ONE THING I DO….
Phil. 3: 7-14 (p 819) August 11, 2013
INTRODUCTION:
Have you ever heard the phrase…”Resting on your laurels?”
It comes from when Greek Olympians would win an event…they were given Bay Laurel crowns to honor the God Apollo’s…those Olympians became celebrities for their accomplishments…No longer training , no longer racing, no longer winning…resting on their laurels…existing on the statues from past accomplishments and victories.
The Apostle Paul loved to use Olympia, physical, illustrations to prove a point...at the end of his life…as he closes his 2nd letter, to Timothy he says, “The time for my departure is near…I have fought the good fight, (he uses the Greek word “pugilist”, pugilism, boxing) I have finished the race…now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award me on that day—“ (2 Tim 4: 6-8)
The word Paul uses for crown is “Stephanos” it’s used to describe the crown of thorns Jesus wore in Matt 27:29…It’s not the “diademed” crown of Gold..It’s a victors laurel wreath…it’s a temporary crown…Laurel Leaves and thorns.
In our text Paul sees temporary things…and he sees eternal things…He sees things that are garbage and things that are of intimate worth…At one time he could have rested on his earthly laurels…but not anymore.
I THE CROSS CHANGES OUR POINT OF VIEW FOREVER
The Jews put a great deal of importance on your family tree…and also the accomplishments of your life, especially in regards to the Mosaic law…The belief was…be a child of Abraham, obey the Law, be in the right family with the right people…and you’re in!!!
It’s how Paul introduces our test: “If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the 8th day (Just like the Abraham covenant demands), of the people of Israel (I’m a Jew), of the tribe of Benjamin (one of the most beloved sons of Jacob), A Hebrew of Hebrews, ( I’m a leader in the Jewish community, possibly one of the Sanhedrin) As to the Law a Pharisees (the top students) as for zeal persecuting the church ( I get fired up when something is opposing our religious system)…as for righteousness based on the Law, faultless…(He obeyed all the written commandments to “T” ) (Philippians 3:4-6)
The Apostle Paul uses a B.U.I.C.K. (Brought up in the church Kid)….His spiritual confidence came from the way he looked, the way he acted, and his family heritage…He would have made an amazing older brother in Jesus’ story about the prodigal son…remember him? Saying to the Father…”I’ve slaved for you all these years and never disobeyed your orders!” (Luke 15:29)
Here’s what happens to the Saul’s who put confidence in the flesh and to the older brothers who think they’ve earned the Father’s Love & Blessings….
The first martyr for His faith after the resurrection of Jesus was a “deaconos”, a servant named Stephen…He gives a history lesson to a crowd of older brothers and Buick….listen to what happens…
Acts 7: 51-8:3 (p 764)
They’re furious…they circle the truth…they pick up rocks…they kill the messenger…like they killed other messengers…Saul’s there…holding their coats and in full approval for these actions…In fact Saul uses them as a springboard to vent his hatred and rage. Acts 9 begins….”Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” He goes to the Holy Place for superior’s to arrest anyone, male, female, young or old who follow Christ.
Do you think Saul believes he’s right? I really need an answer…do you think that Saul believes he’s being a good man? Yeah? Me too.
He’s stacking up those “Gains” in Phil. 3:7 like notches in a gunfighter’s pistol Saul is doing, acting, and persecuting righteous acts of the Law.”
I’m afraid many churches are producing Saul-like God followers…Self righteous, even angry when it comes to religious stuff….with a point of view that comes from the flesh…God loves good people…I’m a good people…God loves me…God hates bad people…you’re a bad people….God hates you….and so do I…
It might be the most cancerous belief system for the church of Jesus today.
You see with a mouth full of murderous threats and heart hardened by self righteousness Saul meets a risen Jesus “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him…He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him. Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “who are you Saul asked, “I’m Jesus whom you are persecuting He replied”. (Acts 9: 3-5)
Saul knew the commandments…He had studied the law (under the best teachers)…He had the right pedigree…
But meeting Jesus changes everything…He would lose it all…for the immeasurable worth of Jesus. Everything else would be garbage in comparison…All his past accomplishments look like dirty diapers in comparison with Jesus gift of grace…in verse 10 you can feel the desire…
I want to know Jesus…Everything about His Heart…I want my old selfish sinful heart to die and be reborn. I want a resurrection not a magic trick…Let me die to me and let me live for Him. I don’t just want to know the right stuff…I want to know Jesus. And I want Him to know me!! I’m not there yet but I press on…my goal…to take hold of this ministry Jesus has called me to do.
Gratitude for his salvation pours from every molecule of his body. [That’s what happens when you stop and study about God and when you meet him face to face in the dirt.]
[I wonder if Paul ever thought…”Why did Jesus pick me? Why did He come after me when I was persecuting Him?
I’ve asked the same question myself…why would Jesus come after a 17 years old pot head whose dropped out of school…for both me and Saul the answer is the same…it’s our goals have changed…It’s what we press on towards…it’s why we are called…it’s why we are saved…listen.
1 Timothy 1: 12-16 (p 829)
[I buried my favorite dog I’ve ever had a couple of years ago…His name was “yeller” He lived to be almost 17 …that’s just a guess because we think he was about 3 when we found him in an old dog house behind our house after it had snowed more than a foot…you could tell he had been on the street for awhile, battle scars…skinny….(Leather jacket, tattoo on his shoulder…He looked to be a full blooded yellow Labrador retriever…so we tried to find his owner…put our flyers…and in the little Lawrenceburg paper…We even had a guy call and say he’d lost “Sam” his yellow Lab…He came by looked at “yeller and said “that ain’t Sam! And by than we loved “yeller”…He grew up with our kids…The most gentle and loving dog ever…We came home one day and he was throwing a white sock around and his mouth was bleeding…we discovered it wasn’t a sock it was our daughter’s hamster…the hamster bit yeller, but he couldn’t hurt it… (The hamster did have a nervous tic after that night).
The only thing that yeller hated was going outside…He hated going outside…I think he was afraid we wouldn’t let him back in…why was yeller so good, so gentle, so loving? I think it was because he was grateful to have a home…He was rescued from the pound and loved by our family.]
That’s what pours out of Paul’s heart to Timothy. I was the worst…Christ saved me so I could tell people…He can save anyone…I’m example A in the courtroom of Grace…that’s my goal…that’s my calling….that’s what I press on to do….
My testimony…Jesus came for me…He came personally with power to reveal his grace to a rebellious lost teenager…He drew one to the cross so I could die and be reborn…on this side of the cross I consider everything I use to view as important as trash…
You see I know I’ve been rescued “like yeller from the pound.” Why me?!!! I’m not sure…why “God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy and He hardens whom He wants to Harden” (Rom 9:18).
Maybe it’s because God chooses the foolish and weak things of this world so that we might see His power displayed…and because of that we don’t boast in the things of the flesh…we boast in the cross…we see everything and everyone through the cross…let me end with one last challenge from Philippians 3: 7-14.
II MAKE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THE MOST IMPORANT THING.
Paul says, “One thing I do” He is establishing the most important thing in his life right here…The philosophy that drives his heart. My philosophy of ministry has been and always will be….”People are more important than programs and things…and kids are people too.”
…And in a sense Paul’s goal is the same…His ministry his calling is to take the gospel to the world...It’s the power of salvation to both few and gentle…People.
Just as the disciples are challenged to “Go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the father, son and holy spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commended you.” (Matt 18: 19, 20)
ONE THING……PRIORITY NUMBER ONE
I haven’t obtained it yet…I’m not there already…”I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” I press on toward the goal…
Once again I think Paul is picturing a runner leaning for the tape…Finish Well
[One of my least favorite parts of the Bible is the parts which describe the final times of the Old Testament Kings…None of them seemed to finish very well…most of them ended by a nesting on their laurels.”..And because of that they became idolatrous, paranoid, selfish and angry…still in power, but not for the purpose God had put them there for…Paul is finishing this life…He’s suffered…He has a thorn in the flesh that torments him. He’s in prison…He’s been deserted His eyesight’s bad…but he will not let the struggle smother his salvation gratitude…and the way he does this is twofold…He forgets what is behind…and He presses on toward what is ahead.
What does he forget? People?...not on your life…read the conclusions of his epistles…they’re filled with households after households…name after name…what he forgets is his victories and His injuries.
Both are behind him…in His past…and maybe He can’t physically forget them like “God forgets our sins and throws them into the Sea of forgetfulness.”…but he chooses not to live in them as if they determine his NOW. I’m sure he still remembers Stephen’s face…I’m sure he still remembers Mars Hill and Eutychus falling out of the window…but neither his injuries or his victory’s change his Priority Now.
You see each of us have a limited amount of time and energy…and Satan would have us living in the past, whether it’s a grudge hold or a victory celebrated…the 7 words that kill a church are “We’ve Never Done It That Way Before.”
And the one thing I do question for a growing healthy church is…are we using our time and energies in the most effective way to fulfill the great commission? When Jesus returns he won’t evaluate our facilities, He won’t ask for Sunday morning numbers,…or how many activities we’re involved in…what He will ask is…”Have you loved the least of those my brethren”…Have you fallen in love with me so deeply that you’ve fallen in love with them?
[IM gonna end with a weird question…If the spirit of Abraham Lincoln invaded your body…And began to influence your thinking, your speech, and your actions… do you think people could tell it was Abraham Lincoln’s spirit possessing you...If you started thinking and acting like the 16th president..Even without the beard and top hat… it would be evident who was influencing you, huh...
So, if the Holy Spirit, The Spirit of Christ according to Romans 8 lives in you….the same Spirit that raised Christ from death according to Romans 8:11 has invaded your body, influences your thinking, your speech and your actions…do you believe like I do that people can tell it’s the Spirit of Jesus Christ? The “One” who brought a greater release from slavery than Abraham Lincoln…And what drove Jesus…what moved Him…”He came to seek and save that which is lost… He came to care for sick people (that’s all of us) because well people don’t need a physician…If the Spirit of Christ lives in you…whether your name is Saul, Rick, Bill, Mary or Fred….Lost people are your priority! Because this was Jesus’ priority.]
