When Success Still Feels Empty|11.09.25|Jesus Over Everything pt.6
I have a hot take in the form of a question to start today: what is the worst type of cookie? Turn to the person next to you and tell them your opinion.
Now, maybe you just got to KNOW the person next to you a bit better! Maybe you connect with them more now, or maybe you feel betrayed and hurt.
Well, here’s my hot take: the worst cookie is definitely…oatmeal raisin!
Because I have a core memory as a kid getting so excited about cookies and picking the one that looked most delicious and then taking a big bite and… OH NO! THAT’S NOT CHOCOLATE CHIP!!
How could I have been so misled? I had spent my time choosing, and it was all a waste! The prize that I had been seeking was complete TRASH! And now I’m sad and stuck and trying to figure out whether to keep chewing (and chewing and chewing) or spit it out and count it as a loss.
Have you ever chased the wrong prize? Have you ever strived for something, and when you finally got it, realized it wasn’t worth it? It wasn’t what you thought it would be? It wasn’t able to satisfy or fulfill you?
One of my favorite movies of all time is “Hook”, starring Robin Williams as a grown up Peter Pan who has forgotten all about his childhood as a Lost Boy. Now he’s Peter Banning, a high-powered business executive who has lost touch with his own kids.
There’s a painful scene at the beginning of the movie where he’s planning on leaving work early so that he can make his son’s baseball game, since he’s missed every other game that season.
But he says yes to one last phone call, and then some paperwork, and then a meeting, and then he’s racing out the door and he’s in the car and he arrives at the baseball field… just to realize everyone is gone and he completely missed it.
And the look of disappointment on his son’s face says everything.
Peter’s entire life is a success story on paper… big office, big paycheck, lots of people looking to him, big house… but in the process of climbing the ladder, he’s losing his family.
And when he finds himself in Neverland again, he’s forced to look at the profit and loss statement of his life. And he realizes that everything he thought was a GAIN in his life was actually a LOSS compared to the joy of being there for his family.
By the end of the movie, after discovering what matters most, there’s this beautiful moment where his phone starts ringing and he knows it’s the big client he’s been waiting to hear from…but he throws his cell phone out the window and plays in the snow with his kids.
[Scripture Ref]
That’s actually very close to our passage this week in Philippians. The apostle Paul has been looking at his life: his pedigree, his success, his status…and he’s realizing that the whole time, he had been chasing the wrong treasure. But now, he’s found something infinitely better, and he wants us all to know about it.
These past few weeks, we’ve been reading through the letter of Philippians, written by Paul, who helped start the church in Philippi, and he’s writing to a group of Jesus followers who live in an area obsessed with status and influence and climbing the ladder as the markers of their worth and satisfaction in life.
And we’ve read through the first two chapters of this letter, where Paul is reminding us that even in hardship, God’s not done with us. Joy is possible, even when your life doesn’t go in the direction you had planned.
And he’s reminding the Roman citizens of Philippi that their TRUE citizenship is in heaven. Their true identity comes from Jesus, not their status in the world.
And the reason that Jesus is the model for us is because of what we proclaim in the Sacrificial Savior Creed: Jesus willinging left behind his status and privilege and humbled himself to death for OUR sake, and so God raised him up as the pathway to salvation for us.
And today, as we read chapter 3, Paul turns the spotlight inward on his OWN status and success, and declares it all worthless compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ and becoming like him.
So, as we read, we need to ask ourselves, “what am I clinging to for worth or joy that can’t actually be depended on?”
So let’s read this together, and listen for the words: gain, loss, know, press on.
[Philippians 3:1-4:1]
[Philippians 3:2-3]
So, we’ve been learning that every time we approach the Bible to study it for ourselves, we need to seek to understand the CONTEXT behind what we’re reading, because that will help us read slowly and ask questions to better understand it, but also to better apply it to our lives so that God can continue his work of transforming us to become more and more like Jesus.
And some of the context for this passage is actually found in the letter of Galatians. This all happened ten years before he wrote Philippians, and Paul had fought a huge battle with some teachers who insisted that Gentile believers (non-Jews) needed to get circumcised in order to be fully accepted by God.
But for Paul, this wasn’t about surgery, it was about self-salvation. Even though Jesus paid the full price and has finished the work on the cross, apparently these teachers were trying to add on their own accomplishments to earn their standing.
So here in Philippians 3, he brings back his same argument, but he widens the scope. He says, “ANYTHING you depend on: your background, your performance, your image…it’s just another kind of outward ritual. And it’s not what God looks at.
Jesus already did the only cutting that counts: he was cut off from life for us at the cross, and gave us his belonging as children of God by grace. He cut down death so that we could experience his full, abundant, eternal life…now and forever.
So Paul is bringing that back up here for the Philippian church to reassure them that there is NO REASON to adopt Jewish laws and customs in order to be considered “real” followers of God.
And let me be a bit of a Bible nerd with you for a second, because there is some cool stuff that Paul is doing here. First, he’s telling them to “beware” the people who are calling non-Jews out and demanding they do the outward Jewish rituals.
[Drew v2]
But the word can also be translated as “just look at”, which kind of shows more of an irony in what he’s saying. And he’s using alliteration in the Greek to drive his point home, so we can accomplish the same thing in English by saying, “Just look at the mangy dogs, just look at the makers of evil, just look at the mutilators of the flesh.”
Because these Jewish teachers were using the slur “dogs” to describe Gentiles, but Paul says, “no, the real dogs are the ones who put their trust in the ritual instead of in Jesus Christ himself.” Just look at them! How foolish.
Gentiles aren’t the workers of evil, THEY are! Just look at them. How sad.
They claim to be “the Circumcision”, the true covenant with God from Moses. Nah, they are the Mutilation! You think chopping up your bits is what gets you in with God? Just look at them. How silly!
[Philippians 3:3-4]
Nope, WE are the true Circumcision. We are the ones truly brought into a covenant with God (not from outward ritual), but from worshiping in the Spirit. We boast in Christ, not in what we have achieved in our human fleshly experience.
And then Paul launches into his own profit and loss statement: “You want to talk about achieving things in this human experience…you want to talk about accolades?... because I’ve got ‘em!”
[Philippians 3:5-6]
Then he lists three things that he didn’t have control over, but was just born into, and three things that he achieved on his own.
If anyone else thinks they have reason to put confidence in their fleshly human experience and achievements, I have even more!
Circumcised: on the eighth day like the good Jewish boy I am!
Not only am I part of Israel, I’m a Benjamite, where the city of Jerusalem is!
A full Hebrew, born of full Hebrew parents.
How well did I follow the Jewish law? Ummm, I was a Pharisee, the super strict sect of Jews that followed every single law to the letter!
How seriously did I take my faith? I was super zealous, even tracking down and persecuting followers of Jesus because I thought they were betraying Yahweh!
Was I righteous in God’s sight by following the law? Yep, I was as perfect as they come!
Paul is saying, “in ANY religious resume contest…I win!” But, whatever he used to consider a GAIN, he now considers a LOSS.
[Philippians 3:7]
It’s as if he’s looking at the profit and loss statement of his life like an accountant, and all of the things in the column that used to be considered a GAIN, he now moves over to the LOSS column. His entire spiritual portfolio, the value of his accolades, is now in the red.
Because when you measure the wrong things, even your successes keep you from the goal.
It’s like when kids are first learning about money, but they don’t know about the different values of the coins and the bills. They just know that money has value, and more is usually better.
And so they are more excited about ten pennies than about one dollar, because ten is more than one. Measuring the wrong things!
Or it’s like the modern parable of climbing the ladder: sometimes we spend our whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to discover that it was leaning against the wrong wall.
And if your ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take gets us to the wrong place faster. What once was a gain, we now realize was a loss.
[Philippians 3:8-9]
But Paul isn’t done. He doesn’t just devalue his trophies, he dumps them in the trash. Our passage says that Paul has willingly suffered the loss of all things, and he regards them as RUBBISH, but that’s actually a very polite translation of the word that Paul actually uses.
The Greek word, skubala, is probably better translated as human waste, or sewer refuse. In the ancient world, they didn’t have septic tanks or sewer systems, so they had to dispose of the human waste and the food waste by dumping it.
And if you weren’t making your own compost, it got thrown out on the edge of the neighborhood where the unclean scavenger birds and mangy stray dogs would pick through it.
Paul is trying to make a STRONG point here. Everything he used to value: the things he accomplished, his resume, his accolades, proving his excellent skill and achievement…it’s all sewer refuse.
Why? Because he’s found something so much better. Because what he’s gained in Christ dwarfs everything else that used to be of worth and value in his life.
It’s not a righteousness of his own. It’s not the platform he’s built. It’s not the things he could point to that he’s achieved…it’s the righteousness OF GOD, received through the FAITH OF CHRIST.
That means our standing rests first on Jesus’ faithfulness, his perfect trust and obedience, and we receive it by trusting Him.
[Philippians 3:10-11]
And all that builds to the core truth right at the center of this passage. The core truth that Paul has been building to this whole letter: I want to KNOW Christ.
I don’t just want to know ABOUT Jesus. I want to KNOW him. I want to spend time with him, follow him, read his word, see his handiwork in the world around me, and become more and more like him. I want his life to reshape mine.
I don’t just want to learn about Jesus and listen to some songs sometimes, or pay attention to a sermon once a week or once a month. I don’t just want to have a favorite verse as my phone background or stitched on a pillow in my house.
I want to KNOW CHRIST and the power of his resurrection. I want to experience the hope that comes when I know my redeemer lives. I want to go through the ups and downs of life knowing that there will be a day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and there will be no more crying or pain or death or loss.
But I don’t JUST want the positive parts of knowing Jesus as the victorious king. I also want to share in his sufferings. I want to be FORMED by his life and practices. I want my life to be formed to become more and more like him. I want my character to be formed to become more and more like him.
I want the parts of me that don’t look like Jesus to be broken off, or sanded down, or remolded so that my life can reflect the character and love of the one who gave up everything to beat death and win salvation for us.
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and share in his sufferings, and I even want to become like him in death. I want to fully let go of anything in this world that I hold to and value and cling to, and I want to be transformed in death and be raised to new life in Christ.
I want to die like Jesus died: fully submitted to the Father. Not going out kicking and screaming, futilely grasping for anything to cling to. Because I only want to cling to my savior and king, Jesus Christ.
[Philippians 3:12]
Not that I’ve obtained what I’m reaching for yet. But I PRESS ON to make it my own. I move rapidly and decisively toward the goal to make it my own.
And the word here that we’ve translated as “make it my own” can also be used to describe “coming into possession of an inheritance.”
So Paul is saying, even now, after pursuing all these other things in my life, even after experiencing hardships, even after ending up in prison and having my life lead me to a place I never would have chosen, even now after realizing that everything else I had chased was all WASTE…
…I still PRESS ON toward Jesus and I claim HIM as my inheritance. Everything else is utter waste compared to the SURPASSING VALUE of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. All the other things that I thought were worth pointing my life towards PALE in comparison to the eternal worth of Jesus’ grace and love and righteousness placed over me.
I am able to let go of these lesser things because Jesus himself is such a better inheritance. But Jesus…chose me?
“Because Christ Jesus has made me HIS own.” Christ Jesus has claimed ME as his inheritance.
[blank]
Jesus already had everything. Jesus, who was fully God, equal in glory and stature and authority over the entirety of existence…didn’t cling to any of that, but willingly gave it all up.
Willingly stepped into a fragile human body. Willingly took on shame and scorn and misunderstanding. Willingly allowed himself to DIE. Willingly was executed in the most awful way.
Willingly felt every stinging word, every tearing whip, every gasping breath.
Jesus endured all that…because he wanted YOU as his inheritance. He left behind all of heaven’s riches to claim YOU as his treasure.
Jesus saw YOU, and decided you were worth more to him than everything he already had. He counted all that a loss in order to GAIN…you.
[Jesus gave]
This is why Paul is pleading with us to see that the best thing to experience in life is following Jesus, because he’s better than anything else. And because he has claimed us as his inheritance, because he’s made us his own, because he’s grasped us…we now can reach out to grasp him.
Paul wants us to know that Jesus gave up everything to claim you as His inheritance, so stop clinging to what can’t claim you back.
Jesus is the goal worth striving for.
[Philippians 3:13-14]
So Paul tells us to forget what is behind us in our life. Not like having amnesia, but refusing to be defined by your past. Refusing to be defined by what you used to chase.
Instead, press on…strain forward – imitate him in stretching every muscle toward the finish, toward the goal of Jesus.
[Philippians 3:18-19] chart?
Because the alternative is the type of life that we see all around us. The ones who aren’t pursuing Jesus as their inheritance. And Paul says there isn’t really any “middle ground” or “neutral direction” in life.
You’re either pressing on towards Jesus, or you’re moving away from him. And when your life is moving AGAINST the direction of Jesus, that’s called being an enemy.
Enemies of the cross are heading towards their ultimate goal, the end of their race, which is destruction. Waste and ruin. But pressing on towards Jesus leads us to resurrection and life.
Enemies of the cross have lifted up as their god their belly / their inner experience / their gut-level, self-gratifying desires. But pressing on toward Jesus means that your God is Jesus Christ.
Enemies of the cross have the ironic glory that reveals their own shame and dishonor. But pressing on toward Jesus gives us the glory of the cross of Christ and the righteousness of God.
Enemies of the cross set their minds on earthly things like fame, security in money, power, status, and hoping their influence doesn’t disappear and render them alone. But pressing on towards Jesus means your mind is set on heaven. Forget what lays behind and strain forward to what lies ahead: because Jesus is the prize.
[Philippians 3:20-21]
So remember that our citizenship is in heaven. Our true identity, our true security, our true FUTURE is anchored there because of our savior Jesus Christ. And no matter what valleys we have experienced in this human life. No matter what darkness we find ourselves in. No matter what regrets we have…
Jesus will TRANSFORM our temporary, earthly humiliation into his experience of a glorified life as he brings us into eternity.
Therefore, stand firm in the Lord.
[This week]
Whew, what a landing by Paul! But remember, whenever we read Scripture, we always want to take a step of obedience and try and apply it to our lives so that God can continue his work of transforming us to become more and more like Jesus.
And I’ve got a really simple next step for us this week: Spend time with Jesus this week so he can help you treasure him more and become like him more.
Because the more time we spend with Jesus, letting him capture our hearts more and more, helping us to see that every other thing we try to treasure and pursue pales in comparison to the surpassing worth of knowing him…then the more we will treasure him.
And as we spend time with him, through his word…through prayer, we can’t help but become more like him.
[two options]
So I have two simple ways to try this. You can do either or both, but I know that different personality types might connect with one over the other.
The first way to spend time with Jesus so that he can help you treasure him more is to add a daily prayer into this week. Set aside one short moment each day… maybe during your morning commute, or at lunch, or right before bed… but set aside that moment to simply BE with Jesus.
Just pray, “Jesus, help me know you today.” You can read your Bible, or listen to his voice of love and compassion in prayer, or just sit quietly and thank him for each breath.
That’s one option. The second option comes right from Paul’s example today: make a ledger of the profits in your life. But I would encourage you to draw two columns on a sheet of paper.
The first column is where you’re going to list everything in your life that the world would call a “gain.” Your status, your achievements, your possessions…anything that others would consider valuable in your life.
And in the second column, label it “Christ,” and just write how Jesus is better than that thing. Or write how Jesus fulfills that thing, or has repurposed that thing for HIS glory instead of your own.
And no matter which of these practices you do this week, I would really encourage you to share your experience with your life group, or if you’re in a men’s or women’s group, or share your experience with someone in your family.
Because we’re transformed by Jesus TOGETHER. God uses the spiritual family he’s adopted us into to continue his work of transforming us and growing us and using us in his mission to reach the one far from him.
[Jesus gave]
And it’s amazing that we GET to be a part of joining Jesus in his work. It’s all because Jesus left everything… he left heaven’s glory, he left his position of safety and power … he left it all… to claim YOU.
That’s what you’re worth to him. Not because of your accolades or your resume. Not because of your record or your reputation. Not because of anything you’ve done that is impressive.
Simply because HE CHOSE YOU.
He stepped down into our human experience and willingly became obedient to death on the cross, and while he was hanging up there, he said, “You are my prize.”
And because of that, because he has claimed us as his inheritance, we can let go of every lesser thing that we used to cling to and say, “Jesus, You are MY inheritance. You are enough.”
Jesus gave up everything to claim you, so you can stop clinging to what isn’t going to claim you back.
Press on. Strain forward. Stand firm. Because He is the goal worth striving for.
Isn’t that good news?
Alternative tangent left unused:
But even as I reflect on this today, I have to be real with myself. I have to ask: “do I truly WANT to become like Jesus? Or do I just want the BENEFITS of being in his circle?”
Because when we experience healing and growth and peace with Jesus, it’s easy to want more of that. It’s easy to want “more Jesus” when we focus on the beauty and the overcoming.
But what about when we experience hardship? What about when we experience prejudice, or deep valleys? What about when it seems like God keeps closing doors or opposing the direction we’re trying to go?
Do we think of that as bad? Do we think of that as punishment?
[Mark 10:37]
We aren’t the only ones who have struggled with this. When Jesus’ disciples were starting to see Jesus’ fame grow and it looked like he was truly the Messiah, the savior who would overthrow their great enemy: Rome.
And Jesus is walking with his disciples towards Jerusalem, and he’s just told them (again) that he’s going to suffer and die. But while he’s describing the cross, his friends are arguing over crowns.
James and John come up to him and say, “Hey, would you give US the seats of honor at either side of you?”
Because they’re imagining Jesus’ plan to save them in the categories of achievement, power, influence. They want the benefits of being close to Jesus WITHOUT the burden of following him to the cross.
And Jesus responds by asking, “Can you drink the cup I drink? Can you be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
He’s saying, “If you want to share in My glory, you’ll have to share in My suffering.”
[Jesus is the goal]
It’s the same tension Paul is addressing in our passage in Philippians 3: wanting Jesus’ resurrection power without joining Him in the fellowship of His sufferings.
Sometimes we want the benefits of the kingdom without the sacrificial way of the King. But Jesus doesn’t invite us to earn our way to Him—He invites us to know Him, to walk with Him, even when that path leads through loss.