Summary
The sermon emphasizes the unparalleled value of knowing Jesus Christ, drawing from Philippians 3:7-14. It highlights Apostle Paul’s life transformation and his singular focus on Christ, even to the point of considering all else as “garbage” in comparison. The preacher challenges the congregation to reflect on their daily priorities, using metaphors like screen time, driving to a destination, and the necessity of sacrifice. The message stresses that every Christian should set knowing Christ as the central goal of life, forgetting past mistakes and straining toward spiritual growth. It also calls for active participation in Christ’s sufferings, not as a burden but as a path to deeper communion with Him. The preacher shares personal reflections on his own struggles with distraction and encourages the church to remain steadfast in their commitment to God, even when faced with worldly hindrances. The sermon concludes with a prayer for the congregation, urging them to let the surpassing worth of Christ shape their lives and decisions.
Sermon transcription
In the name of the Lord we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Bless your kids. Okay. All right. Thank you Lord. Good afternoon everyone. Good afternoon, everyone. I am still with me. Okay. It's good. It's good to be in the house of the Lord again. Brothers and sisters, last week I was not here with you. I was ministering to our brothers and sisters in Monaco. So thank you for those of you who are praying with us. I just would like to give a praise report on the time that we were there. It is really a blessing to be with our brothers and sisters in Monaco. We don't have much time to roam around beautiful Monaco. Mostly because we arrived really in the afternoon and then we had a Bible study in the evening. It's good to fellowship with brothers and sisters to really be able to know them a little bit more. And on the Sunday we celebrated God's goodness for 11 years of our brothers and sisters in Win Monaco and we ministers to some of them as well. And the following day in the morning we flew back here in the Netherlands. So great that we can be with them and we have heard the story of how God has been working in them in their ups and in their downs. Always be God in those pictures brothers and sisters. It's they desire to have a permanent pastor that they will have over there. We are praying maybe one or two from the congregation will step up as well. And when in the meantime the region is helping and supporting them almost every month. The region are sending the region is sending pastor to minister to them. So I was there last week. A couple of months back was pastor Dan. A couple of months back was pastor Angel and many others from around Europe are helping them. So we continue to pray for Win Monaco. It's a vibrant and growing city. A lot of tourists as you can imagine. Imagine if that is a place where when tourists are looking for service in English, they will at least look at our church for potential opportunities to worship together. Amen. So it was really a great time and thank you again for praying with us in this time of ministering to Win Monaco. So brothers and sisters, today I would like to talk to you about the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus. So in this month pastor Angel has set the topic for our church. God has been so faithful for our church in the past 30 years. And God has been helping us in many different ways, brothers and sisters. And God has been blessing us with many people being saved. Many people we are blessed when they were here. So there are people who come and was blessed and then for another opportunity they were sent either back to their countries or another in other countries here in Europe. We are blessed to be an instrument to bless others and you are here today and God has sustained us in the past 30 years and surely God will continue to sustain us and bless us in the upcoming 30 years of the church. Amen. Whether we will be there at the 60th celebration, that's another story. But I wish and I am praying that I will be able to attend that 60th anniversary. Now brothers and sisters, today the topic is pressing on. Now it will be taken from the letters that Paul has written to Philippians. So my question to you brothers and sisters as we will be pondering on these words here, Paul is actually showing and telling us how much Jesus Christ is the center of his life. How much the power of the love and the desire to know Christ overtake everything of his life. How much he is longing to know Christ which drive him every day to think and do and learn about Christ. Now my question to you brothers and sisters, how much is Jesus Christ in your daily activities? How much is Jesus Christ in your weekly activities? And how much is Jesus Christ in the entire year? Now brothers and sisters, I was hearing and listening to a book, an audio book before and the writer is challenging the listener or the book reader. The easiest way these days to check whether Christ is at the center of your life is for you to check the screen time of your telephone. And if you check the screen time of your telephone, just check how much time actually you spend on your screen compared to the time you're thinking about God. And if you actually just look at the screen time of your phone, how much time you're actually looking at your social media, how much time are you looking at your email? And how much time you are actually looking at your Bible app or other things related to Christ. That tells us, that tells you, that tells me how much we put Christ in our daily activities. So today, brothers and sisters, you can probably challenge. Well Pastor Read, at the time of Paul there was no mobile phone. There's no mobile phone at that time. But one thing that he really would like to emphasize here brothers and sisters is basically to have an enormous focus on what he meant by surpassing word of knowing Christ Jesus. So we will be also not only thinking about or talking about knowing Christ but setting Christ at the center and as a goal in our daily life. So me myself included brothers and sisters, when I was looking and listening to the book, I was also rebuked because I must say probably if I would be very honest, I probably spend more time on a screen checking the world than checking the word of God. And so today when I was preparing this, I was thinking to myself, am I worthy sharing this to you? Now brothers and sisters, we are all learning together. I've been blessed by preparing this and I'm sure you will too. This is a very stark reminder for us to reset the focus where we are and what we are doing in our daily life. Amen. You ready? You got to be very focused because I'm going to go fast and it's going to touch so many aspects of our life and it's going to be hurting. Okay. Because it's not because I'm saying this going to be a stark reminder because I've been already reminded when I'm preparing this for you brothers and sisters. So are you ready? I think you are like, "What's going on? Okay, let's read Philippians chapter 3:7-14. So Philippians chapter 3 verse 7-4 up here on the screen as I read. Just follow me. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. So this is Paul speaking. So see how much he emphasizes that everything is worthless except knowing Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. What he's saying here basically everything that is not building his desire to know more of Jesus is nothing and nothing can stop him in the effort to know Christ in his life. For whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is true faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. Verse 10. I want to know Christ. This is his goal. 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. Not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on. It's the first word that I would like you to remember brothers and sisters. Press on. To take hold of what? For Christ Jesus took hold of me. Verse 13. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Let's bow down our head and pray. Lord Jesus, thank you for this time you have given to us. Bless us Lord as we will be continuously asking for the leading of your Holy Spirit in this text that we have just read. Oh Lord, may you will be speaking to us and father anoint each and every one of us. Connect us Lord to the source of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus mighty name I pray. Amen. Brothers and sisters, the first thing that Paul was saying in those verses that we just read is that Paul put significant emphasis on knowing the goal. The goal in our life. So if I ask you today brothers and sisters in your journey of life, do you know your goal or maybe even one step back? Have you ever have any goal in life or you just cruising and follow the flow? And it is so important to have a goal because if you don't if you don't have a goal brothers and sisters then every day is just whatever happened happened right was that the right words yeah so what yeah whatever will be will be now. So I don't know about you brothers and sisters but I like to have goals whatever it is be it for your work right be it for your family be it for your future be it for your school be it for whatever it is maybe something that you are working towards right so be it having driving license. We thank God that now we have another driver in the house and Bethlehem's now having another driver which is great. So brothers and sisters, whatever it is in your life, it's good to have a goal. Why? Because then you are working towards the goal and there is something to achieve and there is something to work on and so therefore they also said it's good to have the goal because then you have colors to your life. Now in this case brothers and sisters there's one goal that we should all have and that is the goal to know Christ just like Apostle Paul right. So he basically has one very strong and big goal that God has put in his heart and that is to know Christ. Everything else he said is was garbage. If you look back brothers and sisters when Paul was very jealous before he was called he has another goal and that is to persecute everybody that is not following the law. He was so much into the law. And so brothers and sisters, well when Jesus called him on the road to Damascus, he submitted himself. He is so grateful for what God has brought him from where it was before to where he was after the call. He was so much consumed by the love that God has put in him. He was not pursuing God. But he had a desire to live according to what the law is. But Jesus pursued him and took him and said my grace is sufficient for you. So it is so much inside of him that he is so thankful. He is so much consumed by the love of God that he said everything outside of knowing Christ is garbage and so much of this goal that actually consumes him. Imagine brothers and sisters if there is a goal on top of it that God has put in your heart whatever it is whether it is progressing in your career whether it is having a house or whatever I don't know or maybe for our church that we would like to grow and we would like to make sure that everybody was enjoying the time being here it's so much consume us that everything else doesn't exist so to speak is so much focused on his goal. And so I'm going to challenge you brothers and sisters. This goal is a goal that we should not miss. Is this goal of knowing Christ part of your library of goals in your daily life? If I were you brothers and sisters, if it is not yet in your list of goals, make it the top priority of our goals. Why is that? Because everything after this is just a consequence of God's blessing upon other goals that you put below knowing Christ. And so in this case brothers and sisters, the goal is something you look up to. In verse 10 he said, I want to know Christ. Yes. To know the power of resurrection and participation in his sufferings. So participation is the third word I would like you to remember. Participation in his sufferings becoming like him in his death and so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead. This struck me brothers and sisters because many times Christians want to be close to God or wanting to be a good Christian not because they would like to participate in God's suffering. Because most of the time we said we want to be blessed. We want to be blessed. We want God's protection. We want all those other things. Well, what Paul is saying here is that those are just consequences. If you seek God you will be blessed. But that's not your destination. Your destination is God. And the rest was just consequences. And so brothers and sisters, if you look at this, what he wants to know, he wants to know the power of resurrection. He wants to know the power of resurrection. How amazing that is. And he wants to participate in his sufferings. I struggle on these words brothers and sisters. What does this means? Participating in his sufferings. And so if you read about Paul and he's experienced so many things in pursuit of telling the good news to many people and so for him any suffering he experienced is nothing compared to the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now my challenge to you brothers and sisters, I challenge myself. There will be sacrifices that we need to take in order for us to know more about Christ. You will sacrifice of your time, right? Because you got to read the Bible. You got to listen to audio book. You got to listen for good podcast. You will sing and you will worship. There are so many other things that you can do if you want to in place of knowing Christ. But this could be the biggest sacrifice you have today. Right? Maybe the biggest sacrifice you have today is for you to pause not to look at the Facebook or your social media for a few days. Have you ever tried that? And it's it was probably when you think about it as a should be easy. No, but it quite a suffering for some people. And so also sometimes you got to come here. It's also a sacrifice because you need to spend time driving or taking the public transport coming here. Right? How sister Elaine was telling about her desire to come here and all the strain that she needs to take. And brothers and sisters, this is suffering. This is nothing compared to what Paul has experienced. But anything that you sacrifice for the Lord, anything that you sacrifice to achieve the goal of knowing him more will not be despised by our God. Amen. So the time that you spend here brothers and sisters be reminded again of our ultimate goal to know Christ will not be despised by God. And so my challenge to you brothers and sisters is the biggest question I would like to bring you today. Would you participate in his sufferings? This is when I said in the beginning it's going to be painful because you're going to sacrifice the things that you probably dear the most. And it's not going to be easy. But one thing that God is saying I will be with you. Now so brothers and sisters, maybe maybe the sacrifice is waking up in the morning reading your Bible because probably that's the only time you have. Or maybe the sacrifice is to go against putting your head on your pillow to sleep before you actually pray or read the Bible. The sacrifices are different for everybody today. Depending on where you are in your faith, depending on how much strength you would like to put in yourself, how much desire do you actually want to have and everybody has a different desire. But one thing the goal should be the same to know Christ. How much do you want to know Christ today? Is it something just when we have time? Is it something that just if things are good? Now brothers and sisters I would like to challenge you today. My question to you would be, how much worth do you think is knowing Christ in your life? How much worth do you think knowing Christ in your life? And that's why I said it's going to be painful because I know that I could not say 100% hand on heart that I all the time put Christ in my daily activities. If you're working brothers and sisters, the Bible also said do it as you do it for Christ, for God. Right? And when you start your day, are you surrendering your life your family to God? When you close the day are you thanking God of what God has done for you? Let's start something more than what we are doing today. My encouragement to you brothers and sisters, if this is worth, if Jesus Christ is worth to you, I would like to challenge you today with this question. How much worth do you have for Jesus? And if that if you said God is worthy, Jesus is worthy in my life, how much would you sacrifice for him? And so today brothers and sisters, I would like each and every one of us to remember again the goal that God has set for us, the price that he has set for us, the place that he has prepared for us that should not waver, that should not change. And one thing that I would like to also emphasize here before I close brothers and sisters, I challenge you about your goal in life. I think this is also an example of how we should achieve our goal in life. And if you dream of a certain thing that God is putting in your heart, you are working so much towards that goal that nothing else matter. Right? If someone that you love needs to be saved, they have not received God yet as your Lord and as their Lord and Savior, would be praying for them every day, worth doing. It's a sacrifice and we need to pray for them all the time. It's a sacrifice that we need to remind them all the time. It's a sacrifice probably that they were despising you with all the words that you are saying about God. But would you endure that? If you have a friends that you're telling about God's goodness all the time and said enough with this story, would you endure praying for them? Would you endure talking about God? Now brothers and sisters, I would like each and every one of us today to set the goal back to where it should be knowing Christ as our main priority in life and everything else brothers and sisters will be blessed because of it. Amen. Because setting goal is something that we are doing and everything else behind it. Brothers and sisters, if you have another goal, let God bless that goal. Let the desire of achieving the goal that God has set just like Paul did be the one that drive you as well. Amen. And along the way, as I mentioned, it starts from God, it ends with God and it's God along the way. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you Lord. So brothers and sisters, let's bow down our head and let's seek our heart and let's ask ourself how much worth do we think Jesus Christ is in our life. And Paul was saying, I consider everything garbage because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior. You probably challenge, I'm not tall, but brothers and sisters, let this sink in for a bit. And I would like to challenge you. What sacrifice have you done in order for you to know Christ? Hallelujah. This doesn't deny the fact that we are saved by grace. But in all this process brothers and sisters, don't let the world sway you away from the goal that God has set. Yes, you are safe. But along the way, God would like to work with you to strain and being an example and being blessing to others, being God's instrument to bring more people towards you, being the light and the salt to the world. Hallelujah. Just pray in your heart and make commitment to God that you would like to participate in his pursuit of knowing and bringing more people towards God. And let his goodness and his love overtake any shadow of doubt in your heart. And may his goodness his grace and his mercy be the one that pull you out of any doubt. May the energy that you have right now be centered around the power of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Any resources that you have, any strength that you have, any wisdom that you have, any plan that you have, any dream that you have. May it lays on the foundation of Jesus Christ. And may we press on and may we strain ourselves and may we participate in your sufferings. Lord Jesus, I pray for each and every one of us. Lord, today here in this place that we desire to know you more, Lord, may this desire is so big, so much that it consume us. Oh Lord Jesus, that everything else is secondary to us. Father, I pray that each and every one of us today that we are reminded again to put the priority of knowing you more above and beyond any goal that we have in life. And Lord Jesus, help us in our daily life that we center and come back to you all the time, Lord. And we will be able to remember you knowing you and together with you Lord along the way in our journey of life. And Lord Jesus we pray that any hindrances any things that may stopping us or disturbing us from knowing you more. Oh Lord help us so we will be able to overcome it Lord. And thank you Jesus for the time that you have given to us and the reminder that you have given to us that may we continue oh Lord to strain forward pressing on in the desire of knowing you more. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Lord. Bless everyone and bless every commitment that my brothers and sisters all of us are putting forward as we pray today that this all Lord for the glory of your name. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Lord. Bless us and be with us in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Oh yeah. All right. Let's pray also for our offering brothers and sisters. Hallelujah. Thank you Lord. We pray that may you bless every hands and every hearts who are giving today Lord, be it physically here in this place, oh those who have been doing it electronically, bless them Lord in your word, bless the work and the fruit of their hands oh Lord Jesus. May you abundantly Lord continue to be with them in all the things that we do Lord may all this be used for the glory of your name expansion of your kingdom here in the Netherlands and anywhere anywhere else you are using our church Lord. Thank you father. Thank you Lord. Bless every cheerful heart who are giving today in Jesus name we pray. Amen. [Music] You brought me to such a freedom I have found in you. You're the he [Music] moving ahead. I'm here to declare to you my past is over in new. All things I made new surrendered my life to Christ. I'm moving moving for a while. [Music] [Music] You have [Music] all the power in your hands. You have given me a second chance. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. [Music] Yay. Yay. Yay. Yay. Yay. [Music] I'm not going back. I'm moving ahead. I'm here to declare to you my past is over. You all things I made new surrendered my life to Christ. I'm moving moving back. I'm moving ahead. I be here to declare to you. My past is over in all things I made new. Surrender my life to Christ. I'm moving moving for. [Music] You make all things new. Yes, you make all things new that I will follow you forward. [Music] You make all things new. Yes, you make all things new. I will follow you for a while. [Music] You You make all things new. Yes, you make all things new. And I I will follow you for what your way. You make all things new. Yes, you make all things new. I will follow you for I'm not going back. [Music] I'm here to declare to you in you. All things are in you. Surrender my life to Christ. I'm moving moving forward while stand. Brothers and sisters, I want to sing this song uh together. Just a chorus. I'm not going back. I'm moving ahead. I'm here to declare to you. My past is over.