Philippians 3:1-11

Okay, somebody tell me how you know you are going to go to Heaven when you die. How do you know for sure?  Or do you? If you don’t know for sure, then we will change that before you leave here today if you want. But first, somebody tell me why you deserve to go to Heaven. Anybody?

I’ll tell you why I know I am going to Heaven. It is this right here. My family calls it the Mayflower Document. My cousin documented back fourteen generations and proved that my family on my mother’s side is descended from two families that came to America on the Mayflower. I don’t want to brag but it’s kind of a big deal. Not many people can prove their ancestors came over on the Mayflower but here I have proof that I come from two different families.

Not only that, the oldest relative was William Brewster who was responsible for their spiritual training and was the preacher for their worship services. That is absolutely the truth. I promise. Now, that ought to be enough to get ya into Heaven right there, right? But wait! There’s more!  Four generations later, my great, great, great, etc. grandmother married Hancock Lee of Virginia and their descendent was the illustrious Confederate General Robert E. Lee. So, now you know I’m going to Heaven, right? Now, almost all of my family is mentioned to have gone to church. That has always been important since the very first, even though some of them were Presbyterians, which may or may not get you into Heaven but let me skip down to my grandfather, from generation number twelve. Harvey W. Graham was a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Baptist churches all over Oklahoma, Texas and Georgia for over 50 years.

Then my father, Richard B. Blair, was a pastor for about the same length of time all over Texas and now I am a pastor and have been for nearly ten years. So…that proves that I am going to Heaven, right? That’s how I know. I mean, what else could God want? I have a very spiritual bloodline. And except for great grandpa Eustice who was indicted for swearing in a county court, they all lived very moral lives. And if that wasn’t enough, I’m pretty sure that at this point in my life, my good deeds now outweigh my bad deeds. I’m getting closer, at least. Surely that’s plenty to get me into Heaven! Do you want to hear about some of all my good deeds? No? Why not? What do you mean that’s not how it works? If I were God, that’s how it would work! But aren’t you glad I’m not God???

Aren’t you glad you don’t have to work your way into Heaven or be dependent on your family history to get you there? In fact, not only is this Mayflower Document not helpful to get me to Heaven, it could actually be a hindrance if I put any stock in it at all to do that. In that case, it’s less than helpful. It’s actually harmful and it’s the same with anything we try to do on our own except to have faith in Jesus.

As we go through the beautiful little book of Philippians, we come to chapter three and we see that Paul has his own Mayflower Document and it puts mine to shame. He will tell us about it but he will also tell us what we need to do to go deeper in our relationship with the Lord. Let’s read it in Philippians 3:1-11.

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

I love how Paul starts off here with the word “finally.” Like a good preacher, he says finally as in “Finally, I’m halfway through.” It’s like a preacher saying, “Let me close with this…”and he goes on for thirty more minutes. No, actually Paul is saying “furthermore” or “also” but he’s shifting gears here just a little bit in his letter but he wants to make sure that you remember that in all of this, “rejoice in the Lord!” No matter what happens, whatever is said and done, we will always have joy.

Now, how many of you were a little bit insulted when Paul said to watch out for those dogs and compared evil men to dogs? Us dog lovers don’t like it when people talk like that, right? But in those days it was a good insult to people to call them dogs. And all through here Paul is comparing people who have wrong ideas about how to get to Heaven with what he and we now know to be truth. Just know that Paul could get away with it. If you are trying to witness to somebody today, calling them a dog is probably not going to help your case.

I said earlier that if I were God, getting to Heaven would be a matter of good deeds outweighing your bad deeds, right? Doesn’t that just make sense? You have to earn things in this world. There’s no free lunch. You have to work and try and work harder and try harder and maybe, if you are a really good person, then you get to go to Heaven. That seems right to me and it has always seemed right to people just like it did for those people Paul is calling dogs and evil men. They just were living out what makes sense and what seemed right. But Proverbs 14:12 says there is a way that seems right to a man and in the end leads to death. And it’s talking about eternal death in Hell separated from God and everybody else. Paul calls it having confidence in the flesh. Do you see that in verse 4? Confidence in the flesh is thinking that you can do or be or have anything of your own making or in your own ability any way to get to Heaven and be right with God.

In the world that most of us live in, not many people put much stock in being a Pharisee or Hebrew or any of the other things that Paul had a claim on but there are a lot of people today that think that because they are a good person, they are going to Heaven. Some people think you have to go to church or give your money to the church or be baptized in the church. Or maybe their mother was a Sunday School teacher and their daddy was a preacher, so they are automatically headed to glory. None of that is true.

I have a good friend who is another denomination who has people in his church that believe that when you die, Jesus is going to ask if you had musical instruments in your worship and if so, adios right to Hell baby. I will call those people misguided. Paul called them evil-doers and dogs and would say that their religion is rubbish as he says in verse 8 about his own good deeds.

Let’s make sure that we are all on the same page here and after we do, I want us to see how Paul says we should live. But first, how do we get to Heaven? Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9not by works, so that no one can boast.” We are saved and go to Heaven as a gift of God. In John 14:6, “Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” We are saved by God’s grace and through faith in Jesus and when we are He will change us.  Now, all that stuff I mentioned earlier: the church attendance and baptism and giving and doing good things; those are all commanded for us to do. Those are all things that Christians do but they don’t make you a Christian. People that are going to Heaven do those things but just doing those things won’t get you to Heaven. Make sense?

Now, I want to show you another word here that Paul uses. We talk a lot about going to Heaven and being saved and that is right and good but look at the word that Paul uses in verse 9. He says all that other stuff – the heritage, the good works, the outward obedience – is all rubbish compared to “a righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” Paul uses the word “righteousness” here. What does it mean to be righteous? It simply means to be right with God. Our sin – anything that displeases God – makes us automatically unrighteous. We are not right with God. We are out of His favor and doomed to Hell. One sin gets you there, big boy. I have to tell you.

But we become righteous when we put all our faith and trust and hope and belief in Jesus. Then Jesus takes our sin and gives us the ability to be right with God. It’s a crazy good deal. We get to be righteous based on what Jesus did, not on what we have done. Now we are getting to the good stuff here. From verses 1-9 we see how not to do it and we see how we should do it but in verse 10 we start to see what to do now. Now that we are right with God, how should we act? What should we do?

Well, let me ask you a question. And you are going to think this is a weird question but here me out. What’s the purpose of marriage? Is the purpose of marriage to get to file differently on your income tax and get a financial break? I hope that’s not your plan. Is the purpose of marriage to have somebody to help you make the bed in the morning? That’s nice but it’s not the reason people get married or it shouldn’t be. There are some good reasons to get married and there are plenty of bad ones but if you really love someone, you marry them to know them better. You marry that person so you can love them more and know them more and know them better and more intimately. You want to spend your time with them and grow old with them and you want that more and more as you know them better.

Paul is madly in love with Jesus – as we should all be – and he just wants to know Jesus better. See, so many of us get caught up in just getting to Heaven. That’s the goal and when we hit that goal then we are done. I got my fire insurance. I’ll put in a little time in church and Bible study and I’ll pray when I need something but let’s not get carried away, right?

No! Paul is saying he has gotten way carried away! And he wants to go further because he knows that is where the blessings are. His love for Jesus started the ball rolling but then it became obvious that the closer he got to Jesus, the better his life became WHATEVER THE CIRCUMSTANCES!  More Jesus, more love, more Jesus, more peace, more Jesus, more joy, more blessings in this life and more treasures in Heaven. This life is a wisp of smoke. Eternity is forever and ever and ever. Paul wanted to know Jesus so bad he even wanted to understand the suffering of Jesus.

You know, there is a lot to be learned by suffering. Malcolm Muggeridge once said, “Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that at the time seemed especially desolating and painful with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my 75 years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my experience, has been through affliction and not through happiness. Malcolm Muggeridge, in Homemade, July, 1990.

There is a lot to be learned by suffering but the greatest thing we can learn is more about Jesus; how He lived, how He died, what He thought, what He felt. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” If you truly are a believer, a disciple, a child of the One True King, then you are loved and because we are loved, we love Him and will suffer for Him and with Him by crucifying ourselves and allowing God to work in us and through us to do whatever He wants us to do.

And our lives will reflect that. Our language will reflect that. Our attitudes will reflect that. Our habits will reflect that we don’t even live anymore but it is Jesus who lives in us and through us. Does that describe you today? Would your spouse agree that describes you? Would your boss agree? Would your friends agree?

If not, then make that change today right now in your heart. Come to the altar right now if you want. Don’t wait until you go home. That’s Satan telling you to just wait. Do it right now.

If you don’t have that kind of relationship with God through His Son Jesus, then do that right now. You can. Right where you are. Ask God to forgive you of your many sins. Repent – turn away – from those sins and lose that lifestyle. You don’t have to understand everything. You never will. I don’t but I trust Jesus with my life and you can too.

Pray this prayer right now: Father God, I come to you a sinner in need of a Savior. I realize I can’t do it myself. I can’t be good enough or smart enough or ever be right with you on my own. I trust that Jesus has provided that way by dying on the cross to pay the price for my sins and coming back to life after three days and I want to have a relationship with you on that basis. I know I can do that because you tell me so in scripture. So please forgive me of all my sins. I apologize and want to live for you the rest of my life. Please help me do that starting right now. I trust you. Amen.

Philippians 2:1-11

How many Elvis Presley fans do we have here today? It’s ok. I would have to raise my hand as well. I like some of his songs. I have said before here that I think credit should be given where it is due and I believe that the three greatest musical performers of modern history are Garth Brooks, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. Just based on their musical ability and ability to entertain and nothing else, I think that’s true. You have every right to disagree but as far as musical talent goes, those guys are tops. 

But Elvis has always fascinated me. Called the King of Rock n Roll, he had 40 top 10 hits and is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music. He sold more than 250 million records and starred in 33 films. Whether that is your style of music or not you have to give him credit for being able to perform. Some people might even say that was his God-given purpose for being here. But Elvis himself would disagree with you.

I read a quote about Elvis from his wife Priscilla Presley after his death and when I read it I knew it was appropriate for the sermon series we are going through. She said, “Elvis never came to terms with who he was meant to be or what his purpose in life was. He thought he was here for a reason –maybe to preach, or to save, or to serve & care for people. That agonizing desire was always in him, and he knew he wasn’t fulfilling it.” (Quoted by Rick Warren)

“He thought he was here for a reason and he knew he wasn’t fulfilling it.” Tragic words. He had everything a man could possibly want. He had zillions of dollars, millions of fans, people all over who would do anything for him and yet he was unfulfilled. He was not living out his purpose. Isn’t that amazing? What’s the difference in his situation and Robin Williams, though? Or any number of other wealthy, high-profile, well-loved celebrities who have ended their own lives or cut them short by drinking or drugs?

Satan wants you dead. And if God won’t allow him to kill you, he would love to get you involved in anything that is not your purpose in life because he knows that sooner or later it will kill you. He knows that your search for meaning through drugs, alcohol, fame, stuff, power, entertainment or even religion if done outside of biblical truth…will kill you. Proverbs 14:12 says there is a way that seems right to a man but in the end leads to death.

God, though, has a plan for your life and a purpose for your life and when you follow that plan and purpose it leads to great joy and peace and contentment. In Philippians 4:11 Paul says, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” Paul knew what his purpose was and he lived it out. Was he comfortable? Probably not very often. Was he happy? Probably sometimes but not always. Was he joyful? Always. Was he wealthy? Nope. Famous? Infamous, maybe, while he lived.

In John 10:10 Jesus said He came to give us an abundant life. Paul is the poster boy for an abundant life, right? He had some stories to tell! He was never bored. He was never boring. You talk about the most interesting man in the world. Paul had that title! He had that title because he lived his purpose. Do you want everything that the world and Satan has to give and in the end it leads to an unfulfilling life and then eternal agonizing death or do you want an abundant life with joy and peace here and with eternal life in Heaven with Jesus; a life filled with God’s rewards there and here?

So, who should be our model for ministry? Elvis? Garth? Michael? I’m sure they have all done good things in this life but it’s not them. And while Paul is the poster boy for living out his purpose, it’s not even him either. Who did Paul learn from? He learned from Jesus. We learned a while back that anyone who learns from Jesus and tells others what they have learned is a disciple. So, let’s all be disciples and turn to Paul’s book of Philippians chapter 2, verses 1-11 and let’s learn from Jesus as well.

I mentioned Paul had joy and in no other book is that more evident than Philippians. He talks about joy a lot here. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice!” he says in chapter 4. And he writes all of this…while in prison. And while he sometimes said that we should emulate him, he was always ultimately pointing to Jesus. Let’s read Philippians 2:1-11.

Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. ⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: ⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! ⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Most commentators think Paul was quoting a hymn popular in the first church starting in verse 6. That may be why most versions choose to make it look a little differently. Paul is saying at the beginning here that if we really do have that relationship; if we really do have fellowship with Jesus and are learning from Him then we will be like Paul because that is what Paul had. And if we are like-minded with Paul we will do as Paul did and emulate Jesus.

And Paul says that when the church looks and lives and talks like Jesus, then his joy is complete! 3 John 1:4 says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” And that is true if those are your biological kids or your spiritual kids. When you make disciples as Jesus told us to and those disciples mature in their walk with the Lord, that brings complete joy. That’s why Paul says that.

But Paul ends that focus starting in verse 6 by describing how Jesus did what He did and His motivation for doing it. It says that Jesus made Himself to be a servant in human form and was obedient to the Father even to the point of dying. We will look deeper at this passage tonight and I will have lots of questions for you starting about 6 pm tonight. But this morning I want us to see more about how Jesus served. How did He minister? How did He live out His purpose?

How many of you believe that God has given you some sort of talent or ability or gift? Maybe you’re not the world’s greatest at it but you have the ability to serve God in some way. The Bible, and Paul specifically teaches that we all have God-given gifts. Do you know why? 1 Peter 4:10 says “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others.” Some people want to serve God but they don’t really want to serve people. That’s not their gift, they think. But that’s not possible. God gave those gifts to us so we would serve other people and Jesus modeled that.

I saw an old story about an elderly widow who was a shut-in but was eager to serve the Lord. After praying about this, she realized that she could bring blessing to others by playing the piano. The next day she placed this small ad in the Oakland Tribune: "Pianist will play hymns by phone daily for those who are sick and despondent--the service is free." The notice included the number to dial. When people called, she would ask, "What hymn would you like to hear?" Within a few months her playing had brought cheer to several hundred people. Many of them freely poured out their hearts to her, and she was able to help and encourage them. (Source Unknown.)

God has given all of us some gift or ability or talent. And while others may have that same ability and may even do it better, we have the unique opportunity to minister to those people God has given us to minister to. There are four things that we need to look at in the life of Jesus that made Him such a good minister or servant. The first thing I want us to see is that He was available. Do you know what the number one killer of ministry is? It is busyness.

I heard a fascinating quote about ministers the other day, and you know, we are all ministers. I don’t know who said it but it went something like this. You should use the phrase “busy minister” in the same way you say “adulterous spouse” or “embezzling employee”. What do you think about that? It’s pretty severe but I think it’s true. Again, Satan wants us to think that busyness is next to godliness. But remember Satan is a liar and he wants you dead.

It may or may not be true that hard work never killed anyone but busyness has killed a lot of ministry. So many times in the Bible when Jesus does some amazing thing it is when He was on His way to do something else. In Matthew 20 it says that Jesus was leaving Jericho when two blind men asked Jesus to have mercy on them. So, Jesus stopped. It says in verse 34 “Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”

In Luke 8 Jesus is on His way to heal Jairus’s daughter and is almost being crushed by so many people around Him when a woman touches the hem of His robe and it says that Jesus stopped and it says in verse 48, “Then he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’”

Eric Hoffer said, “The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is, on the contrary, born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else--we are the busiest people in the world.” Bits & Pieces, May 1990, p.1

 

Do you sometimes feel that all you do is rush, rush, rush? It’s not supposed to be that way. Have you ever said you were too busy to go on that mission trip; too busy to serve at the church; too busy to help somebody who needed it? You don’t do yourself nor anyone else any favor by not being available.

 

Everybody in the world, at one time or another just needs somebody to stop and be there for them. In fact, people are desperate to know that Jesus stops for them; that Jesus is there for them; that Jesus cares enough to stop and minister to them. And they see that through you as a disciple of Jesus who takes time to stop and minister to them. But you can’t do that if you are not available.

 

After being available, we see that Jesus was also grateful.  How does being grateful make you a more effective minister? Well, let’s see when Jesus was grateful. In John 11:41 Jesus is about to raise Lazarus from the dead but He stops and takes time to pray, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.” Have you ever prayed that prayer? Most of us have. Most of us realize how ridiculous it seems that the Creator and Sustainer of the universe would stop and take time to hear our prayers. But the Bible is full of passages telling us that God does hear our prayers. And that should make us grateful.

 

Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:12, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.” Thank you, Lord, for hearing me. Thank you, Lord, for giving me strength. Thank you, Lord, for sending Jesus to model thankfulness to me and through whom I have the strength to do all things!

Psalm 100:2 says, “Serve the Lord with gladness!  Come into his presence with singing.” We serve God with grateful hearts because He loved us and saved us. That ought to make you a serving force to be reckoned with. When you realize what you are saved from and what you are saved to then you should be grateful and that gratefulness makes you a powerful servant just like Jesus.

Jesus was available and He was grateful. He was also faithful in His service. What does it mean to be faithful? Jesus gives us a great definition, used of Himself in John 17:4 where He prays to the Father, “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” What a perfect description of being faithful! Bringing glory to God by finishing the work He has given us to do.

Oswald Chambers said, “God wants to use us as He used His own Son.” But there is a problem with being faithful. See, the way to be faithful is to be consistent, to be always there, always doing your job; one that can be counted on at all times. This is somebody you can not only set your watch by but also your calendar. You know what I mean? This is somebody who never stops doing what they are supposed to be doing until they die.

And so the problem with being faithful is that most of the time you don’t get credit for it until you are dead. If somebody is faithful except for the last few years of their life, is that person really faithful? If a man is faithful to his wife most of the time, is he faithful? If your refrigerator works great except for those times every now and then when it quits, is it a faithful appliance?

So, the problem with faithfulness is that you rarely get the credit you deserve and if it wasn’t difficult then you would never hear the words from God, “Well done my good and FAITHFUL servant.” But Jesus proved Himself to be faithful and He is our model for that as well as for being available and grateful.

There is one more way that we can serve like Jesus served and that is to serve generously. And do you want an example of Jesus being generous? Well, you can just open up to almost any page of the Bible and see it. From Genesis 1, where God says, “Let us make man in our image” all the way to the cross where He so generously gave His life as the ultimate sacrifice for sin.

Jesus proved Himself to be available, grateful, faithful and very generous. And so now this is the point in the sermon where every smart preacher on the planet explains how you can be like Jesus and generously give your money to the church. And they wouldn’t be wrong to say it. Jesus was very generous and the church is His bride and is only sustained by your generosity. And maybe I’m not smart (please don’t say amen) but I already know you to be generous. I know it is your generosity to this church that keeps the bills paid and the lights on and gives us the ability to do any kind of outreach.

But I also think about how Jesus was most generous. He spent His life pouring out His life for His friends. It ended with His generous substitution of Himself for us on that cross but it also included spending day in and day out worshipping with, discipling, fellowshipping, and ministering to those who had the least; who were least likely to repay Him or give Him credit for anything.

Do you want to be generous like Jesus was generous? Then it is going to take more than just giving to the church. It is going to require you giving your time, your talent and your treasure; your whole life for somebody else. Maybe that is one person every day, a different person every day or a group of people. Your life is not your own and you will never be satisfied; you will never fulfill your purpose and never have true, lasting joy as long as you are thinking of yourself first.

Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” That doesn’t always mean dying for somebody. It often means living your life for them. That’s how you serve like Jesus. That is how you are available, grateful, faithful and generous. 

Invitation: Generously giving your life for someone else starts by telling them that you love them too much not to tell them the truth about the free gift of salvation that Jesus provided on the cross when He died to take their place. Confess your sins. Repent of those sins and ask Jesus into your life to be Lord and Savior today.