AN OLD RESOLUTION FOR A NEW YEAR

PHIL 3.1-17

SUNDAY, JAN 2^ND, 2012

As we embark upon a new year, people are talking about changing their diet, changing the way they spend money. Others are determined to hit the gym and get themselves in shape…..all good things of course, if they are taken in moderation.

In light of all of these resolutions, I want to share with you this first Sunday of 2012 an old resolution for a brand new year.

Php 3:1 ¶ Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.

• Finally….rejoice in he Lord. What a tremendous exhortation for us today. Paul, sitting in a Roman prison writes about rejoicing in The Lord. When he says that to write the same things to you is safe, obviously Paul means that he had shared that truth with this congregation many times before. In many ways, the Bible is a repetitive book, and that is a good thing, because we tend to forget what we should remember, and remember what we should forget.
• Old Resolution for a new year? Rejoice in The Lord. He will repeat this again, but with a stronger emphasis, Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
• CHS “It is your privilege, it is your duty, to rejoice in God. the more you rejoice in him, the more spiritually-minded will you become” If your joy comes from how you feel or how well things are going for you, then you have missed the meaning of one of the main messages of the cross. Christ is the source of our joy, beloved, and it is the fruit of abiding in Him…..even if you are in a prison!!

2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. 3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

• Another Old Resolution for a new year. Beware of legalism beloved. Beware of the theology that we must add something to the grace of God through faith in Christ to make us acceptable in God’s sight.

• The legalists Paul writes about here were the Judaizers, among whom, Paul was its poster child. The Judaizers taught that Gentile converts must keep the law of Moses in addition to believing in Jesus, if he or she sought to be right in the sight of God.
• The problem with legalism then and today beloved is that it underestimates God’s demands for acceptance in His sight, and it overestimates our own abilities to achieve it, for sinless perfection is the divine standard. The Lord’s Supper this morning reminds us that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in the full provision of Christ alone.
• Yes, the true circumcision of God is that work of God’s Spirit in our hearts that makes us new creatures in Christ. Jesus is the source of our joy and boasting. The grace of God eliminates boasting in our flesh. Paul was legalist until He was apprehended by Jesus Christ on the road of Damascus.

4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

• Paul’s confidence prior to meeting Jesus Christ was in (1) his Jewish pedigree, (2) his zeal for Orthodox Judaism that caused him to persecute the church because of their belief that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah (3) his extreme devotion to the keeping of the law of Moses, of which he was blameless.
• Paul was not saying that he was sinless; he was saying that according to the OT laws and rituals, he kept them faithfully. No one could bring a reproach against him.

7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

• The word gain (KERDOS) denotes a financial profit or simply an advantage gained by a person. The word loss (ZEMIA) was used in commercial settings where a “disadvantage” took place in terms of money or material goods. The word counted (HEGEOMAI) means “to regard as.” Paul looks at what he used to regard as profitable and declared it to be rubbish when compared to the beauty and glory of The Lord Jesus Christ.
• Paul at one point in his life considered all these credentials and accomplishments that he lists for us in Philippians 3:4-6 as gain or profit. At that point in his life, he considered himself a very wealthy man spiritually speaking. But we learn in Philippians 3:7 that all these things that he once considered to be gain were transferred to the loss column.

• Not all of us tried to earn our way to God by the Mosaic law before knowing Christ. Most of us “believed in God”, went to church occasionally (weddings, funerals, baptisms, Christmas and Easter) and we sought to do good works in hope that God would observe them and overlook my bad deeds.
• Paul’s spiritual accounting caused him to conclude that all that he had done to win God’s favor was nothing but a big zero. For Paul, Christ plus nothing equaled everything!

8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

• The Greek word for dung here on the KJV, is translated in some newer versions as rubbish. The Greek word (SKUBALON) means “manure, filth” and most likely is a reference to human excrement.
• The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to choose this extreme term in order to communicate his revulsion at the thought of anyone including himself putting any value in their credentials or human accomplishments in respect to securing salvation.
• Paul counted all things as rubbish and garbage if they stood between him knowing Christ as Lord. Paul was willing to move everything that he had considered important and valuable to the loss column in order to enter into deeper fellowship with Jesus Christ His Lord.

9 ¶ And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

• That I may know Him…..remember beloved that we have been graciously redeemed by God in order that we might know Jesus Christ and be conformed into His image and likeness.
• 1Jo 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
• 2Pe 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
• I cannot know Jesus through another person's acquaintance with him. No, I must know him myself; I must know him on my own account. An ounce of heart knowledge of Jesus Christ is more valuable than a ton of head learning.

12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

• Beloved, it is now 2012 and like Paul, we have not arrived either individually or as a congregation as followers of Christ. Thus, may each and every one of us affirm his old resolution for new year. Let us all join with brother Paul in the determination to press on with The Lord in order that we may lay hold of the purpose for which Christ as saved us and placed us into this church family.
• Paul had this magnificent obsession if you will of wanting to know Christ, grow in Christ and make Him known. Is that your obsession this morning? What is your life all about my friend? What motivates you to get out of bed every day? What motivates you to work hard….to love your spouse…your parents…your children…..what motivates you to serve…to give? It should be because we have been apprehended by the scandalous grace and love of God in Christ Jesus.
• One commentator put it this way: “All that Christ meant me to be, I want to be. All that Christ meant to give me, I want to have. All that he meant me to do, I want to do; to apprehend”
• This is not the time to push our spiritual cruise control buttons….this is not the time to put the pursuit of Jesus on the back burner in pursuit of a career, or a spouse, or a “new look”. Beloved, if we do not make a conscious decision to seek Christ and His kingdom above all others things, we will become a Christian social club with no eternal purpose.

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

• Beloved, like Paul, we need a holy dissatisfaction for the status qou.  Paul’s response to his dissatisfaction inspired him to focus on one thing…..knowing Christ.
• Another Old Resolution for a new year is a decision to focus on living a One Thing brand of Christianity life for the glory of God.
• “One thing” is a phrase that is important to the Christian life. What did Jesus say to the self righteous rich young ruler in Mark 10:21, “one thing thou lackest?” What did Jesus explain to busy Martha when she criticized her sister in Luke 10:42, “One thing is needful?” What did the man exclaim who had received his sight by the power of Christ in John 9:25, “One thing I know?” What did King David declare in Psalms 27:4 “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after?” Progress is all about focusing on “one thing” rather than on “many things”.
• You might say to me this morning, but Pastor Ray, how can anyone focus on one thing? There are so many things that are pressing in on our lives. There are so many urgent things. ........ We have things that come up with our wives or husbands that we need to deal with. We have things that come up with our children that we need to deal with. We have things that are come up with friends and even acquaintances that we need to deal with. We have things that come up at work that we need to deal with. There are things that happen at home that we need to deal with. There are things outside of our home that we need to deal with. There are health issues that we may need to deal with. There are many, many things pressing in on all of our lives all the time.
• Now hear me clearly precious saints. I am not saying to you that we should not be concerned about these things. What I am saying is that none of these things can be allowed to choke out our pursuit of knowing Christ better and growing in Him. We cannot allow our wife to choke out our pursuit of this goal. We cannot allow our husband to choke off this pursuit. We cannot allow our children to choke off this pursuit. We cannot allow our work to choke off this pursuit. We cannot allow television or the gym or our favorite hobby to choke off our pursuit of knowing Christ better. There is only one gain or profit column in the Christian life and that is knowing Christ, growing in Christ and making Him known.
• Another key to living a One Thing kind of a life is forgetting the things of the past. Paul not only had to deal with his self righteous past, he also had to deal with the guilt of having Christians arrested, beaten and even martyred. Likewise, each and every one of us has a sordid past that the enemy does not let us forget! Pastor Ray, how can those memories of past sins not distract us? They will not distract us if we will by faith allow God to use those past sins to point us to the cross of Jesus Christ where The Fathers infinite, abounding and matchless grace for sinners is magnified. Christ died for the ungodly that He might bring us unto God.

14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

• That I may know Him…..I press towards the mark. The word translated “press” (DIOKO) means to “push, drive, set in motion” and metaphorically is used for “striving hard after.”

• This was Paul’s singular overarching goal of his life. And it needs to be the singular overarching goal of our lives. This was not a New Years Resolution for Paul. Paul’s motto for life was this, for me to live is Christ and to die was gain. There is that gain and loss terminology again. For Paul Christ was everything.         

15 ¶ Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. 16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

• What Paul is talking about here is a call to a mature Christian life. And what is the mature Christian life? It is pressing into Jesus Christ. It is counting all things as trash that get between us and The Lord. It is realizing that as long as I am on this earth, I have not arrived…there is so much more to learn.
• Remember beloved, that it is not what we say, but what we do that counts. We may say today that we are determined more than ever to pres into Christ. We may say that starting today we are going to have a renewed focus and direction. But know this beloved, a resolution apart from action means nothing.
• You have got to have a plan. No time for prayer or the Word of God or fellowship and involvement at church? Does television cut into time with Christ? Do other activities cut into your for fellowship with other saints? Count it a loss. Does sleeping in cut into time you could be spending with Christ and His Word. Count it a loss.
• Even though Paul knew Whom he had believed in, he pressed in to The Lord with all of his heart and soul and mind and strength. If you set a goal of making an “A” in a particular class and you start out well does this mean that you can ease up or even stop working all together and still achieve your goal?Paul would say in other letter things like….I fight….I run….I discipline myself….I wrestle….I labor.

17 ¶ Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

• Lest we think this morning that Paul is talking about a radical Christian life that can only be enjoyed by a select few, think again. Paul said that how he lived and what we just read this morning is meant to be an example for all of us.

There is not a single person in this world no matter how heinous their sins might be in the eyes of the world or in the eyes of God who cannot at this very moment take possession of the righteousness of God by faith