Think about your favorite restaurant. I have several . . . it’s hard for me to nail it down to one. One that comes to mind for me is Fred’s Market. I love me some Fred’s. I don’t go there often because it takes more money out of my wallet than I usually like, and it puts more calories in my belly than I usually like. However, once in a while, I’ll live it up and go to Fred’s.
Fred’s brings me great joy. If I’m having a bad day, I’ll say to myself, “It’s ok, we’re going to Fred’s.” If my kids start complaining that they’re hungry, I’ll say, “Don’t worry, we’re going to Fred’s later.” If on the way to Fred’s, someone wants to stop somewhere else, I’ll say, “We can’t be distracted by these other things in life; we’re on our way to Fred’s!” Fred’s brings me great joy!
Now, Fred’s is a great place to eat, but at the end of the day, it’s just a restaurant.
Followers of Jesus can find joy in all types of blessings, great and small. After all, every blessing comes from God.
However, there is nothing that compares to the joy that we find in Jesus Himself, amen?
Today, in Philippians 3, we’re going to discuss the value of knowing Jesus.
Will you join me in prayer as we prepare to hear from the Lord?
(prayer)
The Apostle Paul has been calling the Philippians to live their lives as genuine followers of Jesus.
He’s called them to suffering. He’s called them to selflessness. He’s called them to unity.
Now, the Apostle Paul is calling them to some other factors that make up the life of a Christian.
Let us discover these this morning.
First, we see . . .
I. A call to rejoice.
Notice this call in verse 1:
1 In addition, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. To write to you again about this is no trouble for me and is a safeguard for you.
Paul says, “To write to you again about this is no trouble for me . . . ”
He says that because he’s talked about joy or rejoicing many times already in this letter to the Philippians.
He says, I’m going to talk about it some more, and it’s no trouble for me to do so.
Notice that Paul does not tell us simply to rejoice in anything. Rather, he says to “ . . . rejoice in the Lord.”
Brothers and sisters, the reason that we can have joy is that we have the Lord.
The Lord is the giver of all good things, including Himself.
The greatest rejoicing is not in our circumstances. The greatest rejoicing is not our finances. The greatest rejoicing is not our family. The greatest rejoicing is not the weather. The greatest rejoicing is not our health. The greatest rejoicing is not our friends. The greatest and grandest rejoicing is in the Lord Jesus Christ!
Paul then adds that to rejoice in the Lord is a safeguard.
How does rejoicing in the Lord keep us safe?
Well, Paul is likely referring to a separate threat, which we’ll look at in just a moment.
Yet, the application of what Paul is saying extends far beyond the specific threat that Paul mentions later.
A couple of years ago, our family was invited to go on a cruise with our extended family. One of the things that keeps you safe and thriving on a cruise is your room key. You want to buy a coffee? Scan your room key. You get lost on the boat? Show a crew member your room key. You want to know what time your excursion is? Scan the room key. You lose your luggage? Scan the room key. You want to want to sign up for a special event on the boat? Bring your room key. Your room key is your safeguard not only for protection but for enjoying your time on the ship.
Listen, friends: The joy of the Lord is your safeguard from the challenges of this life, and it is your ticket to enjoying your life here on earth. Like the cruise ship room key, the joy of the Lord is your protection and provision.
The joy of the Lord will sooth you during heartache, it will lift you when you’re rejected, it will fulfill you when you are in poverty, it will calm you when you are confused, it will settle you when you are anxious, it will keep you when you feel lost, it will remind you when you are forgetful; the joy of the Lord is your safeguard in life.
Jesus is better than anything this world has to offer, and when you have Him, you have everything!
Hear the call to rejoice in the Lord.
Second, hear . . .
II. A call to watch out.
Paul speaks about a safeguard, which likely refers to a specific threat.
Let’s look at verses 2 and 3 to see what we can learn about this threat:
2 Watch out for the dogs, watch out for the evil workers, watch out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh . . .
Now, these verses are kind of strange if you don’t have the context to understand that to which Paul is referring.
First of all, we know that Paul does not think very well of those about whom he is speaking.
Paul refers to them as dogs and evil workers.
Dogs in that day were not members of the family like they are for so many in America today. Dogs were disgusting and lowlifes.
Evil workers, on the other hand, were bad then, and they’re bad now.
When Paul says to watch out for the dogs and evil workers, he’s essentially saying to watch out for the scoundrels.
Well, what were these scoundrels doing that was so wrong?
We have a big hint when Paul says they are “ . . . those who mutilate the flesh.”
Paul is likely referring to those who are trying to require circumcision to become a follower of Jesus.
For those who don’t know, circumcision in Paul’s day was when a Jewish boy or man had to change part of his body to be identified as part of God’s people.
However, since Jesus came and made it possible for anyone to become part of God’s people, circumcision was no longer required.
Yet some, including a particular group called the Judaizers, were still trying to require this physical change.
Paul was saying, “No way! It’s no longer required!”
In fact, by requiring this act, the false teachers were undermining the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus did what we could not. He did everything that needed to be done for us to be made right with God. We simply need to respond and accept His forgiveness.
Church, we should watch out for those who teach anything other than the gospel of Jesus Christ.
While you’re at it, watch out for those who seek to rob the joy of Jesus from you in other ways.
Watch out for those who dangle the temptations of this world in front of you.
Watch out for those who distract from the mission of the church.
Watch out for those who sew lies and division in the church.
Watch out for those who look like Christians but don’t live like Christians.
Watch out for those in the world who will seek to pollute your family with ungodly influences.
Watch out for those who have forgotten that the greatest Christian attribute is love.
Paul then says that those who are in Christ are really the circumcision, meaning that they are really God’s people.
We do not put our confidence in our bodies; we do not put confidence in what we do; rather, our confidence is in Jesus. Watch out for those who would lead you otherwise.
Hear the call to watch out.
Next, we see . . .
III. A call to boast?
Paul ends verse 3 by saying that we don’t put confidence in ourselves. However, just for the sake of argument, Paul goes down that road.
Let’s see what he says. Look at verses 4-6:
4 although I have reasons for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; 6 regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.
Paul basically said, “If you want to have a contest to see who is the most Jewish, I’m going to win that contest.”
Paul followed Jewish law, Jewish customs, Jewish traditions, Jewish circumcision, Jewish education, and the Jewish religious system.
However, what Paul discovered was that none of his Jewishness made him into who God really wanted him to be.
Paul was virtually perfect when it came to being “Jewish,” but that is not what brought him joy.
Paul was not calling the Philippians to be more religious. In fact, those who were calling the Philippians to do that were those Paul referred to as “dogs” and “evil workers.”
If boasting was found in being religious, then Paul was saying, “Let’s boast!”
However, Paul knew that was not the case.
Paul said elsewhere in Ephesians 2:8–9:
“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.”
So, then, are we to boast at all? If so, in what?
Paul already told us back in verse 3. Were you paying attention? Paul said,
“ . . . boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh . . . ”
Church, we are not called to ourselves; we are called to Jesus. Let us boast in Him.
That’s the final call:
VI. A call to Christ.
Look at these final verses for today. Look at verses 7-11:
7 But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, 11 assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.
What a beautiful passage this is.
Paul has said that everything good in his life, from his birth to now, is nothing compared to the goodness of knowing Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire is that all of you would hear the call to Christ.
Pursue Jesus and His ways. He is everything! He’s the best!
Everything in this world can be taken from you, but they can’t take Jesus from you! They can’t take the joy of Jesus from you!
Why do we spend so much time chasing the things that can be lost, when the best thing we could ever have is right there waiting for us, and He can never be taken from us?
Paul said everything is worth about as much as dung, compared to knowing Jesus.
Our standing with God is not in how religious we are. Our standing with God is found in Jesus.
So, we see in verse 10 that Paul’s goal is to know Jesus, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings.
He also knows that somehow, through God’s miraculous power, He will also one day rise from the dead to enjoy the blessings that Jesus earned on his behalf.
This is the call to Jesus for all those who follow Him.
It is a call about which Paul will speak more in the second half of Chapter 3.
For now, we’ll leave it here today with this bottom line:
Bottom Line: Knowing Jesus is better than everything else.
Knowing Jesus is better than riches and fame. Knowing Jesus is better than any human relationship. Knowing Jesus is better than Fred’s Market. Knowing Jesus is better than everything else.
Paul said in verse 8, “ . . . I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
May that be our belief as well.
Challenge yourself in one way this week:
Weekly Challenge: Harness the power of Jesus’ resurrection.
Paul said in verse 10, “My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection . . . ”
What is a resurrection? It’s when something dead comes back with new life.
Listen to these words from Paul in Ephesians 2:1, 4-5:
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins . . . But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!”
We are alive in Jesus. We no longer need to live the old way. Harness the power of the resurrection in your life.
In Jesus, you are new. Live in the power of the resurrection of Jesus.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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