This morning we will be reading from Philippians chapter 3 and our text will be from verses 8 through 12, chapter 3 of Philippians. Hear the word of the Lord. Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh, though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, in regard to the law, a Pharisee. As for zeal, persecuting the church. As for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my prophet, I now consider lost 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, that 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. 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 the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For as I have often told you before, and I'll say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of christ their destiny is destruction their god is their stomach and their glory is in their shame their mind is on earthly things but our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a savior from there the lord jesus christ 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. May the Lord bless the reading of his word. Paul uses business or accounting language in describing his life before Christ in this passage. We all know about our language In accounting and in business, we say asset liability, debit credit, win-loss, sometimes for tracking our favorite sports teams. And Paul here is talking about profit and loss. So, he has two columns like us. All the years of learning and accomplishments used to be his profit, asset, win column. So, he didn't have much to list on his lost liability column. But something really radical transformed him when the reason Christ called him on the road to Damascus. He had to list gaining and knowing Christ in his profit column. And now he saw all his past proud accomplishments in his life as loss. And it's contrary to his goal of knowing Christ. So he had to move all his past life into the loss column. Nothing is left in the win column except gaining Christ. For a couple of weeks, last month, we witnessed the greatest sports events in the world that happens every four years. And this time it was in Athens in the Olympics. Many athletes would do anything, even taking illegal strength-enhancing drugs, to achieve Olympic glory for themselves. But in the 1924 Olympics in Paris, I believe, Eric Liddell, a Scotch man, was favored to win the 100 meter dash. This was his best event. On his way to Paris, he found out that the heats for the 100 meter dash were to be held on a Sunday. And so he withdrew his name from the race, racing on the Sabbath. violated his belief in the sanctity of the Sabbath. So everyone tried to persuade him to change his mind. Lots of the English and Scottish were very disappointed with him, even the Prince of Wales. But he stood firm in his commitment to the Fourth Commandment. So instead, he decided to enter the 400-meter run, which he never prepared for, and it was not his best distance. Before the race, a fellow athlete gave him a note with the words from 1 Samuel 2.30, which says, He who honors me, I will honor. To the surprise of the world, Little won the gold medal, setting a world record that would stand for many, many years. So even though he gained the praise and honor of the world, his goal to be a missionary to China never wavered. Such is the surpassing worth or the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ. One would give up all personal glory for it. One would sell everything that he has when he finds the riches of this pearl of great price. so it is with paul he counted all his life before christ as nothing in verses 7 and 8 he says three times that he now counts all his past life as loss but the end of verse 8 at the end of verse 8 he says i consider them rubbish he not only rejects this past life he now despises them as garbage The word he used here for rubbish is the word that we might think of when we look at baby diapers or rotting food. His past life is now repulsive and sickening. So the only thing that comes now is knowing and gaining Christ. Knowing Christ became his highest desire in his life. And in our text this morning, we will look at three supreme goals that Paul lists. Knowing Christ in his righteous life, knowing Christ in his sufferings, and knowing Christ in the power and hope of his resurrection. In verse 9, we read, 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. Paul was a man of great learning. He was educated under Gamaliel, one of the great leaders of the Pharisees. A man of great zeal. He was working as hard as he could to promote what he believed in. He had both great learning and zeal. But after Christ called him, he despised all this great learning, all this self-righteous works under the law and even his ancestry. Instead of pursuing more knowledge of the law of Moses, his goal now became to gain Christ, to be found in him, to know him. Instead of relying on his own righteous works, He now relies on the perfect obedience of Christ in all of Christ's life, all the way to the cross. So, in the law, Moses said to him before, do this and you shall live. But he realized that it is impossible for him to fulfill all that the law requires of him. Then Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. And the Lord told him, I have done all. My righteousness is yours if you come to me in faith. So friends, do you still rely on your own good works as your ticket to heaven? You might be saying to yourself, God, I thank you that I am not like other people. I go to church every Sunday. I give to charities. I volunteer for good causes. I take care of my family and my children. I work hard. I deserve to go to heaven. I'm a good person. I'm a good person. One of the speakers at President Reagan's memorial service was a Jewish rabbi named Harold Kushner. Years ago, Rabbi Kushner wrote a book entitled, Why Bad Things Happen to Good People. Because he couldn't accept the death of his young son, who he considered a good man. Kushner assumes that most people are basically good. But Romans 3.10-12 says, None is righteous, no not one. No one understands, no one seeks for God. No one does good, not even one. Just one evil thought and one small act of lying and one evil word from our lips defile us with sin. The only perfectly righteous person who ever lived in this world is our Lord Jesus Christ. And to know Christ and to be found in Him is to have true faith in Him. So His perfect obedience is credited to your account, just as Paul's account, just as Paul's prophet was credited with the righteousness of Christ, as if you've never committed any sin at all, and as if you've always perfectly obeyed God's commandments. That's why next Lord's Day, when you receive the bread of the Lord's Supper, the pastor will tell you, take, eat, remember, and believe that the body of our Lord Jesus Christ was given for the complete forgiveness of all your sins. And when you receive the cup, the pastor says, take drink and remember and believe that the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ was shed for the complete forgiveness of all our sins. Complete forgiveness of all our sins. This is the result of knowing Christ's righteousness through faith. Paul now knew that he had been justified by God because of Christ's righteousness and not his own. But he also quickly discovered that knowing Christ also means knowing his sufferings and sharing in his sufferings. In verse 10, he says, I want to know Christ and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. So, children, when you are asked by people, other people, who are you more like, your mom or your dad, you will probably say, most of you will probably say both because you don't want to play favorites. But what you're saying is very true. You're like both your mom and dad. Why? Because, not just because you have your mom and dad's genes, but also because you spend most, if not all your time with them. Your habits, your attitudes, your language, the way you talk, the way you walk, the way you laugh, all of these are molded mostly by what you hear and see from your parents. In the same manner, the best way to gain Christ and to be found in Him is to spend time with Him, to be under the preaching of the Word every Lord's day, to study the Word in our homes. with our children to participate in the Lord's Supper whenever it is administered in the church. To offer prayers of praises, thanksgiving and confession. Prayers for our needs and the needs of others so that we will depend, we will learn how to depend on God for our provisions. The preaching of the word, the sacraments and prayers. These are the only ways that we can know Christ more and more. It is not by singing, I want to know you, Lord, a dozen times. It is not by swaying to sentimental music for an hour. It is not by watching skits, puppet shows, or even movies. But in the preaching and the sacraments, we get to share in His life, in the life of Christ, and his life is full of suffering. He says in many places in the Gospels, Take up your cross and follow me. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. In the world, you will have tribulation. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you. The apostles also teach us that God's people will suffer in this world. Paul says in Acts 14.22, Through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom. And again, in 2 Timothy 3.12, he says, Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Peter also says in 1 Peter 4.12, Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you. Do not be surprised when suffering comes. Not that we will suffer the same tribulations and death that Jesus Christ suffered. his sufferings and death were once for all given to save his people. But just as Jesus had to carry his cross in life and unto his death, we also have to take up the cross to follow him. For most Christians, knowing Christ usually means going through this dark valley of tears. I am not saying that believers are the only ones who suffer greatly in this world. We are all aware of the great suffering and disruption in Florida today, at this very moment. We are aware of the suffering that the hurricane inflicted in Haiti, where over 1,500 people were killed. We're all aware of the thousands and thousands of people who have died and the millions who are suffering hunger, disease, and poverty in Sudan due to civil war. Certainly, some of these people are Christians, but most of them are probably unbelievers. People of all kinds of religions suffer because of sin in this world. Everyone suffers from war and calamities and disease and accidents and death. But those who know Christ usually have the added burden of suffering for their faith. In other words, some of our troubles now would not be coming to us if we are not firm in our faith. Sometimes you lose your job because you didn't want to work on a Sunday morning or on the Lord's Day. Sometimes you don't want to work in a job because there are some unethical things that the boss is telling us to do. Your husband is angry with you because he thinks that the Bible is more important to you than him. Your best friend is avoiding you because you're always telling her about Jesus. Your teacher is giving you bad grades because you don't believe in evolution. And many, many Christians all over the world face imprisonment or even death because of their faith. This is biblical truth, that the more we strive to live godly lives, the more we try to proclaim the gospel throughout the whole world, the more we try to expose the darkness of this world, the more we will suffer. That is why we should always be ready to suffer in this sin-infested world. Because God has ordained that it is through our sufferings that we are molded into the likeness of Christ. Did you notice that those who cherish most deeply and sweetly the precious name of Jesus are those who have suffered greatly for his sake? If we want to know Christ more, we must be ready to share in his sufferings. But more than that, Paul made it his goal to know Christ more by sharing in his sufferings. But in the face of severe harassment or persecution or even death, we are to be faithful to Christ. And our attitude is not to be one of despair or one of bitterness or one of anger, but one of hope and one of comfort. In the face of affliction, we all tend to ask, why me, O Lord? Why my children? Why my spouse? I serve you with all my heart, soul, and strength. What did I do to serve this? These are the same questions that Job demanded and answers from God. But Job did not blame or curse God. This is because he learned that knowing his Redeemer and his Mediator doesn't mean health, wealth, and prosperity in the promised land, as the prosperity gospel of false teachers promised. Even in extreme affliction, Job could declare, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God. Paul not only desired to know Christ's righteousness, not only to share in his sufferings, like Job, he also desired to know his Redeemer, Christ, who gives him the power and hope of his resurrection. In verses 10 and 11, Paul says, I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead. So Paul's desires connect the bad news of sharing in Christ's suffering and the good news of the power and hope of his resurrection. Paul repeatedly emphasized that the power that raised Christ from the dead is ours too. Not that we can have this power to raise the dead, raise people from the dead. Not the power that heals the sick in an instant or perform miracles or predict the future. No, not that kind of power. The power that Paul was talking about is about the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit that strengthens us to do all things through Christ. The power that enables us to be obedient to God. This power Paul talks about does for us four things. enables us to do four things. First, we are enabled to overcome sin and suffering in our lives. He says in Romans 6.4, Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life. In newness of life. When we know Christ, we are new creations. We're given regenerated souls that want to obey God's will. That's why Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. John, in turn, warns us about being on the inconsistent side in our lives. He says, whoever says, I know him, but does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Secondly, not only does the power of the resurrection enable us to overcome sin and suffering in this world, the Holy Spirit also gives us the fruits of godliness and righteousness. Paul says in Romans 7.4, You also have died to the law through the body of Christ, to Him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. in order that we may bear good fruit, the fruits of the Holy Spirit for God. Third, the power of the resurrection transforms our minds and priorities. Paul says in Colossians chapter 3, 1-2. Colossians chapter 3, 1-2. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God set your mind on things that are above and not on things that are on the earth the more we know Christ the more we recognize that we are sojourners and pilgrims in this world looking forward to the riches and glory and power of the coming age, not to the riches of this age. And this is related to the fourth and last thing. The power of Christ's resurrection points us to that day when we will also be given resurrection bodies. In 1 Peter 1.3 Peter says, God has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead so the living hope of christ's resurrection enables us to endure the tribulations of this world he's paul says in romans 5 we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope through the Spirit who has been given to us. Our sufferings are like the refiner's fire, purifying us more and more so that when the time comes, Christ will be able to present us blameless and spotless like pure gold. Before Eric Little went to the Olympics, he explains to his brother and sister what his goal in life is. He says, I believe God made me for a purpose. He has a purpose in mind. And so he was well aware of this purpose. A year after the Olympics in 1925, Little obeyed God's purpose for his life. He went to China as a missionary. For 18 years, he worked tirelessly preaching the gospel in a foreign land. where the conveniences of his native Scotland was not present. And in 1943, during the Japanese occupation, he refused to leave China, even at the risk of being arrested because he wanted to continue his work there. And so he did. He was arrested. And he was imprisoned in a concentration camp for almost two years. and then he developed a brain tumor in the concentration camp, and he died there in 1945. There was another young missionary on his way to China who wrote before he died, no reserves, no retreats, no regrets. No reserves, no retreats, no regrets. In the face of suffering for the gospel, Lidl could also have written these same words in his deathbed. He knew God's promise in Romans 8.18. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. The power of Christ's resurrection enabled him to endure all the hardship and to hope for a heavenly city because he knew that he was a citizen of heaven. Beloved people of God, if you don't know Christ, believe in him. Trust in his righteousness, not in your own goodness. His righteousness is the only way you will be accepted by God. Be ready to suffer in this life because as believers we are called to share in the sufferings of our Lord. Ask God to give you the power of Christ's resurrection, the Holy Spirit to fill your lives so that you may be able to obey His Word in our lives. And while life's dark maze I tread and griefs around me spread, we await the blessed hope of His coming when we will also be raised unto eternal life. Let us go out then into this dark world with joy, bringing with us the light of this living hope. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. And then we can sing with the hymn writer, Bless Savior then in love, Fear and distrust removed, O bear me safe above, A ransomed soul. Amen. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, remind us always that your Son has clothed us with His righteousness and given us the power of His resurrection through the Holy Spirit so that we can live righteous lives in this world of suffering. Remind us always of the joy and the glory that awaits us if we persevere in the faith to the end. Amen.