I Want to Know Christ: Press On Persistently

Jesus turns value systems upside down. In the Beatitudes he calls the poor in spirit, the meek, and the persecuted blessed, and then says, rejoice and be glad. He keeps flipping the script. Anger counts as murder. Lust counts as adultery. Enemies must be loved and prayed for. He does not just say it. He lives it. He eats with sinners, touches lepers, includes women as disciples, washes feet, and lets betrayal and a Roman cross do their worst while he serves rather than being served.

Peter’s confession captures the hinge: to whom shall they go when he alone has the words of eternal life. Human heroes eventually disappoint. The more someone learns about them, the more human they look. But the more someone learns about Jesus, the more heroic he becomes, and the more like him a disciple becomes.

Paul writes into that upside-down way from chains in Rome. Philippi, a Roman colony soaked in the honor-shame climb, prized status and self-promotion. Paul calls the church to resist that current. He rejoices that the gospel advances through his imprisonment and that Christ is preached. He even says, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Departure would be better by far because it means being with Christ, yet remaining serves the church’s progress and joy. In Jesus’ economy the way up is down.

Paul knows that climb well. His old resume sparkled. Hebrew of Hebrews. Pharisee. Zeal on display. Law-keeping, faultless. Then the Damascus road. Gains turned into loss. He calls the pile garbage compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. Thirty years in, near the end, his ambition is still simple and burning: I want to know Christ. Not casual knowledge. Intimate, lived, transforming knowledge.

Knowing Christ runs through resurrection power and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. That path is costly. It is also hopeful. Resurrection power fuels joy in the middle of loss and emboldens sacrificial love that pushes back against a culture that scratches and claws for self. So a disciple lays down status, dies to self, gets poured out like a drink offering, and calls that joy.

Paul refuses spiritual arrival. He forgets what is behind, strains toward what is ahead, and presses on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of him. That is persistent seeking. Personal, pure, and daily. Not for personal brand, not for earthly honor, but for Jesus’ glory and the gain of others. The way up is down.

Key Takeaways

• 1. The way up is down [01:07:35] This paradox names Jesus’ economy. Honor comes through humility, greatness through service, and life through dying to self. God does the exalting in his time, so a disciple stops curating image and starts washing feet. Hidden obedience becomes the place God loves to fill with his presence. [67:35]
• 2. Joy runs through chains and choices [01:03:16] Paul’s joy is not denial of pain but confidence in Christ whether life or death. The Spirit’s provision reframes prison as platform and trial as testimony. When Christ is the center, outcomes stop ruling the heart, and courage returns to ordinary days. [63:16]
• 3. Human heroes fade; Jesus does not [57:50] Admiration built on image cracks under proximity, but intimacy with Jesus only deepens awe. There are no skeletons in his closet, only surprises that stretch comfort and enlarge trust. The more one knows him, the more one is changed into his likeness. [57:50]
• 4. Knowing Christ costs suffering and self [01:12:34] Resurrection power is known along the road of sharing his sufferings. Pain does not become good, but it becomes holy ground where Christ’s nearness is learned by heart. Death to self frees love to spend and be spent without needing to be seen. [72:34]
• 5. Press on; reject complacency [01:17:50] Arrival is a mirage, so the disciple keeps reaching for the one who first reached for them. Forgetting past wins and wounds, the heart leans forward by the Spirit’s strength. The prize is Christ himself, and pursuit is the shape of love. [77:50]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [45:55] - God sets the table
• [46:55] - Seek first the kingdom
• [48:18] - Beatitudes redefine blessed
• [50:07] - Jesus flips the script
• [51:24] - Servant King in action
• [52:29] - “To whom shall we go?”
• [57:29] - Only Jesus never disappoints
• [58:37] - “I want to know Christ”
• [63:16] - To live is Christ
• [66:03] - Rome’s honor-shame culture
• [67:35] - The way up is down
• [70:21] - Gains to garbage for Christ
• [77:50] - Press on toward the prize
• [79:25] - Prayer for revelation

1. In Philippians 3:8, Paul calls his former achievements "rubbish" (or "garbage") compared to knowing Christ. What specific achievements did he list earlier in Philippians 3:5-6 that he now rejects?
2. The sermon mentions that Paul wrote Philippians while imprisoned, yet the letter is filled with joy. What examples of joy or rejoicing does Paul highlight in his circumstances? [01:01:22]
3. How does Jesus "flip the script" on cultural values in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12)? What specific attitudes or actions does He call "blessed" that the world might dismiss? [48:18]

1. Paul says, "To live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). How does this statement challenge common cultural views about success, safety, or self-preservation?
2. Why does Paul connect knowing Christ with "sharing in his sufferings" (Philippians 3:10)? How might suffering deepen intimacy with Jesus rather than push people away from Him? [01:12:34]
3. The sermon contrasts Roman culture’s "honor-shame climb" with Jesus’ upside-down economy. How does Philippians 3:7-14 subvert the idea of self-promotion or status-seeking? [01:07:35]

1. Paul’s life ambition was to "know Christ" more deeply (Philippians 3:10). What habits or choices could help prioritize relational intimacy with Jesus over checking off religious duties?
2. In what area of your life (career, relationships, social media, etc.) do you feel pressure to "climb" for status or approval? How could humility or service "flip the script" in that area? [01:07:35]
3. The sermon warns against complacency: "Arrival is a mirage." Where have you been tempted to stop growing spiritually? What would "pressing on" look like practically this week? [01:17:50]
4. Paul found joy in chains because Christ was his center. When have you experienced unexpected joy in a hard situation? How can focusing on Jesus reframe current challenges? [01:03:16]
5. The Beatitudes call the meek, persecuted, and poor in spirit "blessed." Who in your life embodies this upside-down blessedness? How could you encourage or learn from them?