A Personal Invitation to Total Devotion

It's great to See all of you here today. And a wonderful privilege that is ours to worship God. Together and to celebrate the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ that we who have believed in Him. have come into the experience of, and it is Christ that we celebrate, today and every day of our lives.

We do have some good news to, share with you. There's a blue flower to my right in honor of Christopher Chen Chow. Who was born to Justin and Amanda, December 7th, coming into the world at 7 pounds 6 ounces and 20 inches long. So we rejoice with them over this precious bundle of new life, and let's be praying for them and encouraging them.

As they seek to bring up this child in the nurture and the discipline of the Lord and raise yet another champion for Christ. Well, let me invite you to turn in your Bibles this morning to Philippians chapter 3. I do hope you'll make plans to be with us for our program tonight, the play. that will be put on tonight at 6 o'clock here in this room.

We would encourage you to come and bring friends, with you. the best things in life are free, and that will be the message tonight and ultimately, the best thing in life is Christ and salvation through Him, and that will be put before us tonight by those who have labored and prepared for this evening's drama presentation. so we hope you'll Take time to be with us tonight at 6 o'clock. Philippians chapter 3, as we continue in our total devotion series, we come This morning back to Philippians chapter 3.

I want to cover some verses that we were not able to cover last week for the sake of time. And if you want to give a title to the message this morning, it would be a personal invitation to total devotion, a personal invitation to total devotion, and today we'll be looking at Philippians chapter 3. verses 15 through 17. As we seek to unpack this personal invitation from Paul to us, he's living a life of total devotion to Christ and he invites us in these verses to join him in that lifestyle.

Many of us know the story of Paul's conversion. we're told in scripture that he was breathing out threats and murder, against Christians, even to the point of pursuing them to foreign cities. At the height of his rage against the church, Paul, who was known as Saul at the time, obtained authority from the high priest to, go and find some Christians that were in Damascus. And to bring them back bound to Jerusalem.

And so Paul, who was Saul, begins to travel 135 miles north from Jerusalem to Damascus on that wicked mission. He was not seeking Christ at all. He was seeking to do damage to the cause of Christ, and he's coming to Damascus and as he's drawing nearer to Damascus, something really crazy happens and we find that in Acts chapter 9, verse 3, it says, as he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city and it will be told you what you must do. By the way, notice how Jesus speaks the way that we would expect a sovereign Lord to speak to his new subject in these verses, especially verse 6, get up, he commands. And enter the city and it will be told you what you must do.

As John MacArthur would say, this is not a makeover. Of Saul's life. This is a takeover. Of Saul.

There's even a feeling of violence. To what is happening here at Saul's conversion. There's no gentle knocking at the door of Saul's heart. And then Saul praying a sweet little prayer of accepting Jesus into his heart.

What we have instead is Jesus knocking Saul to the ground. Striking him blind. And then immediately taking charge of Saul's life. It's no wonder that in Philippians chapter 3 verse 12, Paul uses a military term to describe what Jesus did to him on the day of his conversion.

He says that Christ laid hold of him or seized him. Paul got seized and taken over. He got owned by Jesus on the day of his conversion. And as you continue to read the story in Acts 9, Jesus sends a man named Ananias to Saul, who tells him to be baptized, and Saul submits to this beautiful ordinance of baptism, and Saul eventually becomes Paul, who is a mighty instrument in the hand of God with an impact that continues.

To this day, and it's his testimony that we began looking at last Sunday. Last week, we listened to his testimony in verses 4 through 14, and we saw that this is not just a testimony of conversion. This is also a testimony in which Paul gives expression to a very present burning passion for Jesus who saved him. Let's review his testimony and make a few comments and tie up a few loose ends as we go.

Beginning in verse 4, Paul says, if anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more circumcise the 8th day of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin. A Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law of Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless, comparatively speaking. These are the things that Paul used to enjoy listing off. These are the things that Paul used to rely upon to make himself feel that he was OK with God and even to commend himself to other people.

If Paul had a Facebook account before he was saved, these are the things that he would have posted on his profile. About himself in the hopes of impressing everybody and making everyone think, wow, this guy must really Be good with God. But a complete change in values occurred on the day of Paul's conversion. Look at what he says as he continues in verse seven.

Speaking of that day, he says, but whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Whatever things plural were gained to me, those things I have counted as a singular loss. For the sake of Christ. In other words, as we saw last week, Paul took all of those things out of the asset column of his ledger sheet of his life.

He bundled them together into a single heap and moved them over to the liability column as a loss. And on the asset side of his ledger, He wrote the word Jesus. Jesus replaced everything. That Paul formerly depended on to validate himself before God and man.

Paul didn't just add Jesus, trusting in a bunch of different things and then realizing I'd better diversify my investments and add Jesus to and make him one of the things that I am depending upon. No, he threw away everything that he was depending upon and began to count it all as a liability, and he wrote Jesus in its place. That's what happens. When a person is converted.

And even now, 20 years later, after this moment of conversion, Paul has no regrets. He still reckons the same way. Look at what he says in verse 8. He says, more than that, I am counting at the present time, all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I am counting them.

But rubbish. Or garbage or manure. Why does Paul reckon this way each and every day, Decades into his walk with Christ? He continues in verse 8, so that I may gain Christ.

And may be found in him. Not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him. And the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death in order that I may attain to the resurrection from The dead. Why do I reckon this way each and every day, counting everything but loss?

For the sake of Christ, so that I can gain Christ, so that I can be found in Christ, so that I may know Him. And in order that I may eventually attain. To the resurrection from the dead. Paul gained Christ on the day of his conversion, but Paul wanted to know Christ more and gain a deeper experiential knowledge of Christ, and he wanted to know all of Christ that there was to know regardless of whatever suffering and dying was entailed in the pursuit of that deeper knowledge of him.

He continues in verse 12. He says, not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on. I'm continuously pursuing so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was seized or lay hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I am continuously pressing on, pursuing toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

We saw last Sunday that the verb translated press on means to pursue something relentlessly with the intention or the resolve that that thing you're pursuing not escape your grasp. Before Paul was saved, he pursued Christians with the goal that they not escape his clutches. Now Paul pursues Christ. With the same intensity.

Which means, guys, that Paul was a pursuer both before he was saved. And after he was saved. The only thing that changed is in what he pursued. And the same is true for every person.

Everybody on the planet pursues something. Everyone I don't know what you're pursuing in your life. But I know you're pursuing something. In Paul's case, before salvation, he pursued people to hurt them.

Now he pursues Jesus to gain all of him. That there is to gain. In verse 12, he says, I press on that I may lay hold, and in verse 14, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus and the prize is the experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ in relationship with him that Paul pursued from the day of his conversion forward. Does it seem like a contradiction that Paul would gain Christ and have him and yet also still pursue him?

It shouldn't seem like a contradiction. AW Tozer put it beautifully when he said to have found God and still pursue him. Is the soul's paradox of love, scorned by the too easily satisfied religionists. But justified in the happy experience, justified and happy experience by the children of the burning heart.

Paul was a child of the burning heart. Jesus made him that way. His heart burned for Jesus and he didn't just pursue Jesus, pursuing Jesus was the one thing that he did. And everything else in Paul's life.

was subjected To that pursuit was tied to that one great pursuit, and if it didn't fit with his pursuit of Christ, Paul did not allow it in his life. How did he pursue Jesus? Verse 13, forgetting what lies behind. From the context, we can certainly say that at the very least, the things that lie behind Paul are the things that he listed in verses 45, and 6.

These are the things he formerly put his confidence in, the things he counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Paul is not looking back with regret and bemoaning what he's given up for Christ. No, he's left that. What lies ahead is the prospect of gaining Christ and knowing Christ more fully.

So Paul forgets what lies behind and he says, I'm reaching forward to what lies ahead. Paul is running with all of his might, straining forward in the hopes of making progress and knowing Jesus Christ. And experiencing him ever more deeply. As our Kent Hughes says, Paul was a man who knows more and more of Christ and then desperately wants to know more, and indeed does know more and more and more.

And more. This is Paul's testimony of conversion and of his present lifestyle of total devotion to Jesus Christ. That's what we looked at last Sunday. And having presented his testimony and shared these things about his own life, Paul then in verse 15, turns his attention to doing something that everybody devoted to Christ does.

He invites his readers. He invites those listening to him to join him in living this same lifestyle of total devotion to Jesus. And this morning, we'll look at verses 15 to 17, and I want us to feel the personal invitation. Paul To join together with him in living this lifestyle that he's been testifying to us about.

And his invitation comes to us in the form of 3 appeals that we will look at this morning. 3 appeals and Paul's invitation. To a lifestyle of total devotion. To Jesus Christ.

Let's hear these appeals. The first of these, let's word it this way, Paul conveys to the Philippians and to all of us, basically this appeal, and that is, let my mindset of total devotion to Christ be in you. This mindset, this attitude that I've just displayed and expressed, let this attitude be implanted in you. He says in verse 15, let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude or literally adopt this mindset.

This attitude or mindset that Paul is talking about is the mindset that he's just depicted in his testimony, which we can sum up in the following ways. A, it's an attitude in which one is counting everything as loss for the sake of gaining a deeper experience of Christ. B, an attitude in which one is counting himself as unperfected in his knowing of Christ. In other words, he hasn't arrived.

And see One who has this attitude is pursuing Christ as the one thing. That he or she does. These three things. Represent Paul's mindset.

And he now speaks to the Philippines and to all of us and says, Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this mindset. That I've just depicted. Paul's word choice here ought to strike you as odd if you're a careful observer of the text. I don't know if it seems odd.

To you as you look at it. some of the English translations hide the oddness of the language. But basically, Paul has just said in an earlier verse, verse 12, that he has not yet become perfect. And so he presses toward what he has not yet attained to.

Yet now in verse 15, he says, let us as many as are perfect, have this very attitude that I've just described. Does that seem odd to you? One would have expected Paul to say, let us as many as are not perfect, like I'm not perfect. have this attitude, but that's not what Paul says.

He says, let us, as many as are perfect, have this very attitude. Of admitting that we're not perfect. And pursuing what we have not yet attained to. It does make you wonder if you're reading the whatever English translation you have, if Paul is using maybe a different Greek word in verse 12 that he uses in verse 15, but he's not.

In verse 12, he says, not that I have already become perfect, and that's teleiao. Here in verse 15, He uses the noun form of that very verb, teleios. It's the same word. In both verses.

So what's happening here? What might be helpful, and some commentators suggest this and not everyone agrees on how to handle this, but it might be helpful if you put quotes around the word perfect and imagine that Paul is doing the finger quote thing. As he speaks these words. Paul, as many would suggest, is speaking with friendly irony here, thinking to include anyone in the Philippian church who thought that they were already perfect.

And that they had no more pressing on to do. And Paul is appealing, especially to these individuals who think they're perfect to have the same mindset that he, Paul has. And that is to humbly realize that they're not perfect and to press on toward a deeper experience of Christ. And in the process, guys, of speaking this way and calling upon quote unquote perfect Christians to adopt his mindset, Paul is doing something that is sheer genius.

And that is he's redefining literally what a perfect Christian is. And in this redefinition, a perfect Christian. In God's book is not the guy who thinks he's perfect. In fact, based on what Paul does here, we can actually define the perfect Christian in this way.

It's a Christian who exhibits Paul's mindset of admitting he is imperfect, and who strives toward a more perfect experience of Jesus Christ. That in God's book, is the perfect Christian. When God sees a Christian who admits that he has not arrived. And that Christian is turning away from the sins and from the confidences of his past, and he's making his pursuit of Jesus Christ the one great thing he does in his life.

God looks upon that Christian and says, that's perfect. That's exactly what I want to see. In a Christian And guys, this is the perfection. That Paul is calling.

All of us too. And by that definition, can you be perfect? I think we can. We can be Christians who exhibit this humble mindset of seeing and acknowledging that we're not perfect and striving toward a more perfect experience of Jesus Christ.

Someone who's known the Lord for 1 week can fit this definition and someone who's known the Lord for 40 years. Can fit this definition. Paul says, let us, therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude. Paul knows that.

Living in the real world that not everyone in the Philippian Church is going to hear what he's saying here and have their mindset fully altered by what Paul has just said. Paul knows that there will be many who are nodding in agreement, saying, yeah, yeah, totally agree with that. Amen, Paul. Thinking that they fully agree with what Paul has said, and yet their lives reveal the fact that they don't share the same mindset as Paul, though they think they do.

This is actually a problem that plagues every pastor. And every spiritual leader on any level. You speak the truth sometimes, and some people shake their heads no. And resist what you're saying and disagree with what you're saying to them.

That's a problem But an equally serious problem is when you speak the truth. And people you are speaking to nod their heads in agreement, thinking that they agree. When in fact they don't understand what you're saying. And they're not living in obedience to the truth that you're presenting, and that, but they don't seem to see the inconsistency.

So observe what Paul says in verse 15. The end of this verse, he says, and if anything, you have a different attitude. Then what I've just shared with you, God. We'll reveal that also to you.

I love how Paul does his part in speaking truth to the Philippians. He doesn't just remain silent and say God will show them. No, he speaks to them, he writes them a letter and calls them to these things in this very passage, but at the end of the day, Paul knows that it's God who's going to have to reveal. To them, the truth of what he's saying and the truth of any deviation.

In their lives. With what Paul is saying. But make no mistake, These words by Paul exhibit a friendly patience on his part, but they are a warning. Especially to those who are nodding their heads in agreement with Paul, saying, yep, Paul.

Amen. And to them, Paul is saying, I know some of you think you get what I'm saying, but you don't, and your life shows that you really don't get it. You agree with what I'm saying intellectually, but you're not living accordingly, but God will show you. I'm trusting him to open your eyes to see how you are not, in fact, manifesting this very mindset in your life.

This warning is also for anyone in the Philippian Church who is disagreeing with what Paul is saying. They've got a different attitude with what Paul is saying. Maybe they hear Paul say, I'm not perfect, and they hear Paul say that and they say, well, I agree with you on that. I know you haven't reached perfection, Paul, but I just can't speak that way because I have.

And Paul here is saying, if you got a different mindset than what I've just exhibited in my testimony of admitting that you haven't arrived and pressing on with passion, trust me, God will show you. He will show you how far your mindset is from where it ought to be. God has done this a handful of times in my own life. When I was a sophomore in college, I fell into belief in The doctrine of Christian perfectionism, and I embrace the whole let go and let God movement.

And I became critical of every author and every preacher who just didn't seem to understand the truth as I had come to understand it. I became a deeper lifer. And would often tell people things like quit trying to live the Christian life, quit striving and laboring for holiness, just let go and let Christ live his life through you. I became proud of my knowledge of the secret to sanctification, and I was critical of those who just didn't know the secret like I knew it.

Aren't you glad I was not your pastor then? believing this way did actually have an effect on me. It sent me on a spiritual high like nothing I had ever experienced before. And for a few months, I actually thought that I was among those who had reached.

Perfection That fantasy lasted. Only for a few months before God let me crash and burn and left me lying low before Him in shame. God has His ways, and he humbled me in that season of my life and showed me soon enough that I had not arrived and that my understanding was far less complete than I thought it was, and I had a whole lot of pressing on to do. On another front, when my wife Donna and I got married.

We thought we had it going on. we thought we were gonna show the world what a great marriage could look like, and neither of us would have said at that time that we had arrived, but we both thought that we were much closer to a rival than we really were. And so we were complacent and we were proud, and we weren't desperate, and God has humbled us. And reveal to us that we were not the hot stuff that we thought we were.

And that we had a whole lot of pressing on to do. How many of you have experienced God humbling you in any way like what I just described? Raise your hand. Many of us have experienced this.

So these words by Paul, they're nicely worded in a friendly way, but they should send chills down our spines. Because many of us know what it's like for God to show us our error. Paul is saying to the Philippians, if you think you've arrived and don't think you need to press on, if you think you're further along than you really are, or if you aren't valuing Christ above all other things, God will reveal that to you. He will show you soon enough.

Paul then delivers a second appeal as he invites his readers into his life of total devotion to Christ. Let's put it this way. Where he delivers this appeal to them, saying to them essentially, let's keep living by the gospel standard. We have attained.

Let's keep living by the gospel standard we have attained. Look at what he says in verse 16. He says, however, or in the meantime, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. This is another notoriously difficult Statement of Paul or appeal by Paul to really understand.

But to know what he means in this appeal, we need to understand that whatever he means, he's including himself in this instruction. And whatever the standard is that he and the Philippines are supposed to live by, it's the same. It's the same standard as the NASB translates it, which means that it's the same for everyone. And whatever that same standard is that they, the Philippians, together with Paul should live by, it's something that in Paul's mind, they all have attained to.

Or arrived at And so what is that standard? That is the same for everyone, that everyone truly saved in the Philippian Church has attained to. Ultimately, the standard to which they had all attained was the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, in his commentary on this passage, Gordon Fee says he, Paul, and they had already attained is an understanding of the gospel in which the life of the crucified one is the paradigm for those who would be his followers.

Therefore, in this command or appeal, Paul is appealing to the Philippians to live in conformity to the gospel. Understood in this way, Paul is calling the Philippians to walk in sync with the gospel standard and however much they progress to make sure that they do not stray from any truths that they have learned, that they do not stray from the path or regress and go backwards. This is why back in chapter 2, Paul could say, let the same attitude be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

And then he rehearses the facts of the gospel that provides the model for them to follow in their lives and in their relationships with one another.

So the gospel is that standard that Paul even uses earlier in Philippians. And everyone in the Philippian church who was saved had arrived at that. Standard, and understanding of it, belief in it. Having said that, It seems that Paul also recognizes that his readers are all in very different places in their understanding and experience of this gospel.

Not everyone understands the gospel equally. Some are further along than others and that's OK in Paul's mind. Paul's point is this, we are all dependent upon God revealing our shortcomings in his good timing. In the meantime, we should be faithful to walk in line with the truth of the gospel of Christ to the degree that we have come to understand it.

That's the sobering responsibility that all of us are accountable for. And however much understanding, however much growth we've attained to in our comprehension and experience of the gospel, we should not let ourselves fall short of that in our practice or to regress. From that And go backwards. We often say, 3 steps forward, 2 steps back, and all of us, including myself, would say that's often what my journey of sanctification is like.

If Paul heard us talk in that way, he would just, he wouldn't like that. He said, don't take 3 steps forward and then go 2 steps back. Why would you do that? If you take 3 steps forward by the grace of God, don't backtrack.

From where you are. Stay true to what God has shown you. And if you fail, repent, but the call here is, let's not go backwards. to the way things used to be.

Whatever truth you've learned, live by that truth, to whatever degree you've experienced Christ and come to know Him, Paul is insisting that you not regress from that. As I pondered this, this week, I was reminded of Something from my upbringing, that I don't think I've ever shared from the pulpit before. When I, when I was a kid, I had a speech impediment. And had to go to a speech therapist to learn how to say the R sound.

Instead of saying church, I would say church. Instead of saying practice, I would say practice. And all my siblings could say the R sounds fine, but I was the slow one who, always had to work a little harder than the rest of them, according to my dad. But what, I never once remember my dad or my mom getting on my case about the fact that I couldn't say my R's properly.

They knew I had some impediment. That I couldn't control. but they did send me to a speech therapist. And they worked with me.

often on trying to form the R sound and eventually, I think it was around the 2nd or 3rd grade, I learned how to make the R sound correctly and it was a big deal in our household when Milton learned how to speak properly. It was a great milestone in my life. But I mentioned that because I'll never forget something that happened. Within the first week after I learned how to say the R sound properly, I was sitting in our car with my mom and My siblings.

And I purposefully said church in a sentence. Rather than church. I don't know if I was trying to be cute. I don't remember, but I just know my mom did not find it cute at all.

She reacted swiftly and decisively, and she scolded me saying, better than that, you pronounce it right. And what? I did. From that point on, I pronounced it right.

My mom was patient with me in my development, but when she saw that I had learned how to say my R's properly, she refused. To let me go back. And I will be forever grateful. Yeah To my mom for that.

But guys, that's what Paul is doing here, right? Paul is saying to the Philippians, you may not be as far as the next guy in your understanding of the gospel, and that's OK. But however, however far God has brought you, That's what you're responsible for. Keep living by the same standard as that to which you've attained and don't go backwards.

Don't give up truth that you fought hard to gain. Keep pressing forward toward a deeper experience of Christ. Stay humble and stay teachable, and let your behavior be shaped by every truth. You learn as you go deeper with Jesus.

Does that make sense? This is the way Paul is living his life. He's forgetting the things that lay behind him. He's definitely isn't going back.

He runs forward, straining every nerve in the direction of gaining Christ and knowing him better. And Paul, He isn't content to do that alone. He wants to bring others with him in that, and this leads us to the 3rd and final appeal. That we see in Paul's personal invitation to a lifestyle of total devotion to Christ.

Number 3, let's put it this way, he says to the Philippians and all of us, join in imitating my example and watch those who live the way we do. Paul actually delivers two appeals here, but they're so tied together that we'll treat them as one. Look at what he says in verse 17, brethren, join in following. My example, the Greek word translated following is a word that has imitates in it from which we get the English word.

Imitate. So he's saying, join in imitating my example and observe those who walk according to the pattern that you Happen to also have in us. There's so much to love here in what Paul is saying. In this verse In the first place, Paul is himself living a life that's worth imitating.

And he's not simply calling the Philippians to a life of total devotion. He himself is living a life of total devotion to Christ, and he's inviting them to join him in that life of devotion. And guys, that's the way it's supposed to be. Which is a great challenge for all of us.

who are seeking to influence other people for Christ. God does not want us to read Philippians 3 and go out and start telling other people to live a life of total devotion to God. God wants us to live lives of total devotion to him and then invite other people into that life that we are living. Parents don't.

Just tell your children to live a life of total devotion to Christ. You live a life. of total devotion to Christ and the way that we're unpacking it here in Philippians 3 and then invite your children into that. Invite them to join you in doing that.

That's literally what Paul is doing here in verse 17. Literally, verse 17 reads, imitate together. My example Which is interesting. Paul doesn't just want the Philippians to imitate his example as isolated individuals.

He wants them to join together with each other in imitating his example. He wants them to imitate his example in community and in togetherness with one another. In fact, part of the example that Paul sets is living a life of community and relationships with other people. So if Christians are truly going to follow Paul's example, they should join together with other Christians and seek to imitate Paul's example and doing that, pursuing that in community with their brothers and sisters in the Lord.

And calling upon the Philippians to imitate his example, Paul isn't being arrogant. Think about it. What is Paul's example? His example is one in which he admits that he has not attained to perfection.

He's not arrived. And he's pressing on to know Christ more deeply. And he's calling the Philippines to imitate him. In that humble confession or admission and in the hot pursuit.

of Christ that he's engaging in. At the same time, Paul is humble enough to recognize that there are many others who are walking according to the same pattern that he also is walking after and that's part of the beauty. Of what's happening here. In verse 17, he says, and observe those, that word observe, the Greek word is a word we get the word scope from.

Scope out who walk according to the pattern that you have in us. Paul is saying, I want you, I'm calling you to look around and take note of other people who are walking according to the very pattern of life that you also happen to see in us. Look at them, watch them, scope them out and follow their example. Not just mine Paul's humility here in doing what he does and pointing to others is noted by commentators, as one commentator says Paul does not make himself the only example.

Paul is only one of the whole number who serve as an example for these Philippian believers. In fact, the US. When Paul says, walk according to the pattern you have in us, who is the us? Well, it includes Paul.

But it would also include Timothy and Epaphroditus, who are both mentioned earlier in this letter. In fact, I would encourage you to read chapter 2 at some point this week. In chapter 2, Paul spends 5 verses raving about Timothy. And in verse 22, he says, of his proven worth.

That's Philippians 2:22. And then in chapter 2, he spends 6 verses talking about Epaphroditus. And in verse 29 of Philippians 2, he tells the Philippians to hold men like him in high regard. So in chapter 2, Paul points to Timothy, he points to Epaphroditus, he raves about them, tells the Philippians about them.

And they are included in the US. Paul then points to those in verse 17 who walk according to the same pattern as Paul and Timothy and Epaphroditus, and Paul now is obviously referring to and pointing to an even wider circle of people. And Paul is calling upon the Philippians to actually look at, to observe, to study the example that all such people are setting and then to seek to follow their example. Paul would not be offended if he saw the Philippians looking at the example of somebody other than Paul.

And seeking to imitate that other person's godly example, he's actually encouraging that here. If you came to Paul and said, Paul, man, I've been watching this other brother, this other sister. And their example has been really impacting me and affecting the way I live my life and I really wanna be like this brother or sister in this particular way. Paul would not be offended by that.

He wouldn't say, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute. I, I do the same thing they do. Have you noticed how I live exactly how you're saying they live? In fact, I think they even got that from me.

So let's talk about me. Rather than the example of other people. Paul wouldn't do that. And I love Paul's humble willingness to see and to notice others himself who are exhibiting the same pattern that he is exhibiting in his own life.

Paul's ability to see the good example of others and speak about that and point to that is in itself a wonderful sign of spiritual maturity. That is worth Us imitating Think about the tendency that comes naturally to all of us. It often happens that when a Christian discovers some new truth. They start thinking that they're the only ones who've ever discovered that truth.

Or when a person goes to a deeper level in his prayer life, They began thinking they're the only ones who are really praying right. Or when a person starts evangelizing others, they can easily start thinking that, man, I'm the only one that's evangelizing or at least doing it in the right way. Or when a person goes deeper in doing community with others, they can easily start thinking that, man, I, I think I'm the only one doing community in the right way. Or when a person becomes gospel-centered.

They can easily start thinking that they're the only one who is truly Gospel-centered. All of us to one degree or another. have probably been guilty of this, and guys, that's a sign of spiritual immaturity. Let me say it this way.

If you find yourself thinking that you are the only one doing a certain thing right, or you are the only one who understands and speaks about a topic the right way, or that you are the only one burdened for a particular good thing, you're probably not seeing and hearing the good that's going on around you in the lives of your brothers and sisters, and you are almost certainly more immature than you think you are. A mark of spiritual maturity is the ability to see others who are doing the good.

Things that you are doing and hear others who are saying the same thing that you are saying and being willing to point to those people with the same passion with which you point people perhaps to your own example. And that's what Paul does here.

He encourages his readers to follow his example of admitting your imperfection and pursuing Christ as the one great thing you do, but he's also encouraging them to look around and observe. That he's not the only one living this way. There are others who are walking according to the same pattern that Paul was walking after. And he tells the Philippians.

Have at it. Notice. In fact, read chapter 2 where I talk about Timothy and Epaphroditus and follow those other examples that you're seeing. All in all, guys, I love the fact that Paul wasn't content to just deliver commands and instruct the Philippians on how to live their life.

Paul knew the Philippians needed more than commands and instructions. They needed examples, many examples. People learn better when they see Other people who are living the right way and providing a model that's worth imitating. So guys, if you, if you want to grow spiritually, In your pursuit of Christ, do life together with other people.

Get involved in a care group. Take advantage of opportunities to be with brothers and sisters here in the Cornerstone family and even beyond. I know here at Cornerstone, one of our best kept secrets is our people. Look around and you will find many models to imitate.

Cornerstone has a ton of them. And then imitate the good that you see and while you're at it, strive to be an example to others in the same way. In closing, let me just make a few points by way of application. The first point is regarding something we talked about near the beginning of the message regarding the fact that we are all pursuers.

Guys, mark my words, if, if you don't pursue Jesus, like Paul is calling us into here, you will pursue something else. It's unavoidable. Every human being is a pursuer of something. Your soul was made for Jesus.

And Jesus is the only thing that can satisfy the appetite of your soul. And if you don't pursue Him, The cavernous appetite. of your soul will demand that you pursue something. That infinity sized appetite within you will grab you by the neck and demand to be fed.

And you will take that appetite and turn to some other thing and you will be driven mad. In your attempt to make that other thing satisfy your God-sized appetite. It's been heartbreaking to read in the news the last couple of months about powerful men in Hollywood and Washington DC and other places. Who have everything and they're still not satisfied.

They have billions of dollars and wild success and power. They're still not satisfied, so they pursue the satisfaction of their soul through the sexual exploitation of others. What desperate and pathetic pursuers. These men are.

Their hands will grope where they can, and they will exploit whomever they can in order to gain some satisfaction that never comes. Their appetites are infinite. And 1000 sexual escapades do not even begin to touch the appetite of their soul. Other people pursue satisfaction of their soul through alcohol, drugs, pleasure, career, success, or money, and the things that money can buy, or through video games or any number of other things.

But make no mistake, everyone. is pursuing something. And we will never be satisfied until we begin to pursue the one. Whom we were created to pursue.

The only one who is infinite enough To satisfy the infinity sized appetite of our soul. More than any of us realize. Paul's example here in Philippians 3 of passionate pursuit of Christ. Will save us from 1000 heartaches and will lead to ultimate satisfaction.

Throughout life and then ultimately at the coming of Christ. When you will be so glad that you gave your life to pursuing him. I also want to encourage all of you to try to Make Paul's calculus in Philippians 3:8 your calculus. Take the vocabulary that Paul uses in Philippians 3:8 and use that language to frame the choices that you make every day.

This has actually been helping me in recent weeks. In fact, for starters, try at least one time a day. To frame a choice you're making by saying the words and say them out loud. I count this as a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.

When you're tempted to sin, say no to the sin and be willing to lose that sin and say, I count this sin to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus. My lord Use these words when you're responding to temptation. You can even apply this calculus. Even toward things that may not be sinful.

But they just get in the way in the moment of your pursuit of Christ. My wife gave me permission to share this, but she was sharing with me this past week as we were talking about this theme that sometimes She'll get up in the morning and come downstairs to have her devotions and Spend time with Jesus and while she's doing that, she'll hear her phone ding. Indicating that somebody has left her a message. So she picks up her phone and reads the text and feels the need to respond to it.

Then she checks her other text, and then she gets a Facebook notice about someone's birthday, and then she goes on Facebook and before she knows it, she has wasted 30 minutes of her time when she could have spent that time with Jesus. Has that ever happened to you? It has me But here's why I share this. As she was sharing this with me, she was telling me this as a confession, but as she's telling me this, I'm thinking about how often I have noticed that when she is downstairs in the morning, having her devotions, being in the word and spending time in prayer with Christ, her phone is upstairs by our bedside.

On our bedside table in our room. And whenever I noticed that, I always appreciate. How that must to some degree be intentional on her part. She's literally considering her phone to be a loss.

For 30 minutes. So that she can get into the word without distraction and gain a little more of Christ. By the way, the reason I noticed her phone is up in our room is because I'm hearing it ding and buzz and vibrate while I'm trying to be in the word. so it distracts me, but not her, and that's what's important.

Guys, so, so even when it comes to your devotions, you have opportunity to frame your choice, I'm giving this as an example, to frame your choice using Paul's vocabulary in Philippians 3:8. You can put your phone away before you sit down to get into God's word and spend time with Jesus. You can carry your phone to another room and you can say, I will count this phone. As a loss for the next 30 minutes.

In view of the surpassing value of getting to know Jesus Christ better during my devotional time. I know that's a massive sacrifice that we're talking about here. But can you do that? Are you willing to lose your phone for 30 minutes so that you can gain a little more of Christ?

Are you willing to consider anything a loss? So that you can gain a little more of Jesus. Guys, you think about it, we have time for so many things. So many things that are gonna burn on judgment Day.

They don't amount to anything and we're so caught up in doing these things, we're, we're afraid to count any of it a loss. Meanwhile, things that we know on paper, we should be doing, we just don't get around to them. why? Because we're afraid, we're not counting things to be loss.

We're hoping somehow there's a way to gain Jesus and not have to count other things to be a loss. Boy, if we could pull that off, we'd all be very holy, right? Learn to count things as loss. Things that are sinful, even things that aren't sinful, but in the moment, there are distraction that will keep you away from pursuing Christ.

Finally, I, I just, I gotta throw this in. I love the fact that Paul is not content to merely share his testimony of total devotion to Christ in Philippians 3. He goes beyond that and invites the Philippians to join with him in his lifestyle of pursuing Jesus. From his example, we learned that one of the primary characteristics of a person totally devoted to Christ is a desire to see others join them in that devotion.

That's part of what I love about the Cornerstone congregation. So many of you are reaching out to others. You're, you love what you're experiencing with Jesus in the gospel. And you're inviting others to join you in following Christ.

A couple of weeks ago, a sister in our church came up to me on a Sunday morning and shared with me how God by His amazing grace had used her to lead. A UCR graduate student to Christ. And she's now having the privilege of discipling this student in her walk with Christ. I think also of the, I think 16 unchurched.

Kids who marijuana workers are ministering to. Each week You guys model so much of what Paul exemplifies here in Philippians 3. Imagine what God can do with a congregation of 500 people. Who are done with lesser things, who are not afraid to count lesser things to be lost, and who make pursuing Jesus the one great thing that they do.

And who are constantly calling others and inviting others to join them in that lifestyle. Imagine What God can do With this congregation, if we are people who will live this way, and may God pour out His Spirit upon us and help me and all of us. To be this people. Let's pray together.

Lord, we thank you for these sweet words by Paul, just 3 simple verses, and yet there's There's so much here. I, I, I pray again, Lord, that you would pour out your spirit upon us and help us to see Jesus Christ and His glory. To such a degree that it would just ruin the way that we see other things that right now are unfortunately more appealing to us. And that distract us away from what you've called us into.

Purify us as a church, make us holy, increase our devotion to you, that we might as a purified church just be a brilliant light. In this increasingly dark world. In which we live And may people in this community and beyond find warmth. And light In Christ through us.

Empower our witness in this way, Lord. Bless us as we give and our offerings to you right now, Lord, receive every penny that we give and do much with what we give this morning. To serve the cause of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, and all God's people said,