Preaching through Philippians

 

TOPIC:‌“Paul - The Discontented Believer”

                  by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌Philippians 3:1-10

 

‌‌“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship

‌‌of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (3:10)

 

1. J. Gordon, the well-known author, once inserted into one of his sermons this

fascinating statement: “When I hear Christians testify that they would be satisfied with the lowest place in Heaven if only by the grace of God they are permitted to reach there at all, I reply that their Lord will not be so easily satisfied as they are. He wants them to strive for the highest place for a seat nearest the throne, and for a crown of the highest luster.” And yet, sad to confess, there are literally millions of believers who have become satisfied as to their present attainment in Christ. How tragic!

 

‌But not so of Paul. Though he outworked, out-walked, out-wrote and out-witnessed all other Christians of the first century, he was forever discontented and dissatisfied over the thought of being an ordinary disciple of Christ. He had a heart burning crave for a deeper encounter with the ever-living Christ. Surely no man was ever more occupied with going on with his Lord than Paul.

 

‌Give ear to his soul-searching cry: “yet, my brothers, I do not consider myself already perfect. But I keep going on” (Philippians 3:12, Phillips). Much like Andrew Murray who once said: “You will ask me am I satisfied? Have you got all you want? God forbid! With the deepest feeling of my soul I can say that I am satisfied with Jesus now; but there is also the consciousness of how much fuller the revelation can be of the exceeding abundance of His grace. Let us never hesitate to say, This is only the beginning.”

 

 

I.

 

‌Consider, to begin with, as we start our study of this chapter, a WARNING that is REPEATED. Paul writes in verses 1 and 2 these words: “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not irksome, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.” Here as Paul is coming to the end of his Epistle, he cannot break off this letter without mentioning a subject that he had written to them about earlier.

 

‌Paul does not want these believers in Christ to lose sight of the danger . . .