Life is a process of losing everything.

Steve Brown:
Life is a process of losing everything. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
If you’re sick of guilt and manipulation, and if you’re looking for an honest and thoughtful presentation of Biblical truth, you’ve come to the right place. This is Key Life, with the founder of Key Life Network, Steve Brown. Keep listening for teaching that will make you free.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. We’re looking at some lies that Paul brings to the forefront of this third chapter of Philippians. And we’re looking through the eleventh or twelfth verse of the third chapter of Philippians. And we’re looking at some of the lies to which he makes reference, and we’ve seen that with the great gift that Christians have been given is the gift of truth. And we saw the first lie that you can find in this text is that you find joy in what you acquire. In the first verse of the third chapter, Paul says.

Finally, rejoice in the Lord.

And then he goes on explaining why he found joy in Jesus Christ. And then verses 7 through 8.

But whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ my Lord.

Let me tell you something, maybe you haven’t thought about it, do you know what life is? It’s a process of losing everything. Somebody said to me, they were getting rid of all the sugar in their diet and all the cookies and all the candy and all the red meat. And they’re so proud of themselves. I said, you know what? At some point in your life, you’re going to be like a ship going down in the middle of the ocean and you won’t have a single thing to throw overboard. That’s true. Let me tell you something, things get taken away the older you get and you go through that process of realizing that no hearse will ever pull a U-Haul to the cemetery where you’re going to be buried. The apostle Paul knew that. And that’s the truth that is at the very heart of the Christian faith. What will last forever, your faith, your hope, your love, I Corinthians 13. All of that will last forever. And so, the lie you find joy in what you acquire is just that, a lie. Now, don’t misread what I’m saying. I’m not saying that acquisition is in itself wrong. I’m just saying that you can make acquisition of things bear a load of joy that it can’t carry. I was watching one of those religious programs the other day on television. And the preacher said, we’re going to take a break now, and when I come back, I’m going to pray for all of you who are looking for a house, but can’t afford it. God has the house for you if you exercise the right kind of faith. I thought, man, you missed it. You’re suggesting that houses and lands are a source of joy. That’s not true. This night thy soul is required of thee, and all these things, whose will they be? The lie is you find joy in what you acquire. The truth is you find joy in Christ. All right, let me give you a second lie. You find sorrow in what you lose, Philippians 3:8.

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For whose sake I have lost all things, I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

I spend a lot of time meeting a lot of people in places where I speak. Some of them are sad and some of them are happy, some of them are teetering on the brink and could go either way. But you know, the happiest man I met a couple of weeks ago, I had dinner with him and over the last year, he has been wiped out financially. He has lost everything and he acts pleased. And I said to him, You’ve lost almost everything, what are you laughing about? And he said, because I never lost Christ. My mentor asked Maxi German one time, Maxi German went through a horrible financial crisis and Fred said to him, Are you ever down when you think of all the money that you gave to Christian causes and to kingdom work? And I’ll never forget what Maxi said to Fred. Oh, no. He said, I didn’t lose that. That’s all that I’ve got left. You know, it’s hard when you lose stuff. It’s hard when you can’t acquire the things that you’ve had, and you have to sell some things that you have in order to survive. The Christians always come out on the other side of that because they have Christ and no power on earth can take that away from you. The lie, you find sorrow in what you lose. The truth is, you find joy in what you have left when you have lost everything. That’s what the apostle Paul is teaching. That’s important. The lie, you’re going to lose it all. The truth, never Jesus. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thank you Steve. Wow. Getting into some really meaty stuff here in the middle of Philippians chapter 3. Are you enjoying this as much as I am? I hope so. And I also hope you will join us again tomorrow. Well, hey, let me ask you something. Are you currently running away from God because he’s so big and scary? If so, I have some good news. God isn’t mad at his children. And if you’ll run back to him, you’ll find he doesn’t just love you. He kind of likes you too. That idea is at the heart of a message Steve gave on his Three Free Sins Book Tour. Take a listen to part of that message, then I’ll be back to tell you about a special free offer. Here’s Steve.

Steve Brown:
One of the things you need to know about the 23rd chapter of Matthew is that it reflects the problem with the church and with those of us as individuals. And Jesus is really harsh in this passage. The thing that you need to know is that the Pharisees and the Scribes, particularly the Pharisees, are the closest to us, as you’ll find in the New Testament. They were evangelical Jews. They believed in verbal plenary inspiration. They believed in miracles. They believed in eternal life. They believed in angels. So, if you’re looking for a grouping in the New Testament, the most like us, it would be those of us who are traditional and orthodox and evangelical, because we’re like them. And that’s why when you read the 23rd chapter of Matthew, you wince, or I do, because he’s talking about people who really love God. You say, well, Steve, why is he so hard on them? He’s so hard on them because you don’t kick and beat a dead horse, because we are the people where there’s hope. We’re the people with a message that would change the world, but somehow it’s gotten layered over and over and over until people can’t hear the radical nature of what we believe. I’ve been a Christian longer than many of you have been alive. And the hard thing about being a Christian for a long time is that the passages that ought to cause us to go, I can’t believe that! It can’t be that good! That cannot be true. We don’t see those anymore. We read them over, and we yawn. And that’s why Jesus was so upset in the 23rd chapter of Matthew. Let me read some of this to you.

Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat, whatever they tell you to observe that observe and do, but do not do according to their works. For they say, and they do not do. For they bind up heavy burdens.

After all that Jesus has done for you, if you loved Jesus, you would serve him better.

They bind up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men. Woe to you, Pharisees, whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside, filled with decay on the inside.

Now, I need to say that at the end of this very chapter is the place where Luke tells us Jesus looked out over Jerusalem and he weeps. And Matthew says.

Jesus says. “Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Oh, church. Oh, evangelical Bible believers. Oh, solid Christians. How often I would have gathered you as a mother hen would gather her chicks and you would not.”

Matthew Porter:
Mm. We would love to send you that full talk on CD for free, so call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to order that CD. Or to mail your request by go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses to the U.S. and Canada. Again, just ask for your free copy of the Three Free Sins CD. And finally, if you’re blessed by the work of Key Life, would you help share that blessing with others through your financial support? Giving is easy. Just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can now give safely and securely through text. Just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one word or two. It doesn’t matter. Just text that to 28950, then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.