While discarding old files, I came across an old and venerable essay. It was a buried treasure.

In “Winning Christ,” best-selling author and evangelist David Wilkerson puts a different spin on a familiar verse and provides the reader with a superb mindset to prepare for both the Rapture and the judgment seat of Christ.

The verse: “1 count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, THAT I MAY WIN CHRIST” (Philippians 3:8).

Paul’s focus here is to win Christ, not “win souls,” as one may expect, but “win Christ.” Wilkerson takes this to mean to win Christ’s favor.  Somewhat different, in that we would tend to think Jesus Christ is surely “already won” because he loved us enough to die for us, but it appears Paul (and Wilkerson) is going to a deeper level: addressing our actual, personal, interactive, and reciprocal relationship with Christ.

Background

The verse’s original Greek is:

• κἂγὼ ἡγοῦμαι πάντα ζημίαν ὡς ζημίαν ὑπὲρ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς γνώσεως Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου μου

Parsing:

• ἡγοῦμαι (hēgoumai) – “I count, consider, regard.”
• πάντα ζημίαν (panta zēmian) – “all things as loss” (literally “all as a loss/damage”).
• ὑπὲρ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς γνώσεως Χριστοῦ (huper tēn huperbolēn tēs gnōseōs Christou) – “because of the surpassing value of the knowledge of Christ”
  • γνώσεως (gnōseōs) = knowledge, relational/intimate knowledge (not mere intellectual information).

So literally, from the Greek, the verse is: “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”  The sense of “winning,” or “gaining” Christ comes from “counting everything as loss” in order to obtain or experience the surpassing value of Christ.

Like Wilkerson, Matthew Henry (1662-1714, who wrote the six-volume Commentary on the Bible as well as a summary version, goes a step farther here to interpret “win Christ” as securing Christ’s friendship, favor, and eternal fellowship — the only true treasure a believer can seek. “He (Paul) tells us what it was that he was ambitious of and reached after: it was the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord, a believing experimental acquaintance with Christ as Lord, not a merely notional (i.e., theoretical) and speculative, but a practical and efficacious knowledge of him.”

Wilkerson surely sought to “win Christ” in his own life. Wilkinson started preaching at 14; he attended Bible college; he was ordained as a minister and served small congregations in Pennsylvania. Then something remarkable happened: the Lord called him to minister to New York City street gangs. So, like Abraham, he picked up and went. His faith was living, practical, and reciprocal. His was a real relationship with the Lord. He wrote a book about his experiences, and a certain amount of fame and notoriety ensued.

Here is his remarkable essay:

Winning Christ By David Wilkerson

“1 count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, THAT I MAY WIN CHRIST” (Philippians 3:8, KJV CAPS OURS).

Have you won the Lord’s heart? The apostle Paul stated the purpose of renouncing his past life as this: “That I may win Christ.” He was completely captivated by Christ, having eyes only for the Lord.

Why would Paul feel the need to “win” Christ? Christ already had revealed Himself not just to the apostle, but in him. Even so, Paul set out to win Christ’s heart and affection.

You see, Paul’s entire being—his ministry, his life, his very purpose for living—was focused only on pleasing his Master and Lord. All else was rubbish to him! I believe one of the reasons Paul never married was to give himself more time to care “for the things that belong to the Lord, how (I) may please the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:32). And he urged others in the same direction, “that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing” (Colossians 1:10).

Is this scriptural—this “winning the heart of Jesus”? Are we not all the object of God’s love, regardless? Indeed, His benevolent love extends to all mankind. But there is another kind of love—an affectionate love such as occurs between a husband and wife—and only a few ever experience it.

The Example of Ruth

The Book of Ruth is a wonderful story of a converted heathen maiden who won the heart of her earthly lord. I believe it is a prophetic story—a message that speaks powerfully to us today. For we win Christ in the same way that Ruth won Boaz!

When this message stirred in my heart, I searched throughout my library, including all the commentaries—but could not find a single writer who saw the spiritual and prophetic meaning of the book of Ruth. Only one writer even suggested that, since Ruth was a Moabite, God may be telling us something about the Gentiles being grafted into the vine.

But this story is more than just historic! Paul writes: “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). Paul says that even the Old Testament’s mention of muzzling oxen was written “for our sakes, no doubt” (1 Corinthians 9:10).

Find this wonderful (and copyrighted) essay in full at https://www.worldchallenge.org/winning-christ

“Winning Christ” makes spirituality personal, meaningful, interactive, and rewarding rather than academic, abstract, and for some, oppressive. Yes, we are saved by grace; yes, there is nothing more to do about that, but seeking his favor elevates us to a new status with Christ, remarkably, as “friends.”

“Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you” (John 15.15).

Friends relate, engage, give, “win” each other’s favor. So should we, with God. If our prayers or Bible study have flagged, good news: he is waiting to hear from us.

We can each ask Him what we can do today to “win” his favor. Then – we can do it! How much better it will be at the bema seat of Christ, where rewards are distributed if our bond with Christ is close, personal, and favored. At His right hand are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16). We will be thrilled beyond measure both in this world and in the world to come because we wisely use our time here to “win Christ.”

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David Wilkerson (May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011) was president of World Challenge, Inc., in Lindale, Texas, and founded Teen Challenge in New York City. Widely known as “the gang preacher,” he traveled to the heart of New York City to preach the gospel to gang members, and became famous as “the gang preacher.” His remarkable account, The Cross and the Switchblade, sold more than 15 million copies, was translated into 30 languages. A film version was made as well (1970).

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John A. Sarkett wrote After Armageddon, Strangest Stories in the Bible, Bach and Heaven: The Promise of Afterlife in the Text of the Cantatas, and most recently published Revelation Illustrated.

Does anyone else reading this feel that the veil between heaven and earth is getting awfully thin?  The chorus of “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” is a constant ear-worm these days.  To refresh your memory, the refrain goes:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face;
 And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
 In the light of His glory and grace.”

Yeah, like that – the things of earth are becoming less and less weighty, somehow.  A “for instance”:  This writer has always been a news hound. Couldn’t wait to get to the computer in the morning to see if anything earth-shattering had happened overnight, and my news feeds were many and from many lands.  Not now.  You see, with all the prophecy being fulfilled, currently, we already know what is going to happen today, tomorrow, and in the short-term future.  And the major news outlets of the world are not connecting the same dots that we Christ-followers are connecting.  They do not see the pictures that are oh so clear to us who read God’s Word daily.  Plus, we can no longer trust that the “arbiters of news” are even telling us the truth.

Jesus’ Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 gives so much comfort when we hear of wholesale deceit being visited on us by politicians, the medical community, and even by certain church leaders.  When we hear of a new rumour of war or another major earthquake, we take comfort in the fact that all these things are supposed to be happening.  Jesus told us not to be afraid.  He’s got our back, and His Father is still in control of it all.

It is interesting that the non-believers I know are in one of two camps:

1.)  The Terrified.  Some are living in a constant state of horror, excited by YouTube stories of alien spaceships, city-eating sinkholes, and the return to our part of the world of pestilences such as tuberculosis and even the plague.

2.)  The Blind.  So many are just completely unaware of anything momentous taking place on planet Earth at this time.  Trying to talk about the plight of Israel, for example, with some non-believing friends is a lesson in futility.  They have either made up their minds that Israel is evil, or they shrug and ask what the Mid-East has to do with life in Canada.  Jesus was so right when he warned that the end times to come would be as in the days of Noah.  He said, in those days, everyone was just carrying on with life as though nothing was happening, right up until the LORD closed the door of the ark and the waters came and took the whole lot of them away.

Jesus cites particularly “people eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.” It was like the old adage of hedonistic abandonment, “Eat, drink, and be merry” without the “for tomorrow we die” admonition.  That pretty much describes today’s lifestyle for many, many people.

Saints, don’t you sometimes wonder why you were so blessed to be able to see salvation in Christ’s blood sacrifice on the cross?  Why am I blessed to read God’s Word and see the wonders that He has for His creation in the future, and, more, to KNOW, at the deepest level of knowing, that it is coming soon?  That alone is worth an eternity of worship, thanksgiving, and praise to the One Who loves us beyond anything we can imagine.

If I was going to offer any kind of advice to you, dear reader, it would be this: get right with God.  Come close to Him and He will make all your paths straight.  He will help you in times of trouble.  He will be your Guide, your Shield, your Refuge, your Strength, and your Rock to cling to when all around you appears to be falling apart.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face;
 And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
 In the light of His glory and grace.”

Now, here’s how to get right with God, and it’s as easy as ABC.

A:  Acknowledge that you are a sinner, ask God for forgiveness, and repent or turn away from that sin.  As Apostle Paul wrote in the Book of Romans, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  The only person who walked on this earth Who never sinned was the God-Man Jesus Christ.  Jesus came to earth in a human body to shed His blood for the forgiveness of all sin, for all time.  How this is so can be found, yep, you guessed it, in the Book we call the Bible.  So, the next step toward salvation is,

B:  Believe that Jesus Christ died on a Roman cross, shedding His Divine blood as a propitiation for all sin, for all time.  Believe that He died on that cross, was buried, and on the third day rose up from the grave in an immortal body.  He ascended into heaven and is waiting for the Father’s Word to come back and gather all those who believe in Him.  And the last step is a double one …

C:  Commit and Confess – Commit your life to the One Who loves you more than you can possibly know or imagine and Who has paid the whole debt of your sin.  “For the wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God Is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD.”  And then confess with your mouth that Jesus is LORD of your life, telling anyone who will listen what real life is all about – real, eternal life, lived in full forgiveness.

These are the initial steps of salvation.  After this, you will want to find a Bible-believing congregation to worship with and with whom to learn more about discipleship in the Way, the Truth, and the Life of Jesus Christ.  Committed Christians keep growing in faith, in character, and in their walk with the LORD.

Take the plunge today, friend.  You have nothing to lose, but have eternity to gain.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).