Flash back to a few days ago, when you were pouring over the Black Friday ads. Walmart. Target. Best Buy. Kohl's. JC Penny's. You were searching for that one thing you couldn't live without. Something worth getting up before sunrise to purchase. Something worth braving the cold, tolerating the traffic, standing in line to possess.
Okay, moment of confession. How many of you got up at the crack of dawn Black Friday to shop? How many of you just stayed home? How many of you did all your shopping online instead? How many of you are holding off until the day before Christmas? How many of you did all your shopping on Thanksgiving? May the Lord have mercy upon your souls! {joking}
We humans sure love a good deal. We've made Black Friday a bigger holiday than Thanksgiving itself. So what is it you most want? Saturday, I was standing in line waiting to order coffee, when a lady in front of me was asked, "What do you want?" Under her breath she muttered, "About 1200 dollars. A car that drives."
At the Morrissette Thanksgiving, people were hoping to get Legos, a big screen TV, and a laptop computer... and that was just the adults! In Ferguson, people are asking for justice. In the Middle East, people are asking for an end to violence, and for peace. This Christmas, some of you are praying for a loved one's health, for a stable job, or for a relationship to be healed.
In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus said "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it."
We all set our affection on things--yes, even this Preacher. We imagine that if only we could gain this treasure, or that pearl... we'd be satisfied. The question is, what's your treasure? What's your pearl? For what or who would you sell everything?
Now I doubt many people are thinking, "Jesus... he's my treasure... he's the pearl... If only I had Jesus, he would be enough." But this is the exact thing the Apostle Paul... sitting in prison... stripped of every material thing... cut off from family... having little more than the basic necessities of food/water... would have us consider. What is that one treasure we'd hang unto whether in life, or in death?
In Philippians 1:21 Paul says, "For to me, to live is Christ and die is gain." In Philippians 3:8 he says, "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 might gain Christ and be found in him. . ." [garbage=dung]
Just what is our treasure? What is our pearl? And what's garbage? You can do without garbage. Life's better w/o garbage! But can't stand living without treasure.
Let me share four reasons why, for me, gaining Christ is everything.
Why gain Christ? We can't live without his purpose.
When Paul writes, "For me to live is Christ..." When he writes, "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ..." When he writes, "It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him..." When he writes, "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling..." When he reminds the Philippians, "for is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose..." He is highlighting something central to life that few people grasp.
We are to be like stars in the sky, shining in a darkened universe. No matter how warped or crooked our generation. No matter what circumstances we descend into. No matter who is elected to power or hole we get thrown into. No matter whether our health takes a turn for the worse or for the better. No matter what is motivating people around us, for better or for worse.
We can keep moving forward without grumbling or arguing... we can keep on rejoicing and being glad... we can keep on running and laboring and striving... we can keep on pouring ourselves out as living sacrifices... because God has a purpose in everything that is happening to us. The God of the Universe, who began a good work in us, will "carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." The God of Universe is working in us "to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose"!
By God's grace, at an early age, I resolved that God's purpose and plan for my life would be infinitely greater than whatever purpose or plan I'd try to carve out for myself. What about you? Have you gained a sense of purpose? God's purpose is what satisfies us and gives us joy. For the joy set before him, Christ endured even the cross, even suffering and death... he endured because he knew and trusted God's purpose! Why gain Christ? Because we gain a definite sense of purpose.
Why gain Christ? We can't live without his righteousness.
Listen to what Paul says in Philippians 3:7-9, "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 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 might gain Christ 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."
Friends, there is the righteousness we try to fashion for ourselves. But then there is the righteousness that God fashions for us, and makes available to us, through faith in Christ. One type of righteousness gets us into heaven, but the other doesn't even get us to the pearly gates.
Imagine for a moment you a bride or a groom, about to be married at the altar. You wouldn't dream of appearing before the altar without proper wedding garments. Likewise, you wouldn't dream of appearing before God without the proper attire. Christ's righteousness is the only proper attire for anyone wanting to be acceptable before a holy God.
In Isaiah 61:10-11 Isaiah says, "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations."
Apart from Christ, we spend all your energy trying to manufacture your own righteousness. But no matter how hard you try to be good, you're never good enough. So long as you're trying to make yourself righteous, you'll always have blots and blemishes and fatal flaws. You'll always fall short. You'll always be justifying your bad behavior based on your good intentions. But when you gain Christ, God washes you, and forgives you, and clothes you with his Christ's righteousness. You no longer have to justify yourself to God, or to others, or your accuser... Christ's righteousness justifies you. Christ's righteousness covers your sin and shame.
For those of you into fashion, Christ's righteousness is the ultimate and essential accessory for attending Christ's wedding banquet on the last day. Christ's brand of righteousness is the only brand acceptable to the Living God. Not only is it important that you are properly clothed in Christ's righteousness, but that your whole family, friends, everyone be clothed! To gain Christ is to gain his righteousness!
Why gain Christ? We can't live without his power.
A couple of verses in Philippians speak of God's power. In Philippians 3:10-11, Paul says, "I want to know Christ--yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."
Then in Philippians 3:20-21, "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."
We all know the power of sin. We've all been deeply affected by our sin, and by the sins committed against us. We know how hard it is to stop sin, and be set free from sin's power. We know and experience the power of death. Every year, another birthday. Every year, our bodies waste away just a little more.
We also know the power of the human spirit. We know what incredible pain, hardships, and injustices people can endure. We know the extremes to which human beings exert their energy to fight poverty, illiteracy, disease, evil and injustice, and the spiritual and moral bankruptcy of our times. But we also know our human spirit isn't strong enough to overcome the power of sin and death!
One of my favorite shows is A Football Life. Talk about men with an indomitable human spirit--men who accomplished extraordinary feats in their prime! But every story ends the same. The human spirit cannot conquer neither sin nor death.
But for those who gain Christ, there is real power available. God gives us power over sin. The longstanding patterns of sin get broken. We get set free from the chains that held us in bondage and fear. God works in us to will and to act according to his good purpose. God doesn't just clothe us with the righteousness of his Son, he fills us with the fruit of Christ's righteousness.
Second, God gives us power over death itself. Though we may die, yet shall we live. The same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead raises us to new life. Christ transforms our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body. Romans 8:11 says, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."
Our basis for hope isn't rooted in fanciful thinking. Christ really died. He really was buried. He really was raised from the dead. He really sent his Spirit unto all who believe. His Spirit really is at work, changing us from the inside-out, breaking sin's power. The Spirit of Christ really does give life to our mortal bodies. In the Football life, your best is behind you. In the Christian life, God's best is still ahead of you! But apart from Christ? No such power over sin and death is available.
Why gain Christ? We can't live without his presence/peace.
Philippians 4:4-7, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
When we gain Christ, we gain nothing less than the presence of the Living God. God's presence is most fully experienced through our prayers and petitions. As we depend upon God in both the little things and big things, God demonstrates his love and faithfulness to us. Even when we don't fully understand how God is working in our exact circumstances, he still grants us a peace that "transcends all understanding."
For the Christian, joy isn't based on "what" you know, but rather "who" you know. Joy isn't having all the answers, it's having confidence in Him who does. With God being both near and in control, we don't have to be reactive and fearful. We can approach things calmly, gently, without complaining and grumbling, even with a sense of joyful expectation. Instead of having anxiety, we can enjoy a sense of peace. Before we know the exact way God will answer our prayers, we can preemptively engage in thanksgiving!
The next time you're filling anxious pray, "Thank you God, I don't know how it will work out, but I know you are near, I know you are in control, and I have confidence that even now you are at work in all that happening."
Sometime this week read Philippians. Read 2 Corinthians. Ask yourself, why didn't the apostle Paul lost his sanity? The only possible explanation is that he was sustained by the presence and peace of Christ himself.
Flash back to a few days ago. It was Black Friday. You were surrounded by mobs of people, chasing after their treasure, chasing after a pearl. Most of the people we know don't have a clue what it means to gain Christ. They don't have a sense of meaning and purpose. They don't know what it means to be clothed with Christ's righteousness. They don't know God's power over sin and death. They don't know God's presence or peace. As important as it is for each of us to gain Christ, we have to help those we love gain Christ too. Let me say this... if you believe Hope Changes Everything... will you invite your friends to worship? Next week we begin a new series that unpacks the true meaning of Christmas.
Now, as we prepare for communion, flash back nearly 2000 years ago, to a different black Friday. There Christ hung, on that cross, offering his life for the sins of the world. His body badly broken, his blood poured out for your sins and mine, and for all who might believe on him and receive him.
Which Black Friday most defines your existence?
The one where you're the consumer, chasing ads, filling your shopping cart, while feeling more and more empty? Or the one where Christ Jesus consecrated himself to God, and invites us to set our lives apart as well? As you take communion, consider what it means to have gained Christ. But also consider how vital a mission it is, that we help others gain Christ as well.