Gaining in the Midst of Losing

As I was sitting in church on Sunday Pastor Francis Chan was teaching on Philippians 3:1-11 and I was driven to this thought:

Today we say we'll believe in Jesus IF:
-We can be COMFORTABLE
-We can be HEALTHY
-We can be WEALTHY

Because we value our COMFORT and our HEALTH and our WEALTH more than Jesus.

But Jesus calls us to believe in Him EVEN IF:
-We lose our comfort (Mt. 8:20)
-We lose our health (Mt. 16:25)
-We lose our wealth (Mk. 10:21)

Because JESUS knows that HE is more WORTHY than our comfort and our health and our wealth.

Paul captured this idea best when he said, "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..."

Not only did Paul 'count' everything as loss (as though he was just give lip-service to Christ) but he 'suffered' the loss of all things (making his words a reality) and still could say that He was 'gaining.'

Now how could Paul say that he was 'gaining' in the midst of his 'losing'?

Because he knew the person who's saving grace could abound even to the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).
Because he knew the person who although he was equal with God took the form of a servant and humbled himself by becoming obedient to death on a cross (Phil. 2:6-8).
Because he knew the person who took upon his sin and gave him perfect righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21).
Because he knew the person who died on his behalf so that he would never be separated from the love of God (Rom. 8:31-39).

Paul could say he was 'gaining' in the midst of his 'losing' because he knew CHRIST.