As we come to hear God’s Word, we’ll come in prayer in just a moment, but when we read anything outside of God’s Word, what we read is just written by humans. Even the greatest books of theology are just written by men. But what we hold here is spoken by God. It’s completely different. And what God’s Word says is that when we come to the preaching of God’s Word, if it’s preached according to what God’s Word says, it’s Christ himself preaching it. And so we’re listening to the voice of Christ. You and I are hopefully coming here to hear Christ speak.

So let’s pray that that is true. Lord, as you promised in John 14 that you would send your helper and he would dwell with us because he is the extension of you. We pray that you would be bringing your truth to our hearts, illuminating your word that we would be hearing the voice of God and not a man. We pray that your truth would pierce our hearts with conviction and enliven our hearts to see the glory and beauty of Christ as no mere man can make it true. Would you be present and reveal yourself? Because that is what we need. We don’t need the stirring of our hearts for a moment. We don’t need to have our ears tickled. We need Christ. Would you give us Christ? In his name we pray. Amen.

Would you open up with me to Philippians 3? As we come to Philippians 3, we’re going to start reading from verse 12. But to give you an idea of where we’re at, if you look at verse 1, he starts off, finally, my brothers. But then if you see, it’s chapter 3 that’s beginning, and there’s a whole other chapter after this. And then if you look at chapter 4, verse 8, he also says, finally, brothers.

Now I don’t think, well I know that Scripture’s not making a mistake here. What this tells us is that chapter 3 is his last main point in the letter. And it’s actually his longest point in the letter. And then in chapter 4 you get some final thoughts and instructions for the church. But this is important for us to understand because that means that chapter 3 through chapter 4 verse 1 is all hitting one thing.

It’s his final main point he wants to communicate. and he titles it under this heading, Finally, My Brothers, Rejoice in the Lord. Okay, so keep that in mind. That’s where he’s trying to communicate. It’s under the heading, Rejoice in the Lord. But I want to turn and read starting in verse 12, because this is, perhaps for me, one of the most interesting sections of scripture.

If I asked you, will you all know the significance of Paul, or most of you will know the significance of Paul? Planted many churches, wrote great theology, man devoted to the Lord. And if I asked you, well, what’s the one thing he preached? Many of you would probably be able to give that answer out of Corinthians, right? I preach Christ and Him crucified. That’s what Paul says. Everything’s under that one heading of preaching, but here we’re going to read that Paul says there’s one thing that he does. His whole life is devoted to one thing.

Let me read that. Verse 12, not that I have 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. 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 towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Stop there for now. There’s one thing that Paul says that he’s doing. Did you hear what it was? He describes it in all sorts of ways. It’s the goal, and the goal is for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We see that it’s something that he has not yet obtained, verse 12. I have not already obtained this. I’m not already perfect, but I press on to make it my own. But nowhere in the sections does he actually say what it is. Did you see that? What’s the thing? What’s the goal? What’s your one pursuit? And so I want to spend this sermon investigating that. For those of you who like points, we’ll go under kind of three main headings.

We’re going to investigate what it is, and then I’ll illustrate it, and then Paul ends with some instructions. But it’s kind of like whose line is anyway where the points don’t really matter. I’m not a super linear preacher, so I’m sorry if you’re really looking for solid points. You’re not going to get it in this sermon. So first we’re going to look and try and investigate because for Paul this is very important.

His whole life is, he says, all of my pursuits as a Christian are devoted towards this one thing. And then if you look, in verse 15, just skip ahead a little bit. He says, let those of us who are mature think this way. This isn’t just something for Paul, this is something for Christians. Now to understand a little bit about this, continue looking at verse 12.

What he’s pressing towards is not Christ, per se. Because what does it say? So Paul is writing as a Christian. He’s secure in his faith. And he’s saying, now as a secure Christian, I know my sins are forgiven. I know that I am Christ and he is mine. Now my life is devoted to one pursuit. Do you see that?

Now there are often two ideas thrown out of what is this pursuit that Paul is going after. People will reach back and say, okay, what he’s pursuing is sanctification. Now that my sins have been forgiven, how do I pursue holiness? But other people will say, reaching back to verse 11, and say what he’s saying is one pursuit is to attain the resurrection from the dead. Those are the two things that people will often put forward.

I don’t think either of them are quite right. But to investigate it, I want to step back and look at verses 1 to 11. Okay? So let me read that section quickly and we’ll go through it quickly. We’re trying to figure out, what is Paul’s pursuit? What is the one thing his life is devoted to? Starting in verse 1. Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble for me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. What Paul addresses here is false glorying. So he’s gonna contrast, here are the things that people worship falsely or pursuing falsely. And then he’s going to talk through how he turned away from that himself. Continuing in verse four.

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. 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. So Paul has just accounted, here are all the things that I had to my credit. I had the right identity, I had the right background, I had the right reputation among people.

I had zeal for God. Did you see that? As to the law of Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church. And then what does he end with? As to righteousness under the law, blameless. Did you catch that? You could even say, I lived a holy life. And then where does he go from there? But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Everything there that he thought he had, that he thought he could hold up to God and say, this is worth something, he’s like, I’ve had to throw all of that away in order to get Christ, because Christ was far better. Do you see that? Because if you don’t see it, he’s going to repeat it two more times. He repeats it twice.

Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ. The righteousness of God that depends on faith. So Paul has explained the gospel. All of our pursuits before we were saved to gain something in the eyes of God. To somehow cover over the sins that we felt guilty for.

And Paul says it was absolutely worthless. But in order to actually get rid of those things, I had to give up all of my efforts. All the things I was trying to lean on, even a little bit. And I had to just toss them out. Because Christ just gave me righteousness. And if I tried to cling to any of those things, I had nothing.

He’s explaining the gospel. That’s what God does for you in your sins. He says, you know, you can’t cover over it. I’m going to cover over it. And Paul says, well, the beauty of that, the gospel in Christ, was worth far more than anything I was trying to grab onto. Any of my reputation, any of the various things that I would say before, that was righteous. So when people say, well, now what he’s turning to is, in verse 12, is sanctification. Now it’s a pursuit of holiness.

I think it catches the, it misses the flow of this. What he’s saying is, not just I gave up everything of my own righteousness, but even the next one in verse 8, I count everything as loss because of surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ. He doesn’t turn from faith in Christ, now I pursue my own righteousness. That doesn’t make sense out of what he’s just written. So I don’t think sanctification is what he’s talking about.

That’s not the direct thing that’s his one pursuit. Here’s what happens. He goes on to say, And so then people say, well, because he’s trying to attain the resurrection from the dead, he will do anything he can to attain the resurrection from the dead. That must be what his one pursuit is.

That can’t be right either because he already has Christ and he knows it. Look at verse 12. Because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Look at verse 9. He already has the righteousness of God that comes through faith. So when it says, by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead, the means is not like the engine of a car. I’ll do whatever it takes to get there on my own power. The means is the road. Well, it doesn’t matter where Christ takes me on the journey. I know he’s taking me to the resurrection of the dead. I’ll go wherever he takes me. So what is he talking about?

I think the key is verse 10. And maybe just the symbol right before verse 10. After he explains the gospel through verse 9, you get this dash. because there’s a break in thought. He sees the beauty of Christ doing everything for him and how he had to just sacrifice everything because he saw how beautiful Christ was. And then you get this break of thought and this exclamation of devotion and affection. And he just bursts out, that I may know him in the power of his resurrection and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. Well, what would stir Paul to say something like that? because he sees Christ for all of his beauty and glory. And he says, I don’t care what happens.

I need to know Christ. I don’t need to know about Christ. I need to know him in an intimate, biblical marriage sort of way. I want to know him as fully as possible. And then you see where his reasoning goes. I want to know the power of his resurrection. I want to know and share in his sufferings. I want to become like him in his death. Nothing is going to stop me from wanting to know Him more and more and more.

That’s what the exclamation, that’s what that dash means. There’s this burst of love that comes out of Paul. And that is what verse 1 means. Rejoice in the Lord. That’s Paul rejoicing in the Lord, right there in verse 10. Now how do we understand this? Imagine for you men, if you’re not married, or if you are married, before you met your wife, you just heard about her.

And she was the most fair lady in the land. But you heard that she was captured by goblins and trolls, taken and imprisoned in a castle. And she was guarded by a dragon. So what do you do? Well, you jump on your horse, you put on your armor, you grab your sword, and you ride across. And you swim through the moat, you’re fending off crocodiles, you storm the castle, you climb up the walls, you’re beating back trolls and goblins and all those wicked creatures because you know she’s not going to live a life of stinky, smelly dungeon with goblins and trolls surrounding her the rest of her life. You are going to save her.

And so you fight off the troll. You beat a bad guy here. You fight the dragon. You slay him with your sword. And then you kick down the door of her dungeon. And there you stand with a scratch from a dragon across your arm and enough blood to be ruggedly handsome but not repulsor. And then you say, I’ve come to save you.

What is her look going to be in her eyes? one of pure devotion, right? She doesn’t know you, but what does she see? She sees her Savior. Well, I lived a life of nothing, and now I saw the one who gave me hope that I didn’t even know I could have. And so what do her eyes say in that moment as she looks at you in the eyes? Her eyes say, I will follow you to the end of the earth.

I’m not going through my list of top 10 things I was looking for in a husband. She will just see you and say, I want you. Yes, I’ll get on your horse. Take me wherever you’re going. There’s not any caveats. There’s not any, well, we have to do this, or my house has to look like that. I need to have five acres. There’s no caveats. Oh, yes, I’ll ride on your horse and I’ll go out with you because you are my love. You are my savior. By any means possible, I will follow you to the ends of the earth.

That’s what her eyes will say. For you women who are married, wasn’t there a time where you looked at your husband and you thought, man, I love that man. I will follow him wherever he wants to go. I know marriage is messy and things get complicated, but there was a moment where you looked at your husband and that was your thought. Man, I would do anything for him.

That’s what Paul sees as he looks at Christ. That I may know him and the power of his resurrection. That I may even share his sufferings and become like him in his death. Why? Why Paul? Because by any means possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead. By any means possible, I want to know Him as intimately as I can.

And that’s what Paul then continues on in, in verse 12. Now as we look at that consuming love, that is the thing that he’s striving for. He’s looking and saying, I want an overwhelming love for Christ. I want a consuming desire for my Savior. I want pure devotion. This isn’t just loyalty or allegiance. If he tells me something, I’ll obey him. But what Paul is pursuing is complete devotion. I don’t want to just like stay on the fringes and I want to stay married to Christ, but don’t push me too far. When he says no, I’m following him as fully as I can.

Complete and utter devotion. That’s what Paul is striving for. Now, what’s interesting is the prominence of suffering as Paul thinks about this. Did you catch that in verse 10? power of his resurrection and immediately he goes to things that are unseemly. That I may share his sufferings, that I may be like him in his death. Paul’s mind goes to the things that are maybe unsightly about Christ. The flaws. Well, I want to be Christ, but I don’t know if I want that part of Christ. But for Paul, that’s where the rubber hits the road.

That’s it. I love, I want to know Christ so much that I even want to share in his sufferings. That’s the level of devotion. Now I need to make sure that you understand that we’re not talking about suffering. Oh, you need to suffer and then you know Christ. What we’re talking about is love and devotion for Christ. That then doesn’t care as much about the suffering. This is a sermon about Christ, not about suffering. But Paul links those together. Well, what does devotion look like? Well, I’m willing to follow Christ wherever he leads me. By any means, I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

That’s normally the hiccup for us, isn’t it? We have a certain revulsion to suffering. Now, some of us may have different, there’s different sorts of suffering. We may struggle with different areas. But, well, some of us will do well with physical suffering, but I don’t like sort of social outcasts. But we can’t determine where Christ is going to bring us. Because when we look at the life of Christ, we see the suffering of Christ. Don’t we?

We see a man of sorrows. He was socially outcast. He faced exhaustion. He faced betrayal from his closest friends. All of those are who Christ is. Turn with me to Mark 3. As we look at just like a brief snippet of Christ’s life in Mark 3. And we see that he… I’m going to skim over it so you can just scan with me. He enters a synagogue and there he’s confronted by people who are trying to trap him. And he responds by trying to teach them the law, and then they respond by trying to destroy him, in verse six. So what does he have to do in verse seven?

He has to leave the city, and he goes out with his disciples, and he goes out to the sea. And the crowd follows him, and they press into him. Verse eight, when the crowd heard all he was doing, they came to him, and they told the disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him. So he’s gone from being rejected by the leaders, told how wrong he is, and now there’s a crowd that doesn’t care about him, they just want his teaching and healing. So they’re about to crush him to death, and they have to go out in a boat. And people are just surrounding him.

And so then he pulls them away, he goes up on a mountain. Verse 20, then he went home and the crowds gathered again so that they couldn’t even eat. So now he’s not able to eat, he’s hungry, he’s tired, he’s surrounded by these crowds, and his family comes to him and they say he’s out of his mind. They reject him.

And they’ll go on later to try and pull him away from his ministry. And we see through Christ’s life this continual suffering. You go on, he’ll see the crowds, and he’s exhausted after sending out his disciples. He sends them out to preach, and he comes back and says, let’s go get some rest. And then the crowds surround him. And you think, that’d be a time to say, I need some rest.

But he has compassion on them, and he teaches them. And then obviously we know as it comes to his crucifixion, the physical sufferings of Christ, the rejection of Christ. But let me read a little bit out of Isaiah saw Christ on the cross and wrote about what he saw in prophecy. This is what he says.

Many were astonished at you. His appearance was so marred beyond human resemblance and his form beyond that of the children of mankind. Verse three, he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. As one from whom men hid their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not.

Verse six, he was pierced, he was crushed. He bore chastisement in his wounds. The Lord laid on him the iniquity. Verse seven, he was oppressed, he was afflicted. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And as for his generation who considered that he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people, they made his grave like the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth. Verse 10, yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief.

This is the suffering of Christ most vocally. Do you see Christ’s suffering in all of its aspects? Physical suffering, the emotional suffering, the social pain, the exhaustion, the hunger. His own disciples would receive teaching over and over again and then not understand. And they eventually would walk away as he was led to the cross. One of them even betrayed him and dragged the authorities in. This was the suffering of Christ.

Why did he do it? What does Isaiah say? Verse 10, when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied.

So we look at the life of Christ and see the life of one of such extreme suffering. But for Christ, it wasn’t about the suffering. It wasn’t about what do I have to do for God to be accepted. For Christ, it was the satisfaction. He looked at his offspring, those he would save. He looked at the will of his father and said, how can I please him? And he willingly went like a sheep before its shears silently and took all of it, right? That’s our Savior. That’s the one who should stir up such devotion in us. That when we think of, well, what is suffering going to be like? Paul says, well, you’re looking at the wrong thing. You’re looking at the suffering. You need to look at the face of Christ. Look at the one who’s done so much for you and the suffering doesn’t matter as much. Why do we have such devotion? Because Christ has ransomed your soul from the wrath of hell. Because you deserve that. And so what does that stir up in us? Devotion.

Now as we turn back to Philippians 3, I think as we think over this, it can make us feel inadequate. Man, I know you’re right. I know I should feel this, and my heart isn’t stirred that way. Look at verse 12. This is what Paul says. Not that I have already obtained this, or I’m already perfect, but I press on to make it my own. The Apostle Paul says, look, my spurt of love in verse 10, I caught a glimpse, a shadow of what I should feel, but I’m not actually there.

That’s not my resting place. But I know it’s where I need to be. I know I need that devotion because I know what Christ has done for me. So his pursuit is to get that devotion, to get that love, to have his heart in the right spot, and to desire the right things about the Lord. That’s Paul’s one thing.

Now as we look at that, then there are two caveats, he says. Let me read verses 15 and 16. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.” I want to start in verse 16. He ends saying, only hold true to what we have attained.

Now, through this whole section, there’s two things, which if you’re hearing it, they sound like they’re the same thing. There’s obtaining something, and something that Paul’s already attained. So Paul’s already attained, he’s already grabbed onto this one thing. He already possesses it. But there’s something he’s still reaching for.

And he sends verse 16 saying, in this reaching for the right desire, for wanting to love Christ as I should, Don’t lose hold of what I already have, which is Christ. That’s the foundation of our faith. It’s not how much you love Christ. Your faith does not depend on how much you love Christ, but how much Christ has loved you. That Christ has you. That’s what you’ve already attained as believers, if you are believers. That’s what you’ve obtained. But as a believer, then what is your pursuit going to be? Now here’s the second caveat.

Verse 15, let those of us who are mature think this way. If you are an immature Christian, and I don’t mean that as a negative thing, if you are just young in the faith, if you are a young person, or you’ve recently come to faith, or you’re at a weak spot in your faith right now, you need to be honest with yourself. Okay. This does not apply to me.

Why does he say that? Because you’re likely to lose the foundation of your faith in that. You think that somehow your love for Christ is what your faith is depending on, and you’re going to lose everything. What you need to focus on is that Christ loves you and is offering salvation to you, and you don’t need to do anything for that. He’s just giving it to you.

Do you see that? But then he says, for the mature, think this way. This is what the mature life in Christ will look like. How do I love Christ fully? How do I see him for all that he is? Let the mature think this way. And if anything, you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. That second part is maybe helpful in how do we pursue this mature desire for Christ. I think especially us guys, we see an objective and we’re like, okay, how do I hit it all really fast? What are all the things that I might be clinging on to? All these things of, okay, I need to put myself through all of these sufferings, right?

Well, I really like my coffee in the morning, so to love Christ, I’m going to stop drinking coffee. Or I’m just going to hit myself in the back with a whip, just to show that I’ll suffer for Christ. That’s not what Paul’s saying. It’s not about the suffering. It’s about the love for Christ. He says, if you are mature, don’t just do a bunch of things.

Where you need to grow, God will reveal that also to you. When God brings something up in your life and you see, I’m not sure how I feel about that, and you feel drawn away from Christ because I’m not sure if it’s worth that cost to me, that’s where you need to buckle down. If in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

And now he ends with a couple instructions in verse 17. Let me read the section to the end. Brothers, join in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their God is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord my beloved. The first instruction he gives is to find models.

But first I want to see why, why it’s so important. Here’s what he says, Now, here’s something that I’ve prayed over a lot, and I think that what Paul is saying here is not looking at the church compared to those outside of the church. And why do I say that? Verse 18.

He has given them often warnings about this, and he tells them this with great care and compassion. He’s warning them about a danger that he knows is very present, and he’s very worried about them. Well, the church will know that the outside is not the same as the church inside. They’ve escaped from the world into the church. I think what he’s talking about is that there’s a certain thinking that can pervade the church really easily. And so he says, not just you need to keep your eyes on those in the church, but keep your eyes specifically on very specific models.

Now, who is he concerned about? He says, they walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Now, I think he says cross of Christ because it’s something different than just Christ. This whole time is his The suffering is played so prominently in his thinking, because he says, to know Christ, you have to know his suffering. And I think that what he’s getting at is there are many of us who want Christ, but don’t want the sufferings of Christ.

It’s sort of like, well now we have AI, but when I was growing up there was airbrushing. You get these actors and it’s like they had the perfect face. There were no imperfections, there were no wrinkles. They thought, wow, this looks like a Barbie doll. Because they went through with a computer and they airbrushed it and they made it look perfect. And there was supposed to be the perfection of beauty.

But if you ask that actor’s wife or the actress’s husband, well, who is more beautiful, the actor, your husband, or that picture of your husband? Well, they’d say, well, my husband, because he’s real, and that thing’s a fake imitation. That’s what we have with AI videos, right? Well, they might say what you want, but it’s just fake, and it looks weird, and it’s strange. This isn’t real.

That’s sometimes what we want about Christ, isn’t it? Well, I like certain aspects, but I want to take out the wrinkles. I want to take out the imperfections, the flaws. But if you love Christ, do you love the flaws of Christ? I know some of your theological brains are saying I can’t say that, but I’m going to say it anyway. Do you love the flaws of Christ? Do you love the wrinkles? Or do you just love the things that you love about Christ and you want to ignore the other parts? That’s the thing that pulls at all of our hearts.

I want my salvation from sin. I want him to help me when I pray, but I don’t like where you’re bringing me through this difficulty. I don’t want that. I don’t want where you may be asking me to go or what you may be asking me to do. I have a friend in a church we used to go to who came down with a neurological illness, and his whole body was kind of shutting down, losing speech, couldn’t really walk. But it was going to be a long and painful process, probably 20 years. He’s still alive. And a few years into it, his wife just left him. I can’t do this. This is too much for me.

That was what Christ had given her to do. You wanted a certain husband, but the husband Christ gave you was someone for you to love by caring through great sickness. She didn’t want the flaws of Christ. Now, I’ve not met her, so I’m just, this is an image of someone. But it seems like she didn’t want the flaws of Christ. She wanted what she thought she wanted of Christ. And she walked away.

What Paul is saying is you need to love the flaws of Christ. Because if you don’t, what’s going to happen? Their end is destruction, their God is their belly, and they glory in their shame with minds set on earthly things. You either love Christ for all that he is, or you’re slowly drifting away. Do you see that? There’s two paths. Your citizenship is in heaven, and you’re awaiting your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who you will see face to face. or you don’t quite want all of him and you’re slowly drifting away. And in the end, you are your own God. So what does Paul do to guard against that? Verse 17. He says, this is so important, and here’s what you need to do. Keep your eyes fixed on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

Join in imitating me. So there are gonna be people who you see in the church They might not be the smartest, they might not be the most eloquent, but you look at their life and you say, man, your life is a pursuit of devotion for the Lord. They might not even be a personality you like, but do they pursue the Lord? Is their life one of crafting a heart that loves the Lord? That’s the one you need to look at. That’s the one you need to follow. Who is pursuing the right desires? And Paul says, that is so critical. Find people who do that, and then find them and get them as close to you as possible. Paul’s writing a letter and says, join imitating me, but he says, that’s going to be too distant. You don’t see me day to day. Keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you’ve seen in me. You saw me once, but I’m not with you. Find people right there with you to walk in your life and show you what it means to pursue Christ. This is what Paul says you need to do. How do you craft a heart for it? You need to see people who do it and then follow them.

And then he ends with one other instruction, verse 1. So this can be a hard sermon and I think Paul knows that this is a hard section of his letter. And why do I say that? Because look at all of his affection as he closes it out. Verse 1. All of these words of affection. Paul says, look, you have areas you need to grow. You’re not perfect. I’m not perfect. But you need to know that I’m saying this because I love you, not because I have a bunch of things to correct about you. And then he explains why. Stand firm thus in the Lord. Why do I have to press in on this so hard? Why do I have to put you in an uncomfortable spot? Because this is what it means to stand firm in the Lord.

When my wife is struggling through morning sickness, she feels nausea. Or when she especially will get sick and then just feel like, I can’t eat or I can’t drink anything. And then she has to tell herself, that food looks horrible, but I have to eat it.

Why? Because if you don’t, it’s just going to get worse. You’re going to end up in the hospital, right? The nausea is just going to grow until you actually eat the food, until you actually take a drink. You’re dehydrated, and that’s why your body is trying to throw it up. But you need to drink more water so you don’t get dehydrated. And if you focus on, I just don’t want to throw up, well, you’re looking at the wrong thing. You want to live. You want to get rid of the nausea, so take a drink. You need to eat some food.

You’re focusing on the suffering, but what you need is Christ. Look at the eyes of Christ and pursue Him, and the suffering becomes less important. And that’s what he’s saying in verse one. Look, I love you. I care for you. And this is why I’m saying, saying something that’s going to put you through suffering, because this is how you stand firm in the Lord.

Everything else you do in this life is going to fade away and be worth nothing. If you haven’t already realized that, then you should. It will be worth nothing and you will count it as loss. But it doesn’t matter if you see Christ for all of his beauty. If you see Christ, the rest doesn’t matter.

Let’s pray that the Lord shows us Christ and encourages us to stand firm in him. Lord, we come to you and we pray that you would show us Christ, that you would be changing our desires to be utterly devoted. For those of us who are mature, would you open our hearts to us and show us where we are struggling? where we are holding back and not desiring all of Christ, where we want to change what Christ is asking of us. For those of us who are immature, may you just help us to see the glory of Christ. the beauty of Christ, see our redemption and the great sacrifice he has given to us, that we may be saved at great cost to him and him alone. Lord, I pray that you would help us to stand firm in you, that you would not lose any that are yours, and that you would bring many to redemption. May the gates of heaven be full. May we be singing Christ’s praises. May we long to see his face, to know him as he is, and to rejoice in him for all eternity. Pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.