Treasuring Christ above All Else Exceeding Joy in God Series [15] Philippians 3:1-16 August 18, 2013 Pastor Paul K. Kim

RECAP: “EXCEEDING JOY IN GOD” SERIES 1.Why Pursue Exceeding Joy in God?  God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. 2.Taking Our Delight in God Seriously  The secret to lasting joy is in seeing and tasting God’s glory that surpasses all other joys in life. 3.What to do When You Don’t Desire God  The call to fight for joy in God is not optional but most crucial for all Christ followers.

RECAP: “EXCEEDING JOY IN GOD” SERIES 4.Joy Killers, Distractions, and Broken Cisterns  We are to arrange our everyday life for joy in God before our life arranges our desire and delight elsewhere. 5.Joy in God through Scripture – Part 1 & 2  Scripture is central to kindling our joy in God. 7.Joy in God through Prayer – Part 1 & 2  Prayer is power of our joy in God.

RECAP: “EXCEEDING JOY IN GOD” SERIES 9.Joy in God through Loving Others  Love is the labor of our joy in God. 10.Joy in God through Worship  Worship is the feast of our joy in God. 11.Joy in God amidst Suffering & Sorrow  Suffering is the sacrifice of our joy in God. 12.Joy in God through Marriage  Marriage is a matrix for our joy in God.

RECAP: “EXCEEDING JOY IN GOD” SERIES 13.Joy in God through Everyday Life  We are to be childlike in trust and thankfulness so that we can rediscover the joy of the ordinary as God’s goodness/glory. 14.Joy in God through Money  Money is currency of our joy in God. 15.Exceeding Joy: Treasuring Christ above All Else [TODAY]  Treasuring Christ is the way of our exceeding joy in God.

WHY TREASURE CHRIST ABOVE ALL ELSE? It is because God the Father absolutely treasures Christ from all eternity (Heb. 1:3; John 17:26). It is because the Holy Spirit has given us Christ as our all- satisfying Treasure by opening the eyes of our heart to God’s glory in Jesus (Eph. 1:18; 2 Cor. 4:6-7). It is because we were made to treasure Christ as our exceeding joy and as our gospel to unbelievers (Matt. 13:44; 1 Cor. 1:23).

WHAT IT MEANS TO TREASURE CHRIST ABOVE ALL ELSE 1)It means TO REJOICE in Christ Jesus. Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. (v.1) Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Philippians 4:4 Delight yourself in the Lord Psalm 37:4a  The Philippian church was suffering from extreme poverty and affliction (2 Cor. 8) and Paul wrote this from a prison.  So we know that this was not circumstantial joy but because of what God offers in Christ.  Therefore, we can declare Christ as our all-satisfying Treasure!

WHAT IT MEANS TO TREASURE CHRIST ABOVE ALL ELSE 2)It means TO GLORY/BOAST in Christ Jesus. 2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 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: 5 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; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (vs. 2-7)  Paul warns about the Judaizers who put confidence in themselves—i.e., their pedigree, accomplishments, and zeal.  Because Christ is his Treasure, Paul no longer boasts and finds his glory in himself, putting no confidence in the flesh.  Therefore, we are to boast/glory only in Christ Jesus as our Treasure above all else.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44

WHAT IT MEANS TO TREASURE CHRIST ABOVE ALL ELSE 3)It means COUNTING ALL THINGS AS LOSS TO KNOW/GAIN CHRIST AND TO BE FOUND in Christ Jesus. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count 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 that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (vs. 8-11)  Compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, all other things were rubbish—“dung”—to Apostle Paul.  Why? To Paul, knowing and gaining Christ was his consuming passion in life and even beyond death (Phil 1:21).  We are also to treasure Christ with this kind of passion!

"That I may know him..." (Phil. 3:10) Do you know God? I am not asking whether you believe things about Him; but have you met Him? Have you known yourself for certain in His presence? Does He speak to you, and do you know that you speak to Him?... He died “to bring us to God,” and to this knowledge. Is your fellowship “with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ”? O that we might know God!... The most vital question to ask about all who claim to be Christian is this: Have they a soul thirst for God? Do they long for this? Is there something about them that tells you that they are always waiting for His next manifestation of Himself? Is their life centered on Him? Can they say with Paul that they forget everything in the past? Do they press forward more and more that they might know Him and that the knowledge might increase, until eventually beyond death and the grave they may bask eternally in “the sunshine of His face?” That I might “know him!” - D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

WHAT IT MEANS TO TREASURE CHRIST ABOVE ALL ELSE 4)It means RELENTLESSLY PURSUING THE FINAL PRIZE in Christ Jesus. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 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, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained. (vs )  The worth of knowing/gaining Christ led Paul out of coasting or drifting and into pressing on with the absolute assurance.  Paul presses on for what is already his yet the final prize is the goal of Christian journey: Jesus himself.  We are also to relentlessly treasure Christ above all else for the final prize of God’s call in our everyday life.

I’d Rather Have Jesus by Rhea F. Miller (1922) I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I’d rather be His than have riches untold; I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands; I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand Than to be the king of a vast domain, Or be held in sin’s dread sway; I’d rather have Jesus than anything This world affords today. I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause; I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause; I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame; I’d rather be true to His holy name.

THREE PRACTICAL QUESTIONS FOR OUR EVERYDAY LIFE 1.In what ways am I now more convinced to treasure Christ above all else? 2.In what ways can I rejoice and boast in Christ as my all- satisfying Treasure, putting no confidence in ourselves? 3.What are my first steps toward treasuring the surpassing worth of knowing Christ above all else, relentlessly pursuing for the final prize in Christ Jesus?