Introduction:
The Path to Significance: Three Questions to Answer With Christ. (Philippians 3:7-16):
- What's important to me? Knowing Christ. (Phil 3:7-8)
- Who am I? Righteous in Christ. (Phil 3:9-11)
- What's my purpose in life? Becoming Like Christ. (Phil 3:12-16)
John 17:17 - Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Romans 15:16 - ...sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:35-00:56
Open up your Bibles with me please. We're going to be in Philippians today, chapter 3. The title of today's message is "Christ Enough." Have you found Jesus Christ to be enough.
00:58-01:12
Now while you're turning there, I don't mean to brag, but we got our podcast analytics in, you know, the number of downloads of sermons.
01:14-01:22
Like I said, I don't wanna sound like I'm bragging, but I was the third most downloaded speaker in 2017.
01:23-01:35
And Andrew Rupe said, "Oh, you mean like Olive Harvest?" "No, this church." I was the third most downloaded speaker at this church.
01:37-01:41
I was really fishing for applause instead of laughter, but...
01:43-01:53
"No, no, no, no, no, no, don't you dare, that ship has sailed." Number one was Jeremiah Canfield, he's the pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, Pittsburgh East.
01:53-01:55
I bring that punk in for one guest spot.
01:56-01:58
And he had the most downloaded sermons.
01:58-02:02
Number two is Mark Ortt, actually.
02:03-02:04
How could you treat a brother like that, Mark?
02:06-02:15
Number two, and actually in my bragging, I guess I sort of exaggerated a little bit because I wasn't actually third place.
02:15-02:19
I was actually tied for third place with Alex Gianetti.
02:20-02:20
(audience laughing)
02:25-02:26
Go bronze!
02:30-02:40
It was a bit of a humbling moment for me when Ben Murphy sent me the analytics and I realized that I'm not even the most popular speaker at my own church.
02:42-02:49
But it was a gentle reminder for me of the struggle that we all face from time to time.
02:50-02:53
True or false, we all want to feel significant don't we?
02:54-02:54
True or false?
02:56-02:57
We all want to feel important right?
02:58-03:00
That's our word today, I want to talk about significance.
03:00-03:12
As we ask, "Is Christ enough?" What we're talking about is, "Is Christ enough for me, for my sense of personal significance?" We all want to feel like we matter.
03:14-03:15
We all want to feel like we have a purpose.
03:17-03:18
I mean something.
03:18-03:21
I make a difference. We all want that, right?
03:21-03:22
We all want that.
03:23-03:28
And listen, there is nothing wrong with wanting that.
03:28-03:37
In fact, you were made, you were created to want, to feel significant.
03:38-03:41
God created that in you.
03:42-03:50
The problem is, we look for significance, We look for satisfaction, we look for fulfillment in the wrong places.
03:50-03:51
That's the problem.
03:52-03:56
You see, God designed you to find your worth in Him.
03:58-04:03
Specifically, in who Jesus Christ is, and what Jesus Christ has done for you.
04:03-04:04
Is Christ enough?
04:06-04:20
And as Dan spoke last week, from the Garden of Eden, Eve was basically told, "God isn't enough. You can have more.
04:22-04:36
You can have significance apart from God. Think about that." Here's Eve, literally the only woman on the planet, possessor of everything, and the enemy comes alongside and says, "You can have more.
04:37-04:50
This isn't enough. You can have more." That sin tendency, that wanting more than God, it becomes the experience of us all.
04:50-04:52
You can trace this through Scripture, right?
04:52-04:54
Remember Jesus in John 4?
04:54-05:01
He sat down with that woman at the well, and He pointed out to her the thing that she was looking for significance in.
05:01-05:03
What was it? It was in men.
05:03-05:06
She was on man number six, and Jesus pointed that out.
05:06-05:07
You're looking for fulfillment there.
05:09-05:11
And he pointed out their fulfillment is found in him.
05:13-05:15
In drinking from the water that he gives.
05:17-05:22
Jesus told the story in Luke 15, the prodigal son, he had everything and it wasn't enough.
05:24-05:27
Fast forward to today, it still happens, right?
05:28-05:31
People have midlife crisis.
05:32-05:36
I've got to do something, I've got to have something to make me feel significant.
05:38-05:39
You have people having affairs.
05:39-05:46
"My spouse isn't making me feel significant." But this other person is.
05:48-05:50
And that's where affairs come from.
05:52-06:02
Church, the reason I'm sharing this with you is we, even as a church, we can be guilty of looking for significance, personal fulfillment, personal satisfaction.
06:03-06:06
We can be guilty of looking for these things apart from Jesus Christ.
06:08-06:13
We can be guilty of looking for fulfillment in worldly things.
06:13-06:25
And Jesus Christ says, "All who are thirsty, come to Me." And somehow people who claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are still thirsty for more of something else.
06:27-06:28
That certainly isn't Jesus' fault.
06:31-06:43
Because you could say in a sense that we are standing in the Garden of Eden alongside Eve and if we are honest a lot of times we are saying, "Yeah, I need more than God's offered me.
06:44-06:49
I haven't found God to be enough." Is Christ enough for you?
06:51-06:53
The question is how can I let Jesus be enough?
06:53-07:05
I hear what you are saying Pastor Jeff, but I've struggled with this and I know I should to be content in who I am in Christ, and I leave here and I just feel like I want more than that.
07:05-07:11
So how can I get to the place where Jesus Christ is my satisfaction?
07:12-07:16
I feel the significance in Him.
07:17-07:20
That's where we're going today on your outline, the path to significance.
07:20-07:26
Here's three questions to answer, to find your answer in Jesus Christ.
07:28-07:33
These three questions that we're looking at today will determine what you think gives you significance.
07:34-07:35
There's the three questions.
07:35-07:37
The first one is what's important to me?
07:37-07:38
Ask yourself that.
07:38-07:39
What is important to me?
07:40-07:43
What is the thing in my life that I value more than anything?
07:44-07:51
You find how you answer that question, you'll find where you place your significance, what you're looking for for significance, right?
07:52-07:53
The second question is who am I?
07:54-07:54
What's your identity?
07:56-07:59
You find how you answer that, you find what your significance is based on.
08:01-08:02
The third question is what's my purpose?
08:03-08:04
What's your goal in life?
08:06-08:09
Here's my ambition, this is what I'm striving for in life.
08:09-08:16
You identify that goal, you identify that in which you find your significance.
08:18-08:21
So here's the first question I want you to ask yourself, what's important to me?
08:23-08:28
The answer biblically, to find your significance in Christ, The answer, what's important to me?
08:28-08:30
Jot this down, knowing Christ.
08:31-08:38
You have to get to this place where the most important thing in your life is knowing Jesus Christ.
08:38-08:40
You have to get there.
08:42-08:43
What is it for you?
08:43-08:44
What is valuable to you?
08:44-08:45
What is important to you?
08:45-08:51
In our drive to feel significant, we tend to define ourselves by past achievements.
08:53-08:54
We all do it.
08:54-08:57
We want to define ourselves by the things that we've done.
08:57-08:58
Well, I went to school here.
08:58-09:00
I used to work here.
09:00-09:01
I did these things.
09:01-09:03
I accomplished these things.
09:04-09:06
Look at Philippians 3.4.
09:06-09:14
Paul was giving his list of the things that he could have boasted about, put his confidence in.
09:14-09:22
Philippians 3.4, he says, "Though I myself have reason for confidence "in the flesh also." If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more.
09:23-09:50
I was like, "Check this out. You want to brag? I got some things I can brag about." "Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless." His heritage, his education, his training, his being good.
09:52-09:55
Now that resume might not fire you up, but you have to understand something.
09:55-10:05
To the first century Jew who would have been hearing this, they would have been like, "Dude, that is a five-star resume right there." You don't get more Jewish than Paul. I mean, you just don't.
10:05-10:24
I mean, look at this resume. Paul's like, "I'm like extra Jewish." And that was something, again, if you can sort of think of it in terms of America, you know, we wave the flag and we sing that Lee Greenwood song, I'm proud to be an American and that's never going to end up in our worship set, by the way.
10:24-10:29
But that sense of patriotism, I mean, the Jews had that times a thousand.
10:30-10:31
I'm proud of my heritage.
10:31-10:44
And Paul says, "Yeah, I have some things that I can be proud of concerning my heritage." But I want you to see on how Paul reflects on everything that he's accomplished.
10:46-10:47
Look at verses 7 through 8.
10:49-10:52
Paul with his five-star resume, awesome track record.
10:52-10:53
Look at what he says in verse 7.
10:54-11:15
"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ." Indeed, I count everything as loss because, look at this, of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
11:17-11:33
For His sake, I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ." Stop there.
11:35-11:43
Paul, reflecting on every single thing he's accomplished, He says, "You know, when I look at my resume, do you know what I see?
11:44-11:54
My Bible translates it 'rubbish'." And I'm going to be honest with you, the word "rubbish" is sort of the translator's attempt at being tactful.
11:55-11:56
You know, who uses the word "rubbish"?
11:57-11:58
Does anybody here use that word? Anybody?
11:59-12:02
Anybody? Show of hands, anybody?
12:02-12:06
Nobody in this church uses the word "rubbish"?
12:06-12:07
True, nobody uses that word.
12:07-12:12
When I hear the word rubbish, I think of some British butler.
12:13-12:17
"I'm going to dispose of your rubbish!" Who uses that word?
12:17-12:29
Well, that's sort of the sugarcoating what the word actually is, because if you look in the Greek, the word can literally be translated "manure".
12:30-12:37
And I think even the commentaries that I was reading this week that translated "manure", I think they were trying to soften the blow a little bit too.
12:37-12:50
and I'm not trying to be crass for the sake of being crass, but what Paul is saying is, "Look, I have this impeccable resume, but compared to knowing Christ, it's crap." That's what he's saying.
12:52-12:55
I know we don't like to use that word in church, and some of you are looking at me like I shouldn't have.
12:57-13:16
I don't think Paul wrote this, "My resume is rubbish!" He says, "Everything that I used to value, everything that I clung to to make myself feel so important, to make myself feel so significant, He said it's nothing but..." What?
13:18-13:19
Oh, you said it too.
13:21-13:21
That's what He said.
13:23-13:30
Do you want to experience the fulfillment, the significance that Jesus Christ offers?
13:30-13:32
Here's the first step, you've got to do this first.
13:32-13:34
ditch your resume.
13:36-13:49
All the things that you're like, here's the reason that I'm so awesome, here's all the awesome things I did, here's all the awesome things about me, you need to take that resume and crumple it up and throw it in the garbage.
13:50-13:53
You say, well how can I ditch everything in my life that gives me meaning?
13:54-13:55
It's easy.
13:57-13:57
It's easy.
13:58-14:04
Take your resume, you take all of those things, and you put them next to knowing Jesus.
14:06-14:08
And all of a sudden this doesn't look so great.
14:10-14:12
What's your resume next to knowing Jesus?
14:14-14:21
Have you ever known somebody that has to top every story that is told?
14:22-14:30
You know what I'm talking about the guy that no matter what anybody says, he's got a story that his was just a lot better.
14:30-14:31
You know anybody like that?
14:31-14:32
I used to work with this guy.
14:33-14:35
It didn't matter what you said.
14:35-14:38
His experience made yours look so lame.
14:39-14:41
You can have a casual conversation with the guy.
14:41-14:45
He'd be like, "Oh, I'm tired today." He'd say, "Oh, you think you're tired?
14:48-14:52
"I haven't slept since October." And what do you say?
14:52-14:56
You're just, "Oh, okay, you win." What do you say there?
14:58-15:01
So you just, I would learn to try to ignore that.
15:03-15:06
And I'd be like, well, I guess the reason I'm tired is because I've been working a lot.
15:06-15:07
Oh, you think you've been working a lot?
15:09-15:11
I logged 200 hours last week.
15:13-15:15
I'm like, do you even math?
15:17-15:23
And I'm like, well, the reason I've had to work, the reason I've had to work so much and get so many hours is I'm just, I'm really strapped for cash.
15:23-15:24
Oh, you think you're broke?
15:27-15:27
Let me guess.
15:29-15:30
You're a broker.
15:34-15:41
Well, knowing Jesus, in the positive sense, knowing Jesus, that's the ultimate story topper, isn't it?
15:42-15:53
Somebody can come to you and say, "Hey, I have a huge house." You can say, "Jesus Christ is building me a house right now." Right?
15:54-16:02
Or somebody comes to you and says, "I went to Harvard." You say, you know, the one who possesses all wisdom in the universe lives inside of me.
16:04-16:07
Or somebody says to you, and this is the most disgusting to me.
16:08-16:10
Somebody says to you, I ran nine miles today.
16:12-16:14
Almost like, what'd you do, huh?
16:15-16:15
Puffing her chest out.
16:15-16:16
What'd you do?
16:16-16:17
I ran nine miles today.
16:18-16:23
I say, yeah, Jesus is going to give me an eternal and indestructible body.
16:25-16:26
You'll see me run then.
16:27-16:28
(audience laughing)
16:30-16:43
And not until, or somebody says, "Do you know who my father is?" I'm like, "Do you know who my father is?" The surpassing worth of knowing Christ.
16:43-16:46
Ditch your resume, that's what Paul did.
16:46-16:53
Everything I thought made me so awesome next to Jesus, it's a pile of rubbish.
16:56-16:59
Because the reality is you can't be full of God if you're full of yourself, right?
17:00-17:02
You can't be full of God if you're full of yourself.
17:04-17:04
Ditch your resume.
17:07-17:12
Jesus Christ is, He's still the treasure that's hidden in the field.
17:13-17:18
That when discovered, you find He's more valuable than anything you know.
17:19-17:21
And He's still the pearl of great price, right?
17:21-17:25
Matthew 13, that when discovered, He's more valuable than anything you've ever seen.
17:26-17:27
Ditch your resume.
17:29-17:30
Second question is, who am I?
17:32-17:34
You want to find significance?
17:34-17:38
You want to be able to say, Jesus Christ is enough for me, who am I?
17:40-17:44
You have to get to the place where your identity is, I am righteous in Christ.
17:44-17:46
Jot that down, righteous in Christ.
17:48-17:57
Your idea of self-worth Your idea of significance has always wrapped up in your identity.
17:59-18:05
And you know what your identity is when somebody says to you, oh, hello, Matt, who are you?
18:06-18:08
And the thing you want to answer with, this is who I am.
18:11-18:12
That's your identity.
18:12-18:14
The thing you want to talk about yourself, that's your identity.
18:17-18:19
For a lot of people, honestly, it's their job, right?
18:20-18:21
Like, who are you?
18:21-18:32
"I'm pastor, I'm drummer, I'm accountant, I'm physical therapist, I'm designer, I'm mechanic." That's their identity.
18:33-18:36
For some people, their identity is another human, like we said, the woman at the well.
18:37-18:40
Some people, they find their identity so wrapped up in another person.
18:43-18:48
For somebody else, they find their identity, they find their identity in their struggles.
18:51-18:52
Some people want that to be their identity.
18:52-18:56
I want people to know me as this person that has these struggles.
18:58-19:00
You know, tell me a little bit about yourself.
19:00-19:03
Like, well, I was bullied when I was in kindergarten.
19:04-19:06
Like, you're 60 now.
19:06-19:09
Has nothing of significance happened in the last 55 years of your life?
19:11-19:17
Some people, again, this is a sore spot for me, so I'm working through some things too, okay?
19:17-19:23
But some people, their identity is their physical appearance for their health, like those nine mile runner people.
19:24-19:25
For some people, that's it.
19:26-19:28
Check out my six pack.
19:30-19:35
Check out this kale and arugula salad shake that I drank for breakfast.
19:38-19:39
Look, I'm having fun here.
19:39-19:41
There's nothing wrong with any of those things, right?
19:41-19:43
There's nothing wrong with having a job.
19:43-19:46
There's nothing wrong with having a person in your life.
19:48-19:50
There's nothing wrong with dealing with struggles.
19:50-19:54
There's nothing wrong with being a health conscious person.
19:54-19:56
There's nothing wrong with any of those things.
19:57-20:02
But you cannot let those things become your identity.
20:04-20:05
You can't let them become your identity.
20:07-20:08
Like, well, why not?
20:08-20:09
I'll tell you why not.
20:09-20:13
If your identity is your job, I have some bad news for you.
20:14-20:15
You could lose that job.
20:17-20:25
Do you know how many people are crushed because their job becomes their identity and then they get laid off or whatever and they're just like lost.
20:25-20:25
Like, what do I do?
20:26-20:26
I don't know who I am.
20:27-20:29
My whole life has been defined by this job.
20:29-20:31
You can't let that job define you.
20:32-20:37
If your identity is another human being, that's bad news because people come and go.
20:39-20:45
Even your children, if your identity is being a parent, kids grow up and move out.
20:47-20:50
You can't let your identity be in another human being.
20:50-20:55
If your identity is your struggles, I got some bad news for you, things might get better.
20:56-20:57
Wait.
20:58-21:01
Yeah, I got some bad news for you, things might get better.
21:01-21:02
That is what my notes said.
21:04-21:14
If your identity is being wrapped up in the physical health conscious thing, I got some bad news for you, gravity always wins.
21:17-21:22
No matter what kind of surgery or supplements or spa you're using, you're getting old.
21:24-21:28
So much of our identity is wrapped up in these things, but look at the text, verse nine.
21:30-21:37
Paul says he wants to gain Christ, end of verse eight, look at this, and be found in him.
21:40-21:42
Paul, what's your identity, Paul?
21:43-21:46
You gave your resume, what's the thing you wanna be known as, known for?
21:47-21:48
What is it that gives you significance?
21:49-21:50
It's in three words right there.
21:51-21:55
"Found in Him." I want to be found in Jesus Christ.
21:57-21:59
He clarifies a little further.
22:00-22:12
He says, "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.
22:14-22:33
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead." Found in Him. That's your identity.
22:34-22:39
Christ is in me, and I am in Christ.
22:39-22:40
Is Christ enough for you?
22:41-22:43
The reality is nothing else matters.
22:45-22:54
Paul says, "I don't have a righteousness of my own." We have a righteousness that comes by faith in Christ.
22:55-23:01
I've shared with you before, that's the most mind-blowing thing about the Bible to me by far.
23:01-23:12
More than anything, I don't really struggle at all with creation, election, the Trinity, Sovereignty of God, free will, I don't struggle with those things at all.
23:14-23:24
The thing in the Bible that blows my mind more than anything is that through Jesus Christ, God makes me righteous.
23:27-23:30
God pronounces me as righteous as Himself.
23:32-23:36
Not because of anything that I've done, that's why He says it's not a righteousness from the law.
23:36-23:40
It's not like I've been a good boy and God says, "Jeff, you're a good boy." I'm not.
23:42-23:55
But when you believe in Jesus Christ, when you receive Christ as your Lord and Savior, when you receive him, God pronounces you totally righteous, perfect, as righteous as himself.
23:57-24:01
Can you think of an identity that you could embrace that would be greater than that?
24:04-24:04
So who am I?
24:06-24:09
Embrace the identity that God gives you.
24:10-24:13
Because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what the world thinks of me.
24:14-24:17
It doesn't matter what I sometimes may think of myself.
24:19-24:23
I embrace the surpassing worth of Christ because of how He has changed.
24:25-24:38
Paul says, "I just want to know Him. I want to be found in Him, and I want to know Him." That's why your journey with Christ and your journey for significance doesn't end with getting saved.
24:38-24:41
It goes beyond that.
24:41-24:43
Number three, what's my purpose in life?
24:44-24:46
What's my purpose in life?
24:48-24:49
Here it is, becoming like Christ.
24:50-24:51
Is Christ enough?
24:52-24:57
Well, examine in your life what your purpose is, what's your goal, what's your life's ambition.
25:00-25:05
And if it's anything other than becoming like Jesus Christ, you're going to feel empty.
25:06-25:07
You just are.
25:10-25:15
Striving for some golden ring that looks kind of plastic when you finally get it.
25:17-25:21
Compared to becoming like Christ. Look at verses 12-14.
25:22-25:28
Paul says, "Not that I've already obtained this, or I'm already perfect." He's talking about Christ like this.
25:28-25:29
He goes, "I'm not perfect.
25:30-25:37
"I haven't obtained this perfection, "this spiritual elite perfect status.
25:39-25:43
"I'm not exactly like Christ in every way yet." That's what he's talking about.
25:43-25:55
"Not that I've already obtained this "or I'm already perfect, "but I press on to make it my own "because Christ Jesus has made me his own." Reemphasizes it, verse 13.
25:55-26:17
He says, "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Stop there for a second.
26:18-26:20
Paul says, "I haven't obtained this.
26:20-26:21
I haven't obtained perfection.
26:21-26:28
I haven't obtained perfect Christ-likeness, But I am pressing on, I'm straining forward after this.
26:28-26:29
Why?
26:29-26:31
Paul says, I wanna achieve this.
26:31-26:35
I wanna go after this with every cell in my body.
26:36-26:37
I'm going after Christlikeness.
26:37-26:38
Why?
26:38-26:41
He says, because that's what Christ is after for me.
26:41-26:42
Do you see that?
26:42-26:44
He says, Jesus has this goal for me.
26:44-26:46
So that is my goal for me.
26:47-26:48
And it's to be like him.
26:48-26:51
It's to be conformed into his image, Romans 8.29.
26:53-27:03
Paul uses running terminology in this passage, and you can tell that it's not casually go for a jog running terminology, right?
27:04-27:15
This is running like a competitive athlete terminology, which is emphasizing the urgency and the passion in which we are to go after this.
27:15-27:21
We leave the past behind us, and we move forward, And we never stop going after Christ.
27:24-27:40
Years ago, a certain local school that I, and some of us may or may not have attended in high school, a certain school had this cross country team that came off of an undefeated season.
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I'm ignorant, I don't really know what that means, but they had an undefeated season the previous year.
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So they go to this school and they were interviewing some of the cross country athletes and they're like, you know, what's ahead for you in the next, you know, in the next cross country season?
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And I saved this quote because it just makes me giggle and giggle.
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And I hope it does you too.
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But this quote from one of the athletes, he said, I expect us...
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Keep in mind, they're coming off of a winning season, right? Undefeated.
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One of the athletes said this, "I expect us to be above 500.
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Cranberry is strong, and North Clarion is strong.
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I think it will be us and Monatah to battle for third place." Like, battle for third place?
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Is that the bar? Are we sending our Olympic athletes to Korea? Like, okay guys, bronze, just like me and Alex, bronze! Battle for third place? Talk about setting your sights low. Is that the athlete you want on your team? Okay guys, at least third. You know, what did that huddle look like before the cross-country meets? Okay everybody, bring Bring it in on three, mediocrity.
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You ready?
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One, two, three, mediocrity.
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All right, let's go be average.
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Who battles for third place?
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But see, that's exactly the kind of passive indifference that Paul was teaching against here.
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He's like, I'm not just trotting in my Christian walk, like it's okay if I come in third.
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He's like, no, I'm going after this like I'm going after the gold.
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and I'm gonna keep going, and I'm gonna keep going, and I'm gonna keep going.
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And if I get knocked down, that's not gonna stop me.
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I'm going for gold.
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That's the attitude that Paul is calling us to.
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Everyone has a goal for their life.
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Is the goal for your life the same goal that Jesus Christ has for your life?
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And that is to make you more like him.
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Is Christ enough for you?
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And maybe you haven't felt the significance that Christ gives because you haven't been pursuing Him and His purposes for you.
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Maybe you just haven't felt this fulfillment in Christ because you're one of these okay to settle for third place trotting along type Christians.
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And Paul says, "No, I am straining forward.
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"I am pressing on." Early in 1 Corinthians, I don't box like somebody beating the air, right?
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So I'm going in for the knockout.
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This Christ likeness that he calls us to violently pursue, it's called sanctification.
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All right, that's growing and maturing in the Lord, the sanctification, and understand church, sanctification comes from God, it's like righteousness.
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You can't make yourself grow, okay?
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You can't say, "Oh, you know what?
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"I hear what you're saying, Pastor.
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"I'm really gonna make myself grow." You cannot make yourself grow, but it's like a plant.
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You can't make a plant grow, can you?
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You can't make a plant grow.
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You set a plant down and, "Oh, I really want this thing to grow "and I want it to get big and I'm going to send it," what's that stupid phrase?
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"I'm going to send it good thoughts." I hate when people say that.
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"Hey, I'm having a hard day.
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"Send good thoughts my way." No, send prayers to God.
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Good thoughts.
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I'm gonna send good thoughts towards this plant, make it grow.
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Is that gonna make the plant grow?
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There's nothing you can do to make the plant grow.
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But you can put that plant in a position to maximize its potential to grow.
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And that's the same with your walk with Christ.
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You can't make yourself grow.
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Sanctification, like justification, comes from God, but you can put yourself in a position to maximize your potential to grow in Christ.
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How?
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Well, what does the Bible say?
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Sanctification comes two ways.
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First of all, it comes by the word of God.
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John 17, 17, Jesus said, "Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth." Sanctification comes from the word of God.
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And secondly, sanctification comes from God's Holy Spirit.
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Romans 15, 16, "Sanctified by the Holy Spirit." You can't make yourself grow, but you can put yourself in a better position where God can grow you.
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You want that plant to grow, what are you gonna do?
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You're gonna give it water, you're gonna give it sunlight, and you're gonna trust that the growth is going to happen.
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Same with you.
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It's like, yeah, I really wanna grow in Christ, but I really don't read the Bible.
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Well, then you're not really gonna grow because that's how it comes.
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Sanctification by the word of God.
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Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of Christ.
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Like, yeah, I really wanna grow in Christ, but I really don't have much of a prayer life, then you're not gonna grow.
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I really don't seek the Holy Spirit's guidance in my day-to-day life, then you're not going to grow.
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So the question for you, church, and the question I have to reflect back on myself is how hard are you running after Christ right now?
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How is your prayer life right now?
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Are you praying privately, secretly?
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Are you praying like you're going for a gold medal in prayer?
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Are you praying like you're battling for third?
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How's your personal Bible study?
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Are you seeking God in His Word and reading His Word?
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Like you're going for the gold?
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Or like you're going to settle for the bronze?
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Look at verse 15.
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He says, "Let those of us who are mature think this way.
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And if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you." Concerning growing in Christ like this, there's an immature attitude, there's a mature attitude. The immature attitude is making excuses for your sin. "I'm a lousy sinner. Why bother pursuing Christ if I'm never going to achieve perfection?" That's how some people look at a Christian life. "I'm not going to be perfect in this life. I'm just a lousy sinner and that's why I sin." And there's no striving. That's immature. Paul says this is the mature attitude right here. I know I will never be perfect in this life, but I'm going to grow and I'm going to become better and I'm never going to stop pursuing Christ. That's the mature attitude. Verse 16, I love this. He says, "Only let us hold true to what we have attained." Hold true. I love this because there's nothing new. "Okay, okay, Jeff, what's the secret?" There isn't one.
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He says, "Hold true to what you've attained." Keep doing the things you know that God is going to use to grow you to be more like Christ.
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And when you become more like Christ, you're going to be settled, you're going to be satisfied, you're going to feel the significance that only He gives.
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There's no secret, no fad.
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Here it is, get alone with God.
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Talk to Him.
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Cry out to Him.
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Ask Him to let your heart embrace the glorious promises of His Word.
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Get into a small group.
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Stay connected with people who pour into you and allow you to pour into them.
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You're like, "Man, you've been telling us that for years." Yeah, there's nothing new.
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There's nothing new.
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Just hold true to what you've attained.
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You know what to do.
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Let's go after it.
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Right?
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So maybe you're not standing next to Eve by the tree in the Garden of Eden.
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But in a sense this morning we are standing at the cross.
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And the same temptation is put before you.
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Do you need more than God is offering?
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In order to feel important?
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In order to feel satisfied?
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In order to feel significant?
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Or is Christ enough?
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When you find your answers in Christ to these questions, "What's really important to me?" What's really important?
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What's important to me is Jesus Christ, knowing Him.
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Who am I?
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I was a lost person that's been found and saved.
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I am found in Christ.
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That's who I am.
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I am pronounced righteous in Christ.
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What's my goal in life?
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My goal is to continue to pursue Christ like this, to grow in all of the ways God's Holy Spirit wants me to grow.
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When Christ is the answer to these questions, it doesn't matter who you are.
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It doesn't matter what you do.
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You're going to discover that Jesus Christ is enough.
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Can you bow your heads and pray with me, please?
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Father in heaven, we look at your Word today.
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I pray that your Holy Spirit would bring great conviction on all of us.
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Because our reality is, Father, we confess to you that we have sought to fulfill our appetites with junk food.
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Father, we've sought to to fill this hole in our hearts with all of these things that really don't mean anything, things that don't last, things that in the long run aren't going to make much of a difference.
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Father, I pray today that as we reflect on your Word and we reflect on our personal walk, Father, we'd stop being people that are content to just trot. Stop being people that are content content to take a leisurely stroll, but that we would be people who would press on, that our hearts hunger and desire and passion is to know Christ, to be found in Him, to gain Christ and to count everything else, everything else that we could hang our significance and sense of identity and fulfillment, let us count them as rubbish.
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Father, let us find our significance in Christ today.
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Father, by your Spirit, by the power of your Word, working within us, let each one of us today, leaving here more determined than ever, to say, "Christ is enough." Christ is enough.
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In His name we pray, Amen.
Small Group Questions (Whole Group):
Read Philippians 3
Honesty time: for you, what would you naturally want to find your significance (sense of self-worth) in?
How does that compare with knowing Christ, according to Paul (Phil 3:8)?According to Phil 3:15 (and previous the 3 verses Phil 3:11-14), what is "mature thinking" regarding pursuing Christ-likeness? What specifically would be "immature thinking"?
You can't make yourself grow, but you can do things to put yourself in a position to maximize your growth. What are the things you can do to help your growth?
Breakout Questions:
Pray for one another to be full of God, not full of ourselves.