What a joy it is to be with you tonight. We thank the Lord for the opportunity to believe and trust. He will bless all of us before we leave this place. Please turn with me to Philippians chapter three. I'll be reading from the fourth to the ninth verses. Philippians three, four through nine. And though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he hath wear of, he might trust in the flesh I more. Circumcised the eighth day, the stock of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, Hebrew of Hebrews, as touching the law, a Pharisee. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is in the law blameless. But what things were gained to me, those I counted lost for Christ? Yea, that less, and I count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. And do count them but dunk, 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. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank you so much for this time as we gather around your Word. We pray that, Father, you bless us abundantly, hide me behind the cross, purge me of all sins, and speak through me tonight, that we may leave this place rejoicing that it is good to come to your presence. Bless our time now in Jesus name. Amen. The theme for my message tonight is example of a true follower of Jesus Christ. Example of a true follower of Jesus Christ. The man we are going to talk about tonight, the man who is going to be our example was somebody who was injurious to the church of Jesus Christ. He thought he was helping God by persecuting the church. One day he collected a letter to go to Damascus and to bring Christians bound. And the Lord wrote a miracle on the way. And for that matter, that man became the son of God. Before then, Paul was very proud about his pedigree, some of which he has clearly stated here. And I want us to go through that, and then go through after he has been married to spiritual things. First of all, we see his willingness to abandon all legal righteousness. In verse 4, Paul says, confidence in the flesh, Paul wants us to understand that if there is cause for boasting, for the knowledge, and for the ideas that he has gained, then there is nobody who can compare himself to him. He has confidence in the flesh, in cultural matters. He says he was circumcised the eighth day. Every Hebrew child born, male child born must be circumcised the eighth day. And the apostle Paul is saying my parents were on target. I was circumcised the eighth day and therefore I have followed the law accordingly. He talks about being of the stock of Israel. He is a descendant of Jacob, the man whose name was changed to Israel. Then he talks about his being a Benjamite. He says, there's no other blood mixed with my blood. I'm a real Hebrew. And if we talk about people who are really in the line of that of Abraham, I'm one of them. He was proud of his pedigree. But the question is, will that take Paul to heaven? Will your place on earth here, where you are, cannot take you to heaven? Cannot give you a place in heaven? And the answer is no. Then he says he's a Hebrew of Hebrews. The word Hebrew means to cross over. It's like me saying I am an African of Africans because all my parents came from Africa. I'll say I'm a Ghanaian of Ghanaians because both parents came from Ghana. Why would that take me to heaven? No. Then Paul says concerning the law, he was a Pharisee. In his day and time, the Pharisees were the lawyers. If Paul were to live today, we would call him a professor of the law, doctor of law. He sat at the feet of Gamaliel to study. So he claims to be knowledgeable, but he was still in the world. Then he says something that always breaks my conscience. He said, concerning zeal, I persecute the Church of Jesus Christ. May I ask this question? Since you came to know and adore Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, the zeal that the Lord gave you, are you using it to apprehend the lost unto Him? Are you using that zeal to study the Word of God, to pray and to help others understand what it means to be born again. Finally, he says, touching righteousness, that justification in the law is perfect. Beloved, the Bible tells us our righteousness is as filthy But in other times, Paul never knew. He thought being a Pharisee and keeping the law, he has a place in heaven. Paul thought what he was doing was the greatest until the Lord allowed his light to shine upon him on his way to Damascus. The Lord apprehended him. He said it in song. Beloved, I have gone through scripture several times. The only man I have come across when he was apprehended, when he was saved, as the Lord, the reason why he was saved. And that gives me the understanding that the apostle Paul became the man that he claims to be until his death. because he knew what God has called him to do. He said, I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. If all believers today will come to that point, and will fully surrender their lives to him so they can also be able to apprehend others unto the kingdom of God, I believe Christianity will be different. My beloved, now I want to take you through the most important aspect of the life of the Apostle Paul. And it is my prayer that the Lord will touch our hearts to come in to that point, to come in to drink in that well as the Apostle Paul did. He said he's now married to holy ambitions. First of all, he denied himself. He said, but what things were gained to me, those I count lost? Their credit, their respect, and all the zealousness that he has gained in the world, he is now counting them to be useless. They are of no value to him because he has realized that those things would not stand him in a step in the kingdom of God. He now realized that through the blood of Jesus Christ alone, he can enter into the kingdom. And therefore, the best thing for him to do is to surrender his life fully unto Jesus and not to depend on the past. Our past will take us nowhere. When we know Jesus and we do His will, heaven is a place for us. That is salvage. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss. You see, Paul was not saying he has given some to Jesus and the rest is for him. He said he has given all. All that he is, is lost in the blood of Jesus Christ. And so now he can boast in Jesus and not the world any longer. That man lived his life for Jesus and he died for him. Beloved, Paul then consecrated his life for the ministry. He said, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, that superior light, information, and blessedness. which came through the gospel of Jesus Christ has now given me the liberty that I may proclaim Christ everywhere I go. That liberty cost him his life. He was beaten. He was put in a basket and thrown over a wall. He had shipwreck. One time he was beaten and left to die. But the Lord raised him up, he shook himself, and off he went. That man continued, and he never gave up. Even when Agabus told him that this man whose cloak I have when he goes to Jerusalem will be killed, he said, I am not worried. That life is not mine, that life belongs to Jesus. Beloved, when we come to Jesus, we are no longer our source. We are His, and He is ours. Christianity is suffering today because many have turned Christianity into atheism. That is why we see what we see today in Christendom. But if Christians today would live the life that the Apostle Paul lived, Christianity would be something different. Because Christ reigns in him alone. Today it has become personalities. But God gave us a responsibility. That is why when we are saved, we maintain our lives here on earth. Because he said in Acts 1.8, Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and unto the outermost part of the earth. And I believe, therefore, all of us in this room tonight, we are all missionaries. But some are foreign missionaries. Some are environmental missionaries. That is how I describe them. And some are local missionaries. This is our Jerusalem. And therefore, if we consecrate our lives unto him, we'll be able to help the people in our Jerusalem by telling them about Jesus, the author and finisher of our lives. Today, people are no longer interested in soul winning. Why? They don't have time. They have many other things to do. Beloved, it doesn't take full-time ministry to win souls. It is just to be obedient. Matthew 28, 19, and 20. Go ye therefore. So in our workplace, in our schools, everywhere we go, we have the mandate to proclaim Christ. It doesn't take much. My testimony can help somebody to understand the gospel. And that is what the Lord wants us to do. And this is what the Apostle Paul did by giving his all to Jesus. Beloved, sometimes what worries me most is the fact that we sing this song, all to Jesus I surrender. All to him I freely give, I will ever love and trust him in his presence daily live. And yet we holding something from Jesus. I don't know what you are holding from Jesus, but it is my prayer that tonight, whatever it is, you give it to Jesus. Then he said, I have suffered the loss of all things. The best translation says, for whom I have thrown away all things. You see, the great apostle is saying, I have made a voluntary choice of Jesus Christ, His cross, His poverty, His reproach. And for this, I have freely sacrificed all for his sake." See, when you come to that point, you realize that life is for Jesus. Life without Jesus is no life. And that is how the Apostle Paul saw his life. A story was told of a great preacher in Great Britain called F.D. Meyer. F.B. Mayer wrote his own life story, and this is what he said. He said one day he was organizing a revival, and he invited a preacher from USA. That preacher went with preacher boys, and there was one man called Estes Thorpe, who was a preacher boy. He went with him. They said during the time of their ministry, many things did happen. Most of the people were perplexed. They were not happy. But this, as it is told, was always cheerful, very happy, and rejoicing and singing to the praise of God. And Ed, being mayor, couldn't understand this. So one day he gathered courage and called Stodd, and said, Brother Stodd, what do you have and I don't have? And Stodd smiled and said, Brother Mayor, what do I have? You being a great preacher, what do I have and you don't have? And he said, I mean all that I'm saying. And then Stodd said this. He said, one thing I know I have done. I have given my all to Jesus. Beloved, when you give your all to Jesus, the difference is always seen. When you have surrendered all to Jesus, it's not necessary for you to sing all to Jesus, I surrender. It can be seen because Christ will emanate from you. So that night, every mayor decided to do business with Jesus Christ. The story goes on to say, he knelt in the evening by his bed and started praying. And I see the Lord Jesus Christ entered the room and asked him what he was holding. They said at the time he was holding a bunch of keys. And the Lord demanded the key. And he gave the key to Jesus. But there was one small key not on the bunch, and it crunched in his palm. And the Lord asked, but what is there? He said, a key. He said, give it to me. He said, Lord, I wish I could, but I can't. And Abimea himself said, any time he stands behind the lost table, he feels some prick in his heart. Which means he's holding something from the Lord. You know, believe us, we have graded sins. When I abuse, it's no sin. Only when I commit adultery or fornication, there is sin. When I don't talk to my brother or my sister, it's no sin. When I don't spend time with the Lord, it's no sin. When I don't read the Word, it's no sin. And the Lord, being the God of the second chance, decided to leave F.B. Meyer alone. So F.B. said, as if the Lord was going out, he was just about to go through the door. And then he shouted and said, Lord, give me the second chance. Beloved, thank God we have the God of the second chance. He came back. But he was demanding that same smokey and nothing else. And every mayor could not. And he said, Lord, I wish I could, but I can't. That is how we are. But he said this. Lord, if you force and take this key from me, I am willing to be willing. And he said the Lord took the key. And just a month, F.B. Mayer became the man that God wants him to be. Maybe tonight you are here. You are struggling with something. That might be the key. Why don't you give it to Jesus? And you will see a different ministry in your life. But you see, Paul sacrificed himself. He said, and do count them but drunk, all that I think I was. And I count all of them as refuse, things that have no value. I have thrown them into the garbage can, that Christ may be supreme in my life. He said this, Christ is so precious to me that I may win Christ. Beloved, a man cannot make other things his gain or cheap confidence and at the same time gain Christ. No. We have to gain Christ and lose all. And that is the best we can do. He who loses all things and even himself on account of Christ gains Christ and Christ is his and he is Christ. Then finally Paul came to that great place. He realized that righteousness is not in the law, but righteousness is in Jesus Christ. Beloved, nobody has his own or her own righteousness. We claim our righteousness from Jesus Christ because he shed his blood on Calvary and won the victory for us. See that man, the apostle Paul, was able to say to Timothy, 1 Timothy chapter 4, from verse 6. He said, I am ready to be offered. The time of my departure is at hand. Why? The man has been sentenced to death. His head will be chopped off. But you see, he knows whom he has believed, and therefore he will never run away. Beloved, sometimes we run away from Jesus. We are not able to suffer a little for him. The Apostle Paul taught us that lesson. He said, I'm ready to be poured out like libation. The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. Today, how many fundamentalist pastors can say, I have kept the faith? I have fought a good fight. How many can say it? Everybody wants easy. The world is dictating to the church today. Beloved, let us stand fair. Jude said, we should defend the faith once delivered unto us. What it meant was that we should defend it with our whole might, even our blood, for the cause of the cross. And if we are willing, Then we have to go to the byways and highways, and rescue the perishing, and care for the dying, and snatch them in pity from sin and the grave, and weep over the erring one, lift up the fallen, and tell them of Jesus, the mighty to serve. Beloved, we have too long a seat. We were saved to serve. Let us go serving. because Christ has need of us. May the blood he shed be sufficient for our kill. Let us pray. Father, we know in thy will we have come. You are sufficient for us. There is nothing we can gain except we surrender fully to thee. We thank you for the life of Paul that you have used as an example for us. He is human like we are and therefore we have no excuse. Help us to follow through. Make us the kind of children you want us to be. Help us to give our keys to you today that we may be.