The Awesome Value of Divine Relationship

1 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, 4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! 5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

INTRODUCTION:

As long as our focus is upon this life, you and I will constantly find ourselves living beneath our circumstances. The only way that we will ever be able to change our focus is to fully understand the awesomeness of our divine relationship.

In our text, the apostle Paul spells out the dramatic impact upon his life that came about from understanding the awesomeness of his relationship with Christ. Paul continually faced some of the most negative circumstances imaginable for any human being. In spite of the circumstances, Paul’s life was filled with joy and fulfillment. He constantly lived above his circumstances.

Let us take a look at some of the facts that Paul stated about his understanding concerning the awesome value of our divine relationship.

I- THE AWESOME VALUE OF OUR DIVINE RELATIONSHIP MAKES EVERYTHING ELSE SEEM WORTHLESS. ()

A- The awesome value of our divine relationship demonstrates that empty religion is worthless. ()

Philippians 3:1–3 NLT

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Malachi 1:6–14 NLT

6 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name! “But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’ 7 “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar. “Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’ “You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect. 8 When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 9 “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 10 “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings. 11 But my name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 12 “But you dishonor my name with your actions. By bringing contemptible food, you are saying it’s all right to defile the Lord’s table. 13 You say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the Lord,’ and you turn up your noses at my commands,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the Lord. 14 “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!

B- The awesome value of our divine relationship reveals that confidence in the flesh is worthless. ()

Philippians 3:4–5 NLT

4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! 5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.

C- The awesome value of our divine relationship illuminates the fact that misdirected zeal is worthless. ()

Philippians 3:6–7 NLT

6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

II- THE AWESOME VALUE OF OUR DIVINE RELATIONSHIP IS DERIVED FROM THE SOURCE OF OUR SALVATION. ()

“...and become one with him.”

Philippians 3:9 NLT

9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

A- Salvation is a possible only through union with Christ. ()

“...and become one with him.”

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Romans 8:1 NLT

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

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2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

B- The 1st step to finding righteousness is rejecting self-righteousness. (: 9B)

“...I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law;”

C- True righteousness is only found through faith in Christ. (: 9C)

“...rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.”

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John 1:12 NLT

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

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Ephesians 2:8–9 NLT

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

III- THE AWESOME VALUE OF OUR DIVINE RELATIONSHIP IS EXPERIENCED BY LIVING A YIELDED LIFE TO CHRIST. ()

Philippians 3:10–11 NLT

10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

A- When we live a yielded life, we will experience his resurrection power.

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Philippians 3:10–11 NLT

1- We will come to know Christ personally, which is the very definition of eternal life.

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John 17:3 NLT

3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.

2- Experiencing his resurrection power restores spiritual life. ()

Ephesians 2:1–5 NLT

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)

Ephesians 2:1 NLT

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.

Ephesians 2:1–3 NLT

3- The resurrection power of Christ continually enables us to live missionally. ()

Acts 1:8 NLT

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

B- The resurrection power of Christ is manifested most powerfully in the midst of trials. ()

Philippians 3:10 NLT

10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,

1- Paul knew that the resurrection power of Christ is demonstrated when we are at our weakest and most vulnerable circumstance.

a. Like Peter in the jail ()

C- When we live yielded lives in difficult circumstances, we can do so with absolute confidence. ()

Philippians 3:11 NLT

11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

1- No matter what the world throws at us, we can live with the assurance of our resurrected life with Jesus.

a. We have his resurrection power in this life. ()

Romans 8:1 NLT

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

b. We will be raised to enjoy our relationship with Christ throughout eternity!

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Revelation 19:11–16 NLT

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. 12 His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. 15 From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. 16 On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

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Revelation 20:1–5 NLT

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. 2 He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. 3 The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.)