Vision of Hope
SPOR The Spiritual Life is Not a Theory

  • Aspiring to New Life

    Good morning brothers and sisters in Christ. Here we are, almost two weeks into the New Year. I am really looking forward to what God has in store for us this year.
    As we continue early into the year, I thought “What better time than to talk about Aspiring to New Life.” We have new life everyday in Christ Jesus. We should aspire to be more like Jesus every single day of our lives. It should never stop.
    Every circumstance, every decision, and every situation is an opportunity for Christian growth.
    It is important that our theologies, our thoughts about God, are directed by the Word of God; Not by the world, not by someone else’s opinion, and certainly not by our feelings and opinions.
    We are going to look at Philippians 3:7-9 this morning. These verses are about as close as you can get to the Apostle Paul’s theology. Let’s look at Philippians 3:7.
    Philippians 3:7 NIV
    7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
    Here is where the Apostle Paul is comparing his “pre-Christian” life to his life with Christ. His worldly gains before coming to Christ. He is talking about some of the very thing so many of us still struggle with at times today!
    We will gauge our worth, our success, and our value on what we gain in this world. How big our house is, how much power we have, how nice our car is, how much money we have in the bank, or what kind of job we have.
    We fall back into the trap at times of measuring our success by worldly standards rather than God’s Word. When we compare our worth to what the worldly standard is, we are falling into one of the greatest lies ever perpetrated by the enemy.
    We start to believe that our self-worth is the sum of our performance and other people’s opinions about us. I fell hard into this trap recently. It may sound silly to some of you, but I am going to tell you what happened.
    I started getting emails from the folks who handle the school systems retirement account. Checklists and resources to help prepare people. So, I started exploring what retirement is going to look like for me.
    When I looked at what they said I will need to retire, and what I have in my retirement accounts, I will be able to retire for about two months. It was very depressing to even look at. I mean, it really got to me. I started feeling hopeless. I found myself again focusing on worldly kingdoms instead of the Kingdom of God.
    According to the experts, I did not make the right decisions financially in my life to prepare for retirement or to even be able to retire. Without saying it, the experts are telling me that I failed. That I failed myself and I failed my family.
    Do you know what Carolyn and I were doing with our lives instead of saving for retirement? Helping people. Caring for people. Both of her parents lived with us, our children still live with us, entire families lived with us at times. People used to poke fun at us because of the number of people who have lived with us. Some of those people are here today.
    We were more focused on what the LORD would have us do in the moment than what the world says makes us successful. In the eyes of “the experts,” we failed.
    We did not fail in the eyes of God though. I think we were doing exactly what God wanted us to do to show the love of Christ to others. I am good with that worldly failure!
    What Paul considers “loss” is when we give up our own self-righteousness, our works, and our attempts to be perfect outside of Jesus. When we stop chasing what the world says is right, and chase after the heart of God.
    Are we gauging our success by our performance and other peoples opinions about us? Or, are we gauging our success by who God says we are and who God says we are to be?
    I would much rather have what the world considers “loss” and have “gains” in Christ than a “loss” of Christ and a “gain” in the world. I am not going to trade out my relationship with God for the worldly standard.
    Paul goes on in Philippians 3:8 to say
    Philippians 3:8 NIV
    8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ
    I love how this verse starts with “What is more.” Have you ever been talking to someone about something, and then you go next level? Kind of like “You know what, let me tell you something else!” That is how Paul is stating this.
    He is not sitting there, all bummed out, saying “Man, I LOST EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF JESUS!” Paul is celebrating! He is saying “You know what, my former life, my life outside of Christ, IT WAS GARBAGE!!”
    Paul is saying that Jesus made an exchange with him! And Paul got the better end of the deal! Jesus took the trash out! I pray that prayer! “Jesus, remove the garbage that festers in me!” Pray that prayer!
    When Paul says “for the sake of Christ,” he is not saying Christ needs him, but that we become the beneficiaries of Christ. We need Christ every moment of everyday. Jesus took out an eternal life insurance policy that HE NAMED YOU the beneficiary on, and only He could do it!
    Aspiring to new life in Christ is not a one-and-done event. When we seek after Christ, it is a continuous action. We do it daily. It is a life long event. We seek after Christ because knowing Him is far more valuable than anything this world offers.
    Paul gave up politics, wealth, power, prestige, and he was disowned by his family.
    Paul had to accept that God alone provides the path to righteousness, through Christ. Nothing else, and no-one else. Jesus is the only way to the Father.
    Some of us, at times, think that if we work hard enough, God will love us. If we are good enough, God will accept us. THAT IS BAD THEOLOGY.
    Your level of education, your material belongings, your position at work, how much money you have or do not have, how many friends you have, and your feelings do not secure your place in the Kingdom of Glory.
    Only through salvation in Christ does God see you as perfect and righteous. That is the gain that the Apostle is talking about here. A gain I pray that everybody here and online has experienced.
    The Apostle lays out why righteousness has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Jesus in Philippians 3:9.
    Philippians 3:9 NIV
    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 on the basis of faith.
    “And be found in Him, in Christ.” This statement is the heart of Paul’s theology. We are either in “Adam (man),” in this world, or we are in Christ. We are either living worldly, or we are living as children of the Kingdom. We are either in union with Christ, or we are in union with the world. It will always be one or the other. There is no grey area.
    Christian righteousness does not depend on you or me. Now, we are to live as children of God, followers of Christ, but in scripture, righteousness is more of a legal term than a moral term.
    With Christian righteousness, it does not matter what you or I have to say, it matters what The JUDGE has to say, what God has to say. For those saved through Christ Jesus, Yahweh calls you righteous. There is no trial.
    ALL GLORY BE TO GOD that His verdict does not depend on the moral realities of my life. Could you imagine if God’s verdict, on your life, depended on the moral reality of your life? We would all be doomed to hell.
    Paul’s hope was not in his faithfulness to the law and certainly not in the world's opinion. His hope was in the faithfulness of Christ to him.
    As faithful as you are or I think we are, Jesus is perfectly faithful to you and to me. Think about that. JESUS HAS UNWAVERING FAITHFULNESS TO YOU.
    Our hope cannot be in our job, our government, politicians, pastors, wives, husbands, friends, or children. We have to stay in union with Jesus first and foremost. We will start to lose our hope when we break our union with Jesus Christ.
    When we lose hope, it opens the door to worry, depression, and even suicidal ideation. These things are nothing new. Some of the terms we use may be, but look at what the Psalmist, David, said in Psalm 143:4:
    Psalm 143:4 NLT
    4 I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.
    “Losing all hope.” Man I can relate to David here. Anybody else? Look at what he says just a few verses later in Psalm 143:7:
    Psalm 143:7 NLT
    7 Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don’t turn away from me, or I will die.
    Wow! Whenever David focused on the things of this world, his focus came off of God. When he broke that union with the LORD, he started feeling miserable. I have been there several times. Lost in the darkness, and begging the LORD not to abandon me. We do not need to beg! God is a good Father and He does not abandon His children.
    Charles Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers to ever live, said this in a sermon, about himself:
    “I am the subject of depression so fearful that I hope none of you ever get to such extremes of wretchedness as I go to. But I always get back again by this-I know that I trust Christ. I have no reliance but in Him, and if He falls, I shall fall with Him. But if He does not, I shall not. Because He lives, I shall live also, and I spring to my legs again and fight with my depression of spirit and get victory through it. And so may you do, and so you must, for there is no other way of escaping from it.”
    You will not find true hope or peace in this world, another human being, or your belongings. The only escape we have is in and through Jesus Christ.
    Jesus acknowledges the weight of our troubles, whether they are physical or emotional. Remember, Jesus experienced all of the same afflictions we do and much more. But He promised us in Matthew 11:28-30:
    Matthew 11:28–30 NLT
    28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
    That is His promise to you and to me this morning. You will not find true hope or peace in this world, another human being, or your belongings. Aspiring to new life in Christ means that we exchange ALL OF THE GARBAGE for His yolk and His burden.
    I know who goes before me, and He does not get lost. I personally know the one who came down from that cross, and He lives. I know the only peace and security any one of us has is through Christ our King!
    The Apostle Paul goes on to tell us in Philippians 3:12
    Philippians 3:12 NIV
    12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
    I love this. Paul is speaking in the present tense. Right now! Christ got a hold of him, and he is not turning back! Paul’s desire is to achieve what God has in store for him.
    Has Christ Jesus taken hold of you? Are you struggling to hold on to Him? It’s okay, because He is not letting go of you. Hold on a little tighter.
    You may not think it, you may not feel like it, but God has a divine purpose for your life. To fully realize His purpose, we must each have an active commitment to the call of Christ in our lives.
    Faith in Christ is not a sideline event. We do not sit around waiting for God to fix us. We bring everything we have to Him. We must “get up and walk.” We have to receive His gifts of grace.
    The Apostle Paul goes on to say in Philippians 3:13-14:
    Philippians 3:13–14 NIV
    13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
    As followers of Christ, we are to follow after the perfection of Christ. When Christ saved you, that was just the beginning, not the end. The Apostle Paul recognized that when Christ saves us, it is to live for Him and serve Him.
    The one thing I have learned over the years is the more I pursue Christ, the shorter the bouts of depression, anxiety, and anger become. I lean in to Him. I lean into you, because I can not do this alone. None of us can.
    Whatever it is you are facing this morning, lean into Christ, He is the faithful one. Lean on your brothers and sisters in the LORD. Jesus brought us together for that very reason.
    As the worship team makes their way up, let’s go into a short season of prayer. Ask the LORD to remove from you those things that are not of Him. Ask Holy Spirit to guide your heart, your steps, and your mind.
    If you would like to be prayed over this morning, come forward, we want to pray with you and for you. If you need to let go of something, the LORD is waiting for you to leave your burdens with Him.
    Do not leave here the same man or woman you were when you walked in. Aspire to new life in this moment. Know your value to Him and know His faithfulness to you.
    Prayer
  • Good Good Father

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      • Colossians 2:6NLT

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  • Gratitude
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