Paul's Burning Desire Philippians 3:10

Introduction

One of the most dedicated missionary and explorers during the 19th century was David Livingstone. When he died in 1873 at the age of 50 years old, his body was buried in England where he was born, but his heart was buried in the Africa he loved. At the foot of a tall tree in a small African village the natives dug a hole and placed in it the heart of this man who they loved and respected. David Livingston had a burning desire to minister to those who lived in Africa.

Two thousand years ago a man named Paul had quite an experience on the road to Damascus. He met the resurrected Christ face to face. His life before being transformed on the road to Damascus was Judaism, Judaism, Judaism. He profited from the Law given by God to Israel through Moses at Sinai. He rose above those of his own age to a position of prominence in the nation of Israel because of his knowledge and dedication to the Torah. He was devoted to the traditions of men and had a zeal for God. He persecuted Jewish people who believed in Jesus. But after staring Jesus in the eyes, his life changed 180 degrees. In Philippians 3:10 he testified that “ … whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” What he found in knowing Christ was superior to anything he found in Moses. He considered those things before Christ as dung. Now Paul had new goals in life which were associated with Jesus the Messiah. His new heart burned with passion for Jesus. Nothing would satisfy his new spiritual appetite but Jesus. Because of his change of heart, Paul had new goals for his life in Jesus.

What were your goals before trusting in Christ as your Savior? What did your heart burn for? Did it burn for having a great job, having a big bank account with plenty of money in it, power, authority, and influence over people? What exactly did your burn for? Before Christ where would they bury your heart - in an office on the executive floor of an office building or in a bank? After trusting Christ, did your heart burn for Christ and did you have different goals? Well talk about that a little later. First let’s discuss one of the most profound, possible life changing verses in the Bible beyond John 3:16. In this verse we will find Paul’s three life changing goals after trusting Christ as his Savior.

A. Three Life Goals Philippians 3:10

1a. Paul s first New life Goal was to experience Christ more intimately (10a)

10a that I may know Him

Paul’s heart burning for Christ resulted in him wanted to know Christ more intimately. The word know means to know experientially. It’s one thing to know someone intellectually ie. to know about them but quite something different to know them personally or intimately. Everyone knows intellectually about George Washington. Someone in Washington’s day may have shaken hands with him but that did not mean they knew him personally. His wife, Martha, and his two step children knew him personally. Paul knew Christ on one level because He had begun a new personal relationship with Him when he trusted Him as Savior. However, Paul wanted to grow in that relationship with Jesus and to know Him more intimately. In Philippians 3:8 Paul stated that He wanted to “gain Christ.” This does mean he wanted to gain salvation from Christ because he already had that because of grace trough faith. The word gain means “to acquire by effort or investment.” To know Christ intimately meant that an investment of time, Bible study, and obedience would be required. Paul made that investment. In those whose hearts burns after Christ, they will have a spiritual hunger or thrust.

Babies who are healthy have an appetite for food and become thirsty. A baby who does not have an appetite or is thirsty is sick. One of he spiritual giants who had a spiritual hunger and thirst was King David. He wanted a personal relationship with God. Let’s look at two of David’s Psalms that show he had a spiritual thirst for God. The first is Psalm 42:1-2a.

1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;

King David here used the imagery of a deer that has been pursued to the point of physical exhaustion by some animal that seeks its destruction. When the pursuer finally leaves the trail, what the deer longs for above everything else is to go to the brooks of water and drink so as to be refreshed. David said that just as a pursued deer thirst and longs for the watersprings, so his soul thirsted for God. We also see this in Psalm 63:1.

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

‌David here used another vivid picture. It is that of a wanderer lost in a desert and suffering from extreme dehydration; it seems to him as though life is one great consuming thirst for water. What he cries out for in his anguish is water, that his burning thirst might be satisfied. David testified that deep in his heart was a longing, a thirst for God that could be compared only to the thirst of a sun-parched traveler who had lost his way in the burning wilderness. “My soul pants for you.” David attained the heights of maturity that he reached because of his appetite for God.

‌We also see this in another spiritual giant, Moses, in Exodus 11a and 13a.

11a Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.

13a Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight

Moses already knew about God but he wanted to know God in a personal way as a man knows a friend. Moses had a desire not only to know God with the mind, so that he understood His truth, but a desire to enter into God’s heart so that his heart beat in harmony with the heartbeat of God. God drew so close to Moses that He talked with him face to face. Moses entered into the most personal, intimate fellowship that anyone had with God since Adam and Eve walked with Him in the garden before the fall.

Jesus also chimed in on the subject of spiritual hunger and thirst for God in Matthew 5:6.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

1b A believers first New life goal should be to experiece Christ more intimately.

Every believers heart that burns for Jesus should have the goal of knowing Him more intimately. It’s clear in the Old Testament and the New Testament that every believer who has a burning heart for God also has a spiritual hunger and appetite for His Word. Remember that gaining Christ or knowing Him more intimately involves spending time with Him by studying the Word and being obedient to the Word and God’s leading. If a believer is not hungering to know God more intimately through His Word, prayer, and obedience than there is something wrong with that believer.

So, think about how much time you spend in study of the Word and prayer. After that, is you focus on obedience to what you have learned?

2a Paul’s second New life goal was to experiece Christ’s resurrection power.

10b (that I may know) the power of His resurrection

Paul knew that his sins were forgiven because He had trusted in Jesus and Jesus alone as Savior. He knew exactly where he was going when he died. But Paul also knew that he had to live on this earth until either the Rapture or his death occured. He knew that to live the life of an evangelist and a holy life before God and man, which he advocated to believers, he daily needed the resurrection power that Jesus had.

In Romans 6:3-5 Paul wrote how the resurrection and its power is related to baptism. We will look at those verses momentarily, but let’s first discuss what baptism is.

There are two kinds of baptisms - wet and dry. When we hear the word baptism, the first thing that pops in our mind is water baptism, but it shouldn't because it is just a picture that memorializes Holy Spirit baptism or dry baptism. Dry baptism is spiritual baptism from Jesus by means of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit baptism from was first promised by John the Baptizer.

Matt 3:11 As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Then, on several occasions Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit.

John 16:7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

The Helper is the Holy Spirit. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, promised the Holy Spirit again in Acts 1:5 & 8.

Acts 1:5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

Acts 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

The Holy Spirit did arrive 50 days after the resurrection on the Feast of Pentecost as Luke tells us in Acts 2:4.

Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit ...

The baptism of the Holy Spirit was something new and had several results on believers. When these believers were baptized by the Holy Spirit, they were automatically indwelt with the Holy Spirit and were placed into Christ and into the Body of Christ. Lets first look at being baptised into the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:13.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit  we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink (participate)of one Spirit.

The word baptism actually means identification. When we were baptized by Jesus through the means of the the Holy Spirit, we were identified and united with two things. First the body of Christ. Being baptized into the Body of Christ, the church, by the Holy Spirit means that we were automatically joined into a mystical union with all believers in Christ. Their new identification was now in the Body of Christ not with Judaism or the world. Christ is our head and the believers are the body. Secondly, believers were baptized or identified with Jesus and with his death, burial, and resurrection as we see in Romans 6.

Romans 6:3-6

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.

Paul knew that when believers were baptized with the Holy Spirit they were united with all believers in the Body of Christ but they were also baptized or identified and united with the death burial and resurrection of Christ. That means believers spiritually died with Jesus, were spiritually buried with Jesus, and were spiritually resurrected with Jesus. Water baptism is just a picture or memorial of when we spiritually died, was buried, and was resurrected with Jesus.

That what water baptism represents. Being immersed into the water represents that we had died with Christ, were buried with Christ, and when we come out of the water it represents that believers are resurrected with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s that power that resurrected Jesus and gives believers the power to live a supernatural life.

2b A believers second New life goal should be to experience Christ’s resurrection power.

Remember the word know means that something has been experienced. As Paul wanted to experience more and more the resurrected power of Jesus to do evangelism and live a holy life, so should we as believers today. The same power that resurrected Jesus is ours because we are united with Him land have been resurrected with Him spiritually.

The power is with us to live a supernatural when we depend on the Holy Spirit. I’am afraid that many times we try to live a holy life and accomplish things for the Lord in our own strength instead of His. The evangelist Dwight L. Moody saw the same thing over a hundred years ago. He stated, “The Christian Church everywhere is 'toiling,' instead of seeking power from on high.” So, as we go through life day by day, let’s keep our sins confessed and rely on God’s power to live this Christian life instead of our own.

3a Paul’s third New life goal was to experience fellowship with Christ’s suffering

Paul never thought for a second that he was to suffer for his sins because he know that was impossible to do and more importantly that Jesus has already suffered for us. Paul understood that the sufferings he was enduring for his faith were a means of conforming him to Christ’s character of selfless humility. Every time he was beaten, put in prison, whipped, ridiculed for his faith, for proclaiming Christ, etc. brought him suffering that brought him closer into fellowship with Christ. This brought him joy.

3b A believers third New life goal should be to have fellowship with Christ’s suffering .

Flagellation is practiced even today by some Roman Catholics to suffer today for their sins. Flagellation is whipping oneself or someone else for punishment of sin. There is no need to flagellate oneself because Jesus has paid the price for the punishment for or sin past, present, and future. To experience intimate fellowship with Jesus, we have to suffer for Him. This may mean being persecuted and ridiculed as we witness to others about our Savior, as we live a holy life in the Holy Sprit separated from the world, and as we raise our head high for being proud of and not ashamed of being called a believer in Jesus to friends and family. This will bring us joy when we glorify Christ.

3c The manner in which believers are to be like Jesus is by becoming dead to sin (but alive to God).

The best illustration of being dead to sin is to think of a corpse. It does not matter how you try to temp, prod, coerce, or bribe a corpse, they will not move, flinch, or obey you in any way. Why? Because they are dead and incapable of moving or obeying. Paul know that If he were living in the resurrection power of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, he would not give into Satan’s temptations, coercing, promises, etc. Why? Because by the Power of the holy Spirit, he was dead to sin and alive to God. Today it’s no different for us today. If we live by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will not give into Satan’s temptations, coercing, promises, etc. because we are dead to sin and alive to God. Reject sin’s illegitimate rule. All of us hate getting manipulated and deceived. Paul was clear that since you have been set free from sin’s authority through participating in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, the only way sin can have power over you is by giving it “free reign.” That’s like a naturalized citizen of the United States who still pays taxes to the county from which they immigrated. In this case, sin exercises its power when you choose to use the various members of your body to speak and act in ways that are sinful. In Colossians 3:5 Paul gets specific. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. Militantly refuse to accept the lie that you must sin, that you don’t have a choice, that it’s “just the way you are”. Anyone in Christ is a new creation; the old has passed away.

SELAH!