Well, it's good to see you this
evening. Let's take our Bibles and turn with me to the book
of Philippians chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3. Before we begin, let's ask the
Lord's blessing. Our Father, this evening, look
unto You, approaching You in and by our precious Lord and
Savior. We thank You for the time that
we have now. Blessed Lord, I ask You to bless
it. Bless this Word, our understanding.
Teach us according to Your purpose by Your Holy Spirit. These things
we ask for Christ's sake and our good Amen. The Apostle Paul in verse 8 of this Scripture, the last part of that verse 8
says this, that I may win Christ. Now that statement right there,
I know, is the heart, that's the desire of every regenerated
sinner. I know it is. That I may win
Christ. The first part of verse 9 says,
"...and be found in Him." Now from that glorious declaration, there is something that I know
is truly liberating, freeing. I know based on that word, win,
it means to gain, that I may gain Christ I know that it has something
to do with this spiritual warfare that we are engaged in. Paul talks about a believer as
being a soldier. This warfare, the implements, the breastplate,
the shield, the helmet, I know that there's a race that's being
won. I know that there's a victory
to be obtained. I know that the word gain, win,
I know it has something to do with this spiritual warfare. We're engaged in a spiritual
battle. I know it. But what does it mean that I
may win Christ and be found in Him? I've heard that Scripture.
I've quoted that Scripture that we may win Christ. But as often
the case is, if someone were to ask me, what does it mean
to win Christ? What does that mean? I would have probably said, just
like I told a friend the other day that asked me a question,
I said, I'll have to go look it up. I don't want to answer and not
look and see and really search out. I don't want to pull something
off the top of my head. Scripture is too precious. It's
not guesswork. What does it mean? Well, you
know often the first course in finding out what something means
is to establish what it doesn't mean. And I know this, that it
has nothing to do with my self-righteous ability. I know it has nothing
to do. I know that there's a battle
to be won. I know there's a race to be run. a victory to be had,
a Savior to be gained or won, that I may win Christ. But I know that He does not have
anything to do with something that I myself can do. Now, according to the Apostle
Paul, under the inspiration of God's Spirit, if there was ever an unconverted
man who had any claim in his own mind to consistency toward
God, Saul of Tarsus had it. In his own mind, he thought that
he himself was righteous before God based on his own works. Scripture says in this chapter
Philippians 3 verse 4, Though I might also have confidence
in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof
he might trust in the flesh, I more circumcise the eighth
day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, Hebrew
of the Hebrews, as touching the law, a fallacy concerning zeal
persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is in
the law blameless. Now, Paul thought that he was
righteous before God in an unconverted state by his own works. But in regenerating grace, the
Spirit of God taught Paul. Paul the Apostle, the true value
of a man's own ability before God and what it was truly to
win Christ. God taught him something. He
said in verse 7 and 8, "...but what things were gained to me,
those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all
things but loss." for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do
count them but done that I may win Christ." So I know this. To win Christ has this effect,
first of all, on a regenerated sinner. He cast away everything
he ever hoped in. I know that's a fact concerning
winning Christ. The Apostle Paul considered his
former confidences to be a detriment. So to win Christ and to be found
in Him is something that is totally foreign to the carnal heart. To win Christ. I know that. So what is it? I know what it's
not. So what is it to win Christ? Here it is right here. To win
Christ, to gain Him, is to gain Him, to win Him, to possess Him
by the grace of God, given to a sinner and to perceive it by
faith. That's what it is to gain, to
win Christ. For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son. To win Christ is to gain Him,
to possess Him, By the grace of God, it's given unto you to
believe. It's nothing that you have earned. All the former confidences that
Paul the Apostle had, dung, loss, that I might win Christ. All
the works, self-righteous works cast away that I might have Him
by grace. Works in grace never mix. Winning Christ is by the grace
of God given. Free gift. Well, having won,
having gained the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. That is what
Paul said in verse 3. For we are the circumcision which
worship God in the Spirit. We rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have no confidence in the flesh. None. You that have gained Him,
you that have won Him, the victory that has been given is given
by the grace of God, and you have nothing to glory in save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Grace taught, united to Him by
a living faith, and that is what it is to win Christ. The victory
is not going to be claimed by me. But oh, in that great day,
the great day of judgment, when the investigation of the Lord
God Himself, when the books are opened, and the book is opened,
what is going to be the absolute hope of any man? What's going to be the hope of
any man that has won Christ? Verse 9, here it is, "...and
be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness which is of
the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ." The faithfulness
of Christ. The faith of Christ Himself.
and the righteousness which is of God by faith." What is going
to be the only hope that a man is going to have? It is to be
found in Him, looked upon in Christ Jesus the Lord. So to
win Christ and to be found in Him is to gain Him by faith,
faith from above, faith of God's elect. But as surely as this
gain is so, and you know it is, as surely as Almighty God the
Father has chosen a people in the Lord Jesus Christ, as surely
as the Lord Jesus Christ has established our righteousness
and freedom by His life and death and the shedding of His blood,
as surely as we are brought to an understanding of what it is
to win Christ by the Spirit of God in regenerating grace, that
victory of gaining Christ, winning Christ, creates a desire within
that new heart to love Him more. What is it to win Christ? It's
to have Him given to me by the grace of God. for me to perceive
it by faith. And what's the evidence that
I have won Him? What's the evidence that I've
gained Him? Here's the evidence of it right
here. Look at verse 10. Paul says that I may know Him. Now let me ask you this. Do you think that Paul the Apostle
knew Him? Do you think that he had perceived
Him before this point right here. Had not the Apostle Paul loved
and preached the crucified Savior? So what does he mean when he
says that I may know Him? Well, this is the nature of faith
from above. The more we know Him, the more
we desire to know Him. To have a greater perception
of Him. to have a closer acquaintance
with His character, with His nature, with His work, with salvation
that He's wrought out for His people. Is that not so? You that
have won Him, that I may win Christ and be found in Him, oh,
that I might know Him, that I may know Him, that I may perceive
Him, that I may have a closer relationship with Him. There's
not a believer in this room tonight that doesn't admit that. Oh,
I know Him. I know whom I have believed,
and I'm persuaded that He's able to keep that which I've committed
unto Him against that day. I know Him, and this is what
I want. I want to know Him. I want to
know Him. I want to have the Spirit of
God teach me more of Him. I desire a closer walk with Him. I want that. I want that. It
grieves me when I see myself not thinking, walking, acting,
talking like I ought. I don't like that. But I may
know Him. Paul said in Ephesians 3.19,
"...and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that
ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." So here's the
believer's desire. That I may know Him and the power,
the Scripture says in verse 10, the power of His resurrection.
Paul said, I want to know Him and I want to know the power
of His resurrection. Now think of the glory. of what's
being said right here. Think of the spirituality of
it. Think of the wonder of it. Think
of the majesty of it. Oh, that I might know Him. This
world doesn't know Him. This world doesn't want to know
Him. But God's people want to know Him. They want to know Him
more. They want to know Him more. The power of His resurrection. by His resurrection, we being
joined with Him, shall rise by Him who is the firstfruits of
them that slept." That's what the Scripture says. Here's the
power of His resurrection. He is the earnest. He is the
pledge of our resurrection, and the power of His resurrection
is this. As He was raised, He was raised
for our justification. Almighty God, before the foundation
of the world, chose a people in Christ. He loved them in Christ. He looked
to the surety for their salvation and justification and justified
them freely by His grace. declared them to be what they
are, holy and without blame before Him in love." Now you think about
this. Almighty God looked upon us, justified His people before
they were ever born in this world. He said, I've always known you.
I've loved you with an everlasting love. You mean before I was born? Yeah. An everlasting love. I've loved
you with an everlasting love. Chosen you in Christ to be holy
and without blame. God Almighty has never looked
upon the sheep in wrath. Never! You know that? Never! God has justified them, declared
them to be innocent being found in Christ. I understand. I understand I
came into this world born in sin, conceived in sin, came forth
from my mother's womb, but I will tell you this, the fall in Adam
never has overridden the eternal purpose of God. There is sheep born in Adam,
dead in trespasses and sin. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Let me ask you this. At what
point were you ever outside of Christ? At what point did God
ever consider you outside of Christ? Never. We were chosen
in Him before the foundation of the world The lips of a man
is much wiser than I'll ever be. He said where God puts His
people, that's where He keeps them. I like that. I like that. Think about the
security of knowing that He's always looked upon me in the
Savior. He's always looked upon me. Somebody
say, yeah, but don't you know what you are by nature? Yes,
I do. Bless His holy name. He has always
loved me. Always stood for me. Always.
He paid my debt. He was made what I am. Made sin
and put away my guilt. Paul said, Oh, that I might know
the power of His resurrection. The power of His resurrection
means He died. And my sin was put away. My guilt
was paid for. And when He was raised, He was
raised for our justification. That word for there means because
of. He was raised because of our
justification. God has eternally justified us,
declared us innocent before Him in Christ. He was raised for
our justification because of it. When He came out of the ground,
we came out with Him, accepted God accepted what He did. And
when He accepted him, He accepted me. Paul said, oh, that I might
know that. That I might learn more of that.
Do you ever get tired of hearing how God has put away your guilt?
Do you ever get tired of hearing how Christ is honored in dying
and being raised because of the justification of God's people?
Paul said that I might know Him the power of His resurrection,
the fellowship of His sufferings. Well, two thoughts on that real
quick. Number one, to know that when
He died, I died in Him. That's the fellowship of His
sufferings. I know that's so. But here's another thought. We
have fellowship in His sufferings in the sense that being united
to Him, We're going to have to endure
trials and tribulations and hatreds for his sake. The Lord told his disciples,
he said, they hated me for they hated you. You live godly in this world
and you're going to be hated. Men hate the sovereignty of God. They hate God and they hate God's
people. But Peter said in Peter 4.13,
Rejoice inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings. Does
it bother you? I don't want anyone to hate me
unnecessarily. I don't want to be offensive
to anybody unnecessarily. But when it comes to the gospel
of God's grace, by the grace of God, I'm not going to deviate by the
grace of God. I'm going to tell you this right
now. I know this. Let God keep me. I will. I know
I will. I'm not so arrogant. I pray I'm
not, to think that there's just no way in the world I'll ever
deviate. Pride comes before fall. Be careful. Be careful. Be careful
what you say. Lord, if you don't keep me, I'm
not going to be kept. But by the grace of God, We remain. Paul says, here's the evidence
of a man that has won Christ, that I may win him, be found
in him, that I may know him, the power of his resurrection,
the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his
death. The word conformable means to
have the same form. To have the same form. Now, I know that I don't die. I couldn't die as he died. I know it doesn't mean that.
But the meaning is that as he died for sin, here's the same
form. Here is the conformableness of
it. Here's how we conform unto his
death. As he died for sin, we die. to sin, and I'm going to explain
that, what that means. That's another one of those statements,
you know, we die to sin. What does that mean? I've heard
it. I've heard it before, but tell
me one more time what it is so I can know. Listen to Romans
6.10. For in that He died, He died
unto sin once. But in that He liveth, He liveth
unto God likewise in the same form. conformable
to. Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves
to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord." Now here's what it means. Christ died and
was raised from the dead because of our justification. We looked at that just a moment
ago. He died, was raised, never to die again. And He lives, Paul
says, for in that He died, He died unto sin once, but in that
He liveth, He liveth unto God. He lives unto God right now,
ever living, to make intercession for us. He is the great High
Priest. He died, raised, lives. He lives unto God, our great
Mediator, our great High Priest. Likewise, because of our relation
to Christ, we being regenerated and spiritually resurrected from
the dead. He was raised from the dead,
alive. We were resurrected the first
time in regenerating grace. That's the first resurrection.
I know this, that give it time and we're all going to die. And
the believer is going to be raised in that great day, raised in
newness of life. But the first resurrection is
actually regeneration, a raising from the dead. So as we were
spiritually resurrected, from the dead in regenerating grace
and power, we are actually raised from the dead and said to be
indeed dead to sin, meaning our sin is pardoned and put away
and has no power over us anymore. We're dead to it. It has no power. Presence? Yes. The presence of sin is ever with
us in this world. You know that. Paul says, I see
in me, that is in my flesh, that dwells no good thing. Sin that's
in me, grieving me still. But we have no fear of condemnation
before God. And now we're alive spiritually
before Him. We are made conformable unto
His death. He died. We died in Adam. He was raised from the dead.
We are raised in regenerating grace and power. He lives under
God, our great High Priest. We live under God by Him in our
great High Priest. He is alive evermore. We are
alive evermore. Paul said, I want to know more
about that. I want to know Him, the power of His resurrection,
the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His
death. If by any means I might attain
unto the resurrection of the dead, verse 11. Now, let me say
according and based upon what verse 12 is going to say, this
is what I believe. verse 11 means, knowing that
I'm getting ready to qualify verse 11's meaning by verse 12. Let me tell you what I think
verse 11 means. Because of what's being said
in the next verse, I think Paul's meaning is this. I desire, I
truly desire to come or to attain unto the resurrection of the
dead, to be raised unto life eternal in Christ. I desire that. I look to that. That glorious resurrection, resurrection
to fellowship with Him, Paul said, is worthy of diligence
and continued sacrifice and faithfulness. Thinking upon, musing upon, contemplating
this body, this house being dead, dying, this flesh right here
being placed in the ground in that glorious resurrection to
be raised in newness of life eternally with Christ. Paul said,
I desire to come to that, to be found in that great fellowship
of believers, to be raised and to meet the Lord in the air. Now think about what I just said.
If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the
dead. And here's why I believe that
this is what he was saying. Look at verse 12, not as though
I had already attained, not as though that I had already
come to it, either were already perfect or
mature in it, but I follow after if that I may apprehend that
for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Here Paul sets
forth and confesses what He had attained, at least in part, by
grace, a knowledge of the resurrection unto life eternal in Christ. What He truly desired to attain. You that know Him, think on that
great day when the trump of God shall sound and the dead in Christ
shall rise to meet Him in the air and to see Him as He is,
to see Him in glorious majesty and power and victory." Just
being found in that group, does that stir your heart? I want
to be there. I want to be with Him. I want
to be in Him with God's people, God's bride, God's elect. He said, I know not as though
I've already attained. I've not come either in attaining
that, either already perfected or matured in it. If somebody
told me that they thought they had enough of Christ, I've matured
in how much I know about Him. I've matured and I'm perfected
in it. I don't need to know anything more about Him. Well, I would
say that I can pretty well tell you based on pretty reliable
information right here. When Paul says, oh, that I may
know Him, based on what I can see of God's Word, you don't
know Him at all. Somebody says, you know, I know
all I need to know. I'm perfected. Paul says, not
as though I had already attained. Either were already perfect. But I follow after. If I, that
I may apprehend, that I may seize eagerly, that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended
of Christ." Now, when Paul says that I may apprehend, that's
the effect. The cause of it was that Christ
apprehended me. that I may apprehend that for
which also I am apprehended of Christ." The first cause is Christ. Christ's power. Christ's love. Christ's joy. In this world,
Paul says, I know in part because sin dwells in me, I'm
not perfected. Paul's faith, like every believer's
faith, is imperfect. He desires that the Lord would
increase his faith. But he continues to follow after
the Lord. You that know him in your heart, and this is where
a man follows after, follows after Christ. Do you not long
after Him, hunger after Him, thirst after righteousness? Do
you not? Do you not long to know more?
Until we come to these services, I know this, this is how the
Lord teaches His people. This is how He instructs in the
preaching of the Gospel. I'll send you pastors after mine
own heart and they'll instruct you, teach you. Pastors need
to be taught too. God Almighty has got to teach
all of us. We need to be taught. Paul says, I'm not perfect already. Oh, but I follow after. God's
people continue that I may apprehend that which also I'm apprehended
of Christ. The effect of the first cause. He apprehended me and I apprehend
him. He holds me and I hold him because
he holds me. I love him because he first loved
me. Always the effect in me, always first cause in him. Then he sums up this in verses
13 and 14. Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, all those things that he formerly
trusted in, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus. Christ is the believer's mark. We look to Him. We press toward
Him. Our thoughts are toward Him. And though we enjoy Him now,
right now in this world, the believer longs for full and perfect
enjoyment in Him above. that I might see Him as He is. That I might know Him. That I
might behold Him. Just the glorious thought that
there is coming a day when all of this is going to be over and
there's going to be no more tears, no more sorrow, no more hurt,
no more pain, no more suffering. It's going to all be over. This
is the worst that a believer will ever have it right here.
And from here to glory, Paul says, I press, I continue by
the grace of God toward the mark, for the prize, for the victory
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. That's the heart
right there that has won Christ, that has had Him given in grace
and mercy and compassion. Oh, that I might win Him and
be found in Him. Lord, give me such a heart as
this for Christ. His sake, my good. Amen.