Phil 1:1-16 - Taking Stock

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This morning we're going to look at Philippians chapter 3.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

I'd like to read the first three, the first 16 verses.

Philippians 3, beginning at verse 1, and I'll read down through verse 16.

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.

To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

Look out for the dogs.

Look out for the evildoers.

Look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

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.

As to the law, a Pharisee.

As to zeal, a persecutor of the church.

And as to 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 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.

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've 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 towards the goal.

For the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Let those of us who are mature think this way.

And if anything you think otherwise.

God will reveal that also to you.

Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

One of these days my voice will clear.

At least in theory.

You know, this is the time of year where.

And I've been, you see it.

I've been seeing it on social media.

And seeing it all over the place.

It's just that time of year where we all kind of want to take stock.

Of, you know, looking back on the last year.

How's it gone?

And thinking ahead to the new year.

You know, and this is why at this time of year.

We make New Year's resolutions.

We don't make Fourth of July resolutions.

We make New Year's.

Because it's the end of the old beginning of something new.

And I know that there's a lot of different thoughts and ideas about resolutions.

Some people just don't like to make resolutions.

You know, some people do every year.

Some people don't think much of them.

Because it seems almost like an exercise in futility.

And I use that word exercise.

Because it's probably one of those very common themes in some of our resolutions.

You know, it's the season that if you watch television, you're going to see.

Really, you've already seen it.

The exercise machine advertisements are going to multiply.

All the diet programs are going to multiply.

And you're going to see that heavy on TV.

And then what that's going to do, it's going to last for a little bit.

But it's actually going to supply eBay with a lot of new merchandise come February.

Because, you know, it just doesn't get us very far.

The self-help section in the bookstore and on Amazon is by far the most popular.

But again, where does it get us?

You know, regardless of hair color, exercise, makeup, diets, or spandex if the diets don't work.

Or hair transplants, self-management techniques, or other self-help.

All that does for most of us is just increase our frustration with life.

And so, New Year's resolutions are really a waste of time.

And besides, we're grace people.

God loves us unconditionally.

And he accepts us exactly the way we are.

So, here you have it.

That said, you know, if I don't have any resolve to be different,

maybe I've gotten too content with this broken self that I am.

You know, maybe I've come to the point where I've got this very unhealthy sense of contentment

for sinful patterns in my life.

Ways that I damage relationships and other wasteful things.

Yes, I am to accept myself fully as I am, as the broken self that I am.

That is very true.

But yet, am I to be content?

The Bible says, be content in all circumstances.

But does that mean that I have to be content

in all of this junk that still seems to run rampant through my life?

I think the gospel calls me to something different.

Yes, the gospel says it calls me just as I am.

And I am embraced just as I am.

But the gospel comes never to leave me as I am.

The gospel comes to take me somewhere.

And God, because what Christ has come to do in his work of redemption

is to make all things new and all things includes me.

And he's not waiting until the last day when he comes again

and I enter into heaven.

The process has begun.

And it's continuing.

And so this is his desire for me.

And I love in this passage how Paul marries two glorious concepts.

He marries this idea of my full acceptance and embracing of the Father

through the work of Christ alone.

That I am righteous in Christ.

He takes that concept and then weds it with a passion

to be something different.

Because you see, in the first part of this chapter,

there's a lot of passive ideas, passive concepts

where he wants to be found in the righteousness of Christ.

Not because of my works, but I want to be found in Christ.

But then as soon as this, in his next breath,

he says, I press on.

And so how does all this work?

Well, this is what I want us to look at

in this passage this morning.

And so I want us to see a couple of things.

First, we are going to look at this reality of Christ.

The reality of who we are because of the work of Christ alone.

But then secondly, we're going to look at

then the resulting call to pursue Christ.

And then finally after that, we're going to look at

at least I'm going to give you a window

into some personal resolutions

that I think flow from these words of Paul.

First, let's look at the reality of being in Christ.

You know, in the first six verses of this chapter,

I really, this is one of my favorite chapters

in all of Scripture.

Because in these first six verses,

what Paul does, he first gives us a warning

about some false gospels.

In one of those false gospels,

the primary one is putting confidence in the flesh.

And that is simply that I'm going to trust me

to make everything happen.

I'm going to trust me to be good enough.

I'm going to trust me to gain my acceptance before God.

And he calls those who promote such a gospel

dogs.

And he's not using dogs the way we use them,

the word.

We use the word dogs as people.

He's talking about mongrels.

These are beasts that are hated.

So we're not talking about your little pet schnauzer.

This is a junkyard dog who's vicious

and will devour you.

But then he goes through, starting in verse four,

then he goes through his own testimony

of how he used to put confidence in the flesh.

And he said, I did it better than anybody.

He said, I've got the pedigree.

I was a Hebrew of Hebrews.

I was no Johnny-come-lately convert.

I was, I can trace my lineage

all the way back to the tribe of Benjamin.

He said, I was, I was zealous for the faith.

But then he makes this statement and he says,

as to the righteousness which is in the law,

blameless.

How many of you could say that about yourself?

Blameless?

Not me.

Paul was the goodest of the good.

But then he makes this amazing statement.

He said he found something else.

In all of this other stuff,

he said, I counted his loss

because of the surpassing value

of knowing Christ.

And what was it he found in Christ?

He found righteousness

or rightness.

He was right.

He was good.

He was perfect.

He was beautiful.

He was as he should be.

That's righteousness.

And he found that in Christ.

Not in his own works.

Not in what he did.

He found it through faith.

It was passive.

It was something he received.

That he was in Christ right.

It means he was good enough.

It means he was beautiful enough.

It means he was perfect enough

that he would have God's full acceptance,

approval, and delight.

Wow.

Wow.

You know what?

I'm not right.

And I'm not.

Just in and of myself.

And I think this is the common experience

for all of us.

We feel guilty.

When we do things

or when we don't do things,

when we fail

to keep up that standard,

we know.

We sense it down inside.

We're not right.

But it's not just that.

There's something else.

It's not just guilt

that makes us feel not right.

It's shame.

Because you go and look in the mirror

in the mornings

and you,

what you see

looking back at you

is not right.

You see all the flaws,

all the mistakes,

places where there used to be hair

and now you see places

where there is hair

where there shouldn't be.

And you,

you see parts sagging out

and,

but that's just the physical.

And we work hard

at hiding all of that.

But it's also that behavior,

the words that we say,

the things that we do,

we're just not right.

And we know it.

So what do we do with that?

Well,

our options are

basically two.

The first one is

you fix it yourself.

You become right.

You change your behavior

to be good.

You fix all the flaws

so that you can be beautiful.

Or you just try to

cover them over

and deny that they're there.

It's kind of the

Photoshop approach

to life.

that at least

I can make a good impression

out there

for everyone else

to see.

I can fix myself

well enough

that when people

look at me,

they'll approve

and accept me.

But we still know

the truth.

It doesn't get us

very far.

It doesn't get us

very far.

There's another option.

You can get it

from somebody else.

And this is what Paul did.

As good as he was

and as well as he did,

he could not be good enough.

He could not stand

before God

and say,

I've done enough.

But what he could do

is he could stand

before God

with what he received.

You see,

he was clothed

with rightness.

It was kind of like

being covered

with all of your

dirt and your filth

and your dirty clothes

and ragged pants

and shirt.

All of that is covered

with glorious,

beautiful wedding garments

that you didn't make,

you didn't purchase,

were given to you

and were put on you

by another.

And now,

in those garments,

we're beautiful.

In that rightness,

I am beautiful.

It's amazing, isn't it?

It's amazing, isn't it?

It's amazing.

It's amazing.

It's amazing.

It's amazing.

That's who we are

in Christ.

That's what we get

from Christ

and we receive it

by faith.

That is the gift,

the surpassing value

of knowing Christ

that I can quit working.

I can quit covering up.

I can just enjoy

the pleasure

and delight

and approval

and acceptance

of this holy God.

And that's the gospel.

It has nothing to do

with what we do.

It has nothing to do

with what we can earn.

It's everything to do

with Christ.

Coming to Christ means

I simply quit

this self-centered,

self-focused,

self-sufficient,

self-justification.

And I rest

in a righteousness

which is given to me

that is enough

and will always be enough.

And I'll never be,

when I get to heaven

and stand before Christ,

I will not then

be more righteous

than I am right now.

And it's all because

of Christ.

Think about that.

Every time I think about this,

it just,

it blows me away

because when I look back

at all my failure,

all of the crud

that I can see,

especially you take stock

and look back

over a whole year

and there's plenty there.

But God,

the Holy One,

looks upon me

with delight.

He's not.

He's pleased.

because of Christ.

And we have to get this.

This cannot be diluted.

If we don't get this,

we miss everything.

I stand before God

and I am pleasing to him

because someone else

was righteous

and gave that credit to me.

Now,

that is glorious.

But Paul doesn't stop there.

He moves on.

That truth,

that wonderful theology

does something to Paul.

It doesn't make him

just sit back on his laurels

and do nothing.

It drives him.

It energizes him

for a whole new work,

a whole new pursuit.

And it's not something

that's from self-effort.

It's something else

inside of him

that is now driving him.

And I think,

I want to call our attention,

especially as we look now

in verses 12

down through verse 16.

There's four things

I want us to see

about what is now

at work in Paul.

And the first thing is

there's a new calling.

Look what he says.

He talks about this

upward call

of God

which is in Christ Jesus.

I am called

to something new.

He is called

out of the old.

But he's called

to something.

And this is where

I may have used

this illustration before

but I love fairy tales

because they reflect

realities of,

I think,

even some spiritual realities,

some hopes

that we have.

And one of my favorite

in this is Cinderella.

Cinderella lived

in the ash heap

with these three ugly

brutal stepsisters.

But she was called

to something new.

She was called

out of that world.

She was now called

to live in the palace.

She was called

to be the bride

of the prince himself.

To have nothing more

to do

with the ash bin.

It says,

and in Christ

I am now the bride.

I am more beautiful

than Cinderella

ever dreamed of.

Because I'm with the prince.

I am called

to be like him.

I am called

to serve him.

I am called

to reflect his glory.

And let me tell you something.

This is not laborious.

If you would have

asked Cinderella,

what do you want to do?

She says,

I want to be with him.

Because he's totally

changed my life.

So there's this new calling

out of the old

to glory.

Because we are now

wedded

to

the glorious

prince.

You know,

I experienced this somewhat

when I got married

to my wife,

my bride,

a little over

34 years ago.

34 and a half years ago.

Because I know

for,

when you think about

weddings for so many,

you have

the night before

the wedding,

these bachelor parties

and so forth.

And they're almost

kind of like wakes.

It's kind of a last

ditch

thrill session

before

you take on

the bondage

of marriage.

So it's this,

we're going to celebrate,

you know,

these last moments

of freedom.

We're going to have fun

because that's all

going to end tomorrow.

I'm sorry.

I never had one of those.

And I didn't want one.

Because I wanted to be

with her.

There was no,

this was no labor.

This is no bondage.

This was a fulfillment

of the dreams

of my life.

life.

And it still is.

And so,

for me

to give myself

to her

alone

and now say

no

to everyone

else,

to say

no

to just

a life

of

self-focus,

I'm not

complaining.

Because it's the

great joy

of my life.

And when we

come to Christ,

this is the call

to a glorious

wedding

where our

prince

is the fulfillment

of every desire.

Secondly,

there is this

new focus.

Paul says

in verse 13,

he says,

forgetting what

lies behind

and straining

forward

to what lies

ahead.

I love these

verbs.

As you read

through this,

look at the verbs.

He's straining.

He's not just

leaning.

He's not just

looking.

He's straining.

You know,

this is

how he

describes

his new

calling,

this upward

call.

His focus

is no longer

on the past,

but it's

all on

what's to

come.

And it's

the past,

you know,

we can think

of it in two

different ways.

That past

is,

okay,

I no longer

look on the

negative.

I no longer

look on

the bad

and all

of that

that's behind

me.

It's done.

It's forgiven.

But there's

something else

I turn away

from.

I don't look

on my

successes

either.

You know,

I can go

back in

time and

relive

those glorious

moments and

you have them

too.

Those moments

where you

experience just

a taste of

glory.

Like for me,

it was that

backwards,

over the

top,

catch the

ball in

the air,

slam dunk,

goal on

a foosball

table.

The very

last shot I

took as I

was leaving

World Harvest

Mission,

I left

in glory.

And I can

relive that

and obviously

I do.

I do.

I do.

I do.

I do.

I do.

It doesn't

count for

anything anymore

because I've

got something

else.

The past,

the negative

is resolved

in Christ.

And even

what was

positive is

swallowed up

in righteousness

which is

far,

far more

profitable

and glorious.

So all

of that,

all that I

would count

as valuable,

it's nothing

now because

I'm looking

forward to

what I have

in Christ.

That is my

goal.

That is my

identity.

And to

that I

strain.

thirdly,

there's a

new passion

in Paul.

In these

verses,

twice he

uses the

same word.

He says,

I press

on.

And that

word is a

strong word.

It's a little

stronger than

what's communicated

in English.

And especially

since this is

a great football

weekend,

this is,

the way I

think of this

word is that

that pressing

on is kind

of the gleam

in the eye

of a defensive

end with a

quarterback in

his sight.

And there's

nothing going to

stop him from

getting there.

That is the

passion now that

is driving Paul

to press on.

He has one

thing in mind.

Notice there

again he says,

one thing I

do.

Just one.

And basically

this is a new

love.

It's a new

heart passion.

And that's

where Paul's

getting his

energy.

And that's

what's driving

him.

We are driven

by our loves.

We're not

driven by our

thoughts,

but the things

that we love

drive us.

And Paul now

had one

love.

fourthly,

there's new

resources.

And you have

to step back

to verse 10.

He says,

I want to

know him

and the

power of

his resurrection.

And in

that power,

that's the

same power

now working

in Paul

that raised

Christ from

the dead.

And a lot

of times we

think that we

are beyond

change.

I have tried

to change

year after

year,

month after

month.

I'm getting

nowhere.

I can't

do it,

but the

Holy Spirit

himself,

the one

who brought

Christ up

from the

dead,

now dwells

in me,

and I

think I

can't

change.

See,

for Paul,

he knew

it wasn't

up to

him.

But he

had a

resource

that now

he could

turn to.

In all

of these

things,

this new

calling,

this new

focus,

new passion,

in this new

resource,

it's not just

true of Paul.

It's true of

every one of

us in

Christ.

So,

what does

it mean?

What does

this mean

for me?

I'll try

to go

through

these

quickly.

But that's

probably one

resolution I

won't

fulfill.

First,

there's three

things.

I need to

develop a

healthier

discontentment.

I need to

develop a

healthier

discontentment

with myself,

with where

I am,

and what

I'm doing.

I need to

more fully

comprehend

the things

that I

love,

and the

things that I

love that

are worthless

and cheap.

Paul says

in verse

eight,

he says,

I count

everything as

a loss

because of

the surpassing

value of

knowing Christ

Jesus,

my Lord.

He said,

for his

sake I have

suffered the

loss of

all things

and count

them as

rubbish.

That word

rubbish is a

four-letter word.

And it

describes

something you

would flush

down a

toilet.

And that's

the value

he gives

all of his

past

accomplishments.

And there

are a lot

of things

that I am

pursuing in

my life

that smell

bad.

And I

need to

know.

This last

fall, I'm

given some

insight into

some of

these things.

One of the

things the

Lord has

begun to

show me,

well, not

show me for

the first

time, this

is a long

running issue

with me,

is that I

can be

very,

very,

very

arrogant.

To the

point which

I will,

any group

of people,

in order for

me to get

attention and

recognition and

acknowledgement,

even just by

way of a few

laughs, I'll

throw you under

the bus.

I'll put you

down, I'll

belittle you,

and I'm not

proud of that.

I hate it.

I grieve

over it.

But that

revelation is

a gift.

Because what he's

showing me is

that there's this

value that I

have is

rubbish.

And we

need to get

rid of it.

And so I

think I need

more of this.

How and

when we're

going to do

this?

Well, one of

the things that I

need to do is a

practice that I

did some years

ago.

I need to have

people praying

for me.

Some of you

think in your

resolutions you

need to start

praying more.

Well, that

might be, and

we'll talk about

that in a

second, but I

need people

praying for me.

I need to go

out and enlist a

few people who

will faithfully

pray that God

would make me

very, very

discontent with

who I am until

I get to the

perfection of

Christ.

Second thing, I

need to develop a

healthier obsession.

And that

obsession needs to

be with Jesus.

you know, what I

find is that I'm

willing, you

know, I fill my

life with so many

things, so many

worthless things.

I mean, they're

not bad in

themselves, but

they're just,

they're not the

best.

And so I need

this year, I

need more and

more to fill my

eyes, to fill my

mind, to fill my

vision with

glory.

Real glory.

So what does

that mean?

Well, how do I

do that?

Well, it probably

means that I start

reading my Bible

from my Bible and

not from my

iPad.

The iPad is

great, especially

the older you get,

you can make that

text really big.

but there's too

many things on

there that are

distracting, that

take my attention,

that again are not

evil in themselves,

but when they

capture the love of

my heart, they've

become evil.

people.

So, I need to

probably put that

away and get

back to filling my

mind, my eyes, with

the vision of the

beauty of Christ.

To read more

from people who

also see this

beauty.

Finally, the

third thing is I

need to develop a

healthier dependence.

A dependence on the

power of God to

transform.

And this is

something I, like

many of you, have

trouble believing.

You know, if I'm

honest, this is

where I struggle

because, like you,

I have tried to

change.

I have tried to

reform my life.

I have tried to do

better in a lot of

these areas.

And sometimes, when I

don't see a whole lot

of success, I get

very cynical.

I have tried to

do better in a

way.

I have tried to

do better in a

way.

I have tried to

do better in a

way.

The problem is, though,

it's me that I've

been trusting and not

him.

And so, instead of

determining myself what

must be done and

determining that I

myself will make it

happen, I need a

different outlook.

work.

It's not up to me.

But I am not

helpless.

And I have not been

abandoned to myself.

I have the spirit.

And to him, I need to

more often, more

constantly turn in

prayer and

dependence that he

might come and do in

me what he desires to

do.

and then rest in his

work.

So how am I going to

see all this happen?

If it's just me, it

won't.

But it has to start

here.

That I am in

Christ.

I am righteous.

I am pleasing.

I have been drawn

near.

I have been approved.

He accepts me.

And I am the

delight of his

heart.

Because I am

his bride.

And that has

to capture my

heart.

So that now

me,

the bride,

who is totally

overcome

by the love

of my bridegroom,

I want nothing

more than

him.

May this

year,

may God

through his

spirit,

give me

a greater

sense

of him.

And I hope

he'll do it for you

too.

Let's pray.

Father,

thank you for

your grace.

thank you for

your love.

Help us to

comprehend it

more fully.

That you would

have our hearts

holy to

yourself.

Because it's

only in you

that we will

find the joy

that you've

promised.

Thank you,

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

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