CHOOSING EXCELLENCE Over Loss-III—Php. 3:7-16
Attention:
Try to Be Ugly:
Everyone in the apartment complex I lived in knew who Ugly was. Ugly was the resident tomcat.
A life spent outside had it's effect on Ugly. To start with, he had only one eye & where the other should have been was a hole. He was also missing his ear on the same side, his left foot appeared to have been badly broken at one time, & had healed at an unnatural angle, making him look like he was always turning the corner.
Ugly would have been a dark gray tabby, striped type, except for the sores covering his head, neck, & even his shoulders.
Every time someone saw Ugly there was the same reaction. “That's one UGLY cat!!!”
All the children were warned not to touch him, the adults threw rocks at him, hosed him down, & squirted him when he tried to come in their homes, or shut his paws in the door when he would not leave. Ugly always had the same reaction.
If you turned the hose on him, he would stand there, getting soaked until you gave up & quit. If you threw things at him, he would curl his lanky body around your feet in forgiveness.
Whenever he spied children, he would come running, meowing frantically & bump his head against their hands, begging for their love.
If you ever picked him up he would immediately begin suckling on your shirt, earrings, whatever he could find.
One day Ugly shared his love with the neighbor's dogs. They did not respond kindly, & Ugly was badly mauled. I tried to rush to his aid. By the time I got to where he was laying, it was apparent Ugly's sad life was almost at an end.
As I picked him up & tried to carry him home, I could hear him wheezing & gasping, & could feel him struggling. It must be hurting him terribly, I thought.
Then I felt a familiar tugging, sucking sensation on my ear. Ugly, in so much pain, suffering & obviously dying, was trying to suckle my ear. I pulled him closer to me, & he bumped the palm of my hand with his head, then he turned his one golden eye towards me, & I could hear the distinct sound of purring.
Even in the greatest pain, that ugly battled scarred cat was asking only for a little affection, perhaps some compassion.
At that moment I thought Ugly was the most beautiful, loving creature I had ever seen. Never once did he try to bite or scratch me, try to get away from me, or struggle in any way. Ugly just looked up at me completely trusting in me to relieve his pain.
Ugly died in my arms before I could get inside, but I sat & held him for a long time afterwards, thinking about how one scarred, deformed little stray could so alter my opinion about what it means to have true pureness of spirit, to love so totally & truly.
Ugly taught me more about giving & compassion than a thousand books, lectures, or talk show specials ever could, & for that I will always be thankful.
He had been scarred on the outside, but I was scarred on the inside, & it was time for me to move on & learn to love truly & deeply. To give my total to those I cared for.
Many people want to be richer, more successful, well liked, beautiful, but for me. . . I will always try/choose to be Ugly.
—Author Unknown—
?Do you maintain the level of commitment necessary to honor Jesus?
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 means of maintaining commitment to Christ.
Last Sunday morning we found that
Those who maintain their commitment to Christ...
1. SEPARATE TRASH From TREASURE(:7-8)
2. CHOOSE The TREASURE(:9)
Today we will also discover that...
3—Those who maintain their commitment to Christ...
NURTURE INTIMACY With HIM(:10)
Explanation/Argumentation:(:10)
:10—“....that I may know Him, & the power of His resurrection & the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;...”
“that I may know Him”—This resumes :8—“that I may gain Christ” &/or :9—“& be found in Him.”
Our verse describes the practical outworking of living righteously by faith.
“Know Him”—
God’s people have an experiential knowledge of Christ. An intimate & growing knowledge of Jesus Christ is expected.
1Jn. 5:20—“And we know that the Son of God has come & has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; & we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God & eternal life.”
1Jn. 2:4—“He who says, “I know Him,” & does not keep His commandments, is a liar, & the truth is not in him.”
“Know”—ginwskw—Verb—1) To learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel—1a) To become known; 2) To know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of—2a) To understand, 2b) To know; 3) Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man & a woman; 4) To become acquainted with, to know. Ginwskw denotes a knowledge grounded on personal experience. Strong—a prolonged form of a primary verb; To "know"(absolutely) in a great variety of applications & with many implications.
Experiential knowledge is carried thru to 2-3 other areas of knowledge...
“Power of His resurrection”—
God’s people have an experiential power of indestructible life. An intimate & growing knowledge of Christ involves a personal experience of the power that is inherent to Christ’s resurrection.
Col. 3:1— “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
1Th. 4:14— “For if we believe that Jesus died & rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.”
Jn. 11:25-26—“Jesus said to her[Martha], “I am the resurrection & the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives & believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?””
“Power”—dunamiv—Noun Fem.—1) Strength power, ability—1a) Inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts & puts forth, 1b) Power for performing miracles, 1c) Moral power & excellence of soul, 1d) The power & influence which belong to riches & wealth, 1e) Power & resources arising from numbers, 1f) Power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts. Dunamiv denotes power, natural ability, general & inherent Strong—from dunamai[To be able or possible]; Force(literally or figuratively); specially--Miraculous power(usually by implication--A miracle itself).
“Resurrection”(See :11—exanastasiv)—anastasiv—Noun Fem.—1) A raising up, rising(e.g. from a seat); 2) A rising from the dead—2a) That of Christ, 2b) That of all men at the end of this present age, 2c) The resurrection of certain ones history who were restored to life(Heb 11:35). Strong—A standing up again, i.e. literally--A resurrection from death(individual, genitive case or by implication [its author]), or figuratively--A (moral)recovery(of spiritual truth).?From—ana—a primary preposition & adverb; properly--Up; but by extension, used distributively--Severally, or locally--At(etc.).—&—isthmi—Strong—a prolonged form of a primary staw(of the same meaning, used for it in certain tenses); To stand(transitively or intransitively), used in various applications(literally or figuratively).
“Fellowship of His sufferings”—
God’s people have an experiential fellowship or voluntary submission/joining/meshing of 2 hearts. An intimate & growing knowledge of Christ will involve joining Christ thru the unpleasant avenue of similar sufferings(sufferings received for the same reasons as Jesus).
Amos 3:3—“Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”
2Cor. 4:13-18—“And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed & therefore I spoke,” we also believe & therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, & will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding & eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
2Tim. 1:6-12—“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power & of love & of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us & called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose & grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death & brought life & immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, & a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed & am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”
Jn. 1:10-11—“He was in the world, & the world was made through Him, & the world did not know Him. He came to His own, & His own did not receive Him.”
Jn. 4:34—“Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, & to finish His work.”
“Fellowship”—koinwnia—Noun Fem.—1) Fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse—1a) The share which one has in anything, participation, 1b) Intercourse, fellowship, intimacy—1b1) The right hand as a sign and pledge of fellowship(in fulfilling the apostolic office), 1c) A gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution, as exhibiting an embodiment & proof of fellowship. Strong—partnership, i.e. literally--Participation, or social--Intercourse, or pecuniary--Benefaction. Used 20X.
“Sufferings”—payhma—Noun Neuter—1) That which one suffers or has suffered—1a) externally--A suffering, misfortune, calamity, evil, affliction—1a1) Of the sufferings of Christ, 1a2) also--The afflictions which Christians must undergo in behalf of the same cause which Christ patiently endured, 1b) Of an inward state, an affliction, passion; 2) An enduring, undergoing, suffering. Strong—Something undergone, i.e. Hardship or pain; subjectively--An emotion or influence. Used 16X.?From a presumed derivative of—payov—properly--Suffering(“pathos”), i.e. subjectively--A passion(especially concupiscence).
“Conformed to His death”—
God’s people have an experiential death to self. They seek to be molded(“conformed”) to what simultaneously brought Christ’s death & His life drives God’s people, regardless of the resulting consequences.
“For a believer to share Christ’s sufferings involves such complete identification with him that it can only be explained as death to the former life.”—EBC
Lk. 22:41-46—“And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, & He knelt down & prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. When He rose up from prayer, & had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise & pray, lest you enter into temptation.”
Rom. 6:4, 6, 10-11, 13—“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”.....“knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”.....“For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”.....“And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, & your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
Mat. 27:15-26—“Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” But the chief priests & elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas & destroy Jesus. The governor answered & said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!” When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water & washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” And all the people answered & said, “His blood be on us & on our children.” Then he released Barabbas to them; & when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.”
“Conformed”—summorfow—OR—summorfizw—Verb—1) To be conformed to, receive the same form as. Strong—To render like, i.e. figuratively--To assimilate. Used 1X.?From—sun—1) With. Strong—a primary preposition denoting union; With or together(but much closer than meta or para), i.e. By association, companionship, process, resemblance, possession, instrumentality, addition, etc.—&—morfh—perhaps from the base of merov[a division or share](through the idea of adjustment of parts); Shape; figuratively--Nature.
“Death”—yanatov—Noun Masc.—1) The death of the body—1a) That separation(whether natural or violent) of the soul & the body by which the life on earth is ended, 1b) with the implied idea of future misery in hell—1b1) The power of death, 1c) since the nether world, the abode of the dead, was conceived as being very dark, it is Equivalent to the region of thickest darkness i.e. figuratively--A region enveloped in the darkness of ignorance & sin; 2) metaph.--The loss of that life which alone is worthy of the name—2a) The misery of the soul arising from sin, which begins on earth but lasts and increases after the death of the body in hell; 3) The miserable state of the wicked dead in hell; 4) in the widest sense--Death comprising all the miseries arising from sin, as well physical death as the loss of a life consecrated to God & blessed in him on earth, to be followed by wretchedness in hell. Strong—(properly, an adjective used as a noun) Death(literally or figuratively).
None of the intimacies noted herein—“that I may know Him, & the power of His resurrection & the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death”— have anything to do with nurturing an intimacy with a set of rules or guidelines...
However, every one of them has to do with nurturing a personal give-&-take relationship with Christ, the relationship which then determines our guidelines.
‘You may read your Bible, go to church, give your tithe, but you know very little about God’s nature or His characteristics. You may know right from wrong as the Scripture reveals it. However, you are particularly ignorant about any moment-by-moment desire of God’s heart. You know He loves you, yet there is no ‘one-on-one’ intimacy between you & God. The personal commitment is lacking because the intimacy of your relationship is missing. Rules serve you day-by-day but there is never a relationship that is nurtured with God nor He with you. Your approach to Him is entirely piously sterile. Until you begin to understand Him, a spiritual veil & void will separate you from God & He from you.’ ‘Much of the time, people are merely looking to God for relief from the stresses of their particularly trying situation rather than truly seeking to know the Lord.’—Freely paraphrased from Charles Stanley’s, ‘In Step With God’
Jesus encouraged a young man who ‘knew the rules’, solemnly & sincerely telling him, “you are not far from the kingdom of God”...
Mk. 12:18-34—“Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; & they asked Him, saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, & leaves his wife behind, & leaves no children, his brother should take his wife & raise up offspring for his brother. “Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; & dying, he left no offspring. “And the second took her, & he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise. So the seven had her & left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.” Jesus answered & said to them, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? “For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, & the God of Jacob’? “He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.” Then one of the scribes came, & having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. ‘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. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ “There is no other commandment greater than these.” 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.”
Argumentation:
Mk. 12:28-31—“Then one of the scribes came, & having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. ‘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. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
You can be ‘in love’ with a concept or an idea. Many are deceived into accepting that their belief in the ‘concept’ or the ‘idea’ of God is enough. But it’s only enough to have you ‘clean up your life’ so that you become a ‘do-gooder.’ Such a limiting belief is NOT the same thing as being in love with God Himself! Such a limiting belief sends multitudes to hell for eternity(Php. 3:5-7)!
2Pet. 3:14-16—“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot & blameless; & consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught & unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.”
Rom. 10:9-13—“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus & believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, & with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew & Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.””
1Jn. 1:1-2:6—“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, & our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- the life was manifested, & we have seen, & bear witness, & declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father & was manifested to us-- that which we have seen & heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; & truly our fellowship is with the Father & with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from Him & declare to you, that God is light & in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, & walk in darkness, we lie & do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, & the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, & the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful & just to forgive us our sins & to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, & His word is not in us. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, & not for ours only but also for the whole world. *Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” & does not keep His commandments, is a liar, & the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
Jn. 10:2-5, 14, 23-28—“But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, & the sheep hear his voice; & he calls his own sheep by name & leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; & the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”.....“I am the good shepherd; & I know My sheep, & am known by My own.”.....“And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, & they will hear My voice; & there will be one flock & one shepherd.”.....“And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him & said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, & you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, & I know them, & they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, & they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”
Eph. 4:17-24—“This I say, therefore, & testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him & have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, & be renewed in the spirit of your mind, & that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness & holiness.”
Illustration:
Eddie Brown & I(dive buddies in high school) went SCUBA diving off the beach at Venice, FL for shark’s teeth/We supposed that we could navigate the shallow water toward shore easily without a compass—WRONG!/Finally we became intimately aligned with the compass!/The blessing of Nurturing Intimacy with an inanimate object/NURTURE INTIMACY
Twila Paris’ ‘True North’(NURTURE INTIMACY with the Savior):
We lost our bearings,
following our own mind
We left conviction behind
Fear of the future,...
springing from the sins of the past
Hiding the hope that would last
How did we ever wander so far...
and where do we go from here?
How will we know where it is?
True North
There's a strong steady light that is guiding us home.
True North
In the lingering night we were never alone...
True North
We need an absolute compass now more than ever before...
True north, True north
Wonders of nature ...
speak to us all of Your plan.
Why would we run from Your hand.
Laws of the earth,...
just like the laws of the heart.
Only begin where You are
How did we ever wander so far...
and where do we go from here?
How will we find it again?
Turning back to where You meet us
We will follow where You lead us
There is Truth inside Your dwelling
We have come to face...
True North
There's a strong steady light that is guiding us home
True North
In the lingering night we were never alone
True North
We need an absolute compass, now more than ever before...
True north, True north
When we experience intimacy with the Savior, we learn from Him directly, & seek to please Him & our paths are lovingly tread in an otherworldly peace, that is born of intimacy with Him.
Application:
?Do you NURTURE an INTIMATE relationship with your Savior?
?Do you Really Know Him or simply Know About Him?
?Do you Gladly Experience Power of His Sufferings, His Resurrection, being Conformed to His Death daily?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Choose to be ‘Ugly’!
Action:
Those who maintain their commitment to Christ...
3. NURTURE INTIMACY With HIM(:10)
1. SEPARATE TRASH From TREASURE(:7-8)
2. CHOOSE The TREASURE(:9)
Pt. 3 only! presented 01/28/2018am 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
