WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.480 Good morning, Watermark. 00:00:03.320 --> 00:00:12.500 It's an amazing day outside, and it's just a privilege just to be able to worship with you this morning. 00:00:14.599 --> 00:00:16.539 I want to ask you a question this morning. 00:00:17.140 --> 00:00:19.640 What do you really want in life? 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:27.240 If you had the bucket list of all the things that you want to do before you die, 00:00:27.820 --> 00:00:29.900 what would be on your list? 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:31.480 I have a few. 00:00:32.119 --> 00:00:33.479 Some of them are very mundane. 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:39.939 I would like to have more time to be able to read, do sport, and play the guitar. 00:00:40.939 --> 00:00:42.320 I'd like to have a bigger flat. 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:44.320 I'd like to write a book. 00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:47.019 I'd like to travel the world more. 00:00:48.179 --> 00:00:50.920 I'd like to become a famous rock guitarist. 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:52.120 That is not going to happen. 00:00:52.859 --> 00:00:56.760 I'd like to become well-known and well-respected. 00:00:58.400 --> 00:00:59.659 I don't know about you. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:11.239 I don't know what's on your bucket list of either the mundane or the slightly more extraordinary, perhaps. 00:01:11.239 --> 00:01:21.780 But as we come to looking at the book of Philippians today, we're looking at what does it mean to live life well? 00:01:21.780 --> 00:01:25.960 What does it mean to live life in a broken world well? 00:01:25.959 --> 00:01:37.199 What I want you to remember is this letter to the Philippians is Paul writing from a context where he is languishing in a dark dungeon. 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:50.760 Now, if you think about prison nowadays, remove the ideas of prison that you might have where people have got satellite television and all those things you read about in the newspapers. 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:56.180 This is a prison where it is filled with prisoners. 00:01:56.180 --> 00:01:58.260 It's overcrowding is everywhere. 00:01:59.500 --> 00:02:01.800 It is most of the time dark. 00:02:01.799 --> 00:02:03.420 At night, it is pitch black. 00:02:03.420 --> 00:02:04.319 You can see nothing. 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:10.120 And you do everything in this one room with all the other prisoners. 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:21.060 That means all your, and it's, forgive me for vulgarity, but all your excrement and urine stays in the room. 00:02:21.060 --> 00:02:24.199 The smell must have been horrific. 00:02:24.840 --> 00:02:27.819 And in these conditions, many people died. 00:02:27.819 --> 00:02:35.280 And so the bodies of the dead would be piled up on the side of the room until the guards could be bothered to take it away. 00:02:35.960 --> 00:02:41.860 That's the situation that Paul is writing in at this particular letter. 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:50.259 And Paul is there because he's been preaching this message, this gospel message about the death and resurrection of Jesus. 00:02:51.460 --> 00:02:53.420 And he's got a bit of time on his hand. 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:54.939 There's not a lot to do in there. 00:02:54.939 --> 00:02:59.640 And so Paul begins to do what you, I'm sure, would always do if you have some time. 00:02:59.719 --> 00:03:01.199 He begins to do a bit of accounting. 00:03:02.620 --> 00:03:06.599 He begins to stop and consider his life. 00:03:06.939 --> 00:03:10.740 He begins to do a bit of a life audit at this point. 00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:15.560 And the questions he's asking and he's thinking about and reflecting are, 00:03:15.860 --> 00:03:18.680 how do I live a life that's worth living? 00:03:18.680 --> 00:03:20.960 A life that's truly meaningful. 00:03:21.460 --> 00:03:23.819 A life of no regrets. 00:03:25.379 --> 00:03:28.480 And each one of us has to grapple with those questions. 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:32.200 What is it that makes life worth living? 00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:37.139 So Paul starts off this section in the letter. 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:41.099 And he starts off with a command, which is rejoice in the Lord. 00:03:41.699 --> 00:03:45.759 Which is an amazing command if you remember the situation he's in. 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:49.639 But joy is what Paul is all about in this letter. 00:03:50.219 --> 00:03:52.000 Joy is what Paul is all about. 00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:55.519 A life worth living is a life of knowing joy. 00:03:55.520 --> 00:04:00.980 I have four points to think about what does it mean to live a life worth living? 00:04:01.100 --> 00:04:01.800 A life of joy. 00:04:01.880 --> 00:04:04.879 The first one is how to make a loss in life. 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:06.620 The second one is how to make a profit. 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:09.400 The third is how to know Christ. 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:13.480 And then the fourth is how to live the cross and resurrection. 00:04:13.660 --> 00:04:14.320 How to make a loss. 00:04:14.460 --> 00:04:15.120 How to make a profit. 00:04:15.540 --> 00:04:16.460 How to know Christ. 00:04:16.900 --> 00:04:18.740 And how to live the cross and resurrection. 00:04:19.840 --> 00:04:22.519 So first of all, how to make a loss. 00:04:22.519 --> 00:04:29.899 If you read just the first couple of verses, Paul is talking to the Philippians here. 00:04:30.339 --> 00:04:35.899 And he's saying that there are some people who will try and convince you that there are ways to live 00:04:35.899 --> 00:04:39.819 which will actually make you a loss in your life. 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:45.259 In this particular context, there are people in the church who are saying, 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:51.000 if you want to be a good Christian, if you want to be someone who is okay with God, 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:54.839 if you want to be acceptable, if you want to feel like you're worth something, 00:04:54.980 --> 00:04:56.420 you need to become Jewish. 00:04:57.259 --> 00:05:01.839 And that involved doing certain rituals, cutting certain bits of the body which shouldn't be cut. 00:05:02.500 --> 00:05:08.459 And God will then accept you and God will bless you if you just do these things. 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:13.420 And Paul is horrified by this suggestion. 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:18.180 He calls them dogs, evildoers, mutilators of the flesh. 00:05:18.180 --> 00:05:21.560 He says, this is crazy. 00:05:21.560 --> 00:05:28.959 If you want to put your confidence in doing certain things, in chalking up certain merits 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:34.280 that you think it will make you acceptable, it will make you worth something, 00:05:34.379 --> 00:05:36.160 it will make you feel like you're okay. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:37.840 He says it's crazy. 00:05:37.899 --> 00:05:42.319 But he says, okay, well, it's crazy to trust in these things. 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:46.860 But what I'm going to tell you is, let's play this little game for a little while, shall we? 00:05:46.860 --> 00:05:49.699 Let's play the game that these people are telling you about. 00:05:50.219 --> 00:05:50.920 And do you know what? 00:05:51.779 --> 00:06:00.039 Verse 4, he says, I've got more reasons for why I will win this game than any of the others. 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:04.879 So, remember, this is a religious context he's talking in. 00:06:05.260 --> 00:06:13.480 And he says, he basically gives his resume, which would leave everybody else drooling at the fact of this incredible resume 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:16.080 that he has in this religious context. 00:06:16.180 --> 00:06:20.439 If this was Hong Kong today, I think he might have said something like this. 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:25.740 I was given a multi-million dollar inheritance from the day I was born. 00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:29.540 In fact, my dad is Li Ka-Shing himself. 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:35.220 But in spite of that, I worked real hard to get into Harvard. 00:06:35.699 --> 00:06:38.779 And I graduated the top of my year. 00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:44.920 I also got a PhD, and I started the foremost company in my field in Southeast Asia. 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:47.600 I worked harder than any employee. 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:55.160 I've been three years without holiday to get my company to where it's the best performing company on the stock exchange. 00:06:56.760 --> 00:07:03.480 And as he's doing his little audit, he puts all these in the profit list. 00:07:04.840 --> 00:07:05.840 Look at that. 00:07:06.760 --> 00:07:08.460 That means I'm worth something. 00:07:09.300 --> 00:07:10.960 Give me some respect here, will you? 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:17.699 And he says, he then says something extraordinary. 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:30.500 He says, whatever were gains to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 00:07:30.500 --> 00:07:44.600 Against all these achievements that everybody else would die for, he gets a big red marker, and he puts a big cross next to all of them and writes the letters, loss. 00:07:45.100 --> 00:07:45.980 Against them all. 00:07:45.980 --> 00:07:54.900 But not only that, then he starts thinking about not just the past of what's happened, but then the future. 00:07:55.259 --> 00:07:57.319 All the things that he would love to have. 00:07:57.520 --> 00:07:59.379 All those things on your bucket list. 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:04.020 All those things that you think that would just make life so great. 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:06.800 And what does he do? 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:15.520 He puts a big red cross against all of them and writes the letters, loss. 00:08:17.840 --> 00:08:25.540 And at this moment, it looks like he's in serious life bankruptcy because it seems like everything that's worth living, he said, that's loss. 00:08:26.460 --> 00:08:34.120 But then in the gains column, he says, knowing Christ. 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:42.820 He says, what is more, I consider everything, everything a loss. 00:08:43.100 --> 00:08:46.620 Everything, children who sleep through the night, loss. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:49.460 Time alone with my spouse, loss. 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:51.860 Graduate with a good degree, loss. 00:08:51.940 --> 00:08:53.580 My boss's approval, loss. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:56.480 Planting several churches, loss. 00:08:56.480 --> 00:09:07.779 Compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus. 00:09:09.379 --> 00:09:13.180 You see, what he's not saying is those things are necessarily bad. 00:09:14.259 --> 00:09:15.340 He's not saying that. 00:09:15.340 --> 00:09:17.940 But he's making a comparison. 00:09:19.340 --> 00:09:31.120 And he's saying, any of your achievements, any of your desires, which may be perfectly legitimate, if you place them up against knowing Christ, they're a loss. 00:09:31.379 --> 00:09:34.980 In fact, he goes on to say this. 00:09:34.980 --> 00:09:42.759 I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I've lost all things. 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:46.740 I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ. 00:09:46.820 --> 00:09:50.480 That word rubbish is an incredibly strong word. 00:09:50.580 --> 00:09:54.879 It's literally the word dung or crap. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:10:01.080 And Paul knows what he's talking about because he's surrounded by crap in the prison. 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:11.939 And he's looking all around and he says, in comparison to knowing Christ, all those other things is just crap. 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:18.179 Now, I don't know if you remember the first time you got a mobile phone. 00:10:18.980 --> 00:10:19.820 I remember mine. 00:10:20.220 --> 00:10:21.940 My first phone, it was a brick. 00:10:22.620 --> 00:10:23.279 Do you remember those? 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:31.480 And it was one of those things that you have to press the keys so many times that you think you're going to get arthritis after a couple of months. 00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:32.139 You know what I mean? 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:39.579 But I was excited to get this because it meant I could go outside of the house and make phone calls. 00:10:41.319 --> 00:10:41.720 Incredible. 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:45.759 But now, I have an iPhone. 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:52.220 As I look back and you come to me and say, Chris, which do you think is better? 00:10:53.279 --> 00:10:55.379 I can give you the brick. 00:10:55.779 --> 00:10:58.120 Or I can give you the latest iPhone. 00:10:58.279 --> 00:10:59.299 What am I going to choose? 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:03.980 I'm going to say, man, the brick was just crap. 00:11:05.439 --> 00:11:10.079 Compared to what is something so much better. 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:17.639 And the thing is, Paul is not just doing this in theory. 00:11:17.780 --> 00:11:19.879 He's not just sitting down the list and thinking, oh, yeah. 00:11:20.280 --> 00:11:23.700 I think in total, on balance, Jesus is a bit better. 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:33.360 He says, I have actually lost all things. 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:35.440 He's actually lost everything. 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:38.480 All those things that you might think were great, the achievements. 00:11:38.620 --> 00:11:42.139 He's sitting in this prison, this hell hole. 00:11:42.700 --> 00:11:49.200 And he can even there, say, being stripped of all the comfort, the reputation, the dignity that he had before. 00:11:49.460 --> 00:11:50.480 And he can stay. 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:57.500 After doing my balance sheet, following Jesus was the most profitable investment I've ever made. 00:11:57.500 --> 00:12:01.440 And it's so much better than all the comfort that I had before. 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:03.679 Wow. 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:08.859 And we might look at this and think, man, Paul's a bit of a nutter. 00:12:08.979 --> 00:12:10.939 He's a bit crazy, isn't he? 00:12:12.739 --> 00:12:16.859 Because Paul's got this totally different perspective on life. 00:12:18.099 --> 00:12:22.819 And if we stop to think about it, I don't think he's so crazy after all. 00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:23.500 Think about it. 00:12:23.959 --> 00:12:24.899 It's two in the morning. 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:29.379 Your three-month-old baby starts crying. 00:12:29.379 --> 00:12:30.679 You spring out of bed. 00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:31.839 You turn to your spouse. 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:33.559 And you say, don't worry, dear. 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:35.359 I've got a degree from Harvard. 00:12:36.719 --> 00:12:38.359 I can cope with this one. 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:43.679 You float automatically into the child's bedroom with the calm of a Buddhist monk. 00:12:44.059 --> 00:12:47.159 And there, your three-month-old who, if he's born in Hong Kong, 00:12:47.239 --> 00:12:51.099 has probably already been able to recite at least three sonnets of Shakespeare. 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:56.359 He looks at you and he says, respect, mom. 00:12:57.419 --> 00:12:59.299 I just heard you got promotion. 00:12:59.859 --> 00:13:02.959 I'm going to stop crying now because I think you're cool. 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:08.739 You get to work in the morning and your boss shouts at you. 00:13:08.959 --> 00:13:12.459 He tells you, you've got 55 deadlines in the next 15 minutes. 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:14.039 The panic's beginning to rise. 00:13:14.359 --> 00:13:15.439 You're beginning to stress out. 00:13:15.500 --> 00:13:20.799 But then you remember, thank goodness I bought that Gucci bag yesterday. 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:21.979 I'm worth something now. 00:13:21.979 --> 00:13:24.439 I can handle this. 00:13:24.439 --> 00:13:28.219 I can have peace and joy in my heart without worrying. 00:13:29.539 --> 00:13:32.759 Or maybe you get that call from the doctor. 00:13:32.759 --> 00:13:39.379 And he says, I'm sorry, it's cancer. 00:13:41.379 --> 00:13:44.860 Where does financial security leave you then? 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:51.200 Where does the respect from the peers that we crave leave you then? 00:13:51.200 --> 00:14:03.100 Because these events in life can sometimes give us a perspective which Paul has got about what is truly valuable in life. 00:14:03.100 --> 00:14:12.100 And often we're so out of touch with reality that in a world which is full of struggles and trials, 00:14:12.379 --> 00:14:18.220 we think so many other things can give us peace and joy and confidence and a sense of being okay. 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:24.480 And Paul says, if you make those your goal, you're going to make a loss in your life. 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:27.539 That's the first thing, how to make a loss. 00:14:28.019 --> 00:14:29.360 Second thing, how to make a profit. 00:14:31.940 --> 00:14:32.779 Read it again. 00:14:33.460 --> 00:14:38.159 The surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. 00:14:38.680 --> 00:14:40.580 For whose sake I have lost all things. 00:14:41.300 --> 00:14:45.779 I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him. 00:14:46.259 --> 00:14:49.779 Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, 00:14:49.779 --> 00:14:52.279 but that which is through faith in Christ. 00:14:52.279 --> 00:14:56.720 The righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 00:14:58.299 --> 00:15:02.419 What Paul is saying is, there are so many things that we are striving for, 00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:05.240 that we think will make us worth something. 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:09.399 They're like, you know when you, on the flag days, when you give money to someone, 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:11.419 and then they put this big sticker on you. 00:15:11.500 --> 00:15:13.439 And you can go around kind of feeling pretty good and say, 00:15:13.439 --> 00:15:15.620 Hey, good person. 00:15:15.819 --> 00:15:16.879 See, I've given some money. 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:23.779 But Paul is saying, we have a bigger sticker placed on us, 00:15:23.779 --> 00:15:25.519 which says you're acceptable. 00:15:25.939 --> 00:15:28.080 You're okay in God's sight. 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:30.879 And it's nothing to do with what you have done. 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:33.279 It's nothing to do with your list of achievements, 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:36.000 or even how good you've been in church. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:40.000 It's all to do with Christ. 00:15:40.659 --> 00:15:42.000 He is your sticker. 00:15:43.179 --> 00:15:47.919 Your label, which says, I'm acceptable in God's sight. 00:15:48.059 --> 00:15:50.659 I don't have to go around proving myself to other people, 00:15:50.659 --> 00:15:52.639 because I'm already approved. 00:15:53.220 --> 00:15:57.879 I can be free to say no, when I know I should say no, 00:15:58.019 --> 00:16:03.480 because I'm not in the grip of wanting other people's approval in my life. 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:05.019 I don't earn it. 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:06.340 It's all in Christ. 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:13.039 And even more than that, knowing Christ means that you can be stripped of everything in your life. 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:15.779 You can be frustrated. 00:16:16.340 --> 00:16:19.200 You can be disappointed when things don't work out your way. 00:16:19.920 --> 00:16:23.920 And yet, he says, you can know the joy that I know, 00:16:24.300 --> 00:16:28.960 because I know Christ in whatever situation you find yourself in. 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:33.100 If you walk through your life and gain everything, 00:16:33.800 --> 00:16:38.120 but you don't know Christ, at the end of the game, you'll be bankrupt. 00:16:39.259 --> 00:16:44.360 If you walk through your life and lose everything, but know Christ, 00:16:45.240 --> 00:16:47.620 at the end of the game, you have everything. 00:16:47.620 --> 00:16:57.000 You make a profit if your goal is to know Christ, to be in relationship with him, 00:16:57.259 --> 00:17:00.519 to seek to pursue him more than anything else. 00:17:03.220 --> 00:17:04.339 How to make a loss? 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:07.019 Chase after anything other than Christ. 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:08.660 How to make a profit? 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:10.819 Make Christ your goal. 00:17:11.299 --> 00:17:12.980 How to know Christ? 00:17:12.980 --> 00:17:16.220 If at this point you're not already shocked, 00:17:16.860 --> 00:17:19.259 because he's turning our world upside down, 00:17:20.839 --> 00:17:22.900 Paul's about to blow your categories even more. 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:26.460 Because if I was to ask you, 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:30.559 as a Christian, as someone who God has already said you're approved, 00:17:31.059 --> 00:17:33.740 how do I get to know Christ more? 00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:36.019 How do I develop my relationship with him? 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:38.620 And normally, we would say something like, 00:17:38.980 --> 00:17:40.500 read your Bible and pray. 00:17:40.500 --> 00:17:43.180 And those are right, 00:17:43.339 --> 00:17:46.099 because in the Bible, God reveals himself, 00:17:46.460 --> 00:17:48.119 and we come to know his character. 00:17:49.220 --> 00:17:50.220 But Paul would say, 00:17:50.900 --> 00:17:54.279 just doing that is insufficient. 00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:56.579 There is something more. 00:17:57.059 --> 00:17:57.480 Read this. 00:17:57.579 --> 00:17:58.980 This is incredible. 00:17:59.180 --> 00:18:00.619 Verse 10. 00:18:02.619 --> 00:18:04.019 I want to know Christ. 00:18:05.099 --> 00:18:05.619 Yes. 00:18:05.900 --> 00:18:07.319 And that means, in other words, 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:08.519 what I'm saying is, 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:11.859 I want to know the power of his resurrection 00:18:11.859 --> 00:18:15.299 and participation in his sufferings, 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:18.299 becoming like him in his death, 00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:23.559 and so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 00:18:23.559 --> 00:18:26.859 If you want to know Christ, 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:29.379 there's two things Paul says here. 00:18:30.059 --> 00:18:33.700 You need to know the power of Christ's resurrection now in your life, 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:38.579 and you need to know the participation in his sufferings now. 00:18:38.919 --> 00:18:41.039 If you have those two things, 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:44.599 it will make you more like Jesus in his death, 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:50.179 with the result that you will know the joy of future resurrection. 00:18:50.180 --> 00:18:52.100 So let's just work. 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:53.279 What is he actually saying? 00:18:54.900 --> 00:18:56.500 What Paul understands is this. 00:18:56.820 --> 00:18:58.680 We live in an in-between time. 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:01.980 What the Bible calls the last days. 00:19:02.060 --> 00:19:04.660 The time between when Jesus died and rose again, 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:08.019 and the time between when Jesus is going to come back 00:19:08.019 --> 00:19:12.060 and is going to raise those who followed him from the dead 00:19:12.060 --> 00:19:14.980 to be with him in satisfying full life, 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:15.940 like we were singing earlier. 00:19:15.940 --> 00:19:21.660 It's what theologians call the already and not yet. 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:24.360 Already, Jesus has come. 00:19:24.620 --> 00:19:25.900 You have forgiveness of sins. 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:29.460 You can be free from the slavery that holds us. 00:19:29.539 --> 00:19:32.080 You have resurrection power to love, 00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:35.720 to be patient, to endure, to forgive, 00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:39.840 to be everything that God has called you to be now. 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:45.240 You have a taste of that future resurrection now. 00:19:46.439 --> 00:19:48.240 It's a bit like ordering dim sum. 00:19:48.779 --> 00:19:49.839 You know, you go to dim sum, 00:19:50.119 --> 00:19:53.240 and you order all these things on the tick list, 00:19:53.659 --> 00:19:56.159 and then the chasil bao comes first. 00:19:56.939 --> 00:19:58.000 The chasil bao's great. 00:19:58.299 --> 00:19:59.879 It's a taste of what's to come. 00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:01.439 It's great in and of itself. 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:04.059 But there's so much more that's there to come. 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:06.720 And that's what life is like. 00:20:06.859 --> 00:20:07.599 There is an already. 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:08.859 We already have. 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:11.079 But there's also a not yet. 00:20:11.819 --> 00:20:14.959 We don't see the full measure of that life, 00:20:15.219 --> 00:20:18.000 of that resurrection that God says, 00:20:18.119 --> 00:20:21.799 one day we will enjoy with the fullness of life. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:24.919 There's still screaming kids. 00:20:25.819 --> 00:20:26.799 There are still health problems. 00:20:26.919 --> 00:20:28.779 There are still very annoying people. 00:20:29.299 --> 00:20:30.899 There are still bills to pay. 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:32.019 There's still backstabbing. 00:20:32.159 --> 00:20:33.959 There's still all those things. 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:41.480 So how do we live in this in-between time? 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:42.980 What Paul is saying is here. 00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:46.500 The pattern of the Christian life now 00:20:46.500 --> 00:20:50.459 is a pattern of the cross and the resurrection. 00:20:51.459 --> 00:20:53.639 It's cross followed by resurrection. 00:20:54.159 --> 00:20:55.059 What he means is this. 00:20:55.059 --> 00:20:59.659 We want to be so intimately identified with Jesus 00:20:59.659 --> 00:21:04.379 that we want to be so close to him in relationship 00:21:04.379 --> 00:21:10.519 that we will follow him wherever he goes 00:21:10.519 --> 00:21:12.399 and where he has gone. 00:21:13.399 --> 00:21:17.299 That the pattern of his life becomes the pattern of our life. 00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:21.299 That means if you want to get to resurrection, 00:21:21.819 --> 00:21:23.419 you need to go through the cross. 00:21:24.619 --> 00:21:25.579 Do you remember Jesus says, 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:30.859 anyone who does not have sufficient comfort and blessings 00:21:30.859 --> 00:21:32.779 is not worthy to be my disciple. 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:34.879 Does he say that? 00:21:35.740 --> 00:21:39.700 And he says, anyone who's not willing to take up their cross 00:21:39.700 --> 00:21:43.319 and follow me is not willing. 00:21:43.740 --> 00:21:45.919 It's not worthy of being my disciple. 00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:47.720 That's really tough language. 00:21:48.940 --> 00:21:51.360 And I think we forget some of that. 00:21:52.539 --> 00:21:56.480 Well, because we're following a crucified suffering savior. 00:21:57.519 --> 00:21:59.680 If we're to know him, 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.480 our life pattern will display similar sufferings. 00:22:05.140 --> 00:22:06.480 What do I mean by that? 00:22:07.779 --> 00:22:11.200 Suffering is simply the taking away of bad things 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:15.759 or good things that the world offers for our enjoyment. 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:21.340 Reputation, esteem among peers, job, money, spouse, 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:25.500 sexual life, children, friends, strength, sight, hearing, success. 00:22:25.940 --> 00:22:28.779 When these things are taken away by force, 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:31.900 by circumstance or by choice, we suffer. 00:22:31.900 --> 00:22:38.860 And the problem is, most of us, including myself, 00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:41.580 we want resurrection, full resurrection now. 00:22:41.820 --> 00:22:43.540 I want to have comfort now. 00:22:43.700 --> 00:22:46.360 I want to have all the blessings of God now. 00:22:46.359 --> 00:22:50.119 I think God should bless my business so that it prospers and flourishes. 00:22:50.419 --> 00:22:53.799 And he should make my way so smooth that I can just sail on through. 00:22:54.219 --> 00:23:00.339 And if it doesn't happen, then I feel, God, you're letting me down here. 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:03.439 Maybe you're just not good enough here. 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:06.860 And folks says, God hasn't promised that. 00:23:08.220 --> 00:23:13.820 There is power, resurrection power, to live in the suffering now, 00:23:13.960 --> 00:23:16.799 to live in the difficulties, the struggles of life now. 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:20.079 But there's an already and there's a not yet. 00:23:21.899 --> 00:23:23.720 Now, does God give blessings now? 00:23:23.899 --> 00:23:24.740 Yeah, absolutely. 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:28.940 So when you get that job promotion, when you pass those exams, praise God. 00:23:29.220 --> 00:23:30.960 But don't put your trust in those. 00:23:31.500 --> 00:23:32.559 Don't put your confidence. 00:23:33.139 --> 00:23:34.339 Have open hands. 00:23:34.339 --> 00:23:41.699 Because if you make those your goal, you will lose the joy of knowing Christ. 00:23:45.299 --> 00:23:46.240 We've got to be careful. 00:23:46.399 --> 00:23:51.980 Paul is not saying, he's not kind of some masochist who enjoys pain. 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:55.119 You know, it's like if you have two choices, there's a hard one and a difficult one. 00:23:55.220 --> 00:23:58.179 I've got to choose the hard one because God wants me to suffer. 00:23:58.579 --> 00:23:59.839 He's not saying that. 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:07.459 He's saying, he's not saying that because suffering is not Paul's goal. 00:24:08.639 --> 00:24:10.879 Knowing Christ is Paul's goal. 00:24:11.199 --> 00:24:16.019 And because he knows that Christ went to the cross, he knows that he has to follow him. 00:24:16.839 --> 00:24:21.000 He's saying, Jesus is my goal and I would give anything to know him. 00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:25.259 It doesn't matter if God chooses to take any of those things away. 00:24:25.259 --> 00:24:35.980 Or where I have choices in life, where following Christ would mean I lose any of the other blessings in my life, I would choose Christ. 00:24:37.339 --> 00:24:46.180 When they ask you in your job to flagrantly lie about something or get fired, Paul would say, I know what I'm going to choose. 00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:57.460 When there's people that you know you should be, God wants you to reach out to, but you don't feel in the mood and you really don't like them. 00:24:58.580 --> 00:25:02.640 Paul would say, I know what I'm going to choose. 00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:06.759 I'm going to choose Christ, no matter what the cost. 00:25:07.740 --> 00:25:12.560 Fiona and I did a long distance relationship for a year. 00:25:12.620 --> 00:25:13.259 I was in the UK. 00:25:13.840 --> 00:25:14.640 She was in Hong Kong. 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:17.520 Skype was our saviour. 00:25:18.380 --> 00:25:23.780 We fixed a regular time to talk to each other and we couldn't wait to talk. 00:25:24.700 --> 00:25:28.060 There was a seven or eight hour time difference between them. 00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:30.660 And sometimes, though, it would be inconvenient. 00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:41.040 Sometimes there would be things that I would want to do, but actually, because we were going to talk together, I chose not to do those things. 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:49.759 There were times when I was willing to sacrifice certain things which, ordinarily, I would have wanted to do because I wanted to talk to her. 00:25:50.099 --> 00:25:51.339 I wanted to spend time. 00:25:51.460 --> 00:25:58.879 And the sacrifice wasn't that big a sacrifice because I wanted to get to know her better. 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:06.260 But you see, I wasn't looking to have a Skype relationship with my wife for the rest of my life. 00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:11.480 There came a day when I got on a plane and I saw her face to face. 00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:16.039 And I tell you, face to face is so much better than Skype. 00:26:18.440 --> 00:26:19.700 Skype is good. 00:26:20.200 --> 00:26:22.579 Face to face beats it hands down. 00:26:22.579 --> 00:26:30.619 In the same way, we're living in this in-between time where knowing Christ requires sacrifice. 00:26:31.960 --> 00:26:34.179 It requires pain. 00:26:34.419 --> 00:26:36.419 But I'm not suffering because I want to suffer. 00:26:38.039 --> 00:26:42.059 It's just I'm suffering because the relationship with Christ is what consumes me. 00:26:42.059 --> 00:26:50.119 And I know one day I'll be resurrected from the dead and I will see my Savior face to face. 00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:53.960 And face to face is so much better. 00:26:57.919 --> 00:27:00.500 Many of you know this in your life. 00:27:01.139 --> 00:27:07.279 Many of you know that when all is stripped away in your lives, 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:12.160 sometimes those are the times when you have come to know God in so much of a deeper way. 00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:17.879 Now, some of you have gone through hard times and difficulties. 00:27:19.660 --> 00:27:23.980 And Paul knows the struggle to keep going. 00:27:25.339 --> 00:27:27.480 Read verse 12 to 14. 00:27:27.920 --> 00:27:31.839 Not that I've already attained all of this or have already arrived at my goal, 00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:36.420 but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 00:27:37.340 --> 00:27:41.120 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:45.900 But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, 00:27:46.100 --> 00:27:51.860 I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards. 00:27:52.840 --> 00:27:54.340 Paul's saying, I'm not yet there. 00:27:54.900 --> 00:27:56.960 I don't know Christ as much as I want to. 00:27:58.200 --> 00:28:03.660 But, and then he says, he changes the analogy from an accountant to an athlete. 00:28:03.660 --> 00:28:08.800 And for Paul, he would have seen the Roman Olympic Games. 00:28:09.380 --> 00:28:13.060 And at the Olympic Games, if you ran in the race and you won, 00:28:13.180 --> 00:28:17.759 you would get a wreath around your head of celery. 00:28:19.340 --> 00:28:19.860 Great. 00:28:20.580 --> 00:28:25.460 You can't even replenish the calories that you've spent on the race itself. 00:28:25.460 --> 00:28:32.079 Now imagine if Usain Bolt, who has trained for year after year, 00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:35.160 who has got up early in the morning, who's gone through pain, 00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:37.880 gets to the Olympic race. 00:28:38.299 --> 00:28:42.519 He runs the 100 meters in world record time. 00:28:44.200 --> 00:28:47.259 At the end, everyone's saying, Usain, that was amazing. 00:28:47.259 --> 00:28:50.680 And then he goes up on the podium. 00:28:51.619 --> 00:28:53.960 And there, the presentation takes place. 00:28:54.160 --> 00:28:57.339 And they say, Usain, you have achieved so much. 00:28:57.619 --> 00:29:00.079 Here is your stick of celery. 00:29:03.700 --> 00:29:08.119 And Paul is saying that many of us live our lives, 00:29:08.279 --> 00:29:14.180 expend our efforts for what at the end of it isn't even worth a stick of celery. 00:29:14.180 --> 00:29:18.660 But he says there's a prize that is worth so much more. 00:29:19.840 --> 00:29:23.140 It's the prize that is worth laying down your life for. 00:29:24.100 --> 00:29:28.920 It's the prize of having an intimate, close relationship 00:29:28.920 --> 00:29:31.200 and knowing Christ eternally. 00:29:31.580 --> 00:29:33.480 There is nothing that beats it. 00:29:35.779 --> 00:29:36.840 So how do we make a loss? 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:40.000 So how to make a loss just live for anything other than Christ? 00:29:40.320 --> 00:29:41.560 How to make a profit? 00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:45.019 Make Christ the center, your goal for everything. 00:29:45.919 --> 00:29:46.879 How to know Christ? 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:49.379 We've got to follow the pattern of his life. 00:29:49.639 --> 00:29:52.679 We've got to be prepared that to know him, 00:29:52.859 --> 00:29:55.179 we need to follow him to the cross in our lives. 00:29:55.639 --> 00:29:56.480 What does this mean? 00:29:56.659 --> 00:29:58.539 Fourth point, my final point. 00:29:59.619 --> 00:30:02.419 How do we live the cross and resurrection in our lives? 00:30:02.779 --> 00:30:05.819 Because if you're like me, when you're going to go into your office, 00:30:05.819 --> 00:30:10.439 you're probably not waiting for someone to kind of come at you with a machine gun and kill you. 00:30:11.299 --> 00:30:14.179 That's not necessarily what suffering looks like. 00:30:14.200 --> 00:30:17.059 Although in some places in the world, that is what it looks like. 00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:24.359 But what it looks like in our lives could be many things. 00:30:24.359 --> 00:30:28.240 There are sufferings which come just from being in a broken, painful world. 00:30:28.899 --> 00:30:31.419 And if we cling on to Christ in those things, 00:30:32.219 --> 00:30:37.279 we can know that resurrection power which enables us to suffer well. 00:30:38.259 --> 00:30:42.039 But I don't think Paul is just talking about the things which will happen to us 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:43.459 because we're in a broken world. 00:30:43.460 --> 00:30:47.720 I think he's also talking to us about the choices that we make, 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:51.220 where we choose Christ and we risk suffering. 00:30:52.420 --> 00:30:56.220 So one of the key ways that we can learn to live the cross and resurrection 00:30:56.220 --> 00:31:01.420 is if we begin to take risks for Christ. 00:31:02.400 --> 00:31:04.960 The reason I know so little of Christ's suffering 00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:09.140 is because I'm so rarely prepared to take risks for Christ. 00:31:10.259 --> 00:31:11.000 So think about it. 00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:15.759 What risks did you take for Christ in this last week? 00:31:17.180 --> 00:31:23.740 What risks this coming week are you prepared to take for knowing Christ? 00:31:27.559 --> 00:31:29.119 It could be your comfort. 00:31:29.619 --> 00:31:35.900 If you're shy, it could be that going up to someone who you don't know 00:31:35.900 --> 00:31:40.859 and just welcoming them could be a risk that you feel just really uncomfortable 00:31:40.859 --> 00:31:41.339 about. 00:31:42.719 --> 00:31:47.240 But that could be a risk that Christ is calling you to make. 00:31:48.459 --> 00:31:52.519 But I think, for me, one of the biggest risks 00:31:52.519 --> 00:31:55.419 is that of sharing the gospel with other people. 00:31:57.500 --> 00:32:01.019 Because your reputation is really on the line when you do that. 00:32:01.019 --> 00:32:08.400 You see, for me, I want to show people by my lifestyle that I follow Christ. 00:32:08.519 --> 00:32:10.539 And so I say, I'm going to just live as a good Christian. 00:32:10.639 --> 00:32:12.240 I don't need to say anything to anyone. 00:32:12.619 --> 00:32:17.980 And they'll think, they'll automatically by osmosis know that Jesus has died and risen from the dead. 00:32:18.240 --> 00:32:21.779 And so they will come falling at my feet and say, what must I do to be saved? 00:32:21.779 --> 00:32:26.519 But in my experience, that doesn't happen very often. 00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:36.519 And the thing is, the reason for me why I kind of hide behind this as an excuse 00:32:36.519 --> 00:32:39.680 is I don't want to risk my reputation. 00:32:40.839 --> 00:32:43.299 I don't want to risk people thinking that I'm stupid. 00:32:44.279 --> 00:32:49.200 I don't want to risk losing my friends because I say Jesus is the most precious thing. 00:32:49.200 --> 00:33:00.019 But Paul was willing to go to an excrement-ridden prison 00:33:00.019 --> 00:33:01.960 so he could share the gospel 00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:08.180 because he believed that knowing Christ was worth risking everything for. 00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:14.059 And as you step out and risk, there may be very real rejection, disappointment. 00:33:14.059 --> 00:33:19.240 But Paul would say, you are a walking display of the gospel. 00:33:19.319 --> 00:33:19.940 What's the gospel? 00:33:20.619 --> 00:33:22.759 The death and resurrection of Christ. 00:33:23.119 --> 00:33:28.539 When they see your life and see the death and resurrection working out in your life, 00:33:28.779 --> 00:33:30.259 you're willing to risk everything for him. 00:33:32.940 --> 00:33:36.779 In China, the church has exploded 00:33:36.779 --> 00:33:42.980 because people were willing to live the cross and resurrection. 00:33:42.980 --> 00:33:52.620 The early church was willing to even stay in plague-ridden towns to care for the poor 00:33:52.620 --> 00:33:56.519 because they knew that Christ was so worth it. 00:33:57.220 --> 00:34:00.860 And when people saw their lives, they were stunned. 00:34:03.240 --> 00:34:05.259 How can you live like this? 00:34:05.259 --> 00:34:11.059 And they pointed to a savior who was so much worth, 00:34:11.260 --> 00:34:17.579 worth so much more than anything that they needed to cling on to now. 00:34:20.219 --> 00:34:22.780 So if you make Christ your goal, 00:34:23.500 --> 00:34:24.599 don't look at those other things. 00:34:24.699 --> 00:34:27.159 Be willing to risk for him. 00:34:27.159 --> 00:34:31.339 You will live a life worth truly with him 00:34:31.339 --> 00:34:34.319 because you will come to know him more and more. 00:34:35.480 --> 00:34:36.239 Let's pray. 00:34:36.239 --> 00:34:44.739 Maybe just stop for a minute. 00:34:45.039 --> 00:34:46.219 And I want you to think about that. 00:34:46.339 --> 00:34:49.599 What risks have I taken for Christ? 00:34:50.699 --> 00:34:54.779 What risks might God be calling me to take this week for him 00:34:54.779 --> 00:34:56.379 that I've been putting off? 00:34:57.099 --> 00:35:00.179 Things I've just been wanting my comfort 00:35:00.179 --> 00:35:02.319 more than what God is calling me to do. 00:35:10.519 --> 00:35:10.960 Father, 00:35:11.719 --> 00:35:16.099 I often don't believe that knowing you is more valuable, 00:35:16.659 --> 00:35:18.440 more precious than the things around me 00:35:18.440 --> 00:35:19.940 which attract me so much. 00:35:22.819 --> 00:35:24.919 Often so willing to suffer, 00:35:24.920 --> 00:35:29.599 to get ahead in my career 00:35:29.599 --> 00:35:30.680 or to get ahead 00:35:30.680 --> 00:35:34.180 in the eyes of other people, 00:35:34.860 --> 00:35:35.800 to be respected. 00:35:37.539 --> 00:35:39.380 I'm willing to suffer for those things, 00:35:39.559 --> 00:35:42.500 but I admit that I'm really willing to suffer for you. 00:35:43.500 --> 00:35:45.920 But I pray that you would become more beautiful 00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:47.860 in my eyes, 00:35:48.539 --> 00:35:50.880 in this church's eyes, 00:35:51.659 --> 00:35:53.519 that we would be a congregation, 00:35:53.519 --> 00:35:55.340 that when people look at our lives, 00:35:55.440 --> 00:35:56.099 they would say, 00:35:57.139 --> 00:35:59.519 Christ must be so precious to you 00:35:59.519 --> 00:36:02.679 because of what you're willing to give up for him. 00:36:04.320 --> 00:36:06.559 Please, would that become a reality in our lives? 00:36:07.679 --> 00:36:07.960 Amen.