Experiencing the Power and Joy of Knowing Christ

Devotional

Day 1: The Surpassing Value of Knowing Christ

Knowing Christ is not just an intellectual exercise but a transformative experience that surpasses all worldly gains. Paul emphasizes that the essence of Christianity is about entering into a deep, personal relationship with Christ, which brings a profound sense of peace and purpose. This relationship is not about following a set of rules but about experiencing the living Christ in everyday life. The knowledge of Christ is of such surpassing value that everything else pales in comparison. It is this intimate knowledge that empowers believers to live a life filled with joy, power, and purpose. [05:43]

Ephesians 3:17-19 (ESV): "So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Reflection: What steps can you take today to deepen your personal relationship with Christ, moving beyond intellectual knowledge to a more experiential and transformative faith?

Day 2: Living in the Power of His Resurrection

The resurrection of Christ is not just a future hope but a present reality that empowers believers to live victoriously over sin and adversity. This power is a transformative force that enables Christians to reflect the gospel in their lives, overcoming sin and temptation, and facing life's challenges with confidence and peace. The resurrection power is about living a life that is marked by victory and purpose, transcending the fleeting pleasures of this world. It is a call to live in the reality of Christ's victory over death and sin, allowing His power to transform every aspect of life. [29:14]

Romans 6:4 (ESV): "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you need to experience the resurrection power of Christ today, and how can you invite Him to bring transformation and victory in those areas?

Day 3: Embracing the Fellowship of His Sufferings

Sharing in Christ's sufferings means being united with Him in His compassion and burden for a broken world. It involves living selflessly and being willing to suffer for the sake of others and the glory of God. This fellowship is not about seeking suffering for its own sake but about being so united with Christ that one feels His compassion and burden for a fallen world. It is about being conformed to Christ's death, living selflessly for others, and for the glory of God. This aspect of the Christian life calls believers to embrace suffering as a means of growing closer to Christ and participating in His redemptive work in the world. [43:36]

2 Corinthians 1:5 (ESV): "For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too."

Reflection: How can you share in Christ's sufferings today by showing compassion and selflessness to someone in need, and what practical steps can you take to do so?

Day 4: Conformity to His Death

Being conformed to Christ's death means dying to self and living for God's glory. It is about being free from the tyranny of self-interest and living a life of selfless love and service. This conformity is not about losing one's identity but about finding true identity in Christ. It involves a daily decision to put aside personal desires and ambitions in favor of God's will and purpose. This aspect of the Christian life calls believers to live a life that reflects the sacrificial love of Christ, putting others before themselves and seeking to glorify God in all things. [48:59]

Galatians 2:20 (ESV): "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you need to die to self and live for God's glory, and what practical changes can you make to align your life with this calling?

Day 5: The Hope of Resurrection Life

The ultimate goal is to attain the resurrection from the dead, a life marked by a deep relationship with Christ, empowered living, and a willingness to suffer for His sake. This life transcends the fleeting pleasures of the world, offering solid joys and lasting pleasures in Christ. The hope of resurrection life is not just a future event but a present reality that shapes every aspect of a believer's life. It is a call to live in the light of eternity, with a focus on the things that truly matter. This hope empowers believers to live with purpose and passion, knowing that their lives have eternal significance. [54:01]

Colossians 3:1-2 (ESV): "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."

Reflection: How can you live today in the hope of resurrection life, focusing on eternal values and priorities, and what changes can you make to align your life with this hope?

Sermon Summary

In Philippians 3:10-11, Paul expresses a profound desire to know Christ intimately, to experience the power of His resurrection, and to share in His sufferings. This passage encapsulates the essence of the Christian faith, which is not merely about adhering to a set of beliefs or moral codes but about entering into a transformative relationship with Christ. Paul emphasizes that knowing Christ is of such surpassing value that everything else pales in comparison. This knowledge is not just intellectual but experiential, involving a deep, personal communion with Christ.

Paul's message is a call to recognize the true nature of Christianity, which is often misunderstood as a joyless, restrictive life. Instead, it is a life filled with joy, power, and purpose. The power of Christ's resurrection is not just a future hope but a present reality that empowers believers to live victoriously over sin and adversity. This power enables Christians to live lives that reflect the gospel, overcoming sin and temptation, and facing life's challenges with confidence and peace.

Furthermore, Paul speaks of the fellowship of Christ's sufferings, which involves sharing in Christ's heart for the world and its brokenness. This fellowship is not about seeking suffering for its own sake but about being so united with Christ that one feels His compassion and burden for a fallen world. It is about being conformed to Christ's death, living selflessly for others, and for the glory of God.

Ultimately, Paul's ambition is to attain the resurrection from the dead, not as a mere future event but as a present reality that shapes his entire life. This resurrection life is marked by a deep, abiding relationship with Christ, a life of power, and a willingness to suffer for His sake. It is a life that transcends the fleeting pleasures and values of this world, offering instead the solid joys and lasting pleasures found in Christ alone.

Key Takeaways

1. The Excellency of Knowing Christ: True Christianity is about knowing Christ personally and experientially, not just intellectually. This knowledge surpasses all worldly gains and brings a deep sense of peace and purpose. [05:43]
2. The Power of His Resurrection: The resurrection power of Christ is a present reality that empowers believers to live victoriously over sin and adversity. It is not just a future hope but a transformative force in the believer's life. [29:14]
3. The Fellowship of His Sufferings: Sharing in Christ's sufferings means being united with Him in His compassion and burden for a broken world. It involves living selflessly and being willing to suffer for the sake of others and the glory of God. [43:36]
4. Conformity to His Death: Being conformed to Christ's death means dying to self and living for God's glory. It is about being free from the tyranny of self-interest and living a life of selfless love and service. [48:59]
5. The Hope of Resurrection Life: The ultimate goal is to attain the resurrection from the dead, a life marked by a deep relationship with Christ, empowered living, and a willingness to suffer for His sake. This life transcends the fleeting pleasures of the world, offering solid joys and lasting pleasures in Christ. [54:01]
** [54:01]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:12] - Introduction to Philippians 3:10-11
[01:44] - The Essence of the Christian Faith
[02:59] - The Danger of False Teachings
[04:30] - The Importance of the Christian Gospel
[06:12] - The Excellency of Knowing Christ
[08:50] - The Peace of Conscience
[10:19] - Beyond Salvation: Knowing Christ
[12:32] - The Joy of Christianity
[15:07] - The Power of Pentecost
[18:20] - The Transformative Power of the Spirit
[24:00] - Fellowship with Christ
[29:14] - The Power of His Resurrection
[37:54] - Overcoming Life's Challenges
[43:36] - The Fellowship of His Sufferings
[48:59] - Conformity to His Death
[54:01] - The Hope of Resurrection Life

Sermon Clips

A Christian, he says, is a man who worships God in the spirit, who rejoices in Christ Jesus, and who has no confidence in the flesh. That's what makes a man a Christian. And then he goes on to say these other wonderful things about this Christian message and this Christian position. [00:03:23]

The Apostle tells us something about it. Now he makes that statement here in verse 8 that he counts all things but loss for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom he says I have already suffered the loss of all things, but I count them as but dung that I may win Christ. [00:05:49]

Christianity is something that fills a man with joy, that fills a man with this thrilling understanding of this wonderful thing. Now then, that's the thing that I'm privileged to hold before you this very night. Christianity doesn't just mean that you're forgiven and that you don't go to hell and that you hope to go to heaven. [00:13:07]

Christianity is not just vaguely believing in Christ, hoping that your sins are forgiven, hoping that ultimately you'll get to heaven. That's not real Christianity. This is the thing. Very well then, my friends, let us look at these things together. Let us see how these men were once they received this mighty blessing. [00:17:30]

The Apostle Paul prays for the Ephesians, and this is his prayer for them. I pray, he says, that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints. [00:31:44]

To be a Christian means that you're in Christ, and that you're no longer the men you were, left to yourself and your own powers and ingenuity to fight the world and the flesh and the devil. That's not Christianity. Christianity is not a man trying to live a good life and trying to imitate and follow Christ. [00:32:57]

The power of his resurrection is in me, and as it raised him even from death and the grave, it will raise me through everything that the world may do to me. Don't you begin to understand now why he says that everything else is loss and dung? [00:40:51]

I want to be so like him that I shall feel as he felt about this world of sin. The Apostle did feel it. He says in Romans 8:23, and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit, the redemption of our body. [00:44:00]

I want to be dead to this miserable, horrible self, this self that is always so ready to be hurt, this self that's always thinking about its own interests and concerned about its reputation, this self that makes life a hell so often, wondering what people are thinking, wondering whether that I'm better than somebody else. [00:50:19]

Paul's ambition was this, that he should live in this world only and entirely to the glory of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, what is there comparable to this, to leave only utterly all together unto him and to do that more and more and more, to be lost to everything else. [00:52:59]

Once a man sees this, once a man sees him and knows him, everything else he counts but loss and dung. My dear friend, while there is still time, look at him. The world will soon take all you've got from you. If the bombs are used, you'll have nothing. You can't hold on to that. [00:56:38]

Go in for the solid joys and the lasting pleasures and treasures there to be found alone in him, the Son of God, who loved you to such an extent that he came into this world and took the form of a servant and even died on the cross on Calvary's hill in order to save you. [00:59:38]

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