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Good Monday morning, my “Walking with Jesus” friends;
Today we’re going to look closely at Philippians 3:1-11, and I’d like to suggest you read those verse carefully first, before you read or listen to my comments, as I lead you through reflection on this powerful portion of God’s Word. I’ll wait right here, you go ahead and read your Bible, and I’ll read mine. . . .
OK, I assume we’ve all read these amazing words Paul wrote, so now let’s dig in to them:
“Rejoice in the Lord…it is a safeguard for you.” (Phil. 3:1) May I ask. . .what have you found to be some of the most effective ‘safeguards’ for your heart? Remember what King Solomon wrote “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of your life.” (Prov. 4:23) No one needs to convince us of how important it is to protect our hearts from so much evil all around us, but HOW… what are some of the best safeguards you have developed in keeping your heart pure? Remember Psalm 51:10 & Psalm 24:3-6?
Already in this letter, Paul has several times urged his friends in Philippi to REJOICE. WHY? What is the power of “rejoice” and why is “Rejoicing in the Lord” so significant in its affect on our hearts?
You and I live in a broken, dysfunctional world. Pain and suffering are all around us. Much of this is caused by selfish, corrupt, prideful people making choices that hurt themselves and others, including us. But when we focus our minds and hearts on Almighty God and His majesty; on heaven and it’s wonder; on Jesus and all He has accomplished for our redemption; on the Holy Spirit and all He is doing in our lives as followers of Jesus, etc. rejoicing should result… we should be ‘amazed and awed’… right? It’s what Paul writes about in the first few verses of Colossians 3, and that should help “safeguard our hearts”.
You see my friends, when our minds and hearts are focused on God, and whatever draws our attention to Him, then the brokenness, the dysfunction, the evil and wrong of our world, are overshadowed, minimized, as the grandeur of our great God, overwhelms, outshines, the darkness and the brokenness.
So what is it for you, that awakens in you an overwhelming urge to worship and praise Almighty God? Is it holding a newborn baby? Is it looking up at a brilliant, star filled sky? Is it diving underwater and seeing the magnificent beauty of life on a coral reef? Is it seeing a person who once was completely enslaved to drugs or alcohol now living free by the power of God as they live a God honoring life? Is it listening to someone pray who not long ago did not have any relationship with Jesus?
You see when Paul writes “rejoice in the Lord…it is a safeguard for you.”, he is saying that when we are living our lives rejoicing in Jesus Christ and all God has done in and for us, our hearts and minds are ‘safeguarded’ from the evil that is all around us. The opposite, of course, is when we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed to the point of worry, discouragement, even despair by the darkness of our world.
We all know how irritating it is when a prideful person turns every conversation to focus on them and their achievements, right? In Philippians 3:4-11 Paul makes several remarkable statements. First he recounted some of his pedigree and why he, and other Pharisees like him, so often boasted about their family heritage, their academic achievements and their attempts at living perfect lives. Pharisees in the first century, especially in Jerusalem, were easily identified by their clothing, their swagger, and especially their boastful, prideful talk.
But for Paul, who at one point, was highly regarded among them, things had radically changed since he met Jesus! How much has changed for you, if you are a follower of Jesus, my friends? For Paul, all the achievements he once boasted about, had become repulsive to him. His pride, his arrogance, his judgmental attitude toward others, his self-focus… all of it, paled into shame, in comparison to the wonder of knowing Jesus!!
Paul was overwhelmed, with Jesus! As he had written in chapter 2, Jesus, of all people who has ever lived, had reason to be boastful, prideful, arrogant. After all, He had created the universe, and left His glory to come live among mankind. But instead of being born in a palace, He was born in a stable. Instead of being treated like royalty, He was treated like the poor, the insignificant. Instead of demanding the servitude of everyone around Him, Jesus served others… even those most people disregarded or ignored. People like Lepers, poor, slaves, the handicapped or disabled. Jesus cared about them, reached to them, helped them and actually loved them! Jesus’ lifestyle so profoundly impacted Paul, that he was determined to live humbly like Jesus. He was determined to serve others, help others, rather than demanding to be served or honored. How has our understanding of Jesus affected how we live and view others, my friends?
And now from a Roman prison, Paul writes: “Whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” (Phil. 3:7,8) Time for an important question: “What has it cost you to be a follower of Jesus Christ?”
Have you lost friends, because of Jesus? Have you been expelled from University or been fired from your job, because of your allegiance to Jesus? Has the father of the woman to whom you were engaged to be married, broken the engagement and refused you to ever see his daughter again? Has your spouse thrown you out when you trusted Jesus Christ to be your Savior? Have you been arrested or beaten or tortured because you had a Bible in your possession or you were seen praying in a public place? Has your own family rejected you, maybe even threatened to kill you because you have become a follower of Jesus? All of these and more, are happening today in may parts of the world. “What has it cost you to be a follower of Jesus Christ?”
Here’s another question: “As compared to the value of your personal or professional accomplishments, achievements, or the accolades or applause you’ve received from people… how do you compare the value you place on your relationship with Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished in your life, and His love for you?”
You see my friends, Paul had reason to be boastful about all he’d accomplished, both as a zealous Pharisee, and as a missionary church planter, bringing the Gospel of Jesus from Jerusalem all the way across the Empire, to Rome. But he wanted this to be clear… he ONLY wanted Jesus to receive the applause, the celebration for anything worthwhile in Paul’s life or accomplishments. Now what about each of us?
Sadly we live in world where hero worship is widespread… athletes making millions of dollars, featured in TV commercials, athletic shoes branded with their names etc. Movie stars or entertainers whose names, faces, music or movies make them globally so famous, they need body guards to travel with them and keep their adoring public at a safe distance. Honestly now… of all the public figures you are impressed with, or maybe you’d be willing to pay lots of money to see or get a personalized signature from. . .where does Jesus appear in that list of famous people? How important is Jesus to you?
Do you see Paul’s strong statement in vs. 10 “I want to KNOW Christ, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His suffering…” Oh we understand the first part of that statement, and maybe we would say the same…“I want to really KNOW Jesus…deeply, personally, intimately.” Of course you get to know Him by first knowing as much as you can about Him, through His Word, and then reading or listening to what others, who have pursued knowing Jesus, can tell you about their experience with Jesus.
But the best way to know Jesus, is of course developing your own personal relationship with Jesus by the work of the Holy Spirit in your life as you worship Him, pray & converse with Him, as you seek to follow His work and leading in your life closely. Also, I have found one of the most powerful ways to deepen your relationship with Jesus is as you help others grow in their relationship with Him, that’s called “disciple-making”. It’s helping someone else be a follower of Jesus. Is ‘knowing Jesus’ the passion of your heart my friends?
Finally please note that Paul talks about ‘the fellowship of sharing in His suffering’. This is more than ’empathy’. This is actually suffering as Jesus suffered. It’s what many Christ followers are experiencing around the world as they are persecuted, even tortured for being Christians. In that experience, they share in the sufferings of Jesus Christ, as they experience some of what He experienced, and the Holy Spirit unites them very closely, intimately, with Jesus.
But it doesn’t have to be torture, does it? How often did Jesus suffer a broken heart as He saw the ravages of sin destroying a life, a family a community, and He was moved to tears, to prayer and to action? Mark 1:29-34 or Matthew 9 or John 10. Do you and I have the compassionate, tender heart of Jesus as we see the pain of our world, and are we moved to tears, to pray, to action as He was? How much is our heart like the heart of Jesus?
I think let’s just stop right here my friends, and talk with Jesus about what Paul has written and how we see it in our lives… will you join me?
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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