Trade in your New Year’s Resolution

Resolutions – most of them at least – are a good thing.  People who make them generally only make one at a time, I have realized.  They understand that they should focus on one improvement rather than getting bogged down with several.  With that in mind, it would make the most sense to pick the most important area of one’s life to improve when making a New Year’s resolution.

But how much forethought really goes into these New Year’s resolutions?  I am unaware of any hard data out there to confirm or disprove this, but I get the sense that many people choose their resolutions based on what is on their minds this time of year.  Sugar cookie binges make people think about health.  Purchasing oodles of gifts bring our minds to our bank account.  A family argument on Christmas Eve causes us to strive for better quality time or to manage our temper.  Again, these are worthy goals, but are there more important goals?  The loudest voices are the ones currently occupying our thoughts, but what about the ones we silenced long ago?  I came across an online article by a man named Tom Morris, who writes, “We can get so excited by the promise of a novel adventure, by an opportunity, or the prospect of something new, that we become strongly disinclined to listen to that little voice deep within whose whisperings might otherwise prompt us to stop.”  Socrates once said that “the worst of all deceptions is self-deception.”  It is a sad reality that we sometimes set goals – whether they be resolutions or daily plans, consciously stated or subconsciously sought after – that are not worthwhile.

The Apostle Paul admitted this mistake in Philippians 3, our text for today.  Feel free to turn there in your Bibles.  He had set goals that were the exact opposite of what he should have been pursuing.  In the middle of his other goals, he received a wake-up call that he needed to trade in his “New Year’s resolution,” which is exactly what some of us might need to do.  He learned that life with Christ must become the most important objective.  It was his life’s resolution, so to speak, and it should belong to us, too.  We will begin reading Philippians 3:7-14.

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 Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, 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 through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.  I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

And this is the word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.

Just before this passage, Paul had been encouraging the believers to not give in to some false teachers who were trying to get them to go back to a works-based salvation.  They taught that it was not enough to trust in Christ for salvation.  You had to add works, specifically those of the Old Testament law.  That made salvation a thing of works rather than a work of grace.

In order to set the record straight, Paul reminded them just how faithfully he had kept the law as a Jew.  He lists all sorts of religious accomplishments that would have made the most devout Jew green with envy.  This impressive list was not something Paul bragged about, because it did not end with a “so there!”  Rather, it ended with a “but…”

We need a revelation:  Knowing Christ is our greatest pursuit

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”  Paul had a revelation that changed his course, and that is where we need to start.  We need a revelation, a revelation that knowing Christ is our greatest pursuit.  A revelation like this will put all other goals into perspective, and it may even change our plans altogether.

For Paul, his revelation came on the road to Damascus.  Out of a blinding flash of light, Jesus told him that instead of trying to know Christ, he was persecuting Him!  That is why Paul says, “Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss…”  He did not say it was less helpful or not worthwhile; he called it a loss, a hindrance, something that took away from his goal rather than moving him toward it.  And what goal might that be, you may wonder?  He calls his pursuits a loss “for the sake of Christ.”  When it comes to understanding Christ, having faith in him, salvation through him, and a life for him, Paul saw that he had been moving in the wrong direction.  His spiritual accomplishments were built on a very shaky foundation called the law – a works-based method for salvation.  This foundation was doomed from the start, because it cannot support what is necessary – perfection.

Paul knew that every effort he had ever made apart from Christ was worthless, but he goes further than his own efforts.  “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.”  He called them rubbish, a term that referred to the spoiled food that would be thrown to wandering dogs.  These were not pets; they received food that was no longer fit for human consumption, not really even able to be called food at all.  This decaying fare is set in contrast with the “surpassing greatness of Jesus.”  That’s the revelation.  Every effort apart from Christ was utterly detestable, but the goal of knowing Jesus is glorious, beyond all comparison!  It’s the discovery of real gold that reveals the fool’s gold for the worthless imposter that it is.  There’s no comparison.

Astronaut Jim Lovell called the Apollo 13 mission to the moon a “successful failure.”  The intended mission to land on the moon became a desperate attempt to save the lives of three men aboard a damaged and dying ship.  Among the host of problems the crew and mission control encountered, they found themselves trying to find a way to conserve power.  If they did not, there would not be enough power to run the right re-entry procedures.  Faced with this realization, the crew followed Mission Control’s directions and cut back as much power as they could.  They preferred to turn off the heat and shiver in the cold of space rather than burn up in the atmosphere later.  Every bit of power they used was a loss compared with the chance at surviving re-entry.  This revelation changed their actions because they found a greater goal.

What energies are depleting your ability to live for Christ?  How has the revelation of the “surpassing greatness of Christ” given you a greater goal?  Somehow the things I want to do seem much less important in this light.  No, not less important…loss, rubbish.  Can any other goal compare to it?  What have you been holding at the number one spot in your life?  In talking about the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus himself likened it to a valuable pearl.  The man who found it sold everything he had to obtain it.  Nothing else matters.

We must develop a resolution:  Living for Christ above all else

This is what Paul realized about Jesus and the kingdom he ushered in with his coming.  Like Paul, we must develop a resolution to live for Christ above all else.  In verse 10, we see how Paul puts it:  “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”  Do you see how closely this resolution is tied to the revelation?  Until you know the most important goal, you cannot decide to seek it out.  Paul’s goal of knowing Christ speaks of a progressive, intimate knowledge.  His goal is to come to know Christ on a deeper and deeper level.  We do this sort of thing all the time with a spouse or a close friend.  We know what they are thinking with just a glance; we do not have to speak in complete sentences, because we know them.  To know Christ is to know the heart of God.  How do you do this?

For starters, Paul mentions experiencing the power of Christ’s resurrection.  The resurrection of Jesus is a promise of resurrection for his followers.  It is also what brings forgiveness of sins, bringing new life to the believer now.  1 Corinthians 15:17 says, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”  We experience the all-important resurrection by placing faith in Jesus for salvation, belonging to Jesus, being found in him.  2 Corinthians 5:17 says that the person found in Jesus is a new creation!  Experiencing the resurrection is at the heart of the resolution, because it’s at the heart of our faith.  It’s what gives us the power to live for him.

Paul continues.  He wants to know “the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings.”  Wait…what??  Knowing Christ.  That’s great.  Knowing the power of his resurrection.  You bet.  Sharing in his sufferings?  Not my favorite idea.  We too often want the result of hard work without going through it.  We want to be physically fit, but the idea of working out is not appealing.  But it is through suffering that it is possible to enjoy its benefits.  Sharing in Jesus’ sufferings is actually a prerequisite to both knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection.  How do we share in Jesus’ sufferings?  In one sense we have already.  We were represented in Him having suffered with Him.  Galations 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  In another sense we must continually be willing to suffer for the cause of Christ.  In His sermon on the mount, Jesus pronounced blessing on those who were persecuted for doing right (Mt 5:10).  A few verses later He blesses those who are despised and lied about for following Jesus.  That is the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings.

It is the resolution that makes this central.  We have many revelations but fail to make resolutions.  Randy Stinson is part of the faculty of Southern Seminary, where I am taking classes these days.  Dr. Stinson shares about an annual family getaway that he, his wife, and their seven kids enjoyed for years.  They rented a nice cabin up in the mountains for a couple weeks each year, but one year they decided to stop.  The reason?  It didn’t fit with the family plan.  As a family, they had made a resolution – the Stinson Family Plan – and because of it his kids approached him and told him the annual getaway was not in the plan.  Other things were in the plan that could not be accomplished if the family spent their resources on the trip.  So they scrapped the vacation, reallocated their resources, and began an outreach to a group of single moms.  They have a new annual Christmas tradition, and it has grown to incorporate a dinner in their home with these families.  They give generously to provide nice presents for these kids, and it is always a profound emotional time to watch them open the presents.  They do this for the cause of the gospel, to reach these people for Christ, because their resolution reflects the revelation that knowing and living for Christ is our greatest pursuit.

What is your resolution?  What is your plan?  Do you have it on paper?  I heard on the radio this week that zero balance budgeters pay off 19% more debt than others do, because they have a plan that accounts for their financial activities.  You might say to me, “Kevin, I already believe that knowing and living for Christ is the most important goal,” but have you written a plan to ensure that your daily activities pursue that goal?  Take some time to write your resolution.  A written resolution helps you decide whether you’re going to relax in front of the TV or work on a project with your kids, whether you read a book or talk with a friend about spiritual things.  Next week we get to hear Pastor Mark’s Vision Sunday sermon.  Wouldn’t it be great if you had developed a plan to live for Christ by then?  You could find the intersections between your goals and the church’s vision.  Let’s do this and see what God brings about through it.

We embrace the revolution that comes from a life devoted to Christ

Like the Stinson family, real, tangible fruit comes when we trade in our old resolutions and make new ones that really matter.  Paul saw this, too, as he did what we must do:  Embrace the revolution that comes from a life devoted to Christ.  What do I mean by revolution?  Miriam-Webster defines it as “a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something: a change of paradigm.”  The revolution that we embrace occurs within our hearts as they begin to beat in a rhythm that matches that of our Savior.

That sounds wonderful, but it does not always happen like that.  If you are like me, you experience daily failures, things that do not feel very revolutionary.  That will happen.  It does for me.  I find new reasons to apologize to my family on a weekly basis – my wonderfully creative fallen mind is still in the process of being renewed by Christ.  We do not have to like it, but we have to press on.  If it makes you feel any better, the Apostle Paul recognized that he still had a ways to go.  “Not that I have already obtained all this,” he says, “or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”  Following Jesus is a marathon.  In fact, when Paul is talking about being “made perfect,” he is referring to the completion of a race.  Jesus put it a different way in Luke 9:23.  He tells us to take up our crosses daily to follow him.

We have to “press on” in this effort.  That term Paul uses implies a fervent pursuit.  In fact, it can mean for good or for evil.  In verse 6 of this chapter, he uses the same word that is translated “persecute.”  So his fervency against the cause of Christ was revolutionized into a fervent pursuit for the cause of Christ.

Have you ever heard of Kyle MacDonald?  Kyle began playing a game that has become very popular on youth trips when several other groups are present.  It’s called the trade up game.  You take something very small – a pen, for example – and you go around to other groups to see what you can trade it for.  It is interesting to see what trades are made.  So if you ever wondered where your son got that new Nintendo DS game and why he didn’t bring back his sleeping bag, wonder no more!

Kyle MacDonald, however, is an adult who wanted to make bigger trades, so he posted his red paper clip in the trading section of Craisglist.  He made a total of fourteen trades, and this is what they were:  The paper clip was traded for a fish-shaped pen, which was then traded for a small, ceramic door knob.  The door knob was bartered for a camping stove, which fetched a generator.  Kyle traded the generator for an “instant party package” – a filled keg and neon lights.  The party package went to someone for a snowmobile, which was traded in return for an all-expense paid getaway to a village.  That trip went to a person for a big box truck, which is exactly what a recording artist needed to get to gigs.  The artist, in return, secured a recording contract that also promised a pitch to executives.  The person who wanted that offered Kyle a year’s free rent in a home, which Kyle traded for an afternoon with Alice Cooper of KISS – an, odd turn of events, I know.  The person who received that gave Kyle a KISS snowglobe of all things, which happens to be something that Hollywood actor, Corbin Benson, loves to collect.  Fun fact:  Corbin Benson is a Christian, and he lived on the same dormitory floor as our own Russ Egeland in college.  In return for the new globe in his collection, Benson offered a movie contract.  The town of Kipling, Saskatchewan wanted the contract and got it by giving Kyle a home in their town, right on Main Street.

All that for a paper clip!  Wouldn’t it be great to drop one of those in an envelope, mail it to the bank, and get the title for your home?  Trading in our resolution for something better has an even more powerful effect, so long as we trade up for the most important thing.  Better still is the fact that we do not have to make several trades – just one – because God freely offers us the life that comes from his Son and the revolution that comes from living for him!  Are you ready for that revolution?

I hope you are ready, and I hope you will pray for that revelation, make the resolution, and embrace the revolution from it.  The time is right now for us to trade up.  One of the best ways to convey this truth is through a video I found that had an impact on me.  I hope it will on you, too.

Will you be a trader?