Choose To Lose - Life Together | Week 7 | Tim Birdwell

Jun 01, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Joy Rides the Drop Tower

Life’s ups and downs can leave us breathless, like strapping into a theme park drop tower. Paul rejects this rollercoaster, anchoring joy not in shifting circumstances but in the unchanging Lord. Prison chains couldn’t steal his praise because his identity wasn’t tied to success, health, or others’ approval. To rejoice “in the Lord” means fixing our eyes on the One who remains steady when jobs fail, relationships fracture, or cultural chaos swirls. This isn’t denial but defiance against letting temporary storms dictate eternal joy. [04:35]

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4, ESV)

Reflection: What circumstance have you allowed to control your joy this week? How might praying “Rejoice in the Lord” reshape your perspective today?

Day 2: Never Graduate From the Alphabet

We don’t outgrow the gospel like childhood ABCs—it’s the foundation for every word we’ll ever speak. Paul insists on repeating gospel truths because spiritual maturity isn’t moving past Jesus’ sacrifice but diving deeper into its implications. Just as letters form every novel, sermon, and love note, the cross shapes every prayer, act of service, and moment of worship. To treat grace as a beginner’s lesson is to miss the infinite depths of Christ’s love. [09:52]

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you subtly replaced gospel-centered growth with religious checklist habits? How can you recenter Christ’s sacrifice in your routines this week?

Day 3: Dogs, Mutilators, and Self-Made Righteousness

Paul shockingly calls religious achievers “dogs”—not for their passion but their toxic addition to grace. Like modern “Jesus plus” mentalities (church attendance, political alignment, or moral track records), first-century Judaizers reduced faith to circumcision plus the cross. True righteousness can’t be earned through heritage, Bible knowledge, or zealous rule-keeping. Any attempt to impress God with spiritual résumés reeks like animal dung compared to Christ’s perfection. [11:01]

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” (Philippians 3:7, ESV)

Reflection: What “Jesus plus” lie have you believed about your worth? How might releasing that false addition free you to receive grace today?

Day 4: Throw Pillows vs. Surpassing Greatness

Paul traded religious prestige for knowing Christ like a man leaves bachelorhood for marriage—not reluctantly but overwhelmed by greater beauty. Earthly comforts (careers, hobbies, even ministry success) become rubbish when compared to intimate friendship with Jesus. This isn’t dismissing good things but reordering them around the ultimate treasure. Just as throw pillows pale beside a lifelong love, every earthly gain dims before the glory of Christ. [19:13]

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:8, ESV)

Reflection: What “good thing” have you placed alongside Christ as equally essential? How might releasing it deepen your dependence on Him alone?

Day 5: Found in Him, Not Your Flu Game

Paul’s confidence isn’t in his spiritual flu-game perseverance but in being “found in Him”—clothed in Christ’s righteousness, not self-made holiness. Like a child reassured after a costume malfunction, we perform not for approval but from belovedness. Communion invites us to release whatever we cling to for worth—whether shameful sins or shiny achievements—and receive the Father’s verdict: “You’re fully known, fully loved, fully covered.” [30:09]

“And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ.” (Philippians 3:9, ESV)

Reflection: What mask or merit are you still holding onto? How might opening empty hands today help you rest in Christ’s finished work?

Sermon Summary

Paul tells a reverse comeback story. The former “Hebrew of Hebrews” was winning by every first-century religious metric, then chose to lose. The kingdom Jesus brings flips the scoreboard. So the text calls loss what used to look like gain, because gain is now measured by one thing: “the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Paul starts by choosing to lose dependence on circumstances. “Rejoice in the Lord” reanchors joy in a constant Christ instead of the drop-tower ride of health, politics, kids, and likes. With joy in the unshifting Lord, life moves into checkmate. To live is Christ, to die is gain.

The text then chooses to lose the checkbox approach to the gospel. Repetition of the same good news is “safe,” like the alphabet is for language. Nobody graduates from A to Z; everything grows from it. So the gospel is not a starter course but the framework for all of life. Next, the warning lands: “Look out for the dogs… the mutilators of the flesh.” Judaizers were Jesus-plus people. Paul strips that project down to its roots. Righteousness cannot ride on pedigree, ritual, or zeal. Jesus plus nothing equals everything.

To prove it, Paul lays out his seven-line LinkedIn and calls it dung. Circumcision on the eighth day, Israel, Benjamin, Hebrew of Hebrews, Pharisee, zealous, blameless. All that goes in the loss column, not because Torah or zeal are evil, but because they become rubbish when they try to do God’s job. Gain is “knowing” Christ, not just serving him or reciting facts about him. That knowing is intimate, like scripture says of a husband and wife. The Son who emptied himself, suffered shame, bled under wrath, then rose in victory, now sees, knows, and loves undeserving sinners. “Who else is worthy?” Not success, not religion, not the self. Not even the best self.

Righteousness comes by being “found in him,” clothed, not by crossing the Grand Canyon with a pile of do’s and don’ts. Jesus never once committed the wrong thing, and never once omitted the right thing. His record covers sinners. Found in him, the church does not settle into passivity. Acceptance fuels perseverance. Like a father’s embrace after a botched recital, grace ignites resilience. So the question lands: what is still being refused to lose, whether a religious resume or a rap sheet or a glowing screen? Open hands, count it loss, and gain Christ.

Key Takeaways

1. Joy chooses the Lord over circumstances Joy that rides the waves of health, politics, and popularity will always crash. Joy anchored in the Lord stays steady because he stays steady. Checkmate comes when Christ is the fixed reference point, so life can rise or fall without stealing joy. The soul finally rests when it stops outsourcing happiness to volatility. [06:43]
2. The gospel is the lifelong alphabet The good news is not a box to check and leave behind. Like letters under every word, the gospel undergirds every thought, practice, and habit of discipleship. Going “deeper” means tracing Christ’s grace into more rooms of the heart, not moving past it. Safe repetition forms sturdy saints. [09:52]
3. Self-righteousness is dung next to Christ Religious pedigree shines until it tries to stand in for Jesus. Once Christ is seen as surpassingly great, even the best resume belongs in the loss column. Jesus plus anything breaks the equation because it shifts the center off the only worthy one. Gain arrives the moment the hands finally empty. [13:46]
4. Righteousness is received, found in him The gap between a holy God and sinful people is not bridgeable by effort or sincerity. Only Jesus holds a flawless record, never committing the wrong and never omitting the right. Being clothed in him gives a standing that effort cannot earn and failure cannot undo. Security rests on his merit, not human momentum. [28:25]
5. Acceptance energizes persevering obedience Grace does not produce apathy. Being held by unearned favor unties knots of fear and turns duty into desire. Sons and daughters who know they are delighted in can face glitches, losses, and shame with resilient love. Worship becomes fuel for faithfulness. [32:10]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:27] - Comeback stories and a reverse one
[01:17] - Paul chooses to lose
[03:48] - Rejoice in the Lord
[04:35] - Losing dependence on circumstances
[06:24] - Checkmate joy in Christ
[07:18] - Don’t checkbox the gospel
[09:52] - The alphabet of grace
[10:36] - Look out for the dogs
[12:27] - Paul’s seven credentials
[13:07] - Counting it all as rubbish
[15:14] - Loss for the sake of gain
[19:27] - Knowing Christ Jesus my Lord
[24:52] - Only Jesus is worthy
[28:25] - Found in him, not in self
[30:32] - Grace that fuels perseverance
[32:52] - What are you refusing to lose
[33:18] - Communion and open-handed surrender

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Philippians 3:1-9 (ESV)
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order 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 comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.

Observation Questions

In Philippians 3:2, Paul warns believers to “look out for the dogs.” What group does this metaphor refer to, and what were they teaching? [10:36]
Paul lists seven credentials from his religious “resume” (vv. 5-6). What specific achievements or identities does he mention, and why were they highly valued in his culture? [13:07]
How does the sermon use the metaphor of the alphabet to explain the role of the gospel in a believer’s life? [09:52]
What does Paul mean when he says he counts his former achievements as “rubbish” (v. 8), and how does the sermon illustrate this idea? [13:46]

Interpretation Questions

Why does Paul contrast rejoicing “in the Lord” (v. 1) with depending on circumstances for joy? How does anchoring joy in Christ create stability? [06:43]
How might relying on religious achievements (like Paul’s credentials) actually hinder someone from truly knowing Christ? What makes self-righteousness incompatible with grace? [13:46]
The sermon compares being “found in [Christ]” (v. 9) to being clothed in His righteousness. What does this imagery reveal about the difference between human effort and God’s gift? [28:25]
The story of the father embracing his daughter after her flawed recital illustrates how acceptance fuels perseverance. How does God’s unconditional love motivate obedience rather than complacency? [32:10]

Application Questions

What circumstances (health, relationships, achievements, etc.) do you most often depend on for joy? How could intentionally “rejoicing in the Lord” shift your perspective this week? [06:43]
Are there areas where you treat the gospel like a “starter course” instead of the foundation for daily life? What practical step could you take to center your thoughts or habits on Christ’s grace today? [09:52]
What “religious resume” items (church attendance, service, knowledge) or “rap sheet” struggles (shame, sin patterns) are you clinging to instead of Christ’s righteousness? How might you symbolically “open your hands” to release them? [33:18]
The sermon asks, “What are you refusing to lose?” Is there a habit, relationship, or source of validation competing with your surrender to Christ? What would it look like to count it as loss this month? [32:52]
How can remembering God’s unconditional acceptance (like the father’s embrace) help you face failure or shame with resilience instead of fear? Share a recent example where this truth could have changed your response. [32:10]

Sermon Clips

28s

#PerfectRighteousness

“There is nothing that Jesus Christ living on this earth for thirty three years, picture this, there is nothing he should have done that was good that he failed to do. Are you kidding me right now? That's how holy Jesus Christ is. That's how righteous Jesus Christ is, and you can't get there because of your merit or your works. You have that righteous standing because of him and him alone. Who else is worthy?”

27s

#ClothedInChrist

“Your sinful little self, your finite little self gets to be clothed. Now, God looks at you if you place your faith in Jesus Christ and he doesn't see your sin. He sees his sinless son. And that's why at the end of days, that's why God lets you in. you get to experience that reality today and forevermore because it doesn't depend on you. You're found in him, not in you.”

37s

#SacrificeOfChrist

“He came, he he came out of glory in the throne in heaven and he was born in a stable, lived life in utter obscurity for thirty years for you. He he preached sermons and he he did miracles and then he eventually went to a a bloody cross and he died for hours in darkness as his friends betrayed him. And it was about physical pain but more about public shame in the Roman world. And he did that for you.”

30s

#FaithNotHobby

“How are you getting to know the person and work of God? The character and the nature of God? The love of God, how's that working out through you? See, I hope you do a lot. I I do hope you you give financial. I hope you serve. I hope you invite. I hope you pray. But if we just do I hope you come to church more than one time every six weeks. But if we do all these things just to do them, it is a lame hobby.”

24s

#RelationshipNotRoutine

“I meet with people all the time. How's your relationship with God? Well, church, you know, I'm going to church and I'm reading my bible. I'm trying to, you know, bible before phone. Somebody said that, sounds cute. I'm gonna do that. I'm serving. I'm I'm in this class. Y'all said to do move to one, discipleship. I don't know what that means, but I'm kinda I'm trying. And I'm like, okay. But how's your relationship with God?”

29s

#BuildOnTheBasics

“Every time you open up your mouth, you use the alphabet. Every time you write a letter or more likely a social media post, you use the alphabet. Do you ever leave the alphabet behind? That would be silly. That'd be crazy to say that. You don't leave it behind. You go deeper and forward with it, more profound, more expansive. It becomes the framework for all of life. That's how the English language works.”

23s

#GospelForLife

“That's what Paul is saying about the gospel of Jesus Christ. You never move on from that would be silly. You go deeper with it. You go more expansive with till the day you die. That's the gospel. And so Paul chooses to lose this idea of like, I'm just gonna check that thing off the list and graduate to something bigger. You don't know the gospel if you say things like that.”

27s

#JesusPlusNothing

“Paul's saying, hey, we gotta choose to lose any form of self righteousness or religiosity. It's Jesus plus nothing equals everything. Everything. And Paul says, hey, you wanna you wanna see a picture of what this can look like? I'm first in line. Look back at the text with me. Verse four, he says, hey, if anybody's gonna put confidence in the flesh, it's me.”

30s

#JoyBeyondCircumstance

“I choose to lose a dependence on my circumstances like that. Here's what's amazing. Here's what happens. We've said this before. Paul has the world in checkmate. To live is Christ, to die is gain. Like, to to have this place in life, just picture with this with me, where you you choose to lose depending upon your circumstances for your joy and success and status in life. And so therefore, you cannot lose. That's what checkmate means.”

32s

#FoundInChrist

“He knew all that about your life, and he loved you so much. He didn't just say it, he he showed it through the cross. Jesus did that for you. Not so you could know about him, not so you could repeat that in a testimony even, but so that you could be found in him, clothed in him, enveloped by that.”

31s

#KnownAndLovedByGod

“who set the planets in motion, that hung the stars in the sky, looks at you and says, I see you, I know you, and I love you. And Paul says, you get to know him. You get to be with him forever. And two of y'all are excited about it. He says, hey, hey, man. That I'm gonna count anything that's not getting me to that, that's lost, that's rubbish.”

33s

#DivineIntimacy

“That's intimate in scripture. Oftentimes, they would talk about no he knew her. What was that talking about? Husband and a wife. Sexual intimacy was the most intimate language we could use. Paul uses that language about the perfect son of God who spoke creation into being, whose scripture says he sustains the universe with the very power of his word without lifting a finger. That God who Philippians two one chapter before says he emptied himself for you.”

21s

#RejoiceInTheLord

“And you would think Paul, he's probably in a palace writing this, man. He's so full of joy. No. He's in prison. He is literally chained to an imperial guard twenty four seven. And yet he's saying, rejoice. So he's, you know, crazy pills like, how does this guy do this? Notice, look at the text. He says, rejoice in what? The Lord.”

26s

#GoodThingsArentGod

“That you look at these things which are good things, and some of y'all have some good things in your life. You've been to church, you have memorized some verses, you go to classes, you have some y'all served in this way. I I'm hey, Tim, I'm trying. I'm serving at VBS. I at least brought snacks. Like, I'm doing these things and you can list off things that you've done that are good in your life. And those good things may be good, but they're not God.”

31s

#ChooseEternalWorth

“Why would anybody choose to lose? Paul was a prestigious man. He had power. He had prominence. He had respect. He had status in first century Jewish culture. Why would anybody choose to lose all that? Look back at the text with me. Notice how he talks through this whole paragraph. Accountants, you'll help me with this. He says loss, gain, count. He's talking about economic realities.”

18s

#UnshakableJoy

“That's what Paul is saying. My joy is in the Lord. He has no shifting shadow, no variation. He is constant. He doesn't go up and down. Praise God. Do you know this is true? He's constant. And so you can have that joy in him that is also constant even though your life still goes up and down.”

26s

#RejectWorksReligion

“Who's he talking about? He's talking about Judaizers. These people, you can think about it this way, people that were Jesus plus people. People that they love Jesus. Hey, Jesus is great. My homeboy down on the cross, rose again, Jesus is great. Plus, circumcision. He talks about mutilating the flesh, a little graphic, that Judaizers in that day, adults would come to know Jesus, believe in Jesus, life, death, and resurrection.”

26s

#TakingTheRiskToLove

“And I remember I called her, and I was just like I was conflicted because I was like, why am I do why am I calling? I don't I like my life. I don't And I got on the phone. I was like, hi, Hey. How are you? Stop it. What are you hey. I was wondering, would you like to get together? So I was I don't know what's happening. What happened? I I love singleness, but Jaya was infinitely better than that.”

25s

#GreatnessIsPerseverance

“And I'm just like, hey, greatness is not doing great things when everything is perfect. How many of you know this? The great ones overcome. The great ones persevere obstacles. That's true greatness. And I said, Tammy, that was true greatness. And she stops crying a little bit and she starts to smile. Now, we were gonna go to In N Out afterwards, but I don't think it was that.”

17s

#KeepRepeatingTheGospel

“But we also choose to lose checking the gospel off a list. Look at what he says. He says, I'm gonna keep saying the same thing to you. Why? Because it's safe for you. It's it's good for you if I do this. Here's what Paul's about to do. He's about to to get on religious people.”

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