May 05, 2021: To Gain the World Can Seem Great, But to Lose Eternity in the Process is Devastating.

In the Book of Philippians of chapter 3, the Apostle Paul describes to the Philippians the importance of getting to know our Lord, Jesus. It is in our knowing our Lord that we gain eternity through his death on the cross. It is through our faith that we recognize that all that we may have gained in this world should mean nothing to us, it is all garbage, compared to what we have waiting for us in eternity with our Lord.

Philippians 3: 8-9

What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 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 on the basis of faith.

When we come to recognize our sinfulness and call out to our Lord in our confession of "salvation", we are saying to God how much we need Him, that we have sin greatly in His eyes and that we need His Son, Jesus, to come into our hearts and save us. But our brokenness does not stop there. Even though we may recognize this sinfulness at that time, our sinful nature does not stop.

As Christians, we still sin and will continue to sin all the way until our physical death. It is now up to God to "sanctify", cleanse us, from this ongoing sin nature daily. But for God to be able to do this, we must recognize that we are "wretched sinners" and will continually be until our physical death. When this is acknowledged in ourselves, we must come to "absolute surrender" of everything to God so that He now is able to begin the work of our "sanctification" in us and not by our own power, but by "the power of the Holy Spirit".

True surrender is knowing that we have "no power" within ourselves and acknowledge and agree with God, that He is the only One who can cleanse us. Will we ever come to the point of not sinning anymore? No! We will still sin, but we will begin to see the "hand of God" working in our lives and the "love and peace that surpasses all knowledge" will guard our hearts in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 3: 17-19

"so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God".

PERSONNAL COMMENT:

As we come to surrender all to our God, may we "be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God". What great peace this knowledge can bring into our hearts. This is not the knowledge the world can offer us. It can only be offered as we seek after our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.