CHOOSING EXCELLENCE Over Loss-II—Php. 3:7-16
Attention:
“On April 21st, in the year 1519, the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez sailed into the harbor of Vera Cruz, Mexico. He brought with him only about 600 men, & yet over the next two years his vastly outnumbered forces were able to defeat Montezuma & all the warriors of the Aztec empire, making Cortez the conqueror of all Mexico.
How was this incredible feat accomplished, when two prior expeditions had failed even to establish a colony on Mexican soil? Here’s the secret.
Cortez knew from the very beginning that he & his men faced incredible odds. He knew that the road before them would be dangerous & difficult. He knew that his men would be tempted to abandon their quest & return to Spain.
And so, as soon as Cortez & his men had come ashore & unloaded their provisions, he ordered their entire fleet of eleven ships destroyed. His men stood on the shore & watched as their only possibility of retreat burned & sank. And from that point on, they knew beyond any doubt there was no return, no turning back. Nothing lay behind them but empty ocean. Their only option was to go forward, to conquer or die.”—Alan Perkins, Aug 19, 2001 @ SermonCentral.com
?Do You maintain the level of commitment necessary to honor Jesus?
Need:
Josh. 24:14-15—[Joshua to Israel after conquering the Promised Land]—“Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity & in truth, & put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River & in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me & my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Paul told the Philippian Christians the value & means of maintaining a high level of commitment to Christ.
Christians are expected to maintain their commitment to Christ.
How can Christians maintain their commitment to Christ?
4 secrets to maintaining commitment to Christ.
Last Sunday morning we found that
Those who maintain their commitment to Christ...
1. SEPARATE TRASH From TREASURE(:7-8)
Today we will also discover that...
2—Those who maintain their commitment to Christ...
CHOOSE The TREASURE(:9)
Explanation:(:9)Prioritize God’s Standard/
:9—“& be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;”
Paul declared/considered his self-righteousness to be rubbish/trash when compared to gaining Christ. Therefore, trash must be dumped or Christ cannot be possessed/had. We possess either trash(self) or treasure(Christ).
Mat. 16:25—“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
The purpose of Paul’s life was to “be found” in Christ.
But Who was it that would think it tellingly important to find Paul “in” Christ? Paul wanted to be “found” by God Himself because to Paul’s own Master he stands or falls(Rom. 14:4).
Being “found” by God—the searcher of our very hearts—“in” Christ ensures that our righteousness comes to us by His power thru personal faith.
It is inconsistent with God’s righteousness to have a self-made or an ‘earned’ righteousness.
*You can follow your church’s by-laws ‘to-the-T’ & spend eternity in hell! Your actions may produce a mere appearance of godliness.
2Tim. 3:1-5—“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
I have met all of the above church members thru my years as a pastor.
“Righteousness” = Your particular standard of morality.
It is Never enough to separate/know right from wrong....
We must also choose God’s right(eousness)...You individually must make a choice to walk with the Lord! We corporately must choose to walk with God rather than with the world!
Argumentation:The following all deal with the Choice you make!
Ps. 1:1-6—“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day & night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
Mk. 12:32-34—“So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, & there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, & with all the strength, & to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings & sacrifices.” Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But after that no one dared question Him.”
Rom. 9:30-32; 10:2-4—“What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.”.....“For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they[Israel] being ignorant of God’s righteousness, & seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
God, & thus Paul(God’s apostle), see salvation as a continuing process!
1Cor. 3:10-15—“According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, & another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; & the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
Mk. 12:31— “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, & with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.”
Lk. 9:25— “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, & is himself destroyed or lost?”
2Thess. 1:3-12—“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, & the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience & faith in all your persecutions & tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, & to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, & on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord & from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints & to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed. Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, & fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness & the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, & you in Him, according to the grace of our God & the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Acts 4:11-12—““This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.””
Js. 4:17—“Therefore, to him who knows to do good & does not do it, to him it is sin.”
Illustration:
Let’s assume that a particular husband is sent to the store for laundry detergent/He knows that his wife uses a certain brand of detergent because that’s the only brand he’s ever seen in the house/While in the store he sees a sale on a different brand of detergent & supposes she will be pleased that he had saved the family some money/He brings the knock-off-brand home/BUT the different brand didn’t supply the need/She wanted him to Choose ‘Gain’(detergent)/CHOOSE The TREASURE
Last Sunday I mentioned that—When I was nearing working age, I saw the value of having a motorized vehicle/I recognized the surpassing value of a motorized vehicle when compared to that of walking or riding my bicycle—I Separated Trash From Treasure, however,...Upon making that recognition(separation) & acceptance, I then CHOSE to save my money in order to buy my first car!/CHOOSE The TREASURE
Application:
?Have you CHOSEN TREASURE rather than trash?
?What things in your life reflect that decision?—Lifestyle--Music, Vehicle, Friends, Church, etc....
?Have you CHOSEN TREASURE or still wallowing in things that are destined for destruction?
?You live by God’s righteousness or by a self-made righteousness of your own devising?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Hernando Cortez had his entire fleet scuttled so that his men would have no recourse but to conquer the land.
Action:
Those who maintain their commitment to Christ...
2. CHOOSE The TREASURE(:9)
1. SEPARATE TRASH From TREASURE(:7-8)
Pt. 2 only! presented 01/14/2017am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Pts. 1-4 Presented 11/27/1998am to:
PENIA Baptist Church
3738 Old Penia Rd.
Cordele, GA 31015
