Philippians 3
Message Summary: Knowing God and the power of God comes through being like Christ. Paul’s message is to encourage us to have the heart of a servant. We are not to just represent Christ in this world but to imitate Him. Jesus is calling us to be an extension of Him. Through knowing God and serving others, we find the true value in life and our true identity in Christ. Nothing can compare to knowing Jesus. We should focus on the same things Jesus focused upon, such as God’s love, love for others and to serve others.
It’s not about being perfect because only Jesus was perfect. It’s about having a heart like Jesus and making progress on this goal. When we get our focus away from ourselves to serve others, we will be making progress toward this goal and feel closer to God. Focus on your own progress and let God make it plain to others about their progress. Keep God as your main focus, and remember we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven where Lord Jesus is King.
- Who’s the role model that you are following in your life?
- How has your goal been based on either perfection or progress in your Christian walk?
- How can you feel closer to God?
Philippians 3:7-14 – But what things were gain to me, I have counted these things to be loss for the sake of Christ. Yes, certainly, I count everything as loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus my Lord, for whom I have forfeited the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Jesus, and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Jesus, the righteousness which is of God on the basis of faith, to know Him, and the power of resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if somehow I might make it to the resurrection of the dead.
Not that I have already attained or have already been perfected, but I follow after it so that I may lay hold of that for which I was seized by Jesus Christ. Brothers, I do not count myself to have attained, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ.
Philippians 3:20 – But our citizenship is in heaven, from where also we await for our Savior, Lord Jesus the Messiah