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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Jonathan Martin

Knowing Christ

So as you've heard, I have taught Sabbath school here.

I hope you guys, well, everyone has brought their Bibles.

I like to teach in a Bible study fashion, so be prepared to go to a lot of different scriptures, write them down so you can look at them later this afternoon, okay?

But before we go any further, if you wouldn't mind just bowing your heads with me for 1 more word of prayer and then we'll begin.

Loving Father in Heaven, Lord, thank you for the privilege we have of coming to worship you, to open your word, and to learn more about you.

As I share this morning, Lord, I just ask that You would honor your promise that the Holy Spirit would come and would work and would be our teacher this morning Reveal to each person what it is that they need to hear this morning Lord for this we ask in the name of Jesus I pray amen The topic for this morning is knowing Christ and how to value him more.

How many of you guys have ever gone shopping and got a bargain?

Well, okay, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, all those kind of things.

When you get a bargain, at least for me, I am stoked.

And the reason why I'm happy is because I got something that was of incredible worth for a huge discount, okay?

What we're going to look at now are a couple of discount offers here in the Bible.

Matthew chapter 13, and verse 44 through 46.

Matthew 13 44 through 46 is a familiar story.

It says, Again the kingdom of heaven is likened to treasure hid in a field, the which when a man hath found he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." Story number 1.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is likened to a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, who when he had found 1 pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Now some of you are reading this story and thinking, Jonathan, where's the bargain?

They received the most important thing of all.

We know that the treasure is Christ, we know that the pearl is Christ, and he claims all of us.

And what got me thinking about it this week was something in the book of Philippians.

Turn with me to Philippians and we'll see Paul's bargain.

Just to give you some background here, so if Paul is writing to the Philippians, 1 of his favorite churches of all, no problems in this church, it's just a happy, happy letter.

And prior to this statement, he is reciting things that he once considered valuable.

How he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees, circumcised the eighth day, you know, born a Hebrew of the Hebrews, zealous, considering the law, perfect and blameless, okay?

Verse 7 says, but what things were gained to me, those I counted lost for Christ.

Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and who counten but done, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may know him, and the Let's backtrack a bit.

Sufferings, being made conformable unto his death, if that by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Let's backtrack a bit.

In verse 7, Paul says, what things were gained to me?

All those things prior to him, he considered them valuable at 1 time.

But when he met Christ, he said, I counted loss.

Now, I suspect that at least a quarter of the people in this room enjoy working with numbers.

Like, Do you guys like to do book work, accounting?

But I like numbers, I like doing accounting.

And when you're doing accounting, you have your credits and your debits, okay?

And you say, well, Got my paycheck, credit.

Went down to Walmart and bought a lot of gifts, debit.

When you count things lost, it is not just a happenstance thing.

You said this thing will be, I have decided that this is not what I need.

And if you'd like to see a biblical example of counting loss, turn with me to Acts chapter 27.

It's a curious thing I found out this week that the word loss here is a peculiar Greek word that's only used here in Philippians and in Acts 27.

Paul is being sent to Rome for a judgment before Nero, and they're having a little bit of a squabble.

The sailors want to go further off, but Paul says, you know guys, I think we should stay here.

But the captain of the ship listens to the sailors, and he's like, no, you know, we can go a little bit further, it's a better harbor there, let's go forward.

And so in verse 11 it says, verse 10, And he said unto them, Sirs, I perceive this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.

Nevertheless, this ensuring believe the master and the owner of the ship more than those things which were spoken of Paul.

They're sailing along and they come into a storm, starting in verse 17.

And we being exceedingly tossed with the tempest, the next day they lightened the ship.

And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.

And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away." Now here comes Paul to the rescue.

Verse 21, But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, Sirs, you should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.

That word lost, that word damaged, the same thing that Paul's talking about in Philippians 3.

In this case, loss had a very specific thing.

And as the storm was getting rougher, they're like, do we keep the cargo and possibly die?

2 days later, they're still in the storm, like, do we keep the tackling and all this other stuff on board and hopefully not die?

Or do we throw it overboard and possibly live?

The counting of loss here is deciding that when your life is at stake, there are certain things that are not valuable, that are worth throwing overboard, that are not even worth considering.

And that is what Paul's talking about in Philippians, verse 3.

But what things were gained to me, the things that I was carrying, the things I was so proud of, those I counted loss.

Philippians chapter 3, we were in verse 7, and now we come to an even more astonishing statement.

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Knowing Christ

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