The Greatness of Knowing Jesus
Significant change in attitude - But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss
Paul had just listed off all the reasons and things he had in his life to prove he had it going for him. But something significant happened in his thinking and personal value system. - he had a change of attitude about himself and who Jesus was.
What once was good and profitable to him - what once determined the reasons he did things was no longer sufficient
Significant change in ATTITUDE
- difference between perspective and attitude - value - we have an attitude about the things we feel strongly about - perspectives change easier than attitudes
Self - World around - Values - God
Message - Paul goes even a step further...
8 Yes, 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
Paul is not saying that he has become irresponsible in his life, but indeed he has become more responsible to the most important.
We do what we think is best - for us
Paul says he does not consider what is best for himself now - what is going to advance him in the eyes of the world, what is going to profit him friends, status, money, opportunities,,, all of that is what he is calling ‘crap' of absolute no value and in real ways - offensive to him.
In fact - everything is less important to him than knowing Jesus
Like when 2 people who used to consider themselves good friends but something happens and the man comes to his friend but his old friend ignores him - he turns away like he doesn't exist - regardless of what happened in the circumstances - the main thing that did change was the ones attitude.
We have all made significant friendships with the world, vying for position, status, image, - we care about what others think of us,
Paul realizes there is a ‘Surpassing greatness' in knowing Jesus
Not a philosophical or ideological ‘knowing' but to Paul, this must be a very practical knowing because he is giving up practical things in his life. He is sacrificing everything else for this. Not just sacrificing - giving them up, but he is considering these former things in his life as rubbish - garbage, something he looks at as having no value, nothing substantial, nothing worth keeping.
Attitude of SUBSTANCE - Paul has found something both real and of greater value than everything else in his life.
Jesus said:
Matt. 13:45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
What does Paul see that has more value to him than everything else and how does he view this.
A friend of mine who is a pastor here in the city told me of a young girl - about 17 who had accepted Jesus and wanted to be baptized as a follower. Because the girl was young the pastor wanted the girl to tell her father what was happening in her life. The girl was afraid to talk to her father and asked my friend to go with her, and he did. When the girl told her father that she became a Christian and wanted to be baptized, her father became outraged accusing the pastor of manipulating his daughter. The daughter cried to her father that she made this decision on her own. Her father called her a fool and said that if she did this he would not support her any more.
As the pastor left the house and was walking down the sidewalk, the girl came running after him and said, ‘even if my father cuts me off and doesn't help me - I know Jesus will never leave me - so I want to know him, and she was baptized that day in English Bay.
There was a time in my life that was a significant turning point in my attitude about Jesus. I had asked Jesus to forgive my sin and come into my life as a young person, but in my early 20s life for me began to pick up significant steam and was beginning to role over me.
I was trying to finish my undergrad in business admin, I was working part time for my father's business and things began to fall apart all around me. Both of my parents dealt with serious illnesses, my father's business began to experience significant financial challenges because of some poor decisions my father had made. This business was supposed to be my future and it was not looking like a very pretty picture. Everything I thought was important to my life, my parents and my future was in serious trouble and I had no control of it.
That was when I reached out for Jesus like I had never reached out for him in my past. I knew things in my life were out of control and I wanted to get as close as I could to the one who was in control. Jesus said to me then - and he says to me every day - if you will give me the things of your life then I will give you all of my life, and I did. Late one night I told him that I would give him all that I am, all that I had and all that I hoped to be, if I could know him.
Lift Jesus up in my attitude - I had to raise Jesus up in the priorities of my life. It didn't matter to me nearly as much about what people thought of me, because I knew what Jesus thought of me.
"...be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." V9
Who are you trying to please?
Do you see Him as more valuable to me than anything else
His goodness - are you seeing more and more good around you
His faithfulness
Paul sees him as
God
Saviour - Benefactor
Someone he can have a relationship with
Someone who is changing him
Reorient my life with Jesus ON TOP
Take time to think through my schedule - do you make time for Jesus
Everyone struggles with consistently spending time with Jesus
He wants you to know him - like a person
How do you know Jesus?
Like someone else - spend time with him
We get into trouble in our relationships when we think we know what the other person is like based on past time spent with them. That is when we assume we know all about them
Stay a learner - explore Him
Often a Christian gets bored in their relationship with Jesus, and they think it is because of the people - the church - they are around, the preacher they listen to, when in reality they have stopped taking the responsibility themselves to keep learning who Jesus is.
Boredom is an attitude, boredom is a lazy student
Boredom can set in because a person is tired and they stop investing themselves in what they need to stay with.
God knew our propensity to get tired and bored - and so he tells us we need to rest - take a regular break
Give up what you thought was important so you can know him
Think through how I spend my money
Speak the Gospel to yourself daily - Don't loose sight of the ‘why'
"...that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
When I speak the gospel to myself daily - I am reminded that I need Jesus to make me right - his blood covers my life, that God sees and makes me accepted, not because of what I have done but Jesus - for me. - and His power makes me stronger - and I rely less on everything else in the world to make me feel good about myself
Zig Zigler told a story how he wanted to loose weight and exercise, when he began, he couldn't even walk 2 blocks without getting out of breath. But one day, he saw a picture of a guy in an underwear ad who was strong and healthy, he cut that picture out and put it on his mirror and every morning he got up to take his walk he looked at that picture - before long he was walking 6 blocks then a mile. Then he started jogging a few blocks and over time he was gaining strength and getting healthy.
Paul knew what he gained by growing in his relationship with Jesus.
A righteousness that came from God.
That meant he knew he was accepted by God. There is significant strength that comes in a persons life when they know they are accepted and right. -
There was also a power that came into his life that nothing else could provide.
This is not a message to make you feel guilty like you should do more in your already busy life.
It is not that you should do more but different.
A different attitude about life
Recalibrate my heart with Him as the standard - on top of everything else