One man's trash is another man's treasure.
I mean, this idiom shows how people value the same things differently.
Someone might value something as trash, worthless, a waste of space,
and no longer need it in their life.
But another person might view the exact same thing as treasure,
something that is of immense value to them.
And this couldn't be more true during the time of council cleanup.
I find it both amazing what people will see as trash and will throw out
and what others would see as treasure and pick up
as you see people drive you along the streets with their utes
and their trailers and their trucks,
searching for the treasure amongst all the trash.
And I feel like being a poor, more college student,
doing ministry on the North Shore,
there's often more treasure than trash out there,
dumped on those streets.
It's only in my view, of course,
but I see a lot of perfectly good couches and dining tables,
beds, mattresses, TV, stereos that I presume actually work,
they look like they work,
toys, scooters, the likes, pots and pans, books, children's things.
Oh, there is so much stuff that gets thrown out
that I just look and go, man, is that really trash?
It amazes me to the point where I reckon I could furnish a whole house
with council cleanup furniture, and none of you would know.
Unless you threw it out, of course,
and you recognised I was yours previously.
However, all these couches and dining tables,
these TVs and stereos,
these things were once new.
These things were once considered something of valuable
because they're now out of date
or because they're broken or unnecessary.
It has caused their previous owner to reassess their value,
and now they have been considered as trash,
thrown out to make room for all the better and newer things in life.
I remember when the iPhone 5S came out a few years ago.
I was very excited.
I went to the Apple store in Castle Hill
and lined up at 6 in the morning with my friends.
We were in a line of about 200 of us.
I was about 100th in the line itself,
and everyone there was very, very excited.
We were all, like, talking about the iPhone.
Everyone was talking about what colour they would get as well.
When the first person walked into the store,
the Apple employees made an arch for them
and clapped and applauded them and cheered them on
as they got to their iPhone.
It was very, very exciting.
My friends and I, when we got our iPhones,
had an unboxing ceremony at the local cafe,
and I held my iPhone thinking,
this is precious to me.
This is amazing and invaluable to me.
Three years on,
I have no idea where my iPhone even is anymore.
I think I sold it because it was outdated,
and I was getting my new iPhone 6S.
Its value did not last.
It caused me to reassess the value of my iPhone 5S,
and I saw it as trash,
something that was broken and slowly dying.
And then someone else bought it.
And so my trash became someone else's treasure.
This is what our society does.
Because we participate in a society
built on novelty,
built on wanting the next best thing,
we always need to reassess
the value of the things in our life.
And so when our gadgets and toys and cars wear out,
we reassess their value.
When our jobs or schooling gets really tough
or too boring,
we reassess its value.
When our friendships and marriages get hard
and the joy,
which was there to begin with,
begins to dwindle,
we reassess its value.
These things we once treasured,
or began to treasure,
have slowly become ultimately trash in our lives.
And as Christians,
the gospel of our Lord Jesus
calls us to reassess
what is most precious and valuable in our life.
And if we truly believe the gospel,
it changes our perception
of what is truly valuable.
But as people who are driven
in the world by novelty,
we are always tempted to try and build upon
and develop upon the gospel itself,
importing ideas and concepts from the world,
making us view the gospel
through the lens of the things that we value.
Whether we go one way
and begin to think
that the gospel is all about
doing certain things right,
that Christianity is all about
obeying the law
and making sure you have done enough
to come before God rightly.
Or whether we go the other way
and say the gospel
is all about receiving material blessing
and living a lifestyle that's free
from having to worry about your sins.
These patterns,
these things distort
what is truly the gospel
and they shape our understanding of it.
We are always in danger
of corrupting the gospel,
distorting it,
and therefore losing it
when we fail to assess
the things we value in this world
through the lens of the gospel.
The gospel needs to be the lens
by which we look at the things
in our life that we value.
But too often,
we're looking at the gospel itself
through the things that we value.
And this danger is ever-present
and persistent.
And this is why Paul writes
in chapter 3.
He does so for our safety,
it says in verse 1,
so that we might reassess
our relationship with the world itself,
viewing the things we value
through the lens of the gospel
that we might not lose Jesus
and therefore our faith.
And so let us open our Bibles
and reassess together
what it is we most value
as Paul reminds us once more
of the gospel.
So Paul begins by warning his readers
in verse 2,
watch out for those dogs,
those evildoers,
those mutilators of the flesh.
There are those in the church
whom Paul considers a threat
to the gospel.
The third category gives us a clue
as to who he's speaking of.
Jewish Christians
who want the law
to be a necessary part
of their faith.
Jewish Christians consider themselves
here in Philippi
better than others.
they consider themselves
exemplars of the faith
because they held the law
to a high regard.
They were even circumcised
and therefore meant
that they had the sign
that they were God's people
from the Old Testament.
They looked down at everyone else
because of who they were
and how they could hold the law.
These are the kinds of people
in church who are proud
of how much time they spend
reading the Bible
and looked down at other people
for not doing
as much as they can.
Those who gossip
about people's sins
behind their back.
Those who brag about
all the missionaries
they are supporting
and praying for.
Those who look at themselves
and thank God
they are not ultimately
like other sinful people.
Ultimately,
these people,
these kinds of people
value being seen
as better than others.
They value their status
above anything else.
And Paul says
to watch out
for these kinds of people.
They might portray
an image of holiness.
They might seem
to tick all the holy boxes
but they are nothing
more than dogs,
evildoers,
mutilators.
That last category
is particularly offensive,
particularly for
the Jewish Christians.
For Paul would not describe
them as circumcised
but would use a derogative term
instead,
mutilation.
to show that they are not
truly part of God's people.
He's saying,
yeah,
you might carry that sign
on your body
that you are part
of God's people
but that sign
is no more
of a mutilation
like the ancient pagans
who would mutilate
themselves
in the service
of their fake
and weak God.
You are no different
to them.
Paul is saying
that you are like
a pagan.
You are like someone
who doesn't believe
in a real God.
His strong,
offensive use
of the word
mutilator here
is so he can
be clear
about the kinds
of people
who are part
of God's people,
who are truly
circumcised,
that is,
who are truly
part of God's family.
And so in verse 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.
The true Christian
is marked by humility.
Unlike the proud
Jewish Christians
who value their deeds
and status
before the law,
justifying themselves
as exemplars
of the faith,
Paul says
the people of God
are those
who humbly trust
and boast
in the work
of Jesus,
knowing only
in him
they can receive
eternal life.
And above all else,
they value him
and treasure him
alone.
And we must realise
all of this so far
is in the context
of a warning.
we are called
to watch out
for these kinds
of people,
not because Paul
wants us to go
on like a witch hunt
and try and get rid
of them out of our
fold and our gathering,
although he would
want that.
He's warning
and he's out of concern
for us as a church
because such people
can be really damaging
to us
and to the gospel.
And the temptation
for the church
in Philippi
was to look
at these guys
and be impressed
by them,
to see them
as role models
for their faith,
to see the things
they valued,
which are status
and works,
and take them
on board
for themselves
and look at the gospel
through the things
that they valued
and then truly forget
what it actually means
to be the people
of God.
And Paul
is all too aware
of how easy
it is to slip back
into that mindset
of box-ticking
Christianity,
where the impressive
Christians
seems to be
the true examples
of faith
who then leaves
the rest of us
feeling bad
and somehow
less of a Christian
because we're not
able to be like them.
The issue is
that these Jews
have allowed
what they value,
their status
and their works,
to creep into
their view
of the gospel
and corrupt it.
And that's what
Paul is afraid
will happen
to the rest
of the church
if they continue
to look at
these guys
as role models
of the faith.
However,
there's another danger
here as well.
It's to go
in the totally
opposite direction
and promote
freedom
from having to
live in any
certain way.
Believe in the mantra
that Paul spoke
against in Romans
which is
why not sin
that grace
may abound
all the more?
And that response
is also dangerous.
And there are
people in churches
who promote
this kind of response.
They say
it's okay
to sleep
with your boyfriend
or your girlfriend
outside of marriage.
It's okay
to lie in your tax return
to get a little bit
more back
from the government.
It's okay
to get drunk
not that bad
as long as you
don't hurt anyone.
And God doesn't
want you to give
money to church
that's okay.
God just wants
you to love him.
Such proponents
who say these things
of this kind
of message
misunderstand
the gospel
because
of the things
they value.
They are looking
at the gospel
through the things
they value.
And they value
material things.
They value
their lifestyles
and their freedoms.
And so in turn
looking at the gospel
through those values
they have corrupted it
and distorted it
and have led
many people away
from it as well.
We need to watch out
for these people.
For people who tell us
that the gospel
is all about works
and achieving
some sort of status
before God
that we can be
right before him.
But we all seem
to watch out
for the other extreme
as well.
Saying that it
doesn't matter
about how you act
and how you live.
Just believe
and Jesus
will still love you.
We must
clearly anchor
our mind
and our heart
that to belong
to the people
of God
is to serve him
the power
of the spirits.
to boast
only in Jesus
and what he has done
for us
and to put no confidence
in ourselves.
It's a call
to humbly trust
in Jesus
and in him
alone.
However
the antithesis
of humbleness
is pride.
And the world
would feed our pride
by having us think
we are capable
of our own salvation
whether it's eternal
or simply just
to live the good life.
the world
would use
the things
we value
to infiltrate
our thinking
twisting our
perception of them
making us view
the gospel
through the lens
of what we value most
and therefore
opening us up
to being distorted
and misunderstood.
And hence
what you get
is the dogs
in Philippians.
You get
the liberalist
Christians
of then and now
who say
you can do
whatever you want.
Paul knows
all too well
this danger
and how easily
the gospel
can become corrupted
and distorted
and so he puts
himself forward
as a case study
that we might
truly grasp
but there is no
benefit
in being like
those
he's opposing
here
and there's no
benefit
in looking at
the gospel
for the values
of those
lifestyles
and freedoms
of the liberalist
type Christians
that we would
not be tempted
by these things.
From verse 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
circumcised
in the eighth day
of the people
of Israel
of the tribe
of Benjamin
a Hebrew
of Hebrews
in regards
to the law
a Pharisee
as for zeal
persecuting
the church
as for righteousness
based on the law
faultless.
As he so often
does
Paul applies
the logic
to himself
You know
these Jewish
Christians
they might have
a lot to boast
about
they might have
done a lot
of good works
and they are
circumcised as well
so yeah
they might be
pretty good Jews
but no one
compares to Paul
Paul is the Jew
he is the
Jew you want to be
pretty much
he doesn't get
much better
he's almost
perfect
and so if anyone
could know God
as a Jew
it would be Paul
and if you had
the credentials
that Paul had
as a Jew
you'd be thrilled
you'd be stoked
because you knew
that Paul
was someone
who could know God
and yet
in a sharp reversal
the treasure
becomes the trash
verse 7
the terminology
here Paul uses
of loss
and gain
is basic
commerce language
and he's borrowing
it to help
him describe
how much
he considers
Jesus to be
the ultimate
thing he values
and how his
credentials
his status
his past life
as a Jew
is ultimately
just worthless
and therefore
trash
so if you think
of a balance sheet
before Paul
heard the gospel
all his credentials
were listed
as positive
as profit
as gain
you know
as a Jew
it looked immensely
profitable
you probably
want to invest
in Paul
he was a very
good investment
but then when he
heard the gospel
it all changed
he came to know
something of
unprecedented value
that was now
his
and this calls
Paul to reassess
everything
in his balance sheet
and without
question
or pondering
he straight away
gets his list
of credentials
and strikes them
out
as a loss
their asset
value had
dropped
significantly
to the point
where they
were no longer
profitable
and more
than that
they weren't
just no longer
profitable
they were now
a liability
they are now
costly
to Paul
and so he
has to strike
them out
and get rid
of them
lest these
liabilities
would now
affect
or even
take away
what he has
gained
as something
so precious
in Jesus
indeed he
feels so
strong
seeing
the things
not only
as he
wants
valued
as
merely
lost
but also
as
trash
and garbage
in verse
9
now the
translation
here is
probably
not strong
enough
the word
used
is
skubala
it's
more or less
of an
ancient
swear word
and the
early church
fathers
who were
reading
Paul
were so
embarrassed
by Paul's
use of
the word
they tried
to kind
of soften
it a little
bit
saying no
Paul
didn't
really
mean
that
he more
meant
just
you know
not very
nice
not very
good
worthless
but in
reality
the word
describes
something
vulgar
and abhorrent
it's better
understood
as someone's
excrement
dung
and crap
are probably
the strongest
words I could
use in front
of you right
now
but that's
how he
considers his
past credentials
crap
it might
seem so
drastic
and offensive
and it
should
but Paul
is so
deeply
convicted
that if
he doesn't
draw the
line
to such
an extreme
if he
gives
even some
value to
his past
credentials
then he
will be
giving them
a foothold
into his
heart
he'll be
giving them
a chance
for him
to then
view the
gospel
through
his
credentials
the lens
of his
credentials
and that's
just not
worth it
for Paul
so much
so that he
sits in
prison
writing
these words
having
truly lost
everything
that he's
ever had
but having
kept and
having always
gained
Jesus
which is
all he
needs
you see
the danger
for Paul
is that
if he
places any
value in
these things
he'd be
tempted to
also place
his confidence
in these
things as
well
and therefore
his confidence
for them
in salvation
and that's
the primary
issue for us
here
it's the
temptation to
look at the
things we
value in
our life
and place
our confidence
and our
trust in
them above
Christ
allowing
them
allowing
them
for the
gospel
to become
corrupted
and distorted
it's a
subtle danger
but one
that comes
at great
cost
if it's
left
unchecked
indeed
what's at
stake
for Paul
was the
knowledge
that came
by gaining
Christ
a knowledge
unsurpassed
in value
verse 9
and be
found in
him
not having
a righteousness
of my own
that comes
from the
Lord
but that
which is
through faith
in Christ
the righteousness
that comes
from God
and the
basis of
faith
I want
to know
Christ
yes
to know
the power
of his
resurrection
and participation
in his
sufferings
but becoming
like him
in his
death
and so
somehow
attaining
to the
resurrection
from the
dead
the knowledge
of Christ
that we
are made
right with
God
through faith
alone
that we
are made
righteous
through
Christ's
own work
itself
that we
partake
not only
in his
suffering
but in his
resurrection
that we
can one
day be
assured
that our
own
resurrection
as well
all of
this
our
knowledge
in Jesus
is at
stake
for Paul
when we
fail to
consider
everything
loss
a liability
to gain
Jesus
what are
the things
in your
life
that are
potentially
becoming
more and
more of a
liability
to your
faith
is it
your desire
to be
seen
as holy
and good
are you
beginning to
think that
to be
saved
and right
before God
you need
to be at
least this
good
or have
done this
in your
life
and have
never done
that
is it
your desire
to be
comfortable
and happy
are you
beginning to
think that
it's
unimaginable
that God
would ever
ever take
away good
things from
you
that he
would ever
let you
suffer
and then still
be good
somehow
these
things
are
liabilities
the gospel
calls us
to consider
garbage
lest
we lose
our faith
in the
true knowledge
of Jesus
they have
potential
to shipwreck
your faith
and make you
lose sight
of the truth
they have the
potential to
destroy your
knowledge
of what is
true
what in
your life
that you
value
is becoming
more and
more of a
liability
what is it
as you sit
here now
reassessing your
relationship with
the world
what are the
things in your
life
the things
that you
value
that might
become your
liability to
what you
should value
most
Jesus
how do we
continue to
not lose
sight
of Jesus
how do we
stop everyday
things in our
life becoming
too valuable
because reality
is we're
bombarded
every single
day by a
world that
tells us to
value this
or value that
value your own
comfort
value your own
happiness
value your own
life above
anything else
it's hard to
keep Jesus at the
centre of our
life
it's hard to
continue to
see him as
the most precious
and valuable
thing in our
life when the
world is saying
otherwise
and we only
gather here
once a week
the world is
bombarding us
six other
days of the
week 24
7
so how do
we not
lose sight of
Jesus and
how do we
continue to
value him
above all
else that we
might not let
liabilities in
our life
take that away
it's very simple
actually but
very hard to
do
and at the
beginning of
the first
verse
he says
Paul at the
very beginning
further my
brothers and
sisters rejoice
rejoice in
the Lord
Paul's command
to watch out
for those in
the church who
might warp our
understanding of
the gospel stems
from his ultimate
purpose for us
his ultimate
command for us
as a church
and that is to
rejoice rejoice
always in Jesus
to never forget
who and what
is at the
centre of your
life of our
life to choose
daily to make
the object of
your joy and
of your delight
your passion
Jesus who
is supremely
more valuable
than anything
you could ever
gain in this
life he has
made a way for
you to know
God he is the
one who can
give you what
the world is
searching for in
all the wrong
places eternal
life he is the
one who gives us
hope in times of
suffering and
despair and in a
chaotic world we
can hold on to
him knowing that
he will bring
us through and
so daily choose
him choose to
take joy in
him choose to
rejoice in
him continue to
make him the
object of joy in
your life make
reading the word
a priority make
prayer a priority
make gathering
together in small
group a priority
that you might
continue to look
at the world for
the lens of the
gospel and not the
world through the
gospel the world
will always be
there to feed our
pride to tempt us
to find value in
things of the
world and so it
will always bombard
us and it will
always be difficult
but that's why we
have this right
now that's why we
gather together
because what we're
doing here right
now is reminding
each other of the
good news of
Jesus we gather
here each Sunday
to continue to
reassess our life
against the
gospel itself to
continue to tell
each other the
good news of
Jesus that we
might continue to
place him in our
life as the most
valuable thing there
is we remind each
other of this good
news so for those
of us who doubt
that good news we
can be encouraged
encouraged to
continue trusting
in Jesus as the
most ultimate and
valuable thing and
for those of us
here who have
forgotten that who
have begun to
value other things
in the world we
come to him remind
each other that no
Jesus is the most
valuable thing and
so repent and turn
back to Jesus that
we might continue to
rejoice in him and
him alone because he
is the most satisfying
thing the most worthy
thing of our time and
our praise there is
nothing better in this
whole world than
gaining and keeping
Jesus which is yours
today and this
evening so continue to
rejoice in him let me
pray heavenly father we
thank you so much that
in your word you are
merciful to us and
you reveal to us how
we can know you through
your son we pray father
that we would not be
tempted by this world
to value other things
to look and to read the
gospel through the
things of this world
that we value but father
we continue to reassess
ourselves always through
the lens of the gospel
would we always see how
incredibly wonderful it
is the gift of your son
that he has come to save
us and to die for us
that we might know you
father we pray that we
would never take our
eyes off of him that we
would continue to always
trust in him and to see
him as the most valuable
thing in our life that we
would always keep him for
all eternity and we pray
this in your son's precious
name amen