{"id":3420,"date":"2013-03-24T18:57:18","date_gmt":"2013-03-24T23:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/?p=3420"},"modified":"2013-10-01T08:53:39","modified_gmt":"2013-10-01T13:53:39","slug":"what-we-value-most-031713-sermon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/2013\/03\/what-we-value-most-031713-sermon\/","title":{"rendered":"What We Value Most…(03\/17\/13 Sermon)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Philippians 3:4b-14<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4\u00a0 If anyone else has reason to be confident in
\nthe flesh, I have more:\u00a0 5 circumcised on
\nthe eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a
\nHebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;\u00a0 6\u00a0 as
\nto zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law,
\nblameless.\u00a0 7\u00a0 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come
\nto regard as loss because of Christ.\u00a0 8
\nMore than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of
\nknowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all
\nthings, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ\u00a0\u00a09 and be found in him,<\/p>\n

not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through
\nfaith in Christ,\u00a0 the righteousness from God based on faith.<\/p>\n

10\u00a0 I want to know Christ\u00a0 and the power of his resurrection and the
\nsharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death,\u00a0 11\u00a0 if
\nsomehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.\u00a0 12\u00a0 Not
\nthat I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal;<\/p>\n

but I press on to make it my own, because
\nChrist Jesus has made me his own.
\n13\u00a0 Beloved,\u00a0 I do not consider that I have made it my
\nown;\u00a0 but this one thing I do: forgetting
\nwhat lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,<\/p>\n

14\u00a0 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly\u00a0 call of God in Christ Jesus.
\nThere was a Scotsman whose wife became ill. At first
\nit did not seem like anything serious. However, as time went on, she became
\nworse with each passing day. When she got really sick, she asked her husband if
\nshe could have some help. Could they get word to the doctor or could he go into
\ntown and at least get some medicine for her? Each time she asked her husband,
\nhe would tell her to wait a little longer to see if perhaps she would get
\nbetter on her own. At the root of the problem was the fact that he just did not
\nwant to give up any of his precious money. His money was of more value to him
\nthan even his wife\u2019s health and well-being.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finally, after many days of her being sick, even the
\nhusband began to worry about her condition. He decided that it was time for him
\nto make a trip into town and purchase the medicine that might help his wife get
\nwell. As he prepared to leave for town, he said to his wife, \u201cI\u2019ve put a candle
\nin the window, and I will be walking backwards to the apothecary shop. If you
\nshould feel yourself starting to die, would you mind blowing out the candle?\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you value the most in your life? A recent poll reveals that many Americans value
\n\u201ctime\u201d first, with \u201ccareer,\u201d \u201csuccess,\u201d and \u201cmoney\u201d coming in as close seconds.
\nDo you agree with that? What we value most demonstrate how we spend our time
\nand resources. What we value most defines ourselves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, now I ask you, \u201cWhat do you value most?\u201d and
\n\u201cWhat is your defining story?\u201d Let us take a look at today\u2019s text. In this
\ntext, we can see what Paul did value most in his life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paul confessed that he had spent all his time and
\nresources pursuing and persecuting Christians. This was the sign of devouted
\nPharisees. His goal was to be righteous under the Law. He illustrates his life
\nin today\u2019s text. There are seven advantages he could claim. The first four advantages
\nare inherited, which was pretty important for success in his time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

First of all, he was circumcised on the eighth
\nday which means that he was a full member of God\u2019s covenant people. Secondly, he
\nis a member of the people of Israel, by birth with all the rights and
\nprivileges that adhere. Thirdly, he hails from the tribe of Benjamin. Fourthly,
\nhe is a Hebrew born of Hebrews which means the son of Hebrew parents without
\nGentile contamination.<\/p>\n

The last three are his achievements.<\/p>\n

Fifthly, he is a Pharisee of Pharisees who practices strict observance of the law.<\/p>\n

Sixthly, he is a persecutor of the church as to zeal. Seventhly, he is righteous under the law, blameless according to an interpretation
\nof the law by Pharisees.<\/p>\n

These seven features of Paul define who Paul was
\nbefore he, as Saul not as Paul, met Jesus. Before his name was changed to Paul,
\nSaul was never a follower of Jesus. As Saul travels to Damascus, he experiences
\nthe divine presence: a light from heaven flashing around him and a voice
\naddressing him. Saul and his traveling companions see the light, but Saul sees
\nmore: the risen Lord Jesus. So overwhelming is the sight that Saul falls to the
\nground.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then, a voice asks, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute
\nme? After this confrontation with Christ, his whole spiritual world will be
\nturned upside down.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After his conversion, he spent all his time and
\nresources pursuing Christ. His career success and the seven advantages are
\nregarded as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ. His change
\nof course demonstrates what he values most and who he really is.
\nPaul is confident that the seven features of his
\nlife belong to the flesh and that his life as a Christian is directed by the
\nSpirit of God and not the flesh. He contrasts his old mindset and actions with
\nnew ones by using the words such as \u201cgain\u201d and \u201closs.\u201d That is, he understands
\nall his external advantages as \u201closs\u201d and counts knowing Christ as \u201cgain.\u201d In
\nverse 10, he speaks about giving up all rights and privileges for the sake of
\nknowing Christ.
\nPaul values knowing Christ as primary in his life
\nand wants to be found in Christ. It is largely because he wants to be righteous
\nbefore God. He contrasts two kinds of righteousness, \u201chaving a righteousness of
\nmy own that comes from the law\u201d versus \u201cone that comes through faith in
\nChrist.\u201d He chose the latter righteousness for his entire life.
\nIn light of Paul\u2019s life, we need to reflect on what
\nwe value most as individuals and as a church community. Perhaps we could value
\ncertain inherited qualities or achievements as \u201cgains.\u201d Lent is a time to
\nreflect on our achievements in our lives and re-examine to see if they are
\n\u201cgains\u201d or \u201closs.\u201d Also,\u00a0\u00a0 Lent is a time
\nfor struggling to know Christ and to belong to Christ. And then, lent is a time
\nfor examining our lives and our faith, so that we can deepen our reliance upon
\nJesus Christ.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s life is a very practical guide for this
\nLenten season. Not only does he want to know Christ, but also he wants to be in
\nChrist. Through this story, we can see that Paul is a person who follows Christ
\nin word and deed. \u201cWord and Deed!\u201d<\/strong>
\nI am going to give you an enigmatic question. It was
\na sunny day. There were three frogs on a riverside. Suddenly, one of the frogs
\nstood up and firmly said, \u201cIt is too hot. I am going to hop into the water.\u201d The
\nothers just gave a nod.
\nNow, how many frogs remained at the riverside. This question
\nis too easy. Right? You can say \u201ctwo.\u201d But the answer is \u201cthree.\u201d Do you know
\nwhy? It is because the resolution in mind to hop into the water is totally
\ndifferent from the practice. That is, the frog had a resolution but failed to
\npractice. So there are still three frogs on the riverside.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You know NATO which is North Atlantic Treaty Organization.<\/p>\n

Many critics express NATO in a different way. No Action Talk Only.<\/p>\n

There are many reasons why they criticize NATO like
\nthat. They want action not word. \u201cNo Action Talk Only\u201d is not the way for
\nChristians to engage. The Christian way is \u201cWord and Deed.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let us wrap up this sermon. In two weeks, it will be
\nEaster, when we celebrate Christ\u2019s resurrection from the dead. I though Lent is
\na pretty long season but already five weeks have gone by. I ask you, \u201cHave you
\nbeen struggling to know Christ and to belong to Christ? Have you been in the
\nprocess of examining your faith and life before God?\u201d Only two weeks remain. I
\npray that all of us engage in reflecting on our lives and in examining our
\nvalues before God. And I pray that all of us humbly try to follow Christ both
\nin word and deed, so we can joyfully face the resurrected Christ in two weeks.
\nPaul who values Christ most said, \u201cForgetting what lies behind and straining forward
\nto what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly
\ncall of God in Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let us pray.<\/p>\n

Loving God, in Christ you have shown us compassion,
\naccepted us unconditionally, and given us a new set of values to embrace. Help
\nus to live in accordance with your will and aspire to be Christ-like in our
\nrelationships. Empower us to be able to follow Christ in word and deed in this
\ngraceful Lenten season so we can joyfully face our Lord. In the name of Jesus
\nChrist, we pray. Amen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Philippians 3:4b-14   4\u00a0 If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more:\u00a0 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;\u00a0 6\u00a0 as to zeal, a persecutor of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-worship-and-teaching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3420"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4011,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3420\/revisions\/4011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilmarkchurch.org\/service\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}