August 31, 2008 -- "Your Testimony"

Philippians 3:4-8
4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! 5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ

A little girl went up to her mother one day while holding her stomach saying, "Mommy, my stomach hurts." Her mother replied, "That's because it's empty, you have to put something into it!"
Later that day when the Evangelist and her husband were over for dinner. The Evangelist began to feel bad. Holding her head she said, "I have such a terrible headache!"
The little girl looked up at her giving her the sweetest smile that any little child could give. Then she said, "That's because it's empty, you have to put something into it!"

Today, we are going to make a deposit into the banks of our heads and our hearts, but first, before we can gain, we need to hear about loss. Last week, we heard how Christ gave up his own prestige: “Jesus did not think that equality with God was something to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.” Today, we hear about what Paul gave up.

1. Paul gave up two things to be a child of God: His prestige among his countrymen (3:4-5) and his persecution of the church 3:6).

Take the first one – Paul’s prestige. He was highly respected – on the path to greatness – a rising star, so to speak. He was on the religious leader’s radar – climbing the later to more honor and more respect. He had worked hard and even might have deserved it. This was no small task to give up.

Let’s look at the 2nd one – Paul’s persecution of the church. This might be one that you would think was easy to give up. But he was so zealous for God that he could not stand anything or anyone to get in the way of what he thought was right. He was too rigid – unyielding. He would rather kill than change. I imagine he lived with the regret of his former life for the rest of his life – at least to some extent. But, he gave up his murderous threats and his own way for Christ’s way. He would never be the same again.


2. Paul gave up what he thought was important and gained the priceless knowledge of Christ (3:7-8).

This was at the heart of Paul’s giving up – his great sacrifice. He was able to admit that he was in the wrong. He gave up his prestige in order to be a servant. He gave up his “stubbornness” and opened his mind to greater things of God. He found salvation. And he really, really grew.

What about you, what are you willing to give up? What stands in the way of your growth? What must change? If we say that we love him, then I think we would be head over heels trying to learn more about him. Have you met him lately in the Word? Do you meet him often, there? What do you have to give up to pursue him?

Ask yourselves the following questions: How do you spend your time? What dominates your thoughts? Where are your priorities? What motivates you? If the most important thing in your life is Jesus, then your life will revolve around getting to know him better.

Did you hear about the two church folk having a discussion? One was a preacher. “Preacher,” said the one gentleman, “What’s the best part of your job?” “That’s easy! Celebrating the life of a brand new baby.” “So, what’s the hardest part of your job – funerals?” asked the other. “No. Trying to tell people what to do between the two.”

Perhaps Paul felt the same way. So he turned to his life story. Paul was heading in the wrong direction. Everything that he had been living for was not doing a thing to help his eternal state. When Jesus met him on the Road to Damascus, it changed everything. Paul changed teams – changed his allegiance. For that reason he counted everything else in life – his reputation, his achievements, his pursuits, his possessions worthless, so that his sole pursuit would be knowing and serving Jesus Christ. Paul placed Christ above everything else. He did so because he saw the folly of his former life.

Ken Ramsey, our new DS, tells the following story:
When I was in college I had a friend who was a student pastor with me. He drove a Chevy Nova and like me it was pretty much dirty all the time. Never had much time to wash it, and the inside was littered with hamburger wrappers, dropped french fries, and other debris. When I would get in his car I would have to brush off the seats to make a place to sit. One day we walked to the lot and I couldn't believe my eyes. His nova was shining. It was beautiful. "What happened?" "I got it detailed," he replied. I opened the door to get in and wouldn't you know it--still filthy on the inside--I had to brush the old fries off the seat to sit down. A few months later my friend was married. A few weeks after his wedding we were headed to a meeting together and he picked me up. His still nicely washed car pulled up and I opened the door to get in. Even the inside was absolutely spotless. It had been cleaned , vacuumed, the carpet shampooed--the works. "Wow," I said "what in the world happened to your car?" He smiled and responded, "Under New Management." I think of that sometimes when I am thinking about the Lordship of Christ. When he becomes Lord of our lives we are "under new management" and our lives are transformed.

The change is the evidence of that transformation. The new takes over. Focus is granted. Priorities are set and achieved, unless the world begins to come back in! Paul was not going to allow that. Will we?

Sometimes us Christians take for granted the change, particularly if the change is not as astounding as Paul’s change. His former life was a stark difference from the new. He had much to be thankful of. Sometimes we don’t see it that clearly because we’ve been around it for so long. We didn’t know any other way or it has been so long that we have forgotten our former life. Let’s get in touch with what God did in Jesus. He saved our souls. If you truly believe, think about the size of that great gift. It is everything.

A pastor was giving the children's message during church. For this part of the service, he would gather all the children around him and give a brief lesson before dismissing them for children's church. On this particular Sunday, he was using squirrels for an object lesson on industry and preparation. He started out by saying, "I'm going to describe something, and I want you to raise your hand when you know what it is." The children nodded eagerly. "This thing lives in trees (pause) and eats nuts (pause)..." No hands went up. "And it is gray (pause) and has a long bushy tail (pause)..." The children were looking at each other, but still no hands raised. "And it jumps from branch to branch (pause) and chatters and flips its tail when it's excited (pause)..." Finally one little boy tentatively raised his hand. The pastor breathed a sigh of relief and called on him. "Well," said the boy, "I *know* the answer must be Jesus ... but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me!"

We come to church expecting to talk about Jesus. But can we talk about him out there - to a hurting world that needs to hear? If ever there was a one who was worthy to be discussed beyond these walls, it is our Lord. Ask him to be your tongue, your actions, and even your thoughts – all for the one who has died to give you life. Tell them your story. Amen.

Focus:
One afternoon author Patsy Clairmont found herself on an airplane, sitting next to a young man. She writes, "I had already observed something about this young man when I was being seated. He called me "Ma'am." At the time I thought, 'Either he thinks I'm ancient, or he's from the South where they still teach manners, or he's in the service.' I decided the latter was the most likely, so I asked, "You in the service?"
"Yes, Ma'am, I am."
"What branch?"
"Marines."
"Hey, Marine, where are you coming from?" "Operation Desert Storm, Ma'am."
"No kidding? Desert Storm! How long were you there?" I asked. "A year and a half. I'm on my way home. My family will be at the airport." I then commented that he must have thought about returning to his family and home many times while he was in the Middle East. "Oh, no, Ma'am," he replied. "We were taught never to think of what might never be, but to be fully available right where we were."
Focus on the Family, July, 1993, p. 5.

God wants us to be fully available right where we are. He has placed you where he wants you. We have the hope of heaven – what will be – but he wants us to work out our salvation right now – right here!



I think that many of us, when Christ has enabled us to overcome one or two sins that were an obvious nuisance, are inclined to feel (though we do not put it into words) that we are now good enough. He has done all we wanted him to do, and we should be obliged if he would leave us alone. But the question is not what we intended ourselves to be, but what he intended us to be when he made us...

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what he is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on. You knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised.

But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is he up to? The explanation is that he is building quite a different house from the one you thought of -- throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards.

You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage, but he is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it himself.
C.S. Lewis.



The keys to good self-confidence:

It must not rely on self alone – for some this is too much; for others, too little.

It must rely upon what Christ has done for you.


It must rely on God’s perception of you!

A.W. Tozer says that people who are crucified with Christ have three distinct marks:
1. they are facing only one direction,
2. they can never turn back, and
3. they no longer have plans of their own.
Tim Hansel, Holy Sweat, 1987, Word Books Publisher, p. 187.