Philippians 3 - March 22, 2026 - Our Purpose, Our Calling and Our Assignments

Our purpose centers on knowing God and making God known. That purpose remains lifelong and unchanging for those redeemed by Christ, and it must shape every choice, calling, and assignment. Knowing God (Hebrew yada, Greek ginosko) demands intimate, experiential relationship rather than mere intellectual information; real knowledge produces transformed living and urgent testimony. Paul’s testimony from Saul to Paul models radical conversion: moral pedigree and religious achievement proved useless compared with the surpassing worth of knowing Christ and trusting his righteousness by faith. Grace removes condemnation and invites rest—no longer striving to earn acceptance but receiving Jesus’ perfect work imputed by faith.

The Holy Spirit marks true knowing by three signs: his indwelling that exposes sin and reveals beauty in Jesus, his love flowing through believers toward others, and his leading that reshapes desires and actions. Simple, honest prayers—like asking the Spirit for self-control—matter and often change daily rhythms and relationships. Callings arise as season-specific yeses that use gifts, experiences, and desires to live out purpose; those callings may shift across life and should be navigated prayerfully. Assignments sit inside callings as concrete, sometimes temporary tasks designed to maximize obedience to the lifelong purpose—examples include ministry roles, parenting choices, and vocational directions.

Brokenness does not disqualify; instead, God can use wounds as points of healing and testimony. The Kintsugi image—repairing pottery with gold—illustrates how God restores fractures with his redeeming work, making the repaired person more beautiful and valuable than before. Scars become stories that direct others to God’s faithfulness rather than to shame. Practical next steps include examining whether the Spirit lives, loves, and leads in daily life; offering gifts and experiences to current assignments; and engaging in community ministries that advance the purpose of knowing and making God known. The call to imitate those who walk in Christly example remains a command: pursue transformation, press on from past failures, and allow scars to testify to God’s saving power.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Know God and make him known Knowing God forms the core reason for existence and trumps all personal achievement; knowing him produces worship, courage to suffer, and a life oriented outward to make him known. This purpose does not fluctuate with seasons; callings and assignments should flow from it. [06:38]
• 2. Knowing God requires intimate relationship Yada and ginosko point to experiential intimacy, not mere facts. True knowledge shapes affections and actions, driving confession, repentance, and compassionate witness rather than empty religiosity. [10:12]
• 3. Grace surpasses moral achievement Religious resume and moral effort cannot replace Christ’s righteousness; Paul counts all human gains as loss compared to knowing Jesus. Rest comes when Christ’s perfection, not personal performance, becomes the basis of belonging. [38:18]
• 4. Brokenness can become greater beauty Kintsugi shows God mends broken lives with his gold—redeeming wounds into scars that tell his story. Scars become powerful evangelistic tools when vulnerability leads others to Christ’s healing and hope. [57:30]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [03:56] - Searching for Purpose
• [06:38] - Purpose Defined: Know and Make Known
• [09:11] - Yada: Knowing as Intimacy
• [11:29] - Gospel Clarity: No More Wrath
• [25:29] - Knowing vs. Knowing About
• [26:41] - Saul’s Conversion to Paul
• [36:22] - Rest in Christ’s Righteousness
• [46:07] - Three Marks of the Spirit
• [50:35] - Callings: Seasonal Yeses
• [53:27] - Assignments: Specific Tasks
• [56:36] - Kintsugi: Beauty from Brokenness
• [60:16] - Wounds, Scars, and Stories
• [62:24] - Prayer of Commitment
• [63:15] - Communion and Dismissal

Bible reading: Philippians 3:7-11 (ESV)
"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

1. According to Philippians 3:7, what did Paul consider "loss" and what was the reason he gave for this perspective?
2. What three specific things did Paul say he desired to know and experience in verses 10-11?
3. In the sermon, what was the key distinction made between "knowing about God" and "knowing God" (yada/ginosko)? [10:12]
4. What illustration was used to show that intellectual knowledge of something (like ingredients) is different from an experiential, personal knowledge of it? [24:17]

Interpretation questions

1. Why do you think Paul considered his impressive religious resume and moral achievements to be "rubbish" (or "dung") compared to knowing Christ?
2. The sermon mentioned that "knowing God" should produce three signs of the Holy Spirit's work in a person. What are those three signs and how do they connect to the idea of an intimate relationship with God? [42:48]
3. How does the concept of "Kintsugi" (the Japanese art of repairing pottery with gold) illustrate God's redemptive work in a believer's life? [57:30]
4. If our purpose is lifelong and unchanging ("to know God and make Him known"), how do "callings" and "assignments" function in relation to that purpose? [50:35]

Application questions

1. When you examine your own life, do you find yourself more often striving to earn God's acceptance through your own performance, or resting in the righteousness of Christ that is given by faith? [36:22]
2. Which of the three marks of the Holy Spirit (living in you, loving others through you, leading you) is most evident in your life right now? Which one do you feel you need to pray for more? [42:48]
3. What is one "calling" (a significant, season-specific yes) in your life right now that you are using to live out your purpose? [50:35]
4. Think of a specific "assignment" (a concrete, perhaps temporary task) within that calling where you can use your gifts, talents, or experiences this week to know God better or make Him known. [53:27]
5. Everyone has wounds. Is there a wound in your past that God has healed, turning it into a "scar" that could become a story of His faithfulness to share with someone else? [01:00:16]
6. What is one simple, honest prayer you can start praying this week (like "Holy Spirit, help me with self-control") to invite God to change your daily rhythms and relationships? [18:28]
7. How can you offer your unique blend of gifts, experiences, and even past brokenness to your current assignments so that God's redeeming work is put on display? [55:40]