Well, good morning. Our sermon text today is Philippians chapter 3, verses 1 through 11.
I think that's page 922 in the Pew Bible, if you want to follow along there.
As you turn there, let me pray, and then I'll read for us.
Lord, indeed, how we need you.
Lord, we need you for absolutely everything.
It's in you that we live and move and have our being.
We depend on you each moment of every day, and we depend on you right now in this moment as we come to your word.
That by your spirit, you would open our hearts and our eyes and our minds and our ears and our wills to receive what it is you have to say to us.
So speak, we pray, God, through your word once again.
Give us hearts that hear, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
All right, Philippians chapter 3, let me read verses 1 through 11.
Paul says,
Well, as we come to a new chapter here in the book of Philippians, it's worth taking a second and getting our bearings of where we are in this book.
In chapter 1, after giving thanks for what God is up to among the Philippians, Paul tells them about his own situation in prison.
He gives them an update of how he's getting along.
Then at the end of chapter 1 and right into chapter 2, Paul's main exhortation of the book comes.
Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Christ, the one who laid aside all of his heavenly privileges, became a servant, died on a cross, and who was exalted to the highest place.
Live a life worthy of this good news.
Shine like stars in the midst of the world.
Hold fast to the word of life.
And then at the end of chapter 2, Paul holds up Timothy and Epaphroditus as examples of what he's talking about.
Examples of Christ-like service.
Lives worthy of the gospel.
Worthy of our imitation.
And so as chapter 3 opens up, it looks like Paul is sort of about to wrap things up.
Finally, brothers, he says.
But then, surprisingly, he goes on for two more chapters, right?
If you've been reading along in the D.A. Carson book on Philippians, Don Carson jokes,
One child allegedly asked his dad what the preacher meant when he said,
Finally, and his father muttered in reply,
Nothing.
Well, the reality is the word finally here probably doesn't mean this is the last thing I'm going to say.
It was a bit of a connecting word in Greek that could often mean something like,
So then, or as I was saying.
And as Paul was saying back in verse 18 of chapter 2, we're meant to rejoice in the Lord.
But quickly, Paul moves to his next subject.
And this is something we see here that apparently he had gone over before with the Philippians.
Perhaps when he was with them in person.
This is something he had taught them before.
You see, some lessons, some spiritual truths are so important that we need to hear them again and again.
Paul says,
There's no trouble for me.
And ultimately, it's for our good, for our safety, he says even.
And what Paul is about to tell us is this.
That your biggest spiritual problem isn't what you think it is.
The biggest threat to the church, the biggest threat to your soul, isn't what you think it is.
You know, if you were to take stock of your sort of moral or spiritual resume,
what would you see as your greatest liabilities?
What do you think is hindering you the most from entering or thriving in the kingdom of God?
What is it that keeps you from Christ?
Well, perhaps you would think about your moral failures.
You'd think about your besetting sins.
The ways you just don't seem to have enough self-control.
The ways you keep falling short.
But this passage is telling us that our greatest threat isn't our moral failures or our besetting sins.
It isn't your sins that ultimately keep you away from God.
It's your righteousness.
It's not all the things you've done wrong.
It's all the things you've done right that threaten to kill you spiritually.
And if you can understand the danger of what we're going to call self-righteousness,
if you can understand the danger of that, then maybe for the first time you'll really understand what the gospel is all about
and what it means to really know Christ.
So to get there, I want to look at our passage in three parts.
First, we're going to look at what self-righteousness looks like.
Second, we're going to see why it's empty.
And third, why knowing Christ is so much better.
So what it looks like, why it's empty, and why knowing Christ is better.
So let's start by seeing what self-righteousness looks like.
And we see this in verses 2 through 6.
Paul starts by saying, look out for the dogs.
Now, in the first century church, there were Jewish Christians who held and who taught
that in order to be saved, to be in a right relationship with God,
and to be a part of his people, you had to be circumcised.
We read about this earlier in the service in Acts 15.
Their argument most likely went something like this.
From the days of Abraham, God commanded Israel to be circumcised as a sign of his covenant with them.
That was how you knew who was in and who was out of the people of God.
And so, Gentiles, you must be circumcised too, or else you can't be saved.
No circumcision, no salvation.
It's as simple as that.
Just read the Old Testament.
But Paul, along with the rest of the apostles and church leaders in Acts 15, disagreed entirely.
In light of the gospel, the good news of what Jesus, the Messiah, had done,
the church came to see that circumcision was a temporary external sign that pointed to the radical inward work
that God would do through the Spirit when the Messiah came.
There was nothing wrong with getting circumcised.
Paul and many other Jewish believers in Jesus were happily circumcised.
But circumcision did not and could not put someone in a right relationship with God.
And thereby, it could not define the people of God anymore.
Only Jesus could do that.
Who through his death, resurrection, and outpouring of the Spirit brought about forgiveness of sins and new life for all who believe.
Thus, Paul will say, the true circumcision, that is, the true people of God, the truly cleansed ones,
couldn't be found among those who insisted on a surgical procedure.
Those who, he says, mutilate the flesh.
But the true people of God, the true circumcision, were found among those who worship by the Spirit of God
and glory in Christ Jesus.
Because true circumcision is of the heart.
And the heart can only be cleansed through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So when Paul says, watch out for the dogs,
he's being heavily, heavily ironic.
Because law-abiding Jews, what they would do is that sometimes they would call those kind of unclean Gentiles,
they'd call them dogs or evildoers.
But Paul, you see, is turning the tables.
He's saying, if you insist on circumcision as a requirement for salvation now,
that makes you the unclean one.
In fact, to do that means it's not even true circumcision anymore.
Now, you can't tell this in our English translations,
but Paul is actually doing a play on words here at the end of verse 3.
In Greek, you see, the word for circumcision is peritome.
But Paul says these false teachers are so far from what God intended
that what they're promoting is nothing but katatome.
It's not circumcision.
It's mutilation.
Strong words, isn't it?
But they're strong words because so much is at stake.
And yet, how about for us?
It's so much at stake today in all of this.
You know, we may not be tempted to find our status through circumcision.
I doubt anyone here is tempted to say,
you know what I need to do to be saved in addition to believing in Jesus?
I think I need to be circumcised.
I haven't met anyone like that in over a decade of ministry.
But that doesn't mean that we're immune from what Paul calls confidence in the flesh.
That is basing our identity, basing our status before God and the people of God,
basing it on something that we find in us.
Now, lest we think that Paul is disagreeing with a circumcision party
just because he can't measure up to their standards,
he goes on in verses 4 through 6 to say,
look, if anyone has a spiritual resume worth boasting in, it's me.
You know, it's not like Paul's the kid who made fun of the school band
because he couldn't play an instrument, right?
He's not the kid who sort of says that sports are stupid
because he got cut from the team.
No, Paul can play this game better than anyone else.
But as he unfolds his sort of moral resume,
what we find is that these verses start to give us something
that's like an anatomy of self-righteousness.
We see as Paul unfolds his spiritual resume
all the ways in which we too are tempted
to base our status on something that's found in us,
to place our confidence in the flesh.
It's interesting that sociologists will distinguish
between three categories of social status.
There's a scribed status, something that sort of is yours by birth.
There's achieved status, something that you get through the doing.
And then there's sort of master status
that sets you apart from everybody else.
And Paul here in verses 4 through 6
actually sort of mentions all three.
Now, as we said, a scribe status is something that you inherit
or that you receive.
And Paul starts out by saying that he was circumcised on the eighth day
of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrews.
In other words, when it came to his parents,
when it came to his pedigree,
when it came to his heritage,
his was impeccable.
He was no mere convert to Judaism.
No, he was circumcised on the eighth day
just like the law said.
He could trace his lineage back through Hebrew parents,
back through the tribe of Benjamin,
that one tribe that stuck by Judah
and the house of David in ancient Israel.
He could trace his heritage back through the patriarchs and Jacob.
No one could dispute with Paul's pedigree,
with his ascribed status.
Now, I wonder, is that where you find your status,
your worth?
In your family name,
in your spiritual heritage.
Perhaps you can trace your family tree back
to a great saint or a great missionary.
Perhaps your parents or your grandparents
or even your great-grandparents
were great men and women of faith.
Or perhaps they were great upstanding leaders
in their communities,
that you come from a family that's done much good,
very respectable, very honorable,
very worthy,
and you carry their name.
And for you, it's a great source of dignity.
Now, of course, there's nothing wrong
with being proud of your heritage.
There's nothing wrong with celebrating
and enjoying your family,
your cultural identity.
Yes, we should do that.
But is that what you lean on?
Is that where your ultimate confidence lies?
Paul goes on.
He doesn't just talk about his ascribed status,
his parentage, his pedigree.
He talks about his achieved status.
Now, achieved status is something that you enjoy
by virtue of kind of your personal accomplishments.
As to the law, Paul says,
I was a Pharisee.
Now, the Pharisees were the Jewish party
in the first century
who were the most attentive,
the most scrupulous in keeping the law of Moses.
And not just the law,
but the traditions of the elders too.
You know, the Pharisees were sort of like
the group to be a part of.
They were like the inner circle
if you wanted to be serious about God's law.
And many people in the first century
looked at the Pharisees as the heroes,
as the good guys,
because they took it all very seriously
and they actually tried to do it.
You know, there were lots of Jews in Paul's day
who could say they were circumcised on the eighth day,
yada, yada, yada.
But only some had the achieved status
of being a Pharisee.
So what's your achieved status?
Is it a degree on your wall
with a well-known name attached to it?
Is it a neighborhood or a size of home
that you've been able to move into?
Or perhaps more subtly,
is it a group of friends,
a social circle that you've been accepted into?
Is it a political party or cause
that you align with?
Is this where you're finding your worth,
your confidence, your status?
Is this what you think defines you?
And do you look down ever so slightly,
maybe, on those who don't share this status
or this party affiliation with you?
Or if you don't look down,
maybe you do find yourself thinking at times,
man, I'm so glad I'm not like those other people.
But Paul doesn't just list his pedigree.
He's a Hebrew of Hebrews.
He doesn't just name his party.
He's a Pharisee.
He goes on to talk more deeply
about his performance.
Beyond acquired and achieved status,
there lies what sociologists would call
one's perceived master status.
Paul says,
as to zeal,
a persecutor of the church,
as to righteousness under the law,
blameless.
Now, on the surface,
this feels like the most extreme thing
on Paul's spiritual resume, right?
This is the thing that makes him
most unlike ourselves.
We think, whoa, Paul,
you've like totally gone off the rails now, right?
But, you know,
I think more of us are like Paul
in this respect than we realize.
Of course, I don't think any of us
would boast in persecuting the church, right?
But we do consider it a virtue
to be zealous for the right causes.
And when Paul says
he's blameless under the law,
he doesn't mean that he was sort of
sinlessly perfect.
No, he means that he kept the law
as best he could,
and when he failed,
he kept to the sacrifices
and ceremonies in the law
that were in place
to atone for sin.
So in that sense,
he was blameless.
He did what the law asked.
And when he failed,
he took advantage
of what the law provided.
He did.
It's just like us today.
No one of us would say
that we're perfect, right?
But many of us would say
that, you know,
we're good people.
We do our best.
And in that sense,
we think we're blameless.
Ironically then,
when we look at our own hearts,
we all carry around a sense
of our own master status.
That we're on the right side
of the issues,
and we're basically good people.
And that's where our confidence
so often lies.
We may not put too much stock
in our pedigree,
our acquired status,
as sociologists say.
We might not put too much weight
in our party affiliations
or our accomplishments,
our achieved status.
But, you know,
we all have this
unshakable sense at times
of our own master status.
That when it comes to God
and when it comes to others,
we have a righteousness
that meets the mark.
We think that God will accept us
based on our performance.
So this is what self-righteousness
looks like.
You know,
it doesn't look like being
a sort of self-absorbed jerk,
always looking out for number one.
No.
It looks like simply
placing your confidence,
finding your status
or your worth
in your own pedigree
or accomplishments
or performance.
And that means
that it's probably
the most natural thing
in the world.
And it describes
all of us.
And yet our text goes on.
Not just to show us
what this looks like.
It goes on to show us
why it's totally empty.
Self-righteousness
might be the air
that we breathe,
but in reality,
it's a vacuum.
Let's look again
at verses 7 through 8.
Paul says,
but whatever gain I had,
I counted as loss
for the sake of Christ.
Indeed,
I count everything as loss
because of the surpassing worth
of knowing Christ Jesus,
my Lord.
For his sake,
I've suffered the loss
of all things
and count them as rubbish
in order that I may gain Christ.
I remember when our kids
were little,
for a time,
they were into
Thomas the Tank Engine.
Are you familiar
with Thomas the Tank Engine?
It's this great British show
about different colored
talking trains
that live on this island
and every episode
they get into
some sort of trouble
and they have to help
each other out
and it always works out
in the end
and it all takes
only about 10 minutes.
It's great.
And of course,
like any good kids show,
you don't just watch the show,
you also buy the toys
and the merchandise, right?
So for a while,
we had quite a collection growing.
Some through our own purchases,
many through the generosity
of others who had outgrown
Thomas the Tank Engine,
we had quite a collection growing
of little Thomas the Tank Engine toys,
little trains and little tracks
that you could put together
and it was quite fun actually.
And then one weekend,
we decided as a family
to go to the town of Essex,
just east of here in Connecticut.
And in Essex,
they have a real working steam engine,
a legitimate steam train
and you can go for a ride.
So one weekend,
we thought we're into trains.
Let's do this.
So we did.
And you know,
when that steam engine started up
and we got to see firsthand
the sort of massive amounts
of steel and coal and smoke and fire
and when it started to move
and we could feel its power
and you could hear the pressure
of the wheels
and you could feel the blast of the whistle.
You know,
I realized anyway
that up until that point,
even though I had watched hours
upon hours of Thomas the Tank Engine
and it had played for hours more,
I realized at that point,
I had had no idea
what a steam train was really like
until I was face to face with one.
And the real thing
made all the other toys
seem like toys.
And that's what Paul is saying here.
He's saying that when you are confronted
by the reality of Jesus,
Jesus,
the truly righteous one,
when we get a good look at him,
then all of our own righteousness,
anything we might have considered gain
in our eternal bank account
is suddenly revealed
to be what it truly is.
Nothing.
Look at Jesus revealed
in the pages of the New Testament.
Look at how his interactions
with others are always marked
by perfect patience
and unflinching truth
and ceaseless grace.
Look at how Jesus' obedience
to the Father
never wavers.
His obedience never wavers,
not just when the crowds are gathering
and his fame is growing,
but even when he's betrayed
and abandoned
by his closest friends.
Even when he's condemned
by his own people
and handed over
to the Romans
to be unjustly executed.
Look at how in his resurrection,
he doesn't return
and sort of shame
or condemn
his lapsed disciples.
No,
he comes and he restores them.
And look at how
in his ascension
to the Father's right hand,
even now,
he continues
to intercede perfectly
on our behalf,
never wavering,
never tiring.
When you get a glimpse
of the truly righteous one,
we see that our emptiness,
our righteousness is empty.
It's nothing.
And for Paul,
he goes on to say,
you know,
it's actually less than nothing.
He says,
for his sake,
I've suffered the loss
of all things
and count them as rubbish
in order that
I might gain Christ.
Now,
here's a deep spiritual truth,
friends.
You see,
our self-righteousness
isn't neutral.
It's negative.
If it's the thing
we're resting our life on,
then it's the very thing
that keeps us from Christ.
Why?
Because if we are confident
in our own pedigree,
or our own performance,
then we simply
don't have much need
for Christ.
Why would we need
a redeemer
if we're fully capable
of saving ourselves?
Why would I need
a new status?
Why would I need
a new life
if my life's okay?
You see,
the reality is
there's no middle ground.
there's no both
and between
holding on
to self-righteousness
and truly
knowing Christ.
You have to
let go of one
to really
have the other.
Jesus
is
Lord,
and he
will be
truly known
in no
other way.
you can't have
Jesus
merely
as an example.
You can't have
Jesus
merely
as a sidekick
to sort of
prop up
your own agenda
of self-righteousness.
you have
to know him
as Lord
or you don't
know him
at all.
If you want
to know Christ
and enter
into a life-changing
relationship
with him,
as Paul says,
to gain him,
to be found
in him,
then you have
to transfer
your trust.
You have to
step out
from depending
on your own
righteousness,
your own pedigree,
your own performance,
and you have
to place your
trust in him
alone.
You have to
consider that
stuff as less
than nothing
compared
to who he is.
But is it worth it?
I mean,
make no mistake
about it,
what Paul is
talking about here
is a radical
shift in identity
and it is
a costly shift.
I've suffered
the loss
of all things
he says.
Think of the friends
that Paul lost.
Think of the
the security
and the social
networks that
Paul lost.
Some people
speculate that
Paul,
given that
most Jewish
men in his
time were
married,
and he never
talks about
his wife
in his
letters,
some people
speculate that
Paul maybe
even lost
his spouse,
that she
walked away
from him
because he
was a follower
of Jesus.
What losses
might it mean
for you?
A loss
of intimate
friends?
A loss
of career
prestige?
Is knowing
Christ
really better
than just
sticking with
our self-righteousness
and getting
on with life?
Well,
at the end
of our passage,
Paul explains
why Christ
is better.
He's shown us
what self-righteousness
looks like.
He's shown us
why it's empty
and now in
verses 9-11
we see
why Christ
is better.
Let's pick up
reading at the
end of verse 8.
Paul says,
for his sake
I've suffered
the loss
of all things
and count
them as rubbish
in order that
I may gain
Christ
and be found
in him.
Not having
a righteousness
of my own
that comes
from the law
but that which
comes through
faith in Christ.
The righteousness
from God
that depends
on faith.
That I may
know him
and the power
of his resurrection
and share
his sufferings
becoming like
him in his death
that by any
means possible
I may attain
the resurrection
from the dead.
So Paul
mentions two
great gifts
that come to us
when we are
united to Christ
by faith.
The first
is Christ's
righteousness
the second
is Christ's
resurrection
power.
In verse 9
Paul tells us
about a new
righteousness
a new status
a new acceptance
that we receive.
But look at
how different
it is.
Our old
righteousness
comes from
the law.
Our new
righteousness
comes from
God.
Our old
righteousness
depends on
us keeping
the law.
But this
new righteousness
depends not
on our works
but on faith.
That is it
doesn't depend
on our own
performance.
It depends
on the
performance
of another.
Jesus
perfectly
kept the
law.
Jesus was
the only
completely
righteous
one.
And through
faith in
Christ
we're vitally
united to
him like
a husband
is united
to his
wife
and that
means what's
true of
Christ
is now
true of
us.
And when
God looks
at us
he sees
the righteousness
of Jesus
because we're
united to
him through
faith.
Can you
imagine the
sort of
peace you
would have
if you
knew that
you're standing
before the
only judge
who really
matters
God himself
if you knew
that you're
standing before
that judge
was utterly
and finally
settled
that you
were totally
and completely
accepted
once and
for all
forever
because of
the finished
work of
Jesus.
Can you
imagine if
you had
nothing to
fear
no condemnation
or shame
to dread
that God
looked upon
you and
wasn't weighing
your good or
bad deeds
but was
utterly
accepting
you.
And because
there was
nothing you
did to earn
that righteousness
there was
nothing you
could do
to lose
it either.
And if
that brings
peace
oh imagine
the joy
it would
bring into
your life.
Imagine
the joy
of knowing
that your
status is
secure before
God.
That God's
love for you
will never
change.
That it
won't go
up and
down depending
on whether
you've had a
good day
or a bad
day.
That's why
Paul can
talk so
much in
Philippians
about joy.
That's why
this whole
chapter starts
by saying
rejoice in
the Lord.
You know
legalism
self-righteousness
it never
leads to
joy.
But receiving
the righteousness
of God
through faith
in Christ
that's the
wellspring
of joy.
Because it
doesn't move
and it
doesn't
change
no matter
what hardships
come.
No matter
how many
times we
fail.
There's
joy.
But Paul
says Christ
doesn't just
give us his
righteousness
and with it
all the peace
and all the
joy.
In verses
10 and 11
Paul talks
about knowing
Christ and
the power
of his
resurrection.
You see
when we
trust in
Christ we
don't just
receive a
whole new
status before
God.
That is
Christ's
righteousness.
We also
receive a
whole new
principle of
life within.
The same
power that
raised Christ
from the
dead now
lives in
us.
What does
that mean?
Well it
means that our
lives look
more and
more like
his.
As we
follow him
confident in
our status
before God
we launch
out to
live the
life that
Christ has
for us in
his power.
And as we
share in
his sufferings
our lives
display more
and more of
his character.
Through the
power of
Christ in
us by the
Holy Spirit
this resurrection
power rather
than growing
harsh we
become patient.
And rather
than growing
resentful we
become gentle.
And rather
than growing
fearful we
become bold.
This is what
we mean by
the term
sanctification.
Becoming more
and more like
Christ throughout
our lives.
And the
end point of
sanctification
is what we
call glorification.
Being totally
made new in
the resurrection.
resurrection.
That's where
our text
ends.
Becoming
like him
in his
death Paul
says verse
11 that by
any means
possible I
may attain
the resurrection
from the
dead.
Other
translations like
the NIV they
put verse 11
this way they
say and so
somehow
attaining to
the resurrection
of the dead.
Some even
read if
perhaps I
might attain
to the
resurrection of
the dead.
Now okay
at first
that doesn't
sound too
confident does
it?
It's almost
like Paul
saying well
I might not
make it.
Okay
but when
Paul says
if somehow
he's not
actually expressing
doubt or
anxiety
he's expressing
humility.
It's not as
if Paul doubts
whether God
will raise him
for Christ's
sake.
He's very
confident in
that.
We read
that all
over Paul's
letters.
Go back
to the
first chapter
of Philippians.
Paul says
look if I
die I'm
going to be
with Jesus.
It's a
done deal.
So Paul
isn't expressing
a doubt here
about whether
God will raise
him for
Christ's
sake.
Rather what
Paul is
expressing here
is the
fact that
he doesn't
deserve it.
Which puts
Paul right
back in the
place of
trust.
Trust not
in his own
resume but
in Christ.
Placing no
confidence in
himself.
Placing all
confidence in
Christ.
And this is
the same for
us.
In ourselves
we don't
deserve the
resurrection
power of
Christ.
Either in
this life or
in the life
to come.
But Christ
graciously gives
it to us.
He gives
us not just
the great gift
of justification
of being
righteous but
he gives us
the wonderful
gift of
sanctification.
being made
more and
more like
him.
Again
imagine
what your
life would
be like
with that.
Imagine
what hope
you would
have in
the face
of
discouragement
or despair
if you knew
that your
present and
your future
weren't simply
going to be
the product
of your own
strength.
but you
knew that
you were a
participant in
the power of
Christ's
resurrection and
that God would
use even
hardships and
trials to
bring about
transformation in
your life.
Promising that
even on the
far side of
death there
was indestructible
hope.
Imagine how
much hope
that would
give you for
change in the
present that
you're not
stuck anymore.
And imagine
how this would
change how you
view your
fellow believers
too.
You know if we
live inside a
paradigm of
self-righteousness
then our
capacity and
power to
change lies
solely in
us.
It's a
totally closed
system.
And in that
paradigm after
a while you
start to lose
hope that
people can
actually change
don't you?
But if the
power of
Christ's
resurrection really
does live in
us.
if together
we've left
behind that
self-righteous
paradigm and
we've considered
knowing Christ
to be what's
most important
and his power
lives in us
then there's
always room for
hope.
So the
surpassing worth
of knowing
Christ really
is better.
It's better
than clinging
to our
performance and
pedigree and
all the sort
of privileges
that come
with that
because those
things can
never really
bring what
Christ gives
righteousness
and life.
As Tom
mentioned in
his pastoral
prayer today's
Reformation
Sunday.
It's kind of
the Sunday
of the church
year when we
remember the
Reformation.
And the
message of
this passage
is really
what the
Reformation
was all
about.
That
righteousness
and life
before God
come by
grace alone
through faith
alone in
Christ alone
to the glory
of God
alone.
You know
if God
called your
life to
account today
what answer
would you give
him for your
life?
He created
you.
He made
you.
He sustains
you.
He cares
about your
life so much
that he will
one day
call you to
account for
it.
Where would
you put your
confidence
before his
throne?
Would you
hand him
your resume
and hope
that it
was enough?
Would you
point to
your performance
or your
pedigree?
Or would
you say
in the words
of the old
hymn,
nothing in
my hands
I bring
simply to
the cross
I cling.
There's only
one way to
be right
with a holy
God and
that's through
the perfect
righteousness
of Christ
and it's
given to
everyone who
believes.
And if that
describes you
Christian,
what's keeping
you from
knowing Christ
more and
more?
Is there
still some
area of
pride that
you cling
to?
Still
something that
you try to
put alongside
Christ for
your identity,
your status,
your worth?
If so,
lay it down.
Count it as
loss.
Stop making
it your
confidence
because there's
nothing better
than knowing
the surpassing
worth of
Christ Jesus
our Lord.
let's pray.
Our
Father in
heaven,
as the
first verse
of this
passage
commands us,
we want to
take a
moment and
rejoice in
you,
to be
glad and
give you
praise for
the gift
of Jesus
and the
gift of
knowing him.
Lord, fill
our hearts
with the
confidence
and joy
and peace
and hope
that come
from knowing
the free
gift of
righteousness
and life
that are
found in
our Savior.
And God,
open the
eyes of
all of us
in this
room to
behold Christ
and to
trust him
more deeply.
and for
those who
haven't yet
placed their
trust in
him,
oh God,
would today
be the day
of salvation
for them.
Call them
to yourself,
I ask.
In Jesus'
name,
amen.
Amen.