I Want to Know Christ Sermon

Pastor Rich Knight

Central Congregational Church

July 16, 2017

Philippians 3:1-16

Note that 3:1 seems to mark the end the letter. It starts out, “Finally.” But here's the funny thing, he’s only halfway done the letter! He writes 2 more chapters! This proves that Paul was a preacher, because only a preacher would give people such false hope!

Perhaps Paul set the letter aside for a while and then realized there was more he wanted to say to them? Whatever the reason, they benefited from his continuation, and so do we.

3 Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.

To write the same things to you is not troublesome to me, and for you it is a safeguard.

² Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! ³ For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh— ⁴ even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

⁷ Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. ⁸ More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

¹² Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³ Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly^[j] call of God in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. ¹⁶ Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.

Question - if your house was on fire, and you had the chance to safely go in and get something, what would you grab?

What’s your most cherished possession?

Once upon a time there was a town that had a rash of church fires. First the Episcopal Church caught on fire. The leaders had very little time, but they rushed in and carried out the processional cross that is carried in by the Crucifer at the start of every service. Two weeks later the Roman Catholic Church caught on fire, and the leaders risked their lives and rushed in in the nick of time and carried out the host in the sacred space up front, containing a chalice & large wafer for the Eucharist. Two weeks later the Lutheran Church caught on fire, and the leaders rushed in a carried out the baptismal font. Baptized is especially important to Lutherans. A few weeks later the Baptist Church caught on fire and folks rushed in to grab the large Bible that sat on the Communion table. Well, you guessed it. A few weeks later the Congregational Church caught fire. And again, at great risk to their lives the church leaders rushed in, and just in the nick of time . . . they saved the coffee maker.

In our passage this morning we see what’s most important to St. Paul.

Paul’s most cherished possession is his relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Everything else was meaningless compared to that! His training, credentials, birthright, zeal and religiousness all meant nothing (“rubbish”) to him compared to the “surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

He expresses that relationship and summarizes it with this beautiful sentence. “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings.”

Let’s look at that a phrase at a time:

I. I want to know Christ.

The word he uses here for “know” is a very personal, intimate word. There are various ways of knowing.

A. Intellectual knowledge

Ex. I know Charlie Baker is the governor of Mass, and Donald Trump is the president. But I do not know them personally. I don’t really know them. It’s factual knowledge, not personal experience.

B. Personal knowledge is different and deeper. And there are various levels to it.

I know my mailman by name.

I know my neighbors names and some of them I know fairly well.

I know many of our parishioners very well.

I know my closest friends and family members very, very well.

C. Then there’s Intimate knowledge.

That’s the word used here. As in, “And Joseph did not know Mary until she gave birth to her firstborn son.” Paul wants to know Christ in a very personal, intimate way. That’s why the Mystics talked about becoming One with God - where your spirit & God’s Spirit become one. Your heart and God’s heart are united in a loving partnership.

II. Part of knowing Christ is knowing the power of his resurrection. Isn’t that a beautiful phrase? What’s your reaction to that? What does it mean to know the power of Christ’s resurrection?

A. It means knowing that he’s a living Savior!

He’s more than just an ancient teacher.  He becomes a Personal Presence in your life.

B. It means experiencing New Life in Christ - the power of forgiveness, the power of God’s love, new opportunities, new possibilities, living with God’s surprises.

C. You know that the promises of God are for you!

Illustration. A Man greeted his pastor one Easter Sunday following the service and said, “Pastor, if I die right now, it would be okay.” He experienced the Power of Christ’s Resurrection!

To know Christ is to know that we serve a Living Savior, a Victorious Savior and an Empowering Savior.

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection

and the sharing of his sufferings.”

III. Finally, to know Christ is to know his presence in the most difficult times of your life. It’s to know the fellowship/sharing of his sufferings. “Sharing” = “a close affinity” with his suffering.

There’s an Old Spiritual that expressed this truth - “Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley,” so he can walk with us in our valleys. We do not have an ivory tower God. We have a God who knows the human experience, even suffering.

John Stott:  “I could not believe in God if it were not for the Cross. In the real world of pain, how could anyone believe in a God who is immune to it?”

Hebrews 2: “He had to be made like us in all ways, so that we may have a merciful and faithful high priest in time of suffering.”

Hebrews 4 - “For he is not unacquainted with our sufferings and trails.”

Because Christ suffered we know that he is by our side during our suffering to help us in time of need.

I spoke on this theme at a funeral several years ago. A few days after the service I received this poem in the mail. It's called, "God, I Hurt."

POEM - “God, I Hurt”

I said, “God, I hurt.”

And God said, “I know.”

I said, “God, I cry a lot.

And God said, “That is why I gave you tears.”

I said, “God, I am so depressed.”

“That is why I gave you sunshine.”

I said, “God, life is so hard.”

And God said, “That is why I gave you loved ones.”

I said, “God, my loved one died.”

And God said, “So did mine.”

And God said, “I saw mine nailed to a cross.”

I said, “God, but your loved one lives.”

And God said, “So does yours.”

I said, “God, where are they now?”

And God said, “Mine is on my right and yours is in the light.”

I said, “God, it hurts.”

And God said, “I know.”

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings.”

Amen.