Living for What Matters Most - Week 3

Countdown Video

Thank you for joining Faith Vision Christian Ministries

Where We Walk by faith! Not by Sight

Faith Vision is a Christian church, based on the Word of God.

We are a training ground for all things Jesus Christ.

loving God, Loving People living by faith

Thank you for joining us today,

Please set everything aside as we come to God in Prayer this morning under the anointing and the Power of the Holy Spirit.

Faith Vision Family Please welcome each otheronline

Faith Vision Christian Ministries Announcements

Blessings and Thank you for those that are helping us stay current with Faith Vision’s Monthly Financial Obligations

Faith Vision is now using donations for St Jude Children’s Hospital and American Heart Association.

2 Corinthians 9:7–8 (NKJV)

7. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

8. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

If you would like to Make a Tax deductible donation to the ministry: mail it to the Church address. (All donations go to Faith Vision Christian Ministries)

Please mail it to: 10950 Arrow Route, #3662 - Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91729

Faith Vision’s Zelle acount is: [e-mail]

Please remember, when giving by Zelle, the church account is under our email, not the phone#

Due to financial constraints we will nolonger be mailing out “The Word for You Today” devotionals.

If you would like to continue receiving the devotional, you can contact customer service at “The Word for you Today.”

The phone number is 800-856-6159. The cost will be $25 yearly, after the introduction period, the cost would go up to $29 per year.

As an alternative: Get Your “Our Daily Bread” sent directly to you, no cost or obligation. Order online at:

odb.org/signup

Please “Follow” & “like” our Church page and leave Questions and comments

Faith Vision Christian Ministries is available on Facebook and YouTube.

Please don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel YouTube/@ DocDewberryLIVE

If you have a prayer request, or need to talk to someone confidentially, The Pastor is available

You can message the Pastor at [e-mail]

At the end of the teaching we will be taking prayer requests

Add to your calendars*

Please join us each Thursday night at 7:00 pm. conference phone number. # [phone] access code 896791

Happy June Birthdays

Jessika - 18

Ckneethia - 20

Shirley - 21

Denise - 21

Monique -22

pEppER: Let’s sing “Happy Birthday Everyone”

Scripture Reading by Lady Pepper

Thank you Lady Pepper for the announcements and the reading of God’s Word.

Welcome! to everyone especially those who are joining us for the first time.

My name is Pastor Doc, and I will be sharing the Word of God with you today.

Have your Bibles Ready and take notes

Sermon Bumper Video - Hidden Treasure

Title of the Series

Hidden Treasure

Title of the message this Morning

Living for What Matters Most - Week 3

Big Idea:

When we truly see the surpassing worth of Christ, we stop treating Him as an addition to our lives and begin reordering everything around Him.

The hidden treasure of the Kingdom leads us to release lesser things, pursue Jesus wholeheartedly, and live with eternal clarity.

Prayer:

“Father, open our eyes to see the worth of Jesus more clearly.

Help us release what has quietly taken first place in our hearts, and teach us to live for what matters most.

Amen.”

Scripture: Philippians 3:7–14 ESV

Introduction

Most of us know what it feels like to say something matters while living like something else matters more.

We say family matters, and then we give our best energy to work and bring home what’s left.

We say our health matters, and then we ignore the warning signs until our body forces us to pay attention.

We say our walk with God matters, and then, if we’re honest, we sometimes fit Him around everything else that already made it onto the calendar.

That doesn’t usually happen because we wake up and decide to live a divided life.

It happens slowly.

Quietly.

One decision at a time.

A few extra hours here.

A delayed act of obedience there.

A compromise we explain away because we’re tired, busy, stressed, or just trying to keep up.

Over the last two weeks, we’ve been in a series called Hidden Treasure.

In Week 1, we listened to Jesus in Matthew 6, where He said,

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,”

and we talked about how our pursuits reveal what we truly value.

Last week, in Luke 12, Jesus warned us through the parable of the rich fool that lesser treasures can look like wisdom while slowly convincing us that life is found in having more.

We saw that possessions can fill barns, bank accounts, garages, closets, and calendars, but they can’t fill the soul.

Today, as we close this series, we’re going to ask a very personal question:

What would it look like to actually live like Jesus is worth more?

Because many of us believe that.

We’d affirm it.

We’d sing it.

We’d say “amen” to it.

Yet there are places in our lives where Jesus has become part of the arrangement instead of the center of it.

He’s present, but not always preeminent.

He’s respected, but not always followed.

He’s consulted, but only after we’ve already decided what we want.

So let’s step into Philippians 3 and listen to the apostle Paul describe what happens when a person truly sees the surpassing worth of Christ.

Main Teaching

Cue: "Read: Philippians 3:7–14 ESV"

Philippians 3:7-9

Philippians 3:10-14 (ESV)

Point 1: Seeing Christ Rightly Changes the Value of Everything Else

Paul begins this section with a startling statement:

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”

That word “gain” is a big deal.

Paul isn’t talking about obvious sins only.

He isn’t simply saying, “I left behind a terrible life.”

If you read the verses just before this passage, Paul lists the things that had once formed his spiritual résumé.

He was circumcised on the eighth day.

He belonged to the people of Israel.

He was from the tribe of Benjamin.

He was a Hebrew of Hebrews.

As to the law, he was a Pharisee.

As to zeal, he persecuted the church.

As to righteousness under the law, he says he was blameless.

In other words, Paul had status.

He had achievement.

He had religious credibility.

He had a reputation among people who valued the same things he valued.

His life had a scoreboard, and by that scoreboard, Paul was winning.

Then he met Christ.

And when Paul saw Jesus for who He truly is, the categories changed.

The things he had placed in the “gain” column were moved into the “loss” column.

He says in verse 8,

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Notice that Paul doesn’t say those things had no earthly meaning.

He doesn’t pretend his background never shaped him.

He doesn’t deny that discipline, devotion, and zeal were part of his story.

What changes is comparison.

Once Christ becomes the measure of worth, every other source of identity loses its power to define him.

That’s where this becomes deeply personal for us.

Because all of us have a “gain” column.

It may not look like Paul’s, but we have one.

For some, it’s career success.

For others, it’s being seen as a good parent, a reliable friend, an intelligent person, a strong leader, a generous giver, a disciplined Christian, a respected professional, or someone who has held everything together when life got hard.

Those things may be good gifts.

Some of them may be evidence of God’s grace in your life.

The problem begins when good gifts become the place we draw our identity, security, and worth.

Paul is showing us what happens when Jesus becomes more valuable than the image we’ve been protecting.

More valuable than the approval we’ve been chasing.

More valuable than the comfort we’ve been guarding.

More valuable than the success we’ve quietly used to prove we’re enough.

And this isn’t just a one-time calculation.

Paul says, “I counted,” and then he says, “I count.”

There was a decisive moment, and there is an ongoing way of life.

He made the decision, and then he kept making it.

That’s important because following Jesus isn’t only about what you released years ago.

It’s also about what He’s asking you to release now.

Maybe years ago you walked away from a destructive lifestyle, but today He’s asking you to surrender your need for control.

Maybe there was a time when you gave Him your sin, and now He’s asking for your ambition.

Perhaps you trusted Him with your eternity, and now He’s putting His finger on your calendar, your money, your habits, your relationships, or your private thought life.

Seeing Christ rightly changes the value of everything else.

When Jesus is seen as treasure, obedience stops feeling like God trying to take something good away from you.

It begins to look like God leading you out of the things that were never strong enough to carry your soul.

Point 2: The Greatest Treasure Is Knowing Christ

Paul keeps going in verse 8:

“For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

That is strong language.

Paul says the things he once used to build his life are rubbish compared to gaining Christ.

He’s not being careless with words.

He wants us to feel how completely his value system has been changed.

Then he says in verse 9 that he wants to

“be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ.”

This is the center of the Christian life.

Paul is no longer trying to stand before God holding up his own record.

He isn’t presenting his accomplishments, his heritage, his effort, his sacrifice, or his moral improvement as the basis of his acceptance.

He wants to be found in Christ.

That phrase is beautiful: “found in him.”

There is safety there.

There is rest there.

There is freedom there.

To be found in Christ means your life is hidden in Him.

Your standing before God is not built on your best day or destroyed by your worst day.

You belong to Jesus by grace through faith.

And then Paul says in verse 10,

“that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”

Paul’s great aim is knowing Christ.

He doesn’t say his greatest treasure is influence for Christ, usefulness to Christ, ministry success because of Christ, or blessings from Christ.

Those things may come, but Paul’s heart is fixed on Christ Himself.

This is where many of us need to slow down.

Because we can appreciate Jesus for what He gives while neglecting the gift of knowing Him.

We can want peace, forgiveness, help, provision, direction, and protection, and those are good things to bring to Him.

Scripture invites us to bring our needs to the Lord.

Yet Paul is showing us something deeper than receiving help in a hard moment.

He wants Christ.

He wants to know Him in resurrection power.

That means Paul wants the life of Jesus to be at work in him, changing him from the inside out, bringing what was dead to life, strengthening him beyond what human effort can produce.

And Paul also wants to know Christ in suffering.

He understands that closeness with Jesus will sometimes mean walking through hardship with Jesus, being shaped by Jesus, and becoming more like Jesus in places he would never have chosen for himself.

That’s hard for us because many of us measure God’s nearness by how quickly He removes difficulty.

If life gets easier, we assume God is close.

If life gets harder, we wonder if He has stepped away.

Paul had a different understanding.

He had met the risen Christ, and he knew that Jesus could be known deeply in prison cells, painful losses, misunderstood obedience, and costly faithfulness.

[Pastor - Can you share here about a season/story related to this point? How did you feel? What did you learn?]

For us, this means the treasure of the Kingdom is not merely a better life according to our preferences.

The treasure is Jesus Himself.

Knowing Him.

Being found in Him.

Walking with Him.

Becoming like Him.

So it’s worth asking:

Do I mainly want Jesus to improve the life I’ve already chosen, or am I willing for Jesus to become the treasure around which my life is rearranged?

That question reaches into ordinary places.

It reaches into how we pray.

It changes our prayers from only, “Lord, fix this,” to also, “Lord, form me here.”

It reaches into how we read Scripture, because we’re not just looking for a verse to get through the day, we’re coming to meet the God who speaks.

It reaches into worship, because we’re not just singing songs that make us feel better, we’re giving honor to the One who is worthy.

It reaches into obedience, because we’re learning to trust that closeness with Christ is better than the temporary relief of doing things our own way.

The greatest treasure is a Person.

His name is Jesus.

Point 3: Kingdom People Live with Forward Focus

Paul is honest in verse 12. He says,

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.”

I love that Paul says this.

He doesn’t pretend to have arrived.

This is the apostle Paul, the man who planted churches, preached the gospel across cities and regions, suffered for the name of Jesus, wrote letters that became part of our New Testament, and he says, “I’m still pressing on.”

There is humility in that.

There is hunger in that.

There is also confidence.

Paul isn’t pressing on so that Christ might eventually love him.

He presses on because Christ Jesus has made him His own.

That order matters.

Jesus took hold of Paul first.

Grace came first.

Mercy came first.

The call of God came first.

Paul’s pursuit of Christ is a response to Christ’s pursuit of him.

So when we talk about living for what matters most, we’re not talking about earning God’s love by becoming intense, impressive, and spiritually productive.

We’re talking about responding to the grace of Jesus with a life that increasingly says, “You are worthy of all of me.”

Paul continues in verse 13:

“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do.”

Then he says he forgets what lies behind and strains forward to what lies ahead.

Forgetting what lies behind doesn’t mean Paul has amnesia.

He has already mentioned his past in this very chapter.

It means the past no longer has permission to control his direction.

Some of us are being held back by past failure.

You remember what you did, what you said, what happened, what broke, what you regret.

You’ve confessed it, but you keep living as if your sin has more authority than the cross.

If you are in Christ, your past may still be part of your story, but it is not the lord of your life.

Others are being held back by past success.

That can be harder to notice.

There was a season when you were growing, serving, sacrificing, praying, obeying, and trusting.

You can point back to what God did then, and you should be grateful.

Yet Paul would tell us that yesterday’s obedience is not a substitute for today’s surrender.

The Christian life has a forward focus.

Paul says in verse 14,

“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

That phrase “press on” carries effort, direction, and perseverance.

Paul is not drifting toward Christlikeness.

He is not casually hoping to become holy.

He is moving with purpose because he knows where his life is headed.

And if we’re honest, a lot of us are drifting.

We’re busy, full, entertained, informed, connected, and exhausted, but drifting.

We have opinions about everything and quiet time for almost nothing.

We have goals for our finances,

goals for our homes,

goals for our fitness,

goals for our kids,

goals for our careers,

and sometimes only vague intentions for our souls.

Paul’s words call us back to clarity.

If Christ is the treasure, then our lives need patterns that reflect His worth.

That may mean changing what gets the first and best of your attention.

It may mean choosing obedience in a relationship where compromise has become normal.

It may mean practicing generosity because money has had too much say in your peace.

It may mean repentance, confession, forgiveness, service, or a renewed commitment to Scripture and prayer.

Please hear this with the grace intended: you will not accidentally live a Christ-centered life.

You will drift toward comfort, convenience, self-protection, distraction, and whatever your surrounding culture celebrates.

Forward focus requires Spirit-empowered intention.

This is where the series lands.

Hidden treasure becomes visible through reordered living.

If Jesus is worth more, then something changes.

Maybe slowly.

Maybe painfully.

Maybe one area at a time.

But something changes.

The call today is not to manufacture spiritual passion for a moment and then return to the same patterns tomorrow.

The call is to look again at Jesus—

crucified for sinners,

risen in power,

reigning as Lord,

present with His people,

coming again—

and ask,

“Lord, what needs to move because You are worthy of first place?”

For Paul, everything was rearranged around knowing Christ.

His past,

his achievements,

his suffering,

his future,

his identity,

and his ambition

all came under the surpassing worth of Jesus.

That same invitation is before us.

Conclusion

We started today by naming something many of us feel:

we believe Jesus matters most, yet our lives sometimes reveal that other things have taken a greater share of our attention, affection, energy, and trust.

Philippians 3 has brought us to a clearer place.

Paul shows us that when Christ is seen rightly, everything else gets revalued.

The things that once defined us lose their grip.

The treasure we are after becomes Christ Himself, knowing Him, being found in Him, and becoming like Him.

Then, with grace beneath us and eternity before us, we press on toward the goal.

So here is the call as we close this series:

don’t just admire the treasure.

Reorder your life around Him.

This week, choose one specific area where Jesus has been treated as secondary.

Name it honestly.

Bring it to Him in prayer.

Then take a concrete step of obedience.

Change the schedule.

Have the conversation.

Confess the sin.

Give generously.

Open the Word.

Turn off the distraction.

Forgive the person.

Ask for help.

Start again.

Because Christ is not an accessory to an already full life.

He is Lord.

He is Savior.

He is treasure.

And He is worthy.

Let’s pray together.

Salvation:

The Word of God says in: John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 10:13 NKJV

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you’d would like to receive Jesus today, please pray this prayer with all of us:

Lord I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died On the cross for my sins and His resurrection from the dead gives me eternal life. I ask forgiveness of my sins, and I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

Pastor [e-mail]

Church Office: 909-922-8090

And I will send you a Bible & a Free Book on how to begin your first 21 steps with Jesus (show the book)

***Leave slide up until Pepper gets in position***

Lady Pepper Please Join Me

Pepper Praise Reports

Share your Praise Reports!

Prayer Requests - (Pepper Read)

Let us Pray (P/P)

Praying for the 10-40 Window

The 10/40 Window is a rectangular geographic region stretching from West Africa to East Asia, between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator.

It contains the majority of the world's unreached people groups and the poorest populations.

Prayer initiatives focus on breaking spiritual strongholds, bringing humanitarian relief, and supporting the persecuted church.

The Unreached:

Pray for the billions of individuals who have never heard the Gospel message, particularly among Frontier People Groups.

The Persecuted Church:

Intercede for local believers who face severe restrictions, imprisonment, or violence for their faith.

Humanitarian Crises:

Pray for relief from extreme poverty, human trafficking, and the oppression of women and children.

Laborers & Discipleship:

Pray for the protection of frontline missionaries, effective local church planting, and the translation of scriptures.

Pray for the United StatesI

Today, we focus our prayers for the nation on asking for unity to overcome the division, wisdom for the government leaders, and a nationwide spiritual revival.

National unity and healing: pray for reconciliation where division exists, asking that the nation learns to live together peacefully despite differences.

Government and local leaders: intercede for wisdom, godly counsel, and discernment for all elected officials (local and national) to make righteous decisions

Spiritual revival: pray for a national to return to godly values, with a focus on repentance and the desire to seek truth.

!!!!!!!!Relocate Logos to original location for Pepper !!!!!!!!

This is Pastor Doc & Lady Pepper with:

Faith Vision Christian Ministries

Pepper Please Continue Reading

See you next Sunday @ 10:55 on Facebook Live!!

Those of you watching on YouTube,

don’t forget to subscribe!

youtube.com/@ DocDewberrylive

Prayer Line - Thursday night at 7:00 pm. conference phone number. # [phone] access code 896791

Pastor: please continue reading

Benediction

13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV)

Have a Great Week! Goodbye!

This is Pastor Doc and Lady Pepper signing off until next time we meet. Blessings to you all!