him on his rear end and

takes hold of his life.

Takes hold of his life.

And Paul is saying, Christ has done this.

And for anybody in Christ, that's what has

happened to you.

He has taken hold of you.

Before you could take hold of him, he has

taken hold of you.

And friends, this means that he has a grip on

your life that is far greater than your grip

on him.

And in response, what do we do?

We seek to obey him from that place of love and

security.

Because Christ Jesus has taken hold of the

Apostle Paul, Paul can now take hold of Jesus.

He has taken hold of Jesus.

He has taken hold of Jesus.

Pursuing his prize, which is Christ himself.

It's all by faith in what Christ has done.

The call of God is to himself as a prize.

This is it.

This is the Christian faith.

It really is that.

It is not the call to a paradise where we will

just have hedonistic pleasures forever on tap.

That is not the call.

The call is a friendship with the one true God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, where we will know

the divine love and we will see him with an

unveiled face.

Throughout church history, this has been called

the beatific vision.

That we will know God and be known by him and we

will be in his presence without a veil, without

anything separating us.

We will just be in his presence.

And it will be the culmination of our existence.

So you see, going back to the warning,

this warning isn't like a downer.

This warning is a gift to us.

It's a reminder that, listen, putting our hope

and our strength in the flesh, whatever that may be,

it will not bring us joy.

It will not spill over into eternity.

It will not help us to flourish.

And it certainly won't cause us to see God's face

and to enjoy him forever.

So friends, let us not waste our time with these things.

The things of this world, they cannot provide us with

the presence of God.

Let us consider them as a loss.

Let us properly order our lives by God's strength

and understand that the real worth in life,

the real surpassing glory and worth of what it means to be a human being

is knowing Christ and being known by him.

So let us heed these warnings

and remember that Christ has made us his own.

And take that to the bank, okay?

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Lord, we are a frail bunch.

We read your word.

We are gripped by your gospel.

And the reality is by Monday, maybe Tuesday, maybe this afternoon,

we will begin to forget.

We will have a lapse in our memory.

We'll begin to trust in other things.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Lord, remind us every day that you have taken hold of us

and that out of that we can take hold of you,

that the friendship that you have promised us in eternity begins right now

and that you will help us as we strain towards heaven,

as we look towards you and remember that you have called us up.

Lord, help some of us, maybe all of us,

to not dwell in the past,

whether that is in regret or in pride,

but instead let us look forward.

Let us look to Christ.

What a wonderful prize.

What a wonderful gift that you have given us.

Friendship with you.

Amen.