LOSS IS GAIN
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Paul considers all things he once valued as loss compared to knowing Christ. He suffered the loss of all things in order to gain Christ. Paul counted them as rubbish so that he could gain Christ. While cultural preferences do not need to be abandoned, a believer's identity and status come from being a son or daughter of God, not from cultural identifications. Loss is gain for those who know Christ.
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LOSS IS GAIN
- 3. CULTURE IS SOMETHING THAT IS LEARNED IN QUIET WAYS, BUT, OVERTIME, IT BECOMES THE LOUDEST THING ABOUT OURSELVES.
- 4. PAUL ALWAYS POINTS BACK TO JESUS AND SO SHOULD WE.
- 5. JESUS IS THE MEANS AND THE END OF SALVATION.
- 6. “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” - PHILIPPIANS 3:8 ESV
- 7. WHAT EXACTLY IS THAT EVERYTHING THAT PAUL COUNTS AS LOSS? WHAT IS IT THAT HE IS SEEMINGLY AND JOYFULLY LAYING ASIDE FOR THE SAKE OF KNOWING CHRIST? AND, A PROBABLY MORE IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR US WOULD BE, WHY DOES IT EVEN MATTER?
- 8. WE DO NOT BECOME ANY LESS ( ) BY BECOMING A BELIEVER OR FOLLOWER OF CHRIST.
- 9. WHILE WE DO NOT HAVE TO ABANDON OUR CULTURAL PREFERENCES, WE NO LONGER ARE IDENTIFIED BY THEM. OUR STATUS HAS BEEN CHANGED. WE ARE NOW SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD MOST HIGH.
- 10. LOSS IS GAIN.
Editor's Notes
- *this can be good or bad. We can be treated like a friend or we can be treated like an enemy. My earliest encounter with culture came when I visited a non-Puerto Rican home for the very first time. Until that point, I assumed everybody lived like us, cooked like us, and if I’m honest I assumed everybody was us (ethno-centricity). Then I walked into a friend’s apartment and it smelled different. I was immediately aware of all the ways in which the smells of the food being cooked made these folks different. Then, once the shock of smell wore off, I started to look around and I noticed that the pictures, the art, the little statues (the figuritas) were different, but somehow, they felt familiar. There seemed to be some of me in how this family chose to represent themselves. It was different, but it wasn’t bad. Just different. Culture messes with us because culture is an all out attack on our senses. It is never nonsense because all of our senses are fully engaged all the time. We can taste culture (food and drink). We can see culture (artistic expression, colors). We can hear culture (the music, the decibel level). We can smell culture (the seasoning of our food or the fragrances we use on our bodies). We can touch culture (the texture of our clothing, our hair). But, for all the ways that our distinct cultures engage our senses, the one thing they can not do is define our heart. Why? Maybe its because the heart doesn’t deal with the senses. It occupies its space on the inside, where only God has access. Appearance is insignificant in comparison to God’s redemptive work going on inside of us. This is a weighty word for us. God’s work is beautiful whether we can see it or not.
- We all, outwardly, express ourselves differently because we are outwardly different. But, inwardly, we all hurt the same, because the issue is always inwardly the same. The remedy, the medicine, for all of us regardless of our cultural preferences is also always the same. Jesus is our medicine. This is why he tells us to worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24) because our cultural identity is beautiful and it should be celebrated but it doesn’t save anyone. So, that is why we preach Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23). Paul understood what Jesus was getting at with this whole spirit and truth thing. That’s why he always brings it back to Christ. So should we.
- He is both the vehicle and the destination. He is how we get to where our good Father wants to take us.
- •Sharing God's goodness, His grace, should open us up to doing more of it. v.1 •We should always be on mindful of what's going on around us. v.2 •The Holy Spirit won't allow us to trust or rest in/on our own abilities. But, we work within our God given abilities (gifts). v.3 •Paul's resume, his accomplishments. vv.4-6 •The reason we rejoice. vv.7-8 •God's grace alone grants faith and repentance. v.9 •As Jesus goes, we go. This is the goal of every follower of Christ. vv.10-11
- It’s that sense of self worth that comes attached to each one of us simply by being born into our respective ethnic cultural mores and norms.
- Well, because in God’s kingdom, a kingdom where the poor in spirit possess the kingdom, where mourners are comforted, where the meek gain an inheritance that puts all others to rest, where the hungry and thirsty for the word are forever satisfied, where those who know mercy will receive mercy, where those who seek peace are given a change of status, that kingdom teaches us that loss is gain. So, why does counting it all as loss even matter to you and I? Well, because our man made cultures are always superseded by the culture of the Kingdom. And, while we do not have to abandon our cultural preferences, we no longer are identified by them. Our status has been changed. We are now sons and daughters of God Most High. And that change of status was not earned by our observance of cultural practices. It was purchased for us. Jesus made it happen.