Before we turn to our text found in Philippians chapter 3, let's just turn together to Romans. Romans chapter 6, 7, and 8. Please don't be concerned, I'm not going to read all of chapter 6, 7, and 8. Just a few verses from each one. In chapter 6, we remember that Paul reminds us that in Christ Jesus we are dead to sin and alive to Christ. In chapter 7, he reminds us that yet though we still struggle with sin, and in chapter 8, he gives us the glorious reminder that we shall overcome, that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. We shall be brought to glory. So I just want to read, beginning in chapter 6, verses 1 through 4, and then jumping to 11, and we'll just jump through this few verses here and there. Chapter 6, beginning at verse 1, as we hear now the Word of God. What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means. We died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead, through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Then at verse 11, In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life. And offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness, for sin shall not be your master because you are not under law but under grace. Chapter 7 beginning at verse 14. Paul says we know that the law is spiritual but I am unspiritual sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do for what I want to do I do not do but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do I agree that the law is good As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me that is in my sinful nature, for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do, no, the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. And then he begins chapter 8, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And then jumping to the last few verses of chapter 8, beginning at verse 35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble, or hardship, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, for your sake we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. Knowing all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And if you would turn to Philippians chapter 3 as we continue our consideration of Paul's letter to the Philippian believers. The text this morning being verses 10 and 11 of chapter 3, but allow me to back up and begin at verse 7. A portion of the text we considered last week's Sunday evening. Verse 7, But whatever was to my prophet, Paul says, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. Now the text, I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Beloved, let's bow together, asking our God's blessing upon the reading and preaching of His Word. Oh, Father, we praise Your name for Your most holy word, which we know is truth. A glorious truth, Lord, a truth that we cannot begin to understand or comprehend in and of ourselves by our own knowledge and wisdom. We need the illuminating power of Your Holy Spirit. And we thank You, Father, that You have revealed Yourself to us so beautifully, so powerfully. And we pray that once again in this morning hour, as we consider this portion of Your Word together that You would fill us with Your Holy Spirit in such a way that our eyes might be open to see, once again, wonderful truths from Your Word. We pray that by this, Your Word as well, You would transform our hearts and lives more and more each and every day. Be with us as a congregation as we listen. Open our ears and hearts. Indeed, Father, may we desire to be fed may we desire to be fed until we are no longer in want to be with him who brings your word Father indeed he is weak may it be Lord that you would not allow anything in him to hinder your word from going forth and being received by your people for indeed you are strong you are wise and we ask for your blessing alone in Jesus name we pray Amen Beloved in Christ the Lord what do you desire more than anything else in the whole world what is it boys and girls what is it what do you desire is it fame or fortune is it success popularity power is it to have a million dollars drop in your lap is it a new house maybe a new car boys and girls maybe what you would like to have more than anything else is simply to have anything you want whenever you want how you want it but let me ask you if you were to have your wish fulfilled if you were to receive whatever it is that you wanted more than anything else in all the world would it satisfy you i'm not talking about a temporary satisfaction because we can find a little temporary satisfaction in anything, can't we? But would it truly, truly satisfy you? Would you never, ever want anything else again? Well, I think we know the answer to that one, don't we? See, I believe Paul had about everything that he could ever want, as we considered last week, his upbringing, his background, and so forth, except the most important thing, and that was a right relationship with God. And then in his grace, God gave him that right relationship with himself. Paul was given the greatest news he could ever hear. He was given news that was better than the news of the birth of a newborn baby, as wonderful as that is. Better than the news of winning a million dollars or having his mortgage paid off or getting an A on that tough exam that you were worried about. He was given the good news, and he describes that good news in chapter 3 as the all-surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus the Lord. He was given the good news of the infinite value of Christ's perfect righteousness. Remember, that only credential, that only credential that is necessary to make you or me right with God. It's all we need. And Paul makes it clear here in chapter 3 that nothing else can compare with us. Nothing else makes sense apart from this. He makes it clear that nothing else is to stand in the way of this excellent knowledge of knowing Jesus Christ. And therefore, Paul considers absolutely everything else he could ever have in this life, every earthly benefit, every earthly advantage, he considers everything as rubbish, complete garbage, worth absolutely nothing. compared to this. He teaches us that there is nothing as important or more important than desiring to know Christ. And indeed, beloved, Paul desired to know Christ first of all through intimate fellowship. Intimate fellowship in the very presence of Christ. He says, I want to know Christ. Now he says this after talking about that all-surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus. And therefore, we need to understand that he's not talking here about that knowledge of faith all by itself. He's talking about something that is more than a mere head knowledge, not simply learning more about Christ or gaining a greater understanding of certain truths about Him, which is important, boys and girls. We must learn the facts about Jesus Christ. It's necessary. It's important for us. But you see, Paul already had that. When he makes this statement, he already had that. He understood the facts of Christ's earthly life and ministry and death and resurrection and ascension. He had confidence in what all of those things meant. He had confidence that the righteousness of Jesus Christ guaranteed his favor with God. It was more than simply a head knowledge, more than even simply a heart knowledge. He knew and believed all this by true faith already. He had the assurance of being saved. He had the assurance of being righteous in the sight of God, but he's talking here more about an experiential knowledge of a transformed life. He's talking now about that knowledge that flows from that knowledge of such a great salvation. Paul wanted that personal contact, that intimate fellowship with the Lord of glory. He's not talking about some sort of mysticism here, although it is mysterious, we have to confess. but he longed for a greater a more intimate personal knowledge of the Lord himself a little bit like when you first got to know your spouse or maybe a best friend and you enjoyed their company you wanted to get to know them better and as you did you got to know their thoughts you were able to read the expressions on their face and you learned their heart you learned whether they wear their heart on their sleeve or whatever the case you became able to understand their desires and therefore he wanted to be with that person. He wanted to spend time with them. Paul desired to experience the very presence of Jesus Christ. He wanted to know more and more what pleases him, what it is that Christ desires, what Christ expects of him. Indeed, Paul experienced the truth of Jesus Christ firsthand, face to face on the Damascus Road. He enjoyed a particular communion and fellowship with him as that bright light shone on him and as he heard the voice of Jesus speak. On the road to Damascus, he saw the beauty and he experienced the love and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ and he desired more. Now, I think it's safe to say that not one of us has ever experienced or probably will experience that same sort of Damascus road experience. Not the conversion part, but the bright light part in hearing the audible voice of our Lord Jesus Christ. but we have this in common with the Apostle Paul. Those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who have been given the assurance of being justified, being declared righteous in God's sight for the sake of Jesus will also then have fellowship with Him. They will enjoy living communion with Him. Whose love they have experienced, whose beauty they have seen by faith. They will be aware of His presence by the power of His Holy Spirit, encouraging them, enlightening, comforting, convicting, calming, assuring, uplifting them. Giving them hope. The very same hope that Paul writes about at the end of Romans 8, that nothing, absolutely nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Beloved, this transformed life is ours through intimate fellowship with the power of His resurrection. Through the power of Christ's resurrection, the Holy Spirit's work in transforming our lives from beginning to end is possible and it's actual and it's effective only because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we can understand that when we first understand what Christ's resurrection meant for Jesus Himself. For Jesus Himself, it meant that His work was perfect. His work was complete. It was lacking nothing. It was accepted by God. It meant that His Father was and is satisfied with Christ's work. It meant that He secured forgiveness from His Father for you and me. It meant that justification is assured. It's a sure thing. For Jesus, it meant that He overcame death. It meant that He conquered the grave. It meant that He is indeed worthy to be exalted as He has been at the right hand of God the Father. And when we understand in part what the resurrection meant for Jesus Himself, then we can also begin to understand what His resurrection means for us. Resurrection power guarantees Christ's work for us. His righteousness, as Paul has already said. Being declared righteous by God. But not only that, there's more. it also guarantees Christ's work in us, for us, in us, by the Holy Spirit. It guarantees, beloved, that we will experience that power in our own lives. In Romans chapters 1-5, Paul emphasizes that great truth again of justification by grace alone through faith alone, all on account of Christ alone. It's all the work of Jesus Christ. And we know that justification is God's declaration. It's God's statement concerning you and me. It's something that is done for us, outside of us. God looks at us for the sake of Jesus and says, not guilty. He declares us to have a new status with Him. But then in Romans 6, 7, and 8, Paul emphasizes the assurance of sanctification and glorification. Sanctification. Resurrection power guarantees that God, by His Holy Spirit, will indeed make us actually inside to be what He declares us to be through justification. And we are given the promise of glorification. That work will be completed. Resurrection power, beloved, guarantees new life. It is not life as usual, not life as it once was. It's not life like the world lives. it's not even sinning that grace might increase to make God look a little better. As we read in chapter 6 of Romans, Paul says, if you are in Christ, you have died with Him. The old life has died. And the new life lives. And as he says in chapter 7, that life hates sin, actively hates sin, and desires righteousness. Resurrection power guarantees, beloved, that we are empowered. We are empowered by the same divine power that raised Christ from the dead. That was Paul's confidence that the same power that overcame sin and death is stronger than the power of Nero. It's stronger than the power of the Roman army. It's stronger than Satan himself because it is the very power of God. And therefore, he knew as we can sing confidently, He breaks the power of canceled sin. That sin that has been canceled by Christ, He breaks it in us by the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit. You see, we begin to see then also what resurrection power does for us. The very same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us to make us holy. To make us a fit place for Him to dwell. To enable us to comprehend the greatness of God's love for us to strengthen us. That we might endure in faith, hope, and love. And as well that we might live lives of constant thankfulness to God. We know that's a work in progress. Paul says, the good that I want to do, I don't do. You see, it's a new desire. I want to do it, but I don't always do it. And the evil that I don't want to do, that I do. Indeed, it's a work in progress, but it is a work that is ongoing. You see, beloved, Paul knew, and we must know, that it takes extraordinary power to change us from the sinful habits of the old man to the righteousness of the new life. And Paul's desire was to know the power of Christ's resurrection that alone overpowers sin daily and leads one to a holy life and makes one more Christ-like. People of God, if you have been able to give up sinful habits, if you have been able to turn the other cheek, if you are able to rejoice in suffering, if you are able to not go out and seek revenge, if you are able to control your temper, if you are simply able to recognize that your life has been transformed, that indeed you love the things that God loves, no longer loving the things that He hates, and you hate the things that God hates, no longer loving the things that God hates, if you recognize that your life has been changed, transformed, that you desire God, it's only because of the power of Christ's resurrection working in you, which then also empowers one to face hatred for Jesus Christ. Paul desired also to know Christ in the second place through ultimate sacrifice. He said to know the fellowship of His suffering and becoming like Him in His death. Now that may seem like strange language to us, but Paul's not saying, go out and make trouble for yourself. He's not saying, go out and do not come back again until you have suffered and suffered intensely for the sake of Jesus Christ. That's not what he's saying. He didn't have to. But he is saying, knowing Christ by faith will result in partnership with His suffering. That is the ordinary lot of believers. As Peter says in 1 Peter 4, verses 12 and 13, Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as though something strange was happening to you, but rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ. And Paul says in 2 Timothy 3, verse 12, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. You see, beloved, the more you know Christ and the power of His resurrection and understand Him and become like Him through obedience, the more you will be noticed. The more you will be unappreciated. The more you will be hated. You will partner with Christ in His suffering. Not for sin. not making payment for sin, not in the sense of Christ's atoning work. That work was His alone that only He could do. And we know well enough that our suffering does not earn us anything. It does not merit us one bit of favor with God. But it will be real because the world hates Christ. When we think about the suffering of Christ, we know that He suffered simply by laying aside His divine glory. He suffered simply by humbling Himself in human flesh, entering a sin-saturated world. He suffered because He Himself is perfect and completely holy and He entered a world that is completely unholy and sinful. And we also know that He suffered the act of rejection and hatred and abuse of mankind. And our suffering then, when it comes to our suffering, we know that our faith and our moral values are challenged at every turn. Look around. It's challenged on the TV and in movies. It's challenged in the newspaper, on billboards. It's challenged by people walking down the street. It's challenged as the world desires to shove sin and godlessness in our face. Sometimes just to see how we will react. We live in the midst of a world, we suffer in the midst of a world that demands us to be tolerant of all the world's desires. Even as society itself is very intolerant of Christianity. We are partners. We partnership with Christ's suffering. And what then is to be our attitude toward that suffering? Well, we are to have a two-fold attitude. On the one hand, our attitude toward suffering for Jesus' sake is to be an attitude of grief and sorrow. Not in the sense of, Oh, poor me. I feel so sorry for me. Why do I have to put up with this? But grief and sorrow. Because the more holy we become by the power of the Holy Spirit, the more we become like Christ, the more troubled we will become because of sin, both ours and the world's. Indeed, beloved, he was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. The foulness and the ugliness of sin hurt him. It grieved him all the way down to his soul. And you and I must ask ourselves too, does it grieve me? Does sin grieve me? Does suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ, because the world hates Him, does it grieve me and truly cause me sorrow? Not just irritate me, but does it truly cause me sorrow deep down to the depths of my heart? That sin that is so blatant, so in your face. Sin committed against the Most High Majesty of God. Sin so terrible that it took nothing less than the life of Jesus to conquer it. We are to have an attitude of grief and sorrow. Suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ because of the world's hatred for Him. But on the other hand, our attitude towards suffering for Jesus' sake is to be an attitude of rejoicing. Rejoicing. Christ's resurrection alone, you see, makes rejoicing in the Lord, as Paul called for earlier. It makes rejoicing in the Lord in the context of suffering. It makes it possible. Without the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our present suffering is meaningless. Paul said as much in 1 Corinthians 15 when he said, If Christ has not been raised from the dead, we are to be pitied more than all men. Because we're suffering for nothing. It's meaningless. but he says it's not meaningless because Jesus Christ has risen again. Beloved, because of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, our suffering for Him is not in vain. It is not for nothing. Again, we don't earn anything by it, but it identifies believers with a suffering Savior. You see, for Paul, suffering for the sake of Jesus was a source of constant joy. boys and girls, not that it was enjoyable. He never said getting stoned almost to the point of death or being beaten or whipped or being placed on arrest and put in prison. He never said that was enjoyable. It hurt. It hurt bad. But it was a source of constant joy because it identified Him with the only Savior and it pointed others to the only Savior, Jesus Christ. And for Paul, there was nothing greater than to be able to point others to the one alone who saves from sin. And we are to rejoice too, beloved, as we are given the privilege to suffer for Jesus Christ. In Acts 5, verse 41, we read, the apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name, the name Christian, the name of Christ. And beloved, when you are called upon to suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ, rejoice. Rejoice because that means others recognize the love of Jesus from you and they recognize the life of Jesus in you. In the face of opposition, beloved, we are to say, thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for entrusting me with a little bit of persecution for Jesus' sake. Thank you for showing the sufficiency of your grace through my weakness. Thank you, Lord, for the privilege to give testimony to your mercy, your grace, your goodness in my life through this suffering. Can you do that? Can you do that? And not only in the face of suffering directly for the sake of Jesus Christ, but even suffering the effects of sin in this life. Are you able to say, thank you, Lord. Thank you for working in my heart and life in such a way and giving me an opportunity to point others to you through this. Beloved, are you suffering for Him in any way, even a little bit? Because if you are never, ever challenged or questioned by the world, even slightly, for your faith, then you must ask yourself, do people know that I'm a believer? Is it publicly evident that I know Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection? Paul's desire, we know, was to know Jesus Christ through ultimate sacrifice, which included partnership in his suffering, but also partnership in his death, becoming like him in his death. Very simply, Paul desired complete holiness. He desired to completely die to sin. He desired to sacrifice himself completely for the Lord Jesus Christ. That's only possible, beloved, when you have an intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ by faith. that knowledge that recognizes the greatness of His being, that knowledge that recognizes the one-of-a-kind necessary work of Jesus Christ. In the third place, then, Paul desires to know Him for an expectant victory. Verse 11, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead. It only makes sense that suffering and death leads to talk of resurrection. Paul had eternal security, but not only for his soul. For His body. For the glorification of His body. Now, Paul is not speaking in a doubting way here, as if to say, well, I don't know how it could happen, but I hope that it will happen. Indeed, it was still future, but Paul knew that it was secured because, again, of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. That power makes our resurrection. The resurrection of those with the righteousness of Christ, it makes it necessary. You see, beloved, we still face that last enemy, don't we? We still face physical death to this life. We know that that death to this life for you and me has been transformed. We no longer have to fear it. Our soul goes immediately to the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but our body goes to the ground. It goes to the grave, back to dust. And therefore the resurrection of Jesus Christ makes our resurrection necessary. Christ redeemed us, soul and body, and that means death will not be able to keep its physical prey either. Why? Because Christ's resurrection makes our bodily resurrection inevitable. Inevitable. And Paul makes that clear in 1 Corinthians 15. Christ is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. And because He is the firstfruits, He is the guarantee of a great harvest to follow. and that great harvest has the character of this, as Paul says in verse 21, who by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. That's verse 21 of chapter 3 of Philippians. Jesus Christ defeated death and the grave and He did it for you and me too. Beloved, is this your desire? Is this your desire to know Jesus Christ? The power of His resurrection. And that power actively working in your heart and life. Is this your desire as Paul desired? You see, the Judaizers whom Paul was warning against desired to look backward. They desired to depend on and find comfort in law obedience, which was nothing but a dead end. Every day they faced the danger of coming up short, which they did. They could never be satisfied. But Paul was comforted only by the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, which he knew was sufficient, alone was sufficient, to make him right with God. And it resulted in a Christian life of intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, knowing, by experience, the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit. It resulted in the ultimate sacrifice for Jesus Christ as the world saw Jesus living in him. And it resulted in the expectant victory guaranteed by Jesus Christ. And is it any wonder then that Paul considered anything, anything, any advantage, any item, anything in this world that tried to compete with the work of Jesus, is it any wonder that he considered it as rubbish? Garbage? Worth absolutely nothing? He did not want to know and experience the temporary benefits of this life. But he wanted to know and experience the eternal work of Jesus Christ. And beloved, there is nothing that we could desire in this life that could give such blessed assurance as this salvation, knowledge of Jesus Christ and the experience of His power at work in us. And this alone is guaranteed to all who forsake themselves and look only to Jesus Christ and His resurrection power for salvation. Beloved, we all need it. We all need it. And it is all we need. Have you forsaken yourself? Have you forsaken your sin and turned to the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Savior? If not, what's holding you back? What are you waiting for? Because His promise is sure that all who look to Him in repentance and faith will be saved. They will be cleansed fully and completely by the power of the Holy Spirit. They will be glorified one day in heaven. That's God's promise to us and that's a promise that is to be taught to our children. That's a promise that Andy and Carrie made this morning before us all, reminding many of us of our promise that we made in response to God's promise to teach our children about this glorious promise of our God through Jesus Christ. We promise to teach them, to train them, to use whatever means God lays in our path to teach them the glorious truth of Jesus Christ and His saving love. You see, boys and girls, you will learn many things in this life as you go throughout your years of school, even as you experience work. You will learn many things in this life that will help you accomplish a lot, maybe even accomplish great things. You will learn things that will help you to live this life, but you must understand that it is all meaningless, it is all worthless, it is all temporary, it is all unsatisfying without the greatest knowledge of faith in Jesus Christ. Because only the resurrection knowledge of Jesus Christ by faith will outlive death. Because He conquered death. All other knowledge and experience you may gain in this life will die with the body one day. And it's only the transforming power of Christ's resurrection working in us that will give meaning to any other knowledge that we might glean in this life. It alone, working in us, will give us joy in trouble and make us able to thank God in all suffering. Only Jesus Christ Himself will guarantee you an everlasting home in heaven. Jesus said, What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? The answer is simple. Nothing, nothing, and nothing. Our only true satisfaction, beloved, is knowing Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection at work in you and me. And therefore, may His resurrection power be clearly seen in our obedience. May it be demonstrated in our suffering joyfully for Him. And may it be our comfort of a glorious future with Him for eternity. Let's pray. Our great God, Heavenly Father, we do thank You and praise You for the truth of Your Word, That Jesus Christ has paid for all of our sins. That He has given to us His perfect righteousness that we might stand before You. You see us as righteous in Him. But may we not be merely content with that. But may we not be content until we also know the resurrection power of Jesus working in us by Your Holy Spirit. Until we indeed hate the things that You hate and love the things that You love and desire to be more Christ-like day by day. Father, help us indeed as we might be called upon to suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ. May it be that as the world sees our obedience to You, that indeed it would, if You please, draw them to question us, cause them to challenge us, and give to us the opportunity, O Lord, to point clearly and directly to Jesus Christ, our Lord. Father, we thank You and praise You for all of this and for the promise that we will live with You forever, body and soul, glorified, made like unto the glorious body of Christ. Oh, what a day that will be. We rejoice for that day today. We look forward to rejoicing in that day in glory. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen. Amen.