Counting Everything as Loss to Know Christ Jesus

Jun 01, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Drop Tower Ride of Circumstance-Driven Joy

When life feels like a rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows, Paul points to a better anchor. True joy isn’t found in shifting circumstances like health, success, or approval but in the unchanging character of Christ. Like a thrill ride that leaves you queasy, relying on external factors exhausts the soul. Stability comes when we fix our eyes on the Lord who never wavers. His constancy outlasts every political shift, social media trend, and personal setback. Choose to lose the whiplash of circumstance-driven living. [43:52]

“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.”
(Philippians 3:1, ESV)

Reflection: What circumstance currently controls your joy more than Christ’s presence? How might your week change if you anchored your heart in His unchanging nature?

Day 2: Paul’s LinkedIn Profile and the Liability Column

Religious resumes crumble before the weight of Christ’s worth. Paul lists his elite credentials—Pharisee, Hebrew of Hebrews, zealous persecutor—only to drag them into the loss column. These weren’t evil achievements, but they became idols when compared to knowing Jesus. Like moving spreadsheet entries from assets to liabilities, we must dethrone even good things that compete with our allegiance to Christ. Spiritual pedigrees mean nothing beside the gift of righteousness through faith. [40:40]

“If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 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; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”
(Philippians 3:4–6, ESV)

Reflection: What “achievement” do you subtly lean on for validation? How might declaring it “loss” free you to rest in Christ’s finished work?

Day 3: Never Graduating From the Gospel’s ABCs

The gospel isn’t a preschool lesson to outgrow but the foundation for every spiritual breakthrough. Just as we never stop using the alphabet to communicate, believers never move beyond Christ’s sacrifice. Paul repeats the gospel not because his audience forgot it, but because self-righteousness constantly creeps in. Maturity isn’t mastering deeper truths but plumbing the depths of grace. Every sermon, prayer, and act of service must flow from this core truth: Jesus paid it all. [46:45]

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
(Philippians 1:6, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been tempted to treat the gospel as basic? How could rehearsing Christ’s sacrifice today renew your awe?

Day 4: When Religious Credentials Smell Like Rubbish

Self-righteousness stinks worse than failure. Paul uses the Greek word for “dung” to describe his pristine religious record. Moral performance and church attendance become spiritual landfill when we trust them over Christ’s perfection. Like dogs licking scraps (Philippians 3:2), religious pride keeps us circling behavior modification instead of feasting on grace. Only when we admit our best deeds reek can we embrace the fragrance of Christ’s righteousness. [51:00]

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
(Philippians 3:7–8, ESV)

Reflection: What “good behavior” have you mistaken for godliness? How might confessing its insufficiency deepen your dependence on Christ?

Day 5: Found in Him – The Bank Account of Righteousness

Salvation isn’t a balanced ledger but an overflowing inheritance. Christ doesn’t just erase our debt—He deposits His infinite righteousness into our account. Paul’s phrase “found in Him” (3:9) echoes the prodigal’s father running to embrace his son. Our identity isn’t in moral math but in being fully known and fully loved. When God looks at believers, He sees Jesus’ perfection—not our résumés or rap sheets. This truth turns performancism into praise. [01:07:19]

“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.”
(Philippians 3:9, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you still try to earn God’s approval? How might living “found in Him” shift your focus from proving yourself to resting in His work?

Sermon Summary

Paul commands, rejoice in the Lord, and the letter locates joy where circumstances cannot touch it. The text refuses the drop-tower life that rises and falls with health, likes, or headlines, because the Lord does not rise and fall. Then Paul warns, look out for the dogs, the evildoers, those who mutilate the flesh. The label hits hard, flipping the old insult the self-assured hurled at Gentiles onto the religious elite themselves. Religion that adds Jesus-plus-anything becomes mutilation, not worship. Paul calls it rubbish, the kind of excrement no one keeps, because it cannot give what God gives.

The passage then opens Paul’s LinkedIn. Eighth-day circumcision. People of Israel. Tribe of Benjamin. Hebrew of Hebrews. Pharisee. Zeal that persecuted. Blameless under the law. If covenant status came by resume, Paul leads the line. But verse 7 shocks: whatever was gain, the ledger now reads loss. The accounting language invites a spreadsheet in the mind. Assets cut, pasted into liabilities. Why? Because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Knowing, not merely serving. My Lord, not only the Lord. In that comparison, even good things become lesser things, and lesser things become loss.

The text names the real trade. Not a bare forgiveness that leaves a soul at zero, but the great exchange. Righteousness from God that depends on faith replaces righteousness of my own that comes from the law. Found in him, not found in a title, a pew, or a portfolio. Christ bridges the Grand Canyon between holy God and sinful humanity, then fills the account with his riches. With that approval secure, the disciple stops working for approval and starts working from it.

Paul’s aim is not passivity but a reframe. Practices matter, but not as badges. If they do not stir affection for Christ, they become rubbish; if they deepen knowing him, they become channels of grace. The text presses the church to ask different questions. Not only what am I doing, but what is God doing in me. Not how high did the ride go today, but where is joy anchored. And then it invites the open-handed life. Choose to lose whatever keeps a grip on the heart, so that the hands can hold Christ. In gaining him, the world is in checkmate, because nothing can finally take what only he can give.

Key Takeaways

1. Joy anchored in the unchanging Lord Joy that rides circumstances will always whiplash. Joy anchored in the Lord stays steady because he does not fluctuate. The Christian who locates gladness in Christ can face gain or loss without being owned by either. This is how rejoicing becomes a safeguard, not a spike of adrenaline. [43:32]
2. Lose religion to gain relationship Self-made righteousness looks clean but cannot cleanse. Jesus-plus-anything always mutilates grace, turning worship into performance and people into projects. Knowing Christ as my Lord replaces tally-keeping with communion. In that light, religious bragging turns to rubbish. [51:00]
3. Count assets as liabilities for Christ Paul moves his highest credentials from the asset column to the liability column. Good things become lesser things when placed next to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. That revaluation frees a disciple to let go of even respectable identities that crowd out love. The spreadsheet changes because the Treasure changes everything. [55:44]
4. Receive righteousness, stop self-justifying The righteousness that counts comes from God, in Christ, by faith. Forgiveness is not mere debt-cancellation to zero, but the great exchange that credits Christ’s riches to the bankrupt. Self-justification will always come up short at the canyon’s edge. Faith rests in the One who already finished the bridge. [1:07:59]
5. Work from approval, not for it Secure love puts a new stride in a disciple’s step. Approval in Christ does not produce apathy; it produces resilient effort that perseveres through glitches and criticism. The soul that hears the Father’s delight can get back on stage and serve with joy. Freedom flows from being found in him. [1:12:30]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[31:06] - Scripture reading: Philippians 3:1-11
[32:58] - VBS vision and transformed lives
[35:51] - Year ahead and giving invitation
[38:56] - Prayer and pivot to the text
[40:40] - Paul’s hall-of-fame resume
[42:40] - Choose to lose: two guiding questions
[43:32] - Rejoice in the Lord, not circumstances
[47:50] - The gospel is the alphabet
[50:21] - Dogs, mutilators, and Jesus-plus
[52:56] - Seven credentials in the flesh
[55:44] - The surpassing worth of knowing Christ
[1:06:33] - Righteousness from God by faith
[1:07:59] - The great exchange explained
[1:18:49] - Communion and response

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Philippians 3:1-11 (ESV)
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—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: 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; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 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 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—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Observation Questions

What seven credentials does Paul list in Philippians 3:5-6 to highlight his religious achievements?
How does Paul use accounting language (e.g., "gain," "loss," "rubbish") to contrast his former life with his life in Christ?
In the sermon, the "drop tower" analogy ([43:52]) compares fluctuating joy to a theme park ride. What specific examples of unstable "circumstances" were mentioned that people often tie their joy to?
What does Paul mean by calling religious performance "rubbish" (v. 8), and how does the sermon describe this term?

Interpretation Questions

Why does Paul use such strong language ("dogs," "mutilators") to describe religious elites who promote "Jesus-plus" obedience ([50:21])? How does this challenge common assumptions about religious effort?
Paul says his goal is to "be found in [Christ]" (v. 9). What does it mean to have an identity rooted in Christ rather than titles, roles, or achievements?
The sermon contrasts "working for approval" with "working from approval" ([01:12:30]). How does righteousness "from God by faith" (v. 9) change a person’s motivation for obedience?
How does the "great exchange" ([01:07:59]) of Christ’s righteousness for our sin go beyond mere forgiveness?

Application Questions

What "good things" in your life (e.g., roles, achievements, habits) might unintentionally compete with Christ for your ultimate confidence or joy? How could you "count them as loss" this week?
The "drop tower" analogy ([43:52]) describes joy tied to circumstances. When have you felt your peace rise or fall based on external factors? What practical step could help you anchor your joy in Christ instead?
The sermon warns against turning spiritual practices into "badges" ([01:02:47]). Is there a habit (Bible study, serving, etc.) you do more to prove your worth than to know Christ? How could you reframe it?
Paul’s resume (vv. 5-6) included respected religious credentials. What "respectable" parts of your identity (career, family, church involvement) might God be asking you to hold more loosely to make room for deeper dependence on Him?
The "great exchange" ([01:07:59]) means we’re not just forgiven but filled with Christ’s riches. How would living from this truth (rather than for it) change your response to failure or criticism?
What is one area where you still try to "self-justify" ([01:09:38]) through performance? How can you actively rest in Christ’s righteousness instead this week?

Sermon Clips

34s

#GreatExchange

“Many times, that's how we talk about the gospel. Like, God forgave me of all of my sin. He cleansed me of all of my unrighteousness. Yes and amen. But he didn't stop there. What Paul is talking about here is what we know as the great exchange. He didn't just forgive all your debt and put it in the balance sheet as zero. He filled it up with a trillion dollars. And more than that, in the glorious riches scripture says of Christ Jesus, that now when God looks at you, he doesn't see your sin, he sees his perfect son.”

40s

#ChristBridgesTheGap

“And you have that God and you are not that. And so, do you bridge that gap? It's like the Grand Canyon. How do you get over that? How do you get right standing with God? Paul talks about that several times, righteousness. And he says clearly, it's from God and it's in Christ that all the things you do cannot leap over the Grand Canyon to get to God's holiness. But all the things Christ did for you on your behalf in his perfection, in his death on the cross, it bridges that gap completely.”

30s

#GraceNotWorks

“he's saying, hey, you you think you're so high and mighty in your religiosity and your self righteousness? You're actually just like an unbeliever. Because instead of by grace through faith, you're trusting in your works and your religious resume. Yeah. The Gentiles, they may have a rap sheet, but your religious resume, it's almost as bad. You are dogs, he says, who mutilate the flesh. This is a little graphic. Again, Paul is doing this on purpose.”

29s

#AnchoredInChrist

“That that Paul knew better than anybody not to rejoice in his circumstances because your circumstances change, the Lord does not change. Many of us, we live our lives like the drop tower ride at Castles And Coasters or whatever big drop ride you did at Six Flags because you're a crazy person. I I just remember when my kids were little, we'd go to Castles And Coasters and they wanted to do this this drop tower ride where you just go up and then you go down. You go up and then you go down and people pay for this.”

28s

#HeIsRisen

“That Jesus didn't just die on the cross, he rose again. Amen? He defeated sin, Satan, death and the grave. He gives us an eternity with him in glory where there's no more tears, pain, or death ever again. And everything's perfect and and every good thing that you can imagine on this earth, like every smell that you love, like a fajitas. Do you think that's just glory? That's heavenly. Praise God it is. Just wait till you get to heaven.”

35s

#FoundInChrist

“And if he's the only worthy one, I wanna be found in him. I wanna proclaim and declare, I wanna be excited when I get to heaven. I don't know about you because I know Jesus paid it in full. Because I serve the one. I'm found in the one who said it is finished. It's finished. And I have right standing as a sinful human being before a holy and glorious infinite God for eternity because I'm in him.”

31s

#FaithNotResume

“See, I meet with people all the time. They're like like, how's it going? And they're like, well, you know, I'm in this class. I'm going to this group. I'm studying this book of the Bible. I'm doing this this this, and it's it's a resume. Okay. Well, what is God showing you? What is God teaching you in your relationship with him? And they don't know what to say. And that's the whole point. Amen? That's why we do all those things. Otherwise, they're just lame hobbies.”

30s

#JoyBeyondCircumstance

“Day to day, hour to hour for some of us. If our success is going up, our joy is going up. If our health is going up, our joy is going up. If our relationships are going up and people are liking us in real life or on the gram, our joy is going up. But as soon as one of those things doesn't happen, our joy drops into anxiety and depression. And somehow, is again hour to hour like the right, up and down, up and down, and it's exhausting.”

24s

#JoyInChains

“Rejoice in the Lord to write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Two things stand out here. Philippians is the joy book, 16 times. Four chapters. Rejoice, joy, over and over and over. You would think Paul wrote wrote this from a palace, but he doesn't. He writes this from a prison. He's chained to an imperial guard and yet he has joy. How does he have it? You see it in the text.”

47s

#IdentityInChrist

“And that you walk out of that bank, not just my my debt has been forgiven, you walk out of that that bank rich in Christ. Do you believe that? That that's where your righteousness found. I I love that language, found. He says being found in him. My identity is in him, not in my resume. What what's your identity in? Where are you found at the end of the day? Is it whatever your vocation says? Is it in father, husband, wife, single?”

30s

#GospelAccounting

“But the whole Torah, the first five books of the old testament, Paul says, I've done that. I'm more zealous than you. I'm more blameless than you. If anyone could claim elite covenant status with God, Paul says, I'm at the front of the line. And then verse seven, he says something that would have sounded scandalous to the Philippians. Verse seven, he says, I count it all as loss. Verse eight, he says, I count everything as loss. Will you notice in Paul's language, it's accounting language.”

21s

#GospelIsFoundation

“You're using the alphabet and you will for the rest of your life. You ever try to write a book? That's hard, but it's just the alphabet. It's just the link. Like, yeah, but you get deeper with it. It's the framework in which you see all of life. That's the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that's how silly it would be to say I've graduated from it. So Paul says, hey, this is safe for you.”

25s

#RepeatTheGospel

“This is good for you. This is exactly where you need to be hearing the gospel over and over and over and over over and over. Preaching the gospel to yourself over and over and over and over. Having your pastor preach the gospel and yell at you about it over and over and over and over and over every single Sunday to the point where you say stupid things like, let's get deeper and talk about end times because that's what we mean by deeper. Let's just I'll be honest in this place. Okay.”

28s

#GraceOverReligion

“Paul is about to rail on religion and self righteousness, so get ready for that. Right? And he's gonna contrast self righteousness and religion with the gospel of grace, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he's gonna do that over and over and over. That's why he says, I'm writing these same things to you. It's actually good for me to do this. See, what happens sometimes, if you've been around the church for a little while, know all of us have different backgrounds, some of us are brand new to church, some of you were born in a pew.”

29s

#LoseToGainJesus

“But this is what this is what Paul talks about and this is what really the bible, this is what Jesus talks about. That we have an upside down kingdom in our world and that as we choose to lose, we actually gain the greatest thing, namely Jesus Christ. Amen? That's what we believe. And so we're gonna walk through that. I'm gonna give you two questions really simple today, then we're gonna take communion at the end. Here's the two questions if you're taking notes. What do we choose to lose?”

42s

#SurrenderToKnowChrist

“Like, you know what kind of freedom you get when you have that? Man, I could go out and conquer the world when I have that. who gave us everything when we had nothing. And so now we give him everything in return, and we do it for the joy set before us like Jesus did and like Jesus does. And that's we we choose to lose everything else. What are you still reluctant to lose compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus? You know those things.”

33s

#JesusForEveryone

“But have you looked at Jesus Christ, the son of God, the creator and sustainer of all the earth who literally sustains the the earth and everything in it by the power of his word? The one who lived a perfect life, who when he was suffering, he uttered not a word when he could have defended himself but he did that for you, who who went up to the little children and had a blast with them but who also could go up to the prostitute and have a conversation and not be worried about what people thought of him,”

37s

#JesusKnowsYou

“who went to the cross in in agony, public humiliation and shame and some of the worst physical pain that they had at the time. For hours upon hours upon hours, he gave his life for you even though he knew that you would be indifferent to him at times. And you would do a thousand things in your morning routine before you read scripture. You check social media, Jesus knew that before you'd read the words of God spoken to humanity who's sinful.”

38s

#HisGlorySurpassesAll

“Just wait till you're with Jesus face to face. When when you think about like, I'm gonna go out, I'm gonna get a little tan and I I like the sun. I'm I'm gonna go to beach. I'm gonna go to Hawaii. Just wait till you see the glory shining in the face of Christ. You can't comprehend his greatness. And by the way, that is forever, forever. And you get to know him as a finite, sinful person who yelled at your kid yesterday, who got frustrated and and instead of going directly to the person you gossiped to 10 other people and you called it prayer requests.”

34s

#LiveFromApproval

“Friends, here's what happens when you realize that. You don't think like, well, I'm just gonna hang out then. You you you start working from approval instead of for approval. You you ever seen a kid I have three kids. My wife is out of town. Y'all pray for your pastor. and I was taking my girls to to dance yesterday, and one of them had two shows. One of them had one show. I was coming back and forth. Uber driver, you parents, anybody with me? Okay.”

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