A Passion to Know Him Sunday, May 15, 2016 Philippians 3:1-11 We are going to back up to the beginning of chapter 3 this morning Philippians 3:1 (NKJV) 1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. The word Finally isn t a summation point; it s not a conclusion; Paul is not wrapping things up. It is a transition point. We will notice the mood and tone of this letter drastically change. Up to this point Paul has been encouraging the people to do church God s way, to love one another, to esteem others highly. Let me give you a little background. It seems as though whenever Paul would start a church and then move on to plant another one, or in this case, he d been uprooted by the Roman government and awaiting his trial before Caesar - as soon as Paul was gone, a group of legalistic religious people would pounce upon the newly planted church. They ve earned the name Judaizers. Their pitch was something like this Well, we re glad that you believe in Jesus and all, but Paul got you jumpstarted a little too far. You see, in order for you to actually become a Christian you must observe certain rights and rules first. What they were actually doing was pressuring these folks to observe all of the Jewish rights and traditions. You must observe these days, eat a certain diet and be circumcised. They were legalists. And unless you did church their way, they considered you not to be saved at all. So, here s what Paul has to say about these legalists. Page 1
Philippians 3:2 3 (NKJV) 2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, Paul is not warning us about your neighbor s furry little yipping, anklenipping house pet. As you probably already know, dog was a name showing disdain that the Jewish people reserved for all Gentiles. Dogs back then ran in packs through the streets, eating garbage, fighting with one another, had open sores and were generally disgusting. So here Paul uses the word to describe these people who were preventing the Gospel of Grace. To Titus Paul says Titus 3:5 (NKJV) 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, To the Galatians he says Galatians 2:16 (NKJV) 16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, You see, if salvation hinges on anything other than totally upon the Cross of Jesus Christ, then it isn t grace, it s works. It isn t Jesus Who has saved you, it s you. And that my friend isn t salvation at all. If we could save ourselves what was the point of God becoming man, perfect man, and dying in our place for the remission of our sins? You don t need to be circumcised to be saved - Paul asserts that we are the circumcision who worship God in the Spirit. Rejoice in that Paul says, and have no confidence in the flesh. No confidence in fleshly deeds, fleshly accomplishments. If there were ever a person alive who would have confidence in their own accomplishments, their own status, it would be Paul - or someone like him. Page 2
Philippians 3:4 6 (NKJV) 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Circumcised right on schedule according to the law. A dependent of Abraham. Belonging to the tribe of Jewish people who were the only ones who stood with Judah and had the temple of God within their borders. A high ranking member of the Pharisees who personally showed his loyalty by persecuting the church, and followed the letter of the law without fail. Philippians 3:7 11 (NKJV) 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. All of my accomplishments, my status within the Jewish community, the accolades I received, the position I held within the Sanhedrin - everything is what it cost me to gain Christ. I lost it all. Family, friends everything, when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. But you know what? I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. You want to know why? Because what I have in Jesus compared to all that I had without Him is - v.8 rubbish. That word is used to describe refuse, garbage, manure. Working so hard to be self-righteous is a bunch of C R A P. Paul is using strong language concerning the ideas of these Judaizers who are preventing the Gospel. Self-righteousness is no righteousness at all! Page 3
verse.9 to be found in Jesus, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. Here at church we talk a lot about having Jesus in our lives, but what we need to hear more about is our lives being found in Him. Paul s talking about being united to the Redeemer and depending solely on His merits for salvation. Before we go any further in our text - there are those who are modern-day Judaizers. You must wear this and not that. You must eat this and not that. You must go to church on this day and not that one. Now add that to believing in Jesus and you will go to Heaven. And then there are those self-righteous who would say, I go to Calvary Chapel every single Sunday. I help out at church this way and that way. I donate to the church every time the offering basket comes my way. I believe in Jesus and now CERTAINLY I m going to heaven. Then there are out-and-out new age liberal Christians who like to listen to preachers that tell them that God wants them to be happy, or wealthy or whatever tickles their ear. Cheap Grace. The point truly is - Are you to be found in Christ Jesus this morning? Here s the issue - when you open the door to your life to invite Jesus in, you must close the back door to the things that have kept you from Him. I m talking about repentance. Turning away from the things you know in your heart that separate you from God, and turning to Him. Some will tell you that repentance is merely changing your mind. Beware of those dogs. It is changing your mind, and your actions, and your attitude. Deuteronomy 4:29 (NKJV) 29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your Page 4
heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 6:5 (NKJV) 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. McGee said Some people get the impression that being saved by faith means there is no motivation for conduct and works. They think that if a person is saved by grace it must mean he just sits around and twiddles his thumbs. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Saving faith is a faith that moves you. James said (and he is not talking about law-works but faithworks), shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works (James 2:18). What did Paul mean when he said (verse 10) that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,? The word for know here is the same form used in 3:8, referring to personal, experiential knowledge. To know Christ is more than merely to know facts or doctrine about him. Paul wanted to know Christ better and better, for Christ had changed the very foundation of his life. That should be the goal of every one of us to know Christ more fully and personally, and that can be a lifelong process. Paul wanted to know the power of his resurrection. The power of the Holy Spirit that brought Jesus back from the dead is available to all believers to raise them from spiritual death Paul also wanted to know the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings. Paul was not referring to sharing Christ s death on the cross; that suffering could not be shared because it was Christ s alone. But Paul wanted to participate with Christ, as a believer, in suffering for the gospel (1:29). Even as Paul had already suffered greatly for the gospel and was suffering in prison at the writing of this letter, he still wanted to know, firsthand, what it meant to suffer for Christ. The sufferings of Christ are those afflictions that we suffer as we do Christ s ministry. You see, we all want to be saved because we don t want to suffer in Hell. But have you ever thought that, as a Christian, you might be required to suffer a little here on earth? Page 5
You just might lose a friend or a loved one because Christ lives in you and you are found in Him. You might lose a promotion, a job, your popularity just because you have become the kind of Christian that has let completely go of 1 John 2:16 (NKJV) 16 For all that is in the world the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world. All because you re the kind of Christian that is not a legalist, not selfrighteous, not dependent on good deeds, or not liberal as is so very popular these days. Here s an example ~ Victoria Osteen recently implored the audience to realize that when we obey God, we re not doing it for God we re doing it for ourselves. As her proud husband nods approvingly, Osteen continues, Do good for your own self. Do it because God wants you to be happy. When you come to church, when you worship Him, you re not doing it for God, really you re doing it for yourself, because that s what makes God happy. Amen? That is ludicrous - blasphemous. Listen to Jesus Luke 9:23 (NKJV) 23 Then He said to them all, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Matthew 10:38 (NKJV) 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. What I am not saying is that unless you re suffering in the flesh you aren t a good enough Christian. Maybe I can demonstrate this idea by letting you hear from some people that really GET IT David ~ Psalm 42:1 (NKJV) 1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. Page 6
Psalm 63:1 2 (NKJV) 1 O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Paul ~ Romans 8:22 24 (NKJV) 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? Author of Hebrews 12:1 2 (NKJV) 1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, It s the suffering soul that yearns to know more of Christ. That I may know Him and that I might know the power of His resurrection; that I might experience the fellowship of His sufferings; that I might be conformed to His death Paul says it this way in Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. It s not the poor suffering soul, the forlorn. I m doing all this for God s kind of Christian. It s the Christian whose soul suffers to know God more, that says along with Isaiah 61:10 (NKJV) 10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a Page 7
bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 26:8-9 - O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Lord - give us this kind of passion for you that we ve seen in others this morning - amen. Page 8