What Really Matters

Philippians 3:4b-14

March 21, 2010 – ©Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes

Introduction

Culver Military Academy has a tradition at their graduation. The cadets, one by one, walk across the stage, receive their diplomas from the dean, shake hands with the president, and walk through an archway into their future. They’re told as they walk through the archway, “Don’t forget to close the gate.” The purpose of that command is not just a matter of military neatness, but rather a symbolic acting out of this message: “Close the gate on your past mistakes and failures and sins before walking into your future.”

Each morning as we step out into a new day, there are some things we need to close the gate on. There are some things we need to forget before we can move on with our lives. [James W. Moore, At the End of the Day (Dimensions for Living, 2002) 147].

The Apostle Paul understood what it meant to “close the gate.” In Philippians 3:13 Paul said, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal.”

Past

Paul had closed the gate on most of his life to follow Jesus. He describes himself like this in verse 5. Circumcised on the 8^th day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. His parents had provided him with impeccable credentials as a member of God’s people: circumcision, racial identity with Israel, membership in the Israelite tribe that gave Israel its first king (Saul), and the ability to speak the language. [Frank Thielman, The NIV Application Commentary, Philippians (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995) 169].

Added to these, Paul, a Pharisee kept the law religiously. His commitment to the Law led him to persecute followers of Jesus. No one could question his righteousness.

Paul was successful in all he did. He was highly respected by all. He was sure that God must be pleased with him.

So it comes as a surprise when Paul says in verses 7-8: But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.

Paul was saying that being an Israelite, a member of the tribe of Benjamin, able to speak Hebrew, educated as a Pharisee, a rigid Law-keeper, and persecutor of Christians were all worthless when it came to pleasing God.

He took all his credentials and dumped them into one garbage bag and threw them in the trash. Everything he considered valuable in the past was no longer of value to him. The only thing of value to Paul was to know Christ. Gaining Christ was everything to him.

What would you give up to know Christ? Would you give up your hard-earned credentials, your successes, your identity in exchange for Christ?

Do you really believe that none of the things that the world sees as successful and valuable are really more valuable than knowing Jesus Christ?

What would you give up to follow Jesus?

When Paul came to know Jesus, he realized that none of those worldly things could make him right with God. All the things Paul had done to show God how good and worthy he was, were worthless to God.

The only thing that can bring anyone back into a relationship with God is trusting in Jesus Christ.

Obeying the Law could not make him right with God. Only having faith in Christ could make him righteous.

Neither race nor nationality nor class nor wealth nor gender makes us right with God. Faith in Jesus Christ alone make us righteous before God.

There are no Jewish Christians, American Christians, Filipino Christians, Indian Christians, or Puerto Rican Christians. There are no rich Christians or poor Christians, no upper class Christians or lower class Christians, no male Christians or female Christians. We are all just Christians.

Ephesians 4:4-6: There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

The only thing that really matters is that we know Jesus Christ.

Once Jesus told his disciples that they must take up their cross and follow him. He added: What good will it be for you to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul? [Mt.16:26].

We must close the gate on the things we have accumulated, the things we counted as our assets, the things that gave us a sense of pride in the world.

Present

The past was gone, but now Paul lived each day of his life to know Christ more. He said: I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Knowing Christ is more than having a personal relationship with Christ. When we know Christ, he becomes more than a Christmas and Easter event.

“To know Christ in the biblical sense is also to be aware of his will and to be willing to obey him. Paul’s union with Christ’s death, therefore, involved a costly obedience to the commission God had given him.” [Frank Thielman, Philippians, The NIV Application Commentary (Zondervan, 1995) 177].

To “know Christ” is to move from belief to obedience. Christ is our Savior, our Lord, and our Life.

When we know the power of Jesus’ resurrection, we know we have received new life in Christ. As new creations we begin to learn obedience to Christ.

Living in obedience to Christ includes sharing in his sufferings. In Philippians 2, Paul writes that we should have the same attitude of mind as Christ,

who, though he was in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross [Php2:6-8].

The Son of God was not above suffering and death, but shows us how to know God in our sufferings.

Not every Christian will face persecution for their faith. However, each of us must stand for Christ.

Like Paul, we are on a journey. Everyday offers us new opportunities to live for Christ. We have not yet reached our destination, but we continue to press on toward the goal.

Future

The goal of this life is to know Christ. When we live pressing on toward the goal, will we win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ. God promises wonderful things for those who continue on this journey following Christ.

In his book The Divine Commodity, Skye Jethani shares a story from a trip he took to India with his father. While walking the streets of New Delhi, a little boy approached them. He was “skinny and wore only tattered blue shorts. His legs were stiff and contorted.” Because of his condition, the little boy could only waddle along on his calloused knees. He made his way toward Skye and his father, shouting, “One rupee, please! One rupee!”

Skye’s father asked what he wanted. “One rupee, sir,” the boy said bowing his head humbly. Skye’s father laughed. “How about I give you five rupees?” he said. The boy’s suddenly became defiant. He drew back his hand and sneered at them. He thought the man was joking, laughing at him. After all, no one would willingly give up five rupees. The boy shuffled away, mumbling curses under his breath. Skye’s father reached into his pocket. Hearing the coins jingle, the boy stopped and looked back. The father was holding out a five-rupee coin. He came toward the boy and placed the coin into his hand. The boy didn’t move or say a word. He just stared at the coin in his hand. They moved on. Then the boy started shouting again, except this time the boy yelled, “Thank you! Thank you, sir! Bless you!” He raced after them once again—but not for more money, but to touch his father’s feet. …

This is how Skye imagines that God sees us—as miserable creatures in desperate need of his help. But rather than asking for what we truly need, rather than desiring what he is able and willing to give, we settle for lesser things.” [Skye Jethani, The Divine Commodity (Zondervan, 2009) 113-114].

Don’t feel sorry for that little boy. Rather, feel sorry for yourselves. We who have more than most people in the world, are so rich in worldly treasures that we think we don’t really need God. God doesn’t really matter to us. We settle for the lesser things – worldly things: possessions, wealth, toys, status, pleasures. We are reluctant to close the gate on all that we have. Our inheritance is waiting for us, but we grasp at the things of this world as though they are all that really matter.

God holds the prize in his hand, reaching it out to us, if we will only take it. God doesn’t just offer us a heavenly future, but blessings everyday of peace, joy, forgiveness and love. Yet we cling to the past.

Like Paul, we must forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. We must press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Conclusion

When we get to the end of our life, God will not look at our accomplishment, our talents, or our wealth. When we stand before God the only thing that really matters is whether we know Jesus Christ.

So today choose to close the gate behind you. As you walk into a new day, forget the past.

Choose to live the new life that you have received through faith in Christ.

Choose to take time to read your Bible, and make time to talk with Jesus.

Choose to let go of things you have been clinging to that keep you from following Jesus. Put behind you the sins, the hurts of the past.

Choose to stop playing it safe and start risking yourself more for Jesus.

Choose to invest yourself in the one thing that that really matters – knowing Christ.

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This sermon is copyright ©2010 by Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes, Immanuel Evangelical Covenant Church, Chicago, Illinois.