To Lose Everything is to Follow Christ

 

by Robin Lee Sanchez

Scripture Text: Philippians 3:4-14

            Good morning Koinonia, before anything else, I would like to thank and honour God for this once in a lifetime opportunity and the most awaited moment in my seminary life—the delivering of sermon. I never thought that I have gone this far in my Divinity School endeavour. Even though I am delivering this sermon through online platform, I still hold the overwhelming feeling and still am  nervous at the same time. Yet, I am here, taking the challenge to deliver the message of God, not just for the sake of requirements, but as a part of my calling.

INTRODUCTION

            Have you ever wondered where these seemingly never-ending chaos, disorder, violence, deprivation and atrocities that are happening not just in our nation but throughout the world started? We may present a hefty list of specific reasons using our own lenses of experience, expertise and personal preferences, but if we try to fuse these reasons, I am sure that we would come across “Greed”. This lethal thing called “greed” has been afflicting humanity over the course of human history. For example, a “greedy” tribal leader who wants to expand his sphere of influence and territory decided to overpower and invade weaker tribes to be under his rule. Owners of big companies whose greed is their garments and crowns would underpay their employees and destroy the environment just to satisfy their thirst for profit. Moreover, powerful nations which are slaves of their own “greed” are in a race of advancing their personal benefits at the expense of pressuring weaker nations leaving them without a choice but to become their puppet with the strings of discrimination, violence, and abuses attached to them. Greed makes one insatiable and discontented, it could corrupt one’s value and being. Thus, greed makes one’s humanity DEAD.

            That is why, we are praying for a different reality; a complete opposite of the sad reality of our world today. A reality where nations are given their own sovereignty to pursue what is beneficiary to them, leaders whose heart long to serve rather than to be served, citizens’ right and welfare are respected, valued and honored, individuals whose heart is freed from greed, but filled with love, compassion and kindness, and a world which measures success not on how much we have gained for ourselves, but the losses we sacrificed for the sake of Christ, for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of others.

Is anybody here who is successful in life, and by that I mean one who has a good career and position, one who is financially secure and stable and yet, gave up everything and sacrificed these things because of your desire to follow God’s will through humble service in the ministry?

During our elementary or high school years, we always tend to plan and decide about our dreams, our goals, and our future. We set our minds in advance to what and who we will be. We have many "If's" in our lives. For instance, "If I am going to be wealthy, I'll do this, I'll do that." or "If I will know how to do this (like a particular skill), years from now, I will be this or that." And there are more "ifs" in our lives and these "ifs" of ours become the reason why we strive harder in life. When I was in high school, I already knew how to find ways to make money through online games. My cousins and I were striving hard to become professional online gamers through Role Playing Games. We earn money and buy the stuff that we want. And after I graduated high school, I applied for different kinds of jobs in order to sustain my needs and wants. My parents can’t afford to support my studies in college so I tried applying for work. Because of my experiences in different kinds of jobs, I was confident that I could become successful and sufficient in meeting all my needs. But, when I became active in the church I lost everything including my job. Why? Because my day off during that time was every Tuesday and I work for the rest of the days of the week including weekends. And I also cannot understand why every Sunday, after duty, I experience fever. And it kept on happening. Since then, I decided to give my full time in serving the church and became a youth leader. Materially, I may have lost everything. But in exchange, I felt joy in serving Christ. This was perhaps the same with Paul's feelings and experiences as found in our text today.

BODY

I'm wondering how much you value your house, family, connections, and career; your reputation, your accomplishments, your abilities, your education, your safety, and your money balance. According to Paul, these things, and all else that life and living has to offer, were worthless in contrast to the surpassing value, joy, wonder, worth, and glory of knowing Christ Jesus.

Take a look at our text.  The apostle uses himself as an example of believing exclusively in Christ and not in his Israelite advantages. He demonstrates what he has to brag about as a Pharisee and a Jew. Let no one imagine that the apostle scorned these things (as many men do) because he didn't have them to boast about. No, he had as much reason to glorify and rely on the body as anyone else: If any man thinks he has reason for confidence in flesh, I have more (v.4). He had as much to brag about as any other Jew. Privileges granted to him as a result of his birth. He was not a convert, but a natural Israelite, a descendant of Israel's line. And he belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, which was the home of the temple and remained loyal to Judah when the other tribes revolted. Benjamin was the father's favourite and the tribe was one of his favourites. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, an Israelite on both sides, from father to mother, and from generation to generation; none of his ancestors had married Gentiles. He could brag about his ties to the church and the covenant since he was circumcised on the eighth day (v.5); he carried the sign of God's covenant in his flesh and was circumcised on the day that God had set aside. He had a faultless conversion: Touching the righteousness of the law, blameless, even called as “bar mitzvah” or son of the commandments. As far as the Pharisees' textual analysis of the law went, and as far as the bare letter of the law and outward adherence of it went, he could acquit himself from the breaking of it and could not be charged by anybody. He had been a devout follower of his faith. He punished people whom he saw as adversaries to it, since he made a rigid profession of it under the title and character of a Pharisee. When it comes to enthusiasm, persecuting the church comes to mind.

In comparison to his interest in Christ and his expectations from him, the apostle tells us how little he paid attention to these: But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ (v.7). That is, the things he had counted as gain while a Pharisee and had previously reckoned up, he counted as loss for Christ. "I should have reckoned myself a terrible loser of, to adhere to them, I had abandoned my interest in Jesus Christ." He deemed them loss; not only insufficient to enrich him, but also insufficient to impoverish and ruin him if he trusted them in opposition to Christ. Observe that the apostle did not convince them to do anything other than what he had done himself, to give up anything other than what he had given up, or to chance on any bottom other than what he had himself ventured his immortal soul on. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.

He tells us what he was after: knowledge of Christ Jesus, his Lord, a believing experiential familiarity with Christ as Lord; not just a theoretical and speculative knowledge of him, but a practical and effective knowledge of him. So, knowledge is also used to justify faith: "By his knowledge, or the knowledge of him, shall my righteous servant justify many," (Isaiah 53:11). It is also knowledge's superiority. Above all knowledge of nature and improvements in human wisdom, there is an abundant and transcendent excellency in the doctrine of Christ, or Christian religion, because it is suited to the case of fallen sinners, and provides them with all they need and can desire and hope for, with all saving wisdom and saving grace. According to Paul, “Yes, without a doubt”, this is his expression rises with a holy victory and elevation, demonstrating how he had renounced his rights as a Jew and a Pharisee. And he added, “Indeed I count everything as a loss.” He had previously spoken of those things, his Jewish privileges; now he speaks of all things, all worldly pleasures and mere outward privileges, things of a like kind or any other kind, which could compete with Christ for the throne in his heart, or pretend to merit and desert. "Did he remain still in the same mentality, did he not repent his rejecting them?" "No, now he talks in the present tense: Indeed, I do count them but loss," one may inquire. "It is simple to say thus," one could object, "but what would he do when he arrived at the trial?" Well, he informs us that he had practiced according to this assessment of the case: For whom I have endured the loss of everything." He had renounced all of his privileges as a Jew and a Pharisee, and he succumbed to all of the humiliation and suffering that came with the task of preaching the gospel and lost everything just to follow and know Christ.

CONCLUSION

This is what being a Christian entails. It is fundamental Christianity, not sophisticated discipleship. "Anyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my follower," Jesus says (Luke 14:33). In conversion, renouncing what we have is the same as "counting everything as loss." You can't be a disciple if you don't have it. This is what Jesus stated. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man discovered and covered up," he says in a parable. Then, overjoyed, he sells everything he owns and buys that land" (Matthew 13:44). Selling all you have joyfully in order to obtain the kingdom treasure is a parable-style way of saying: consider everything as loss in order to obtain Christ.

As a result, being a Christian entails waking up from spiritual death's blindness and discovering Jesus to be so all-sufficient and all-satisfying that we count everything as a loss. What does it mean to accomplish this on a day-to-day basis?

Giving up everything (considering everything as a loss) implies that if we have to choose between Christ and anything else, we shall choose Christ. That is, even if God did not bring us to a good situation in life, we are prepared and have determined in our minds that if we must choose, we would choose Christ. Giving up everything implies that we will deal with everything in ways that bring us closer to Christ, so that we gain more of Christ and enjoy more of him as a result of how we react to everything. Giving up everything, is to give up our selfish desires, making no room for boast and greed to grow in our hearts; rather, our every gain, success and triumph are our offerings and expression of our gratefulness to God’s bountiful blessings.

Giving up everything means that we shall attempt to engage with the things of this world in ways that demonstrate that they are not our treasure, but that Christ is. That is, we shall hold things lightly, share things generously, and assign worth to things in relation to Christ. Since to give up and to follow Christ means to follow His lifestyle which is reflected by placing others above himself. We'll endeavour to live out the irony of 1 Corinthians 7:30–31: "Let [Christians] buy as if they had no money, and those who deal with the world as if they had no relations with it."

Paul lost all those things and more besides, for the infinite excellency of knowing Christ Jesus his Lord. Knowing the Lord Jesus, in an increasingly intimate and personal way was of far greater value than all that this world could offer – and yet right up until the end of his life, Paul’s passion and greatest desire was to learn more of his Master and Lord – to know Christ and to follow Christ. A true follower of Christ knows His name, follows His voice, and does the same.

As Pastors, we expect to lose everything in the process of service, our time, ourselves, our material wants in this world. However, the perpetual joy we experience in being of service to Christ, to be in his presence, to be obedient to the will of God, to serve the least, last and the lost, and to be part of the fellowship of the Body of Christ, is more than owning than all the temporary luxuries, fame, and things of this world.  Amen.