Joy That Reorders Desire | Pastor Aaron Sciford | First Baptist Alameda

God’s presence frames a messy world marked by conflict, famine, and political upheaval, yet that presence offers refuge and a marching hope toward Zion. Worship opens that reality with praise and thanksgiving for life’s breath, and the calendar brings Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent as an opportunity not for mere deprivation but for a deeper listening. Lent becomes a season to trade checklist religion for close encounter: the work centers on following Jesus’s voice and learning to hear him, not on proving devotion by sacrifice alone.

A distinction appears between knowing facts and entering an experience. The story of a music student who could recite Beethoven’s life but wept only when she played his sonata exposes a gap between intellectual knowledge and embodied knowing. That gap explains Paul’s cry in Philippians: a hunger to know Christ, to taste the power of resurrection, to share Jesus’s sufferings, and to be shaped by the death that clears space for new life. Paul re-accounts his credentials and moves every achievement from the gain column into the loss column because Christ’s value surpasses any honor, pedigree, or platform.

Knowing Christ unfolds in three movements. First comes resurrection power that brings life to what feels tomb-dead in relationships, habits, and grief. Second comes shared suffering, which creates intimacy and aligns affections so that Christ’s heartbreak becomes the believer’s heartbreak. Third comes dying to control, daily surrender that allows Christ’s life to flow through ordinary decisions. Paul refuses spiritual pride and complacency; he presses on, admitting he has not attained but he strains forward with a joyful restlessness.

The practical invitation asks for fifteen minutes daily of silent longing with a single prayer — “I want to know you” — and a commitment to return when distraction breaks concentration. That small discipline prepares a day of attentiveness, cultivates deeper discipleship, and keeps the pursuit of Christ active rather than settled. The living Christ meets seekers in the reach, shares suffering, offers resurrection power, and keeps calling for greater knowing. Amen.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Knowing Christ surpasses all earthly gains Paul revalues achievements by placing them against the surpassing worth of Christ; credentials and honors remain real but fall short as objects of ultimate attachment. This revaluation invites honest accounting: what holds the heart’s currency, and what can be surrendered without loss? The practice frees energy from defending status and redirects it toward intimacy with Jesus. Such renunciation becomes a source of joy rather than shame. [39:04]
• 2. Experience Christ, not mere information Facts about Jesus inform memory and conversation, but entering his world requires embodied attention and felt response. Real knowing forms through participation: sharing sorrow, tasting hope, feeling the tension and release of spiritual rhythms. That kind of knowledge reshapes decisions, not just beliefs, and leads to transformation rather than admiration. [36:15]
• 3. Share in Christ’s suffering and resurrection Intimacy with Christ moves toward solidarity with his pain and power: suffering reveals the shape of love, and resurrection power renews what seemed dead. This dual posture refuses sentimental escape and instead takes risks for justice, compassion, and presence with the broken. Embracing both dimensions produces a faith resilient enough to meet catastrophe and tender enough to weep with neighbors. [45:06]
• 4. Practice fifteen minutes of attentive longing A short, daily discipline of quiet asking—“I want to know you”—creates a repeated opening for encounter and cultivates listening muscles. Distraction will interrupt, and returning becomes the practice; persistence matters more than dramatic results. Over time, those minutes reorient desires so that following Jesus becomes a lived trajectory rather than a checklist. [60:23]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [05:56] - Morning greetings and humor
• [12:40] - Opening worship and praise
• [18:36] - Thanksgiving and God’s transcendence
• [21:02] - Ash Wednesday and calendar context
• [22:20] - World upheaval and God’s refuge
• [24:42] - Lent: hearing, not giving up
• [25:22] - Offering and announcements
• [36:15] - Beethoven story: knowledge vs. knowing
• [44:50] - Paul’s longing to know Christ
• [45:06] - Resurrection, suffering, and death
• [60:23] - Fifteen-minute practice invitation
• [63:28] - The prize of knowing Christ
• [64:17] - Prayer for discernment
• [71:32] - Benediction and sending forth

Based on the sermon summary and transcript provided, here is a Bible study discussion guide.

Bible Reading
Philippians 3:7-14 (ESV)
> But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Observation questions

1. According to Philippians 3:8, what does Paul compare his previous gains and achievements to, and why?
2. In verse 10, what are the three specific things Paul says he wants to know?
3. The sermon used the story of a music student who knew facts about Beethoven but wept when she played his sonata. [36:15] What does this story illustrate about the difference between knowing about someone and truly knowing them?
4. What does Paul say about his own spiritual progress in verses 12-14? Does he claim to have "arrived"?

Interpretation questions

1. Paul says he counts his impressive religious credentials as "loss" and "rubbish." Does this mean those things were inherently bad, or is he making a different point about comparison and value?
2. Why would anyone want to "share in [Christ's] sufferings" as Paul desires? [46:55] How can suffering lead to a deeper kind of intimacy with Christ and others?
3. The "power of his resurrection" is described as something that can bring life to what feels "tomb-dead." [45:20] What are some areas in life, relationships, or habits that might feel like a tomb, and how could resurrection power be at work there?
4. Paul uses athletic language like "press on," "straining," and "goal." Is this kind of effort compatible with the idea of God's grace? Why or why not?

Application questions

1. Paul recalculated the value of everything in his life against the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. What are some legitimate achievements, credentials, or sources of pride in your own "gain column" that might be competing for your ultimate attachment? [39:44]
2. The invitation was given to spend fifteen minutes daily in silent longing, offering the simple prayer, "I want to know you." [01:00:23] What would it look like to practically carve out that space this week? What distractions do you anticipate, and how can the simple act of returning become the practice itself?
3. Knowing Christ involves sharing in his heartbreak for the world. [49:24] Is there a specific situation of injustice, pain, or brokenness in your community that God might be inviting you to care about more deeply, moving from observation to compassionate action?
4. "Becoming like him in his death" was described as a daily surrender of our need to control, be right, or protect our image. [50:22] Where is God inviting you to loosen your grip on your own agenda this week to allow Christ's life to flow more freely through you?
5. Paul had a joyful restlessness, always pressing on because he knew he hadn't yet attained the goal. [53:53] Do you tend more toward spiritual complacency ("I've figured it out") or spiritual insecurity ("I'll never get it")? How can the goal of knowing Christ himself, not just checking boxes, change your approach to your faith journey?