I Want!

Philippians 3:7-14

Introduction

                Thank-you for the invitation to speak to you this morning. Larry and I went to high school together and it has been great to connect again recently. I have been involved with Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren churches for most of my ministry life, but I have also had some experience with Baptist churches. Between our second and third year of seminary, we had the privilege of being the pastor of a small Baptist church in Upper Falls, Ontario for a summer. It was such a great experience that because of it we began to think seriously about pastoral ministry and that is of course what we ended up doing. I suppose it would be right for me to say thank you to the Baptists for giving me an opportunity and helping me get into the career that has been mine now for 22 years. We just completed 12 years in a Mennonite Brethren church in Manitou and are looking for another church at this time. My wife Carla and I have three children, two of them are married and the youngest is attending Bible College in Abbotsford BC.

                Christmas is just around the corner and during this season of the year, one of the questions we often ask our children is, “What do you want for Christmas?” Advertisers certainly know how to play on our desires and aim much of what we see on television to feeding the things that we want. I remember one Christmas when we as a family decided that we would buy ourselves a family gift. We wanted a video game unit. We did not feel we could afford a new one and so we found a used one. The person we bought it from could not get it to us until after the weekend and I remember that all weekend, I could hardly wait until we got it. I really wanted it.  At the first opportunity, I went and got it and set it up and we began to play. The first while we played it a lot and there were even a few arguments about whose turn it was. After a while, the excitement wore off and it wasn’t too long before we hardly played it any more. A few years later, we finally gave it away because we just weren’t interested in it any more. That is the way it is with so many things in life that we want. They obsess us, we are totally focused on them, but before long, we are disappointed with them.

                What do you really want? Will what you want disappoint or will it satisfy? Is it achievable?

In Philippians 3:7-14, particularly in verse 10, Paul expresses what he wants. What is it? Why is it so important to him? As we look at this passage this morning, I want to ask you,  “What about you? What do you want more than anything else? Do the things Paul wants express a longing in your heart?

I. I Want To Know Christ

                Being empty nesters and living in Winnipeg, has brought us into a whole new set of relationships. Those with whom we had primary relationship – our children and our church - are gone, but we are enjoying the privilege of a closer relationship with our mothers, other family members and some good friends.  Relationships are important in our life and this is particularly true of our primary relationships. Perhaps it is this need for relationships that raises in us a desire for a close relationship with God. Paul expresses this desire when he says, “I want to know Christ…” What does it mean to want to know Christ?.

A. Christ As The Only Way Of Righteousness

There was a movement among Jewish Christians which taught that people needed to become Jews before they became Christians. Paul writes this passage to refute these people and he knows what he is talking about. Paul was the prime example of one who could have confidence in his physical heritage. In verses 4-6, he gives a list of all the things he could count on. He had a spiritual pedigree a mile long and could stand proudly on it, but in verse 8, he calls this pedigree and anything else that he might rely on, rubbish. This word means that which is left over after a meal. It can refer either to the garbage that we throw out – the bones, gristle, and other inedible stuff. It could also refer to that which we excrete from our bodies after a meal. In the most graphic terms he rejects totally any reliance on what he could accomplish.

                Chuck Buller, puts it this way, "what Paul once killed for was now valueless." Paul had been a Jew so zealously attached to the law of Moses that he even killed Christians. Now, he considered that which was of utmost value to him as garbage.

                It is in this context that he says, “I want to know Christ.” He goes on in verses 8,9 to talk about Christ as the only way of salvation, as the only one in whom he can rely for his righteousness. It is a simple gospel message. To want to know Christ is to want to understand that we are saved by Christ alone.

                You may say, “well that’s obvious, why make a point of it?”

I make a point of it because I know what happens within myself. I became a believer early in life, I have not committed any serious sins and I have served God as a pastor for 22 years. Surely that counts for something! I suspect that many who have been believers for a long time often have the same kind of thoughts. Sometimes it is hard for us to imagine that we haven’t helped God out just a little bit in our salvation.

I also make a point of it because I have seen too many Christians who are burdened with duty and for whom following Christ is a chore. I have seen too many Christians who are trying to rely on their own goodness and as a result are either bogged down in guilt or filled with self righteousness.

It is my desire to know Christ because I want to know in my mind and in my heart that my acceptance with God is based entirely on what Jesus did on the cross and not anything good that I have done. Knowing Christ is knowing that in Him alone we have forgiveness, acceptance with God and a sure hope. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “has anything - ethnicity, heritage, education, professional success, financial wellbeing - taken the place of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord?”

B. Being In Christ

One of the blessings of family is the intimacy of relationship. Carla and our daughter, Kristen have a very good relationship. They are more than mother and daughter. They phone several times a week, sometimes for advice about how to cook a certain meal and sometimes about deep spiritual matters. Kristen knows that she can count on us and we love her and enjoy our relationship with her.

It is that kind of an intimate relationship that I want with Jesus. Although Paul doesn’t speak about it here, his writings are filled with this concept. Repeatedly he uses the phrase, “in Christ” to describe the intimate relationship with Jesus that can be ours and when he says “I want to know Christ” I am sure that this is also in his mind.. Do we know Christ in this intimate sense?

This knowing is not a theoretical knowing, but a knowing in the matters of life. I want to know Christ when I am tempted, that is, I want to know His power helping me overcome. I want to know Him so intimately that his love and His life flow from me and are seen by all I work with and come to know. I want to know what it means to live in a deep and growing relationship with him so that all the other relationships in my life are impacted by that. I want to know His presence and His comfort when I am going through troubles. It has not been easy as we have waited for God to direct us to our next place of ministry. We have often been discouraged, but we have just as often been encouraged and strengthened by the love of God and by the presence and strength of Jesus. I want to know and live in a close relationship with Jesus in all of the different aspects of my daily living.

There is a wonderful story about Jesus and his disciples in Mark 4:35ff, the disciples were on the sea in a great storm. They despaired of life, and Jesus slept. When they woke him, He asked them, “don’t you believe?” Knowing Christ is being able to sleep in the back of the boat while the storm is raging. When we know Christ, we will know that He is sovereign Lord, we will know that He loves us because He died for us and covered our sin and we will believe that He is guiding, caring for and providing for us in the midst of the storm. We will know that nothing comes into our life which is outside of His care.

                Paul prays for the Ephesians in 1:17-19, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.“

                That prayer expresses my longing that we may grow deeper in the intimacy of that relationship.

II. I Want To Know The Power Of His Resurrection

                Recently I borrowed a book from the library to learn more about the word processing program I got a little while ago and I discovered that there were all kinds of amazing functions on the program that I did not know about. Until I did that, I was not aware of the power at my disposal in this program.

                Paul says, “I want to know the power of His resurrection. Do we want this? Do we know it? In the Mennonite Brethren Herald, one article talks about how sometimes we have an intellectual grasp of the resurrection,  we know that it is true as a cold historical fact, but that fact does not stir us or change us and so we remain unaffected by the power of the resurrection.

                The story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the most amazing and wonderful occurrence in the entire history of the human race. Nowhere in all the world or in all of history has there ever been such an event.

                We know all about death. We are, in fact, very efficient at producing death. For example, this spring, we as Canadians were involved in killing in Yugoslavia with our airplanes and bombs. Although many desire to overcome death and some have even had their bodies frozen in the hope that at a future time scientists will learn to overcome death and then they will be thawed out and live forever, the reality is that death is still final and we live with that understanding..

                As Jesus hung on the cross, the chief priests taunted Him to come down off the cross and one man mocked that perhaps Elijah would come and get him... but then he died. All who saw it were completely sure that it was over. And it was... except that God raised Him from the dead. What is impossible for us, God has done! Jesus died, of that there is no doubt. He was buried in the tomb for three days, but God raised Him from the dead.

This is the story we tell each Easter. We rejoice at its wonder and the hope it gives because the power of the resurrection is for us. In Ephesians 1:19,20 which is Paul's prayer for the Ephesians, he says, "that you may know...his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead..." Did you catch that? "his incomparably great power for us!!" "The power which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead!" Resurrection power was not just to raise Jesus from the dead, but is for us today, now!

                The power of His resurrection is the power God has to take that which was dead and make it alive again. How is that “for us” today?

A. The Power Of A Changed Life

                We all know too well how powerful sin is. We know something is wrong, but we can’t stop doing it. We sin, and then we feel guilty and we can’t get rid of the guilt of sin. Sin is powerful and has us in its grasp.

                Through the death of Jesus on the cross, the power of the cross has allowed us to overcome the guilt of our sin and the consequences of our sin. The power of the resurrection takes that hope one step further in giving us freedom from the power of sin in our lives.

                Through the power of the resurrection, by the Holy Spirit, God has freed us from the darkness of sin by putting the life of God in us.

                When Paul says in Philippians 3:10, “I want to know…the power of His resurrection,” it is this that he has in mind. The power of the resurrection is the power of the Spirit to change us and make all things new. When we acknowledge our powerlessness and confess the death of our ability, then the resurrection power of God becomes active in raising us to newness of life. The power of the resurrection is the power of a transformed life. Do we know that we will not overcome sin by our effort, but only by the power of the resurrection? Do we see the power of God transforming our life?

B. The Power Of God's Present Help

                But the resurrection power of God is also available for many of the issues of our daily life.

                For 70 years the governments in communist countries made religion illegal and forced churches to close. But was the church of Jesus Christ really held under the power of these evil governments?

                In II Corinthians 1:8, Paul describes the hardships they experienced as ministers in the work of God. He says, "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life." But were Paul and his companions prevented from accomplishing God's work by the power of their hardships?

                It may be in regards to our health, our ministry, our family, the farming situation or our job that we become discouraged and wonder if there is any hope for our situation. When we become discouraged, we need to remember the power of the resurrection. Paul, after describing the difficulties they experienced, writes in II Corinthians 1:9,10, "Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,"

                The power of the resurrection is the power to face any situation with strength and hope because it is in the hands of God who raises the dead. No situation is hopeless when the God who raises the dead is in the situation.

                When Ezekial was prophesying to Israel at a time when they had been devastated by the Babylonians, God gave him a vision, recorded in Ezekial 37, showing him that He is the God who can make dead bones live again.

                In a recent prayer letter from Laurence and Leona Hiebert, who are missionaries in Japan, they tell the story of a teen aged girl who recently became a believer. She wanted to be baptized but her parents who were not believers were strongly opposed to this. Laurence and Leona and the girl prayed about it and on the day of the baptism, the parents permitted it and even attended the baptism. That is the power of the resurrection.

                The power of the resurrection shows us that any situation in life which we find absolutely hopeless is not hopeless if it is in the hands of God who is the God of resurrection.

C. The Power Of Eternal Life

                The most hopeless and impossible situation we experience is death. But that also is not the case because the power of the resurrection assures us that we have life after death. To know the power of His resurrection is to know that nothing can destroy us because we possess eternal life. The promise of eternal life is sure! I Corinthians 15:21-23 says, "For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive…."

Over the past few years, I have conducted a number of funerals. I think of two gentlemen in particular who were strong believers and in whom I saw peace when they were facing death. They knew they were dying and although it was not easy, they were able to do it with grace because they knew and experienced the power of the resurrection.

                To know the power of the resurrection is to know that when any situation is absolutely impossible, and we cannot do it, God can! We cannot overcome sin, but by the power of the God of resurrection we can! We cannot do God's work, but by the power of the God of resurrection it can be done! We cannot overcome death, but by the power of the God of resurrection we can!

III. I Want To Know The Fellowship Of His Suffering

                Isn’t this a great passage? Don’t we long for the intimacy of a relationship with Christ? Don’t we long to see the power of the God of resurrection demonstrated in our lives? And so we read on in this passage… “I want to know… the fellowship of sharing his sufferings becoming like Him in His death…” Wait a minute. I don’t want that. I want a life full of ease. I want to have a life free of trouble. I want to enjoy life. Why does Paul want this, because I certainly don’t. So we close our Bibles and we walk away because we have come up against something that we don’t really want. But, let’s not be so quick to dismiss this passage. Why does Paul say this?

A. His Suffering

                To help us understand this concept, we need to first of all think about what the suffering of Jesus was all about. Why did Jesus suffer? Did He desire his suffering? When we think of His prayer in the garden, we would have to say that He did not want to suffer. He prayed, “Father if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” I would suggest that Jesus was just like we are in regards to his suffering. He did not want it and sought to avoid it. Yet, he endured it, why? Hebrews 12:1,2 says, “who for the joy set before him, endured the cross…” Jesus knew suffering was necessary and he was willing to endure it because he saw past the suffering to the joy of bringing salvation to the world and that was what made him willing to do it.

                He was also willing to endure it because he believed in the God of resurrection. He knew he was going to die and that was no easy thing, but he also knew that he would be raised and that only through death would the power of God’s resurrection be seen and accomplish a far greater victory than if he had not gone all the way to death. Unless he died, he would not experience what God would do in raising Him from the dead. Going through suffering to the end, allowed the power of the God of resurrection to become active in his life.

B. Our Participation

                And so we can indeed desire to share in His suffering, not for the sake of the suffering itself, but for the sake of what it will accomplish in us. There have been those who have sought suffering for its own sake, or to gain a standing with God, but that is not what Paul is saying. It is like this. If you have ever been in an emergency situation, you know that suddenly priorities are completely changed. For example, you are driving along intent on getting to a meeting. Your priority is to make it there on time. As you are going, you notice that the weather is starting to close in. As the snow increases and the wind picks up, your priorities change. Suddenly it doesn’t matter whether you make it to the meeting or not, suddenly your highest priority is getting to safety. Suffering does that for us, it reorients our priorities.

This seems to be necessary because we don’t seem to learn very well any other way. In fact, we might well say that we will not know Christ and the power of his resurrection until we know the fellowship of sharing His suffering.

1. Helps us overcome sin

And so it seems that often suffering is necessary to help us overcome sin. When we suffer, our priorities are changed and we care more about pleasing God than about the self indulgence which often leads to sin. 1 Peter 4:1,2 says, “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2 As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.”

2. Suffering produces God-like character

The Bible teaches us that suffering produces God-like character. Romans 5:3-5 says, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; …” When we suffer, we have to be patient and such patience teaches us to place value on those things that God values. That is what character formation is all about.

We seek to know not the suffering, but accept the suffering as a means of gaining the character of Christ.

3. Teaches us to rely on God

When he suffered, Paul also tells us that, he learned to rely on God. At one time, he experienced what he terms a “thorn in the flesh.” The suffering, whatever it was, was not removed, but instead, he learned that God’s grace was sufficient in that time of his suffering. II Corinthians 12:7ff

As we have been struggling to wait on God to show us where he wants us to serve next, we have been tempted at times to rely on our conference minister, our long years of experience or our reputation, but it is now evident that we cannot rely on any of these things and so our struggle is teaching us to rely on God who loves us and has provided strength to endure and much encouragement.

4. Allows Us To Experience God’s Resurrection Power

At some point in our suffering, the only hope, the only possibility becomes the God of resurrection who can take that which has died and make it live again. So we seek to know suffering not for the sake of the suffering, but rather for the sake of seeing the power of the resurrection. Paul says in verse 10,11, “becoming like Him in His death and so somehow to attain to the resurrection of the dead.” One writer puts it this way, "no one can participate in His resurrection, who has not first participated in His death."

In 2 Corinthians 1:9, Paul describes his own experience. “Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”

Tasker says, “the purpose of being brought to the feeling of hopelessness is that we might hope in the God who raises from the dead.”

Paul knew what he was talking about. In Acts 14:19, there is a story about when Paul was stoned by an angry mob of people and dragged out of the city and left for dead. Yet, he lived by the power of the God who raises the dead.

Even though that is true, we still find suffering hard, and there is a further word which God gives us when we must suffer. God not only allows suffering to be an occasion to experience his power, we also find that in our suffering, he sustains us. II Corinthians 1:5 says, “For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

Conclusion

            I say with all honesty that this is what I want. I also say with all honesty that I have not experienced all this. Paul encourages me when he says that he has not accomplished all this either. He was painfully aware that He had not arrived, but he did not despair. Instead, he made it his goal to forget his accomplishments, forget his failures, i.e. Forget what was behind and strive to what was ahead, the goal for which Christ had called Him. And so we too must strive for this goal. It is a lifetime pursuit of knowing Christ, of learning to recognize and experience the resurrection power of God and of sharing in Christ’s suffering so that we can indeed experience his resurrection power. It is a want that will not disappoint, but will bring joy, power and hope to life.

                God is so good, he loves us so much and wanting these things is simply a response to His overwhelming grace and compassion.

                And so my question for you, for myself is simply, “What do you want?” I pray that reflection on these words of God will help fan into flame a burning desire to know Christ, the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing his suffering.