Nothing Gained if nothing Lost

Nothing Gained if nothing Lost.

Phil.3:7

I.                   Anything that is gain to me but useless for the cause of Christ must be counted as loss.

Examples:              Paul’s Judaism. He did not mix it with Christianity.

Past Achievements

        Occupations:             When we boast in them!

Illus:                      Americans in Haiti who were boasting of their private achievements.

                                          There is a thin line between boasting of what I have done and what God does.

A.    Anything that gets in the way of lifting up Christ.

B.     Anything that prevents an humble spirit.

What’s getting in your way?

            But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss…

II.                They are to be considered dung.

Dung is not something you want to take with you in your day. If someone did, we would say that person is out of their mind.

But that’s exactly how we look to God, like someone out of their mind.

Alternate Idea:

      But there’s another meaning more closely related to the context.

                  Dung was used and still is in some cultures as fuel!

A.    Light it up and let it burn.

B.     Burn it to fire you up for Jesus.

            But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss…

III.             Not everything is loss or dung.

A.    Paul’s tent trade was useful.

He used it to support himself & his teams.

B.     Paul’s Roman citizenship was useful.

He used it to appeal to Ceasar and thereby brought the gospel to the palace.