Jesus is Better than Everything Else For Me
Transcript
Good morning. How's 2018 treating you? This is the first time that I, today was the first time I did not mind the bridge being out at all and me having to drive a little more because I'm trying to get my carbon footprint up to get that global warming started back up. Because, man, it is not working right now. One of the things I love about the beginning of the year, this time of year, is just how much kind of collectively we all begin to look back and to look forward. So there's just this time of year, this kind of season, everybody just kind of, the year ends and everybody begins to look back at what was 2017 like, what was the last year like, how did it go, what was good, what was bad.
I mean, there's a lot of articles and things and news reports of the 10 best movies that happened, the five best this, the seven worst these, and then there's this consistent like looking forward into where are we going from here. And it's just this season of re-evaluating our lives, re-evaluating, re-deciding what has value, what matters, what is good, what's worth pursuing, what's worth changing so that we might gain what we truly desire. Desire. I know for me, usually the last couple months of the year, I'm not thinking ahead. I just, I'm not. I think in my head, it's like, it's like, I'll get it together in January.
I know for a fact, one of the indications of this for me was coffee cake. My mom makes a coffee cake that's, the bottom layer is like a half, like an inch of bisquick. And then the top layer is like an inch, inch and a half of brown sugar. That's pretty much what it is. You melt butter on the brown sugar to make it stick together, right? So it's like a stick of butter, brown sugar.
And so I would eat that at my parents' house. And I was like, you know, it's only Christmas once. So I ate like half of it. But I said it's only Christmas once. But I also made it at my house on Christmas Day.
And I also made the same thing to take to my group when we hung out. And I ate a pile of it. And it was like, that was kind of my mentality during the season. It's like, well, you know, I really value sweets. And I really value anything that I can just put in a bowl that's hot and put crackers in. And like dip a biscuit in.
So like, this is my season of just getting to eat piles of food out of a bowl. Like, I just really value that. And I would tell myself, you know, it's only Christmas once. But it was like the third Christmas party I'd been to that week where I was just eating carbohydrates. Or just drinking like two glasses of eggnog every night at 10 right before I went to sleep. And so now it's January.
And I'm like, you know what? Yes, eggnog is delicious. But I want to make it to like 60. Walking is good. Like, I just want to be able to like get it together enough to. And so there's just that kind of season.
And we're starting this year with three weeks of Jesus is better than everything else. Where we are just intentionally trying to reevaluate and re-remember what actually matters. What is actually good. What is actually worth pursuing. Reorient our hearts to Jesus. So if you'll grab your Bibles.
Go to Philippians chapter 3. It'll be on page 571. If you have one of the blue Bibles that's in the row. We'll be in Philippians chapter 3. And we'll be in this series for three weeks. And then we will pick back up in Ephesians.
And finish the back half of Ephesians. Kind of in the spring. We have that board that Matt Davis had. That says Jesus is better is right over there. And as we go through this series. It'll be over there.
If you want to write something. If you want to take a picture of yourself. If you want to remind yourself. Holding it like this is what he's better than for me. If that's personal. And you just want to put it on your refrigerator.
So that you see it every day. If you just want to make that the background of your phone. So that you see that every day. That you'll remember. Jesus is actually better than this thing. I'm tempted to pursue.
I'm tempted to love. If you want to share that. You can. You can put it on Instagram. Facebook. That's not really the point.
But if you want other people to know. What he's better than for you. You can do that. But it's intentionally reminding ourselves. That he is good. And he's worth pursuing.
So what we're going to do. Is we're going to read the first 11 verses of chapter 3. We'll talk a little bit about what Paul is saying. The point he's making. And then I just want to pull out a few things. That just kind of flow out of him.
As he makes this point. That I think are very helpful for us. That are core to Christianity. And core to our life with Jesus. So let's pray.
And then we'll read these verses together. God our hearts are deceitful. And they're cluttered. We're pulled in so many directions to go pursue and love other things more than you. And we are often tricked. By hooks that are baited with something that we desire.
But that ultimately lead us to destruction. And so we pray that for these three weeks. And for this time we have this morning. That you'd help us to remember that you truly are better than everything else. We love you and we praise you in Jesus name. Amen.
So today we're going to be talking about Jesus is better than everything else for me. For me personally. For you personally. That he's better than everything else for you. Next week we'll talk about Jesus is better than everything else for the people in our church family. For the people in my community group.
And then finally last week we'll talk about he's better than everything else for everyone else. That we would be intentional about seeing other people come to know the goodness of Jesus. Philippians 3 verse 1. Finally my brothers rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. So he starts off with finally.
He's wrapping this letter up and he says alright here's my last main point. Like I want this to be impressed in your head. Finally rejoice in the Lord. Verse 2. Look out for the dogs. Look out for the evildoers.
Look out for those who mutilate the flesh. That's weird. He's going to clarify. That seems like yeah okay. If there are dogs evildoers and flesh mutilators we probably should have our our eyes peeled. He has a specific group in mind.
He's about to tell him for we are the circumcision. Who worship by the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. So he had a specific group in mind when he said dogs evildoers and those who mutilate the flesh. He was talking. We figured this out when he says we are the circumcision. So what he's saying is circumcision was a sign that was given to the people of Israel.
It was given to Abraham and it became the covenant Mark of we're in. We belong. And then the law was given. And so they the circumcision began to be just the term they used for those who belong to Israel. Those who belong to the God of Israel and those who followed the law. Well Jesus comes along and Jesus says that he saves by grace.
Meaning that the law was only ever going to teach us how sinful we were. That God's moral rule was only ever going to teach us how pitiful we are. How far short we fall. And then there was a group of people that came along and said okay yes Jesus saves by grace. Yes Jesus was good on your behalf. But also you need to follow the Jewish law.
If you're non-Jewish you need to get circumcised. You need to begin to follow the law. And so what they were saying was it's Jesus certainly plus this other stuff. And so Paul says they're just mutilating the flesh. They're dogs. They're evildoers.
They're leading you away from Jesus. Rather than glorifying him and honoring him and saying that he's accomplished everything. That when he said on the cross it's finished he meant it. They're saying no you need Jesus plus this other stuff. And so Paul goes after it because it stands in the way of Jesus. It robs glory from the cross.
And that's why he says we're the circumcision. We're the true Israel. Those who glorify God and put no hope. No trust in the flesh. In our ability to accomplish this. That's what he's saying.
Four. Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh. I have more. He's disarming. Right now he's about to disarm one of the arguments that they would have come back with.
Which was of course you Christians say God saves by grace. And you don't have to follow the law. And the reason is y'all can't get it together. You can't follow the law. Of course you think basketball is stupid. You're uncoordinated.
You can't even dribble. Like that's what they would be following up with. And he just immediately is just knocking that down and saying no. If we wanted to boast in what you want to boast in. I'll win. I'll dunk on you.
I still think basketball is stupid. That's what he's saying. If anyone thinks he has confidence in the flesh. This is the back of verse four. I have more. As to zeal.
Circumcised on the eighth day. Of the people of Israel. Of the tribe of Benjamin. A Hebrew of Hebrews. As to the law. A Pharisee.
That's one of the most strict sects inside of Judaism. As to zeal. If you want to say I was a lazy Pharisee. Nuh-uh. As to zeal. A persecutor of the church.
When I found out about this Jesus that you're trying to get in the way of. I started killing people. That's how into being a Pharisee and the law I was. As to righteousness under the law. Blameless. But.
Whatever gain I had. I counted as loss. For the sake of Christ. 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. Now. I want to tell you one quick thing about Bible translation. Sometimes the Bible uses words.
That good Christian Bible translators aren't comfortable with. Because you know like kids read this. And people tell you like you should. That word rubbish. We don't use the word rubbish. If you're from Australia you might.
But we don't use the word rubbish. You might would say garbage. The word is scubula. Which better translates to crap. Or a less. Appropriate version of that.
A word I'm not really allowed to say from up here. Because people get upset. That. Um. So he just used a really strong word.
The Bible translators hit and go. What's a word that's kind of like that. But that doesn't make our Bible be the one that cusses. And they went with rubbish. Paul used strong language. Because he was making a strong point.
And some of you are like. Do you hear that honey? That's all I'm doing. No. He doesn't do it all the time. Um.
Count them as rubbish. In order 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 comes through faith in Christ.
The righteousness that's from God. That depends on faith. That I may know him. And the power of his resurrection. And may share his sufferings. Becoming like him in his death.
That by any means possible. I may attain the resurrection from the dead. So what Paul just said. Is that anything that stands in the way of Jesus. Is garbage. That he even would look back on his life.
And the things that he devoted himself to. The things that he poured himself into. That he was zealous for. That he would fight for. Very literally. That once he realized those stood in the way of Jesus.
That they gave glory to him. That they stole glory from Jesus. That anything that would stand in the way. And rob value and worth from Jesus. Because what the law did for Paul. And what the law did for these people when they came in.
And that's why Paul was arguing. Was that the law became a. Here's how I build myself up. Here's how I save myself. And here's how I make myself good. And every time anyone steps in and does that.
They're beginning to say. Jesus has less value. I have a little more. Maybe not more than Jesus. But I got some of it.
I'm adding in a little bit. And Paul says no. It's not Jesus plus anything. It's Jesus. And all the glory. And all the worth.
And all the value go to him. So that anything that stands in the way. Is garbage. Now. Paul's primary point in this passage. Is that you will not earn your own righteousness.
But as he writes this. In that section. As he's writing that. He frames it in this concept. That I just think is so helpful for us. As we think about.
Just the general idea. That Jesus is better. Than everything else. Not just for our salvation. Not just for our righteousness. But that he is genuinely.
Actually. Just better. So I want you to go back up to the first verse. Paul says. Finally my brothers. Rejoice.
In the Lord. Now. He. Quickly. He goes. Rejoice in the Lord.
And then he quickly is like. Look out for the evil people. And it feels like he's changed the topic. But he hasn't. He's telling us. How to rejoice.
He's beginning to give us the idea. Of what rejoicing looks like. Because he bookends it. At the end of this. He says. Stand firm in Jesus.
And then he says. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I'll say. Rejoice. Like he's putting. Our joy.
He's hanging it around the fact. That Jesus saves. By grace. But I want to talk about the word. Rejoice real quick. Most of us.
Don't use that word. You may have sung it. In some Christmas carols. But you don't use it in real life. You weren't like. Oh.
I was at the game. And when he broke free. Got into the secondary. Juke that guy. And ran into the end zone. The entire stadium stood and rejoiced.
You don't say that. You say. We went nuts. It's crazy. But. You don't say.
We rejoiced. Now. The word. Means. To delight in. To be.
Swept up in. To be captivated by. To have deep. Joy. In. So there are things.
That you rejoice in. You don't use the word. But you do it. Maybe some of you. Over this past season. Rejoiced in.
Delighted in. Family. That you look forward to it. Much of our church family is young. Many of you traveled. Traveled.
I don't know how that was. Like Anna. Anna and I. We used to travel together. It was four hours. We hit four hours.
Argument. It's like all we could take. We started listening to books. We don't argue anymore. We just listen. Like I wonder what's going to happen.
With that Harry Potter character. And we just don't argue with each other. But we hit four hours. We start arguing. And I know for some of y'all. You traveled.
And you got there. And then you walked in. To where your family was. And maybe it just melted away. Maybe it was just like. We're out of the car.
I think you're great again. It's Christmas. Let's go. Like I. I don't know. That you rejoice.
And stuff. You spent time with family. Some of us are in the season of life. Where people come to us. For Christmas. Some of you got to.
Spend different time. Maybe you rejoiced in something else. Maybe for you. It was. The second half. Of the Michigan game.
Was rejoicing. The Outback Bowl. Was good. You went and got a blooming onion. For some of you. Maybe it was that you made it.
To the college playoff. Maybe not rejoicing much. After that. But you made it. And the most of the season. Was really good.
It was delightful. Beautiful. I don't know. I don't know what you rejoiced in. Over this past season. But we have things.
That we enjoy. That we look forward to. That we delight in. And I think. If we're honest. For Paul to say.
Delight. In the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. Enjoy. Jesus. I think that's harder for us.
I think maybe we trip. Over that. I think. We might go. Yeah. Mmm.
But I'm going to be honest with you. Sometimes it feels easier. To rejoice in. To delight in. Bread that just came out of an oven. Than Jesus.
That I actually know. How to enjoy. Some things. Better. Than I know how to enjoy. Jesus.
Now that's a problem. For a couple of reasons. One is. If I have things. On the regular. In my life.
That I. Pursue. Seek after. Set time aside for. Because I enjoy them deeply. And Jesus isn't one of them.
I've got two primary issues. One is. I'm robbing glory. From Jesus. Because I have a list of things. That are more enjoyable.
Than he is. More delightful. Than he is. And two is. They actually aren't. More enjoyable.
Or delightful. Than Jesus. So I'm robbing myself. Of enjoyment. We're robbing Jesus. Of glory.
And we're robbing ourselves. Of delight. And I want you to see. That by the reason. Paul says rejoice. And then he talks about the cross.
And he talks about. Salvation through Jesus. And he talks about. Righteousness coming through faith. And then he says. Rejoice again.
Is because the purpose. Of the cross. Is joy. God's goal. Was. Joy.
Was. Was. Restoration. Was. Happiness. Was.
Fullness. Was. Completeness. That's why Hebrews 12. Says this. That's why Hebrews 12.
Says this. Looking to Jesus. Jesus. The founder. The founder. And perfecter.
Of our faith. Who for the joy. That was set before him. Endured the cross. Despising the shame. And is seated at the right hand.
Of the throne of God. When Jesus looked at the cross. He looked beyond it. To joy. That the cross. Was the road.
To victory. And joy. The English. And Scottish church. Got together. In 1646.
And they wrote. The Westminster. Shorter. Catechism. Some of you. Just got excited.
Some of you. Were like. What are you even talking about? Some of you. Were like. I don't believe in anything.
Somebody said. I'm like. Just. All it was. Was a doctrinal. Q&A.
For people. Who are trying to grow. In their faith. That it was just a. For those who were young. For you training your children.
For training your family. It was just. That we're going to get together. And write. Some doctrine. Question and answer form.
To just try to help people. Begin to learn. The faith. The first question. They put on there. Was.
What. Is. Man's. Chief. End. That's not how we would say it now.
We would say. What's the point? Why do humans exist? Why are we here? That's what they wrote first. First question.
Why. Why did God make humans? What's the point of humanity? And this is the way they answered it. The chief end of man. Or man's chief end.
Is to glorify. God. And enjoy him. Forever. Because they were reading passages like this. They were seeing where.
The point of the cross. The point of salvation. The point. Of God's rescue. For humanity. Was.
Joy. And enjoyment. Now. If it just said. The chief end of man. Was to glorify God.
I'm ready. I got that. That fits in my head. That he's glorious. That he's holy. And so my goal.
The purpose of my existence. Is to. Bring him glory. But it says. And enjoy him. Forever.
And it's like. Ah. How do you. Enjoy. What does that look like? What does that mean?
John Piper actually steps in. He's a pastor. In the Midwest. And. He's written a lot of theology. He steps in and says.
That actually. You could say. The chief end of man. Is to glorify God. By. Enjoying him.
Forever. That actually. In our enjoyment of God. We display his glory. We display. How good.
He is. You. Were designed. For enjoyment. And pleasure. You know that right?
There's a reason why pain. Is the worst. And pleasure. Is great. This is super simple stuff. You guys.
But that's the way it works. You're designed. To like things. You just are. And there are some things. You just like.
And you naturally think. I like that. I will have some more please. You. Go to a buffet. And you just put a bunch of little things.
On your plate. And that's just your tester plate. My wife's plate. Always looks like a tester plate. This is. No.
This is pre-plate. This is one bite of this. And it's like. Nope. One bite of that. Yep.
And you go back. And your next plate. Is just like three things. In giant mounds. Because you figured out. What you liked.
And didn't like. There is no virtue. In just partaking. In the things you don't like. We naturally do this. I have a two year old.
He naturally does this. And it was really difficult. At our house for a while. Because the way he said. He liked something. Was he would say.
I like it. And the way he didn't like. Say. Say he didn't like something. Was he would say. I like it.
We had to use context clues. So you give him something. He'd go. I like it. You start giving more. And he'd be like.
I like it. It was like. You better calm yourself down. And learn the word don't. Because you're going to have problems. You keep tricking me.
But we're designed. To pursue the things we enjoy. To pursue pleasure. To pursue the things that we like. God put that in us. There is no virtue.
There is no. There's no. Something extra special good. About like. You ever taste something. And think this tastes terrible.
And I will eat that every day. From now on. That I might be more holy. No. You think this tastes terrible. Throw it away.
Get rid of it. I don't know. Feed it to someone else. Who likes it. Like. We get an argument about Moe's.
And Chipotle. Underneath that argument. That has always been assumed. Is the goal. Is enjoyment. The goal is pleasure.
We don't even have to talk about that. I've never once been in that argument. And been like. Wait. Time out. Let's set the parameters.
Are you somehow pursuing. Your own sanctification. By eating dirt. Do you like. Cold chairs. Paying more for.
A dry burrito. In a place where everybody. Makes you feel ugly. Is that the goal. Like we never done that. We just assume.
We're going for enjoyment. We're going for maximization. Of pleasure. Now we can have our argument. That's at the bottom of everything. And God designed that in us.
But then. He stands. And says. I am most enjoyable. I am most pleasurable. I am most to be desired.
That's why. Matthew. Luke. Someone comes to Jesus. And says. What's the greatest commandment?
What's the biggest rule? Some of you rule followers. It's like your favorite. Like your little heart. Best rule. What's the best rule?
What's he say? To love the Lord your God. With all your heart. With all your soul. With all your mind. With all your strength.
To love him. Not obey. Not serve. Those are. Those are in there. They come later.
Love. Primary goal. Love. Now. I will tell you something about love. It is not made more pure.
More beautiful. The highest pinnacle. Apex of love. Love. Is not. Just devotion.
For devotion's sake. It is not just. Obligation. My wife and I. We've been married. Nine years.
I can't mess that up you guys. Nine years. This year. We're going on ten years. I wouldn't stand up here and say. Yeah.
We've only been married about ten years. And so we're really kind of in the JV version of love. Where we still enjoy each other. Where there's still some of. Some of my love is really just that I like her. And I kind of delight.
In our relationship. And I like talking to her. And like we're working. We're working to get to where. We've been married for 30 or 40 years. And it's pure obligation.
Where we display our love. By the fact that we have no enjoyment of one another whatsoever. But we're. We're in it. Because we've made a commitment. Like that's not what love is.
Now sometimes love entails that. There are days that my wife. Continues to love me. And pursue me. Even though she didn't get up. And write in her diary.
Dear diary. Chet was so delightful yesterday. We've moved from one stage of euphoria to the next. Like she did. She. She could stay married.
She could keep fighting. But. The goal of love is that we would delight in one another. That we would enjoy one another. And so when he says. Love the Lord your God.
I don't know how we've somehow. Replace that with. Pursue. Serve. Obey. And taken out of it.
Enjoy. Delight. Run to. Sit with. Speak to. Grow in.
Have this be. One of the things in your life. That you look forward to. That makes everything else good. Makes everything else make sense. Colors everything.
I don't. But that's there. That's the point. It was. Joy was beyond the cross. Not just salvation.
That's why Paul says. Rejoice. You've been saved by grace. Rejoice. Jesus is better than everything else. C.S.
Lewis. When talking about this idea. In his sermon. The Weight of Glory. He says that if you. If you asked 20 people.
What the greatest virtue was. He said he thinks. 19 of them would say unselfishness. They would just say do not be selfish. He said. But if you asked 20 Christians.
From history. They would say love. And he said. What's happened is. We've taken a negative term. To withhold from ourselves.
To not be selfish. And we've replaced a positive term. Which was to look out for the good. Of those around us. He begins to point out. That the Bible.
Doesn't make this. This isn't a Christian virtue. He says. The New Testament. Has lots to say. About self-denial.
But not of self-denial. As an end in itself. So self-denial isn't the point. We are told to deny ourselves. And to take up our crosses. In order that we might follow Christ.
And nearly every description. Of what we shall ultimately find. If we do so. Contains an appeal. To desire. That heaven is good.
That God is loving. That what we read. At the beginning of this. Is that there's pleasures. At his right hand. Forevermore.
He said. If there lurks. In the modern minds. The notion. That to desire. Our own good.
And to earnestly hope. For the enjoyment of it. Is a bad thing. I submit to you. That this notion. Has crept in.
From Kant. And the Stoics. And it is no part. Of the Christian faith. Indeed. If we consider.
The unblushing promises. Of reward. And the staggering. Nature of the rewards. Promised in the gospels. It would seem.
That our Lord. Finds our desires. Not too strong. But too weak. We are half-hearted creatures. Fooling about.
With drink. And sex. And ambition. When infinite joy. Is offered us. Like an ignorant child.
Who wants to go on. Making mud pies. In a slum. Because he cannot imagine. What is meant. By the offer.
Of a holiday. At sea. We are. Far too easily. Pleased. I used to say.
God doesn't care. About your happiness. I'm pretty sure. I said it. From this beautiful. Green carpet.
I don't say that anymore. The point. I was trying to make. Was. And because I was so. Furious.
At everybody. Who says. Well God just wants me. To be happy. So I can just chase.
After this thing. That's right in front of me. I said. God doesn't care about your happiness. And it was really just. I don't.
This. That's not the point. God does. He cares about your infinite joy. Your infinite happiness. So much so that he would go to a cross.
So that you might have it. He doesn't care about this moment. He cares about eternity. Where moments don't even make sense anymore. That his goal. Was our happiness.
In him. That we might rejoice in him. That we might delight in him. That we might enjoy him. Forever. He cares infinitely more.
About your happiness. Than you do. I talk about him a lot. But that's because he takes up. So much of my time.
I have a two year old. And I fight him every day. For his happiness. He fights me for his happiness. That's what we're in a battle over. Because all he can see.
Is that candy will make him happy. And staying up late at night. Will make him happy. And watching that show. I just told him he couldn't watch. Will make him happy.
And I know. That eating just candy. Will make you miserable. And staying up late at night. All the time. Will make you miserable.
And not only will it make him miserable. Make everybody in our house miserable. He shares it with us. I know. That if he throws a fit. And then gets a reward for it.
The only thing he'll learn. Is that having a bad attitude. And being miserable. Is the best way to be happy. Now tell me.
That's not something messed up. So when he starts crying. And throwing a fit. I just will look at him. And say. You better get it together.
Because all fun will die. Everything good. Will leave the world. You won't get that. You won't have this. You'll get spanked.
You'll sit in your room. Until you get it together. The goal is not his misery. The goal is that he would learn. How to enjoy life. And have better things.
And God steps in at times. And says. No. Put it down. Walk away. Get rid of it.
Not because he hates your happiness. But because he wants it so much more infinitely for you. Beyond your ability to understand. So much so that he would die for it. So yes.
Next time your friend says. God just wants me to be happy. High five him. Say thank you so much that you understand the gospel. Now break up with your boyfriend and let's rock on.
I'm so excited that you understand eternity. And the cross. And the pain that Jesus went through. So let's put the bong down. Let's move.
Let's not take that promotion. I'm so proud of you. Because you understand that infinite joy is offered for you. And you don't want to sit and make mud pies in a slump. Let's move to verse 7.
Verse 7. The point of life. The goal of the cross. The purpose. The end of joy. Is that we would know the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.
That we would understand he has surpassing worth. That if you take anything and you put it in the balance. And you put Jesus here. And you put something else here. Jesus outweighs it. He is more valuable.
More enjoyable. More good. You could put everything here. And Jesus will outweigh it. That he has a surpassing worth. And Paul says.
I counted the loss of all things. I count them as garbage. In order that I might gain Christ. And be found in him. If you are a Christian. That's your goal.
And if you are not a Christian. It should be. That one day. You might get Christ. You might get him. That you might be found in him.
Later he says in the same chapter. I don't chase after this to make it my own. I do it because he has already made me his own. That he has already wrapped me up in himself. That he has already claimed me. That he has already taken me.
He already loves me. That he has already taken me. It's one of the things we work hard in. And I get so frustrated in. It's one of the reasons why we talk about. Jesus is better than everything else.
Or why we talk about gospel fluency. For those of you who have been around for a while. We talk about. We talk about Jesus. We do give good news. Before good advice.
Is because Jesus is the goal. He's the hope. He is better. That if you get him. You got it. That everything else can be thrown away.
Everything else can fall. Everything else will fade. Everything else will die. Everything else will fail. But then we might have him.
We've succeeded. We've won. It's ours. This is why I get so frustrated. I've sat in sermons before. And I know people love Jesus.
And they mean well. But there are times where I've sat in a sermon. And I've listened. And the goal was. Work really hard. So that you might gain the perfect spouse.
Spouse is good. It's not the goal. It's not Jesus. Won't redeem you. Won't save you. Won't fix your soul.
This is actually why God set things up in the world the way he did. Here's how it works. Everything in your life. Really needs to fit in one of two categories. It's garbage. Or it points you to Jesus.
It's garbage. Or it gets you more Jesus. When we get off stage. We can use the word other than garbage. It either pulls you away from Jesus. It stands in the way of Jesus.
Or it points you to Jesus. So this is why in the Old Testament. God gave a calendar. He gave feasts. Fast. Festivals.
He gave them times when they would withdraw from food. When they would mourn. When they would rub dirt on their head. Put on uncomfortable clothes. And then he gave them times where they would celebrate. Where they would party.
And he held this very strictly. There's passages in the Old Testament where God says. If you show up to the party late I will kill you. And some of you type A people were like. Yes and amen. I said seven fools.
If you work an extra day. It's going to go bad for you. And here's why. When we take everything off our plate. When we give up something. When we fast from food.
We're doing it to remind ourselves. That Jesus is better than food. That God is more fulfilling. And more satisfying. And guess what? When we feast.
When we enjoy the deep. Flavorful. Savory. Carbohydrate filled. Fat covered. Feast.
We do it to remind ourselves. That Jesus is better than food. That he's savory. That he's flavorful. That he's good. That when we have festivals.
When we celebrate. I love our church. We've got a younger church. We're working on it. If you're not considered younger. Stick.
Help us. Talk to people who. Aren't younger. When they show up. We have a younger church. There's a lot of people getting married.
I love going to weddings. It's a small picture. Of the party. The celebration. That heaven will get to be. This is why.
The Bible says. That Jesus is claiming. A bride for himself. That marriage. Is just a little picture. Of what he's going to get to be like.
It's a sign post. That points up towards him. And if we just enjoy it. As an end in itself. Then we rob from Jesus.
We've got it. Mixed up in our mind. If we just enjoy food. As an end in itself. If we rob from Jesus. But if we use it as a way.
To roll up and praise for him. If the next time you're at a wedding. And it feels like. This is just so good. You remember. It's going to be infinitely better.
When Jesus claims his bride. And the celebration. The celebration will never end. The next time you go hungry. You remember. Yeah.
This hungry reminds me. That there's a gnawing pain. In my soul. That will never be satisfied. Outside of Christ. But that I might give everything up.
That I might gain him. And the next time you enjoy. The most beautifully prepared. Plate of food. You say. Yeah.
This is so it'll roll up. And praise to God. You see. Your friends who don't know Jesus. Will only ever enjoy a steak. They'll only ever enjoy.
A good glass of wine. It'll never roll up in praise. It never goes beyond the table. But Christians get to gather. Around a table. And have it all roll up.
Into eternity. Into a God. Who's more enjoyable. And more delightful. More flavorful. So this is why.
There's some things in your life. That's standing in the way of Jesus. That he's prohibited. And you're saying. No I believe it's better. I believe it has more worth.
And your. Your role. Your job. Your response. Is to get rid of it. It is to break up.
It is to quit. It is to walk away. And this is why sometimes. We're supposed to stay in something. That isn't going very well. Because God tells us to.
And it. The point of it. Isn't. That this will fulfill us. But that ultimately he will.
Some of you long to be married. And marriage is a good gift. That points to Jesus. Jesus. And you may never get married. But you can still get Jesus.
Which was the point of marriage in the first place. Some of you long. To have a child. And maybe that's not going to work out for you. We don't know why this side of eternity. But we do know.
That family. And bloodline. And last names. Are all fulfilled in Christ. That he has better blood. And he's got a better name.
That we might fully partake in one day. Some of you are married. And it is excruciating. But you stay. And you fight. Because you know your marriage is just a signpost.
To the gospel. And Jesus is at work in your heart. That you might one day. Gain him. This is why when we're resting. We rest in Jesus.
And while we're working. We work in Jesus. This is where all the times the Bible is going to say. Do this in Christ. And do this for Christ. Is because all of it is meant.
To point us to him. And if it doesn't. It's garbage. Write it off. Count it as a loss. Get rid of it.
Now. Here's my fear. So we finish up today. Here's my fear. My fear is that for many of us. Hearing that Jesus is better than everything else.
You just go. Yeah. Okay. You'll get in your car. And you'll think he is better. Neat.
And you just go. That's my temptation. After our work on this stuff. Sometimes people will say. Like what did you preach two weeks ago? I'm like.
I don't know. That's why I like doing a whole book series. Something in Ephesians. Nailed it. It's so easy for us. To just say.
Yeah. I knew that. Here's the danger. I want to tell y'all a Bible story. Second Corinthians. Nope.
I'm not going to tell you a story from there. Second Kings. Chapter 17. The Assyrians show up. Nope. That shouldn't be there yet.
Sorry. The Assyrians. Thank you. The Assyrians show up. Gave away the end. The Assyrians show up.
They destroy. And they take captive the people of Israel. And they carry them off to Assyria. And they did this all the time. So then they would take a group of other people from different places.
And they would just put them together. And they took them back down to where they had taken them. From Samaria. And they just put them all back in Samaria. And said y'all live here now. And they did this to destabilize people.
To not have one whole big people group together. They were too worried about getting along with each other. Than trying to lead an uprising. And so they did this. They brought them down there. And so what 2 Kings chapter 17 tells us.
Is that lions started eating people. They were in Samaria. It says they did not know how to worship the Lord. And so he sent lions to eat them. Some of you know the movie Ghost in the Darkness. It was like that.
Terrifying. Some of you don't know what that movie was about. It was about lions eating people. And so they. It's such a big deal. Such a big problem.
That they actually go back to Assyria. They send people to Assyria. And say send us some of the Jewish people. Who used to live here. Because the God of this land does not like us. And we got to figure out what to do.
This is not going well. Lions are eating people. So they send some Jewish people back. They send them some priests. And the priests teach them. How to serve the Lord.
And what it says is. They start. They start serving the Lord. Lions stop eating people. And then it says. But.
None of them quit serving. The gods from their hometown. And it ends with this. So they feared the Lord. But. Also served.
Their own gods. And my fear for us. Is that some of us. Had life. Running into the wall. Had a lot of pain.
Had a lot of problems. And we figured out. How do I begin to worship Jesus? And how do I begin to believe. Some of these things the Bible says. And how do I begin to change some stuff?
But. We still have other things. That we don't mind. Stealing glory from him. We still have other things. That we don't mind.
That when he just faces off against them. He can just lose in these three categories. These can be more glorious. And more enjoyable. And more delightful. And more lovely.
And I can pursue them. Over and against what he says. And I can pursue them. Over and against who he is. And I can give them. Surpassing worth.
Over Jesus. As long as I mostly. Am here. We lie about Jesus. We rob ourselves of joy. And we sin.
We lie about Jesus. So. How do we cultivate a delight for Jesus? Well you make time for the things you enjoy. Sometimes you get less time. Sometimes it feels harder.
But you make time for the things you enjoy. You're going to see the new Star Wars movie. Eventually. You'll figure it out. You're going to find a time to sit. You're going to find a time to play video games.
You're going to find a time to read a book or to sit, whatever it is that you enjoy, you make time for. And so that's what always, whenever we say, just so you know, when you say, I really don't have time to pray. I really don't have time to read the Bible. I just really hadn't had time for our community group. All you have really articulated is I don't enjoy it that much. I don't think it's that glorious.
I don't really think Jesus has surpassing worth. And that should scare you and that should draw you into figuring out how to actually enjoy him. What I'm not saying is that you need to pretend that Jesus has surpassing worth. What I am saying is you need to enjoy the fact that he does. That actually spending time with him is your best spent time. That working towards him is how work was meant to be done.
That parenting in a way that is for him and in him is how parenting was meant to be done. So I would argue, I would say, first step, make some time. And I will tell you that it will be awkward at first. It's like a first date. First date is, I'm hoping you're not a terrible person. I suggest people get coffee for their first date.
If it's good, get a second cup. If it's bad, chug it and say, this was great. Well, my coffee's done. Bye. And sometimes reading your Bible, sometimes praying, sometimes you're going to have to get with someone else to help you do that. You're going to need to talk with someone in your community group and say, help me study the Bible.
Help me learn how to do this. And sometimes it's going to feel awkward. But the point is that the more you get to know Jesus, the more he'll matter, the more you'll see his glory, the more captivated you'll be, the more lovely he is. And you are wrong if you think, if I spend time doing that, I won't actually find anything glorious about him. You haven't met the Jesus I know. He is infinitely glorious.
He has surpassing worth. We just got to find the time to get around him and enjoy it. Jesus is better than everything else for you. He just is. And he's invited us into his goodness and his glory and joy so much so that he died for us to welcome us, to belong to him. The band's going to come back up.
The way we're going to respond right now in reminding ourselves and partaking in the goodness of Jesus is that you are a Christian. We're going to take communion.
