1 When all is said and done. A sermon preached at St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Prince George, BC on March 3, 2019 by Rev. Herb Hilder Lessons: ECCLESIASTES 12:13-14 PHILIPPIANS 3:1-11 MARK 10:17-22 As we hear read or read this letter to the small group of believers in Jesus in Philippi, It is maybe difficult to remember that Paul was in prison. Paul was not certain how long her would be confined or if he would ever get out. Several times a day, he could hear steps on the flagstones outside the corridor of his cell Were those footsteps of guards coming for him? Were they footsteps of guards bringing food or something nastier? For I expect there was a fair disconnect with the time of day or what day it really was. Paul was in chains feet manacled probably even his wrists were manacled as well, Prison was a new experience for Paul He was accustomed to being on the go, busy, moving about. Now his world was a Roman prison cell with probably no yard time. Time moved slowly then.
Alone with his thoughts, Paul might well have chosen to move to a sense of creeping despair. The spectacular vision of the Risen Christ on the Damascus Road which had so dramatically changed Paul s life might now being remembered as the event that brought him to jail and imprisonment lucky me! Paul might well have been locked into a mood of lament==how long O Lord? In truth, I believe there were times Paul lamented However, Lament is not what Paul does here in the letter Always it is a letter that encourages, He shows compassion to his readers. He gives thanks for their support in his plight. And he provides invaluable counsel to them about how to live out the Christian life what to avoid and what to move toward. What we have in the Philippian letter then is like you person you go to visit or speak with because you are concerned with how the events and circumstances in their life must be weighing them down As you listen to them, speak with them and them with you, You find that YOU are being more encouraged and built up than you hoped to encourage them. 2
Imprisoned, Uncertain of his own future, Paul is more concerned that the believers in Philippi, Readers of the letter today than he is about himself Hear again those opening words of chapter 3 Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. With the word finally Paul shifts gears to a new section of the letter. FINALLY as far as the rest is concerned, Beyond that, In addition Paul is not about to finish his letter, but is transitioning to a new but related topic Here, Paul shares his story with his readers not to draw attention to himself Personal stories in the Christian life never stop with ourselves. Always, always, always, our stance in sharing our story must be that of John the Baptist He [Jesus] must increase but I [John] must decrease. True spirituality does not consist in one s personal accomplishments Paul goes to great lengths to make this point clear. True spirituality focuses on Christ s accomplishments on the cross for salvation and becoming more like Christ. 3
As chapter 3 opens, Paul encourages his readers to REJOICE in the Lord Work at turning your focus off your problems and look to the Lord Paull did not mind writing to them the things he had taught before. It was not a burden to him to addre3ss these things again Paul will return to the necessity of rejoicing in the Lord Not because his readers then or now are thick, slow or stupid. Rather the voices of the world The tyranny of the immediate beguile us to take our eyes, hearts and minds off the Lord Such voices seek to convince us that looking to the Lord, If not simple minded and naïve is just not the way to get ahead, survive in this world. Yet over and over again, we see that the voices of the world are not the way to peace and contentment. How does the end of Ecclesiastes phrase it? 13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgement, including [a] every secret thing, whether good or evil.(eccles. 12:13-14) 4
5 The summary observation of an individual who has looked for all sorts of other places for meaning in life. Wise counsel we would do well to adopt. In addition to this wise counsel about focusing on the Lord, Paul addresses the reality of false teachers in Philippi. In very blunt words, Paul calls such people dogs evil workers, those who mutilate the flesh. Within old school Jewish tradition dogs were unclean. Mutilate the flesh called into question the necessity of circumcision to be in with God. another Jewish tradition. NOT SO, says Paul. Rightness with God, Salvation occurs through trusting in the work and person of Jesus NOT in your religious efforts or accomplishments. This leads Paul to state If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. (Philippians 3:4-6
6 The Philippian church was young and vulnerable. Paul was concerned lest the enthusiastic followers of Jesus be taken in by distracting them from the Good News by saying Jesus and. That remains wise and sensible counsel even yet. False teaching has taken many forms throughout the history of the Church. Every generation has heard Christ AND teaching undermining God s free gift. Christ and a particular method of baptism; Christ and membership in the correct church; Christ and a particular form of conversion; Christ and being world prosperous. Or the sort of false teaching I personally find insidious people are not healed because their faith is not strong enough. Or they do not pray enough! When Paul came face to face with the Risen Christ, he realized his credentials and background, worldly success and position meant nothing in the eyes of God. Faith in Christ alone guarantees our eternal relationship with God Let me say that again Faith in Christ alone guarantees our eternal relationship with God This was Good News for Paul
Paul no longer had to prove himself to God or to anyone else, But could accept God s unconditional, unmerited love and live like one who has been freed from the distraction, Distortion, And disillusionment of this world in which we live that is too much impressed with status. This is good news for us as well Yet, For so many too many the promise of receiving God s unconditional love by faith alone is a difficult thing to believe I wonder why you think that is. Then Paul writes some of the most profound words of his letters 7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, [a] the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ [b] and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I 7
may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11) What Paul is giving us is the spiritual equivalent of a profit//loss balance sheet. This is no spur of the moment statement Paul has thought deeply about this. Prison time has given him reflective, soul searching time He has weighed his life to this point, His actions before he saw a vision of the Risen Christ, His ministry for Jesus Christ since When all that is said and done From Peterson s the Message all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant dog dung. I ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. It is one of those texts you read in corporate worship or you preach on in worship and you want to say AMEN BROTHERS AND SISTERS AMEN God never forces, cajoles, pushes or drags us, berates us or guilts us into the Kingdom. However when the Christian life takes hold of you, 8
9 Sooner or later you will conclude as did Paul I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord Paul is so right. Sometimes God s people realize and revel in that fact early in their lives. Sometimes a crisis or an unexpected thing drives us to see the truth of this fact Sometime we realize this to be true in later life as we mature, mellow and begin to see and hold much looser things we thought were so very important even a few years before We begin searching in earnest for what is really important in life, Which was there all the time, But we were too busy to see it!!! Paul s continuing counsel for himself and for his readers then and now his prayer really is that he wants to know Christ, Not more facts about Christ, but to know him personally. Not particular insights about Christ, but personal intimacy Not religion, but relationship. In a few minutes as you hold the broken body and shed blood of Jesus As you remember
Pray that African American spiritual in a new and fresh way, Lord I want to be a Christian In my heart, in my heart Lord I want to be a Christian in my heart In my heart, in my heart Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart. AMEN Let us pray 10