Turn back to Philippians chapter
3. Philippians chapter 3. I'm basically going to pick up
where Frank left off. Knowing, knowing Christ. Knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. He is what is really important. I don't know how you could express
this, but knowing Him is what's really, really important. Everything else will fall in
place. Everything else will fall in line, but knowing Him is the
end result. Knowing Him is where we will
be. That song you'll sing when we
see his face. I know there are many things
that we count important. And in their proper place, they
have their importance. They have that. I know it's important
to get a good education. We need that. Solomon said wisdom
excels folly. as much as light excels darkness. It's important to get a good
education. And in all our learning, if we
miss Him, if we miss the Lord Jesus Christ, if we do not come
to know Him, have that saving relationship with Him, all these
other things will only end up being a curse. They'll just add
to it, add to the curse. A saving knowledge of Christ
in the heart is priceless. It's priceless. This is knowledge
worth seeking. This is knowledge worth giving
your life to. It leads to everlasting life. I want to be like Mary who chose
that one thing needful, Him. She said, let me just sit here
and look at him and learn of him. Just leave me alone. There was a hustling Martha going
about in the house. All hustling and bustling and
trying to get the table set. Doing all this house stuff. And
she started complaining about her sister. And the Lord said,
she chose that one thing Just leave her alone. He is that one
thing needful. And that's what Paul is telling
us in this chapter. And I'm basically going to look
at verse 8 through this message. Everything is as loss compared
to this excellent knowledge. Paul speaks of this excellency
of knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We live in a day of much advanced
knowledge. I'm sure if our great-grandparents
were to come back now, they'd think a miracle happened with
what we live with every day. All the diseases that they lived
with, many of them are gone, unheard of now. They would just
be shocked. And men cannot get enough knowledge.
When Eve looked at that tree, she saw that it was desired to
make one wise. Man cannot get enough knowledge. He's always trying out new experiments,
always trying to broaden his knowledge. But when it comes
down to the bottom line, when it comes down to the day to die,
and that's the bottom line, When it comes down to death, the only
thing that matters is my relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing
Him. That's what it comes down to.
Not just that a man named Jesus existed or lived, but that I
truly know Him in an intimate way. In an intimate way. a real relationship with the
Son of God. This is knowledge worth seeking
after and worth having. That's why Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians
2, I am determined not to know anything among you, said Jesus
Christ, and Him crucified. Paul did not go to Corinth to
learn about the Corinthians. He went there that the Corinthians
may learn Christ. They may learn Him. He's not
saying that He despises all other knowledge, because there are
some things we have to know to make a living. But any knowledge,
any knowledge that stands in opposition to Christ, I don't
need it and I don't want it. Any knowledge that takes me away
from Christ, if it leads me away from Him, I don't need it, And
I don't want it. Even if it would advance my home
or my home life or my well-being, I don't need it. If it takes
me away from Him, if it takes me away from learning of Him
and sitting at His feet, if it takes me away, I don't need it.
Do not let anything or anyone take you away from learning of
Him. Take your interest away from
Him. Don't do that. He said, take my yoke upon you
and learn of Me. Learn of Me. About 32 years ago,
Vicki and I were married. I know her more now than I did
32 years ago. And that's the way this relationship
with Christ is. As we grow older, we grow in
grace and knowledge of Him, we grow in that relationship with
Him. She can walk in the house and
I can know immediately what kind of day it's been. She doesn't
have to say a word. Does not have to say a word.
I know immediately. And that's the relationship we
should have with Christ. That connected. That joined to
Him. Why is this so important? When
I watch TV, I see them wanting to learn how to live a more victorious
life. That's all you see. How to live
more victorious. How to be more on top of it.
Or how to live more with practical godliness. How to have more of
that. You can have none of these things until you have more of
Him. None of them. He is the most excellent subject
above all others. He is before all things, and
by Him all things consist. Pick whatever subject you would
like to study or to know and hold it up in the light of the
knowledge of Christ, this excellent knowledge that Paul is speaking
of, and it becomes foolishness. It will become absolute foolishness.
Solomon found that out in Ecclesiastes 1.18. After he had done all these
things, he said, it's vanity of vanity. All is vanity. Paul
says here in Philippians 3, 8, Yea, doubtless, and I count all
things, but loss, absolute loss to me. Well, the excellency, this is
excellent knowledge. I'm talking about excellent knowledge.
I'm not talking about acquiring some facts about Jesus Christ.
I'm talking about an excellent knowledge that is given by divine
revelation. An excellent knowledge that comes
in a new birth, that comes in this relationship to him, living
relationship. all the knowledge that Paul had
acquired. Paul was a well-educated man. He was a very successful man.
Outwardly speaking, he was very successful until he met the Lord
Jesus Christ. And then he says, all that I've
acquired, all my learning, all my credentials is lost. It's in the lost column. Nothing. Done. Done. That's all it is. Why is it so
important to know Christ? Why is this excellent knowledge
that Paul is speaking of here so important? Because nowhere
else will God be known except in Jesus Christ. Nowhere else
will He be known. You cannot walk out into the
woods, look at the trees, Look at the clouds. You may know that
there is a God, but you'll not know God. But when we come to know Christ,
when God reveals His Son, as Paul said, in me, and that becomes
real, and that becomes a living relationship, then and then only
is when we come to know God. That's when we quit having foolish
thoughts of God and we start seeing Him as He is. We start
understanding who God is. The Son of God has come and given
us an understanding. And now we know who God is. We
don't only know who God is. We know God. We don't know some
things about God. We know God. We know Him. And we know His Son. It says
in Hebrews 1, verse 3, that He is the brightness of His glory
and the express image of His person. He said, he that has
seen me has seen the Father. Well, what? In Christ we see
the full expression of the Father. Holy. He knew no sin. Righteous. Merciful. Gracious. All that God is, we see in Christ. He's the full expression of God
Almighty. We don't have to wonder who God
is or what He's like. We just need to know Christ.
And then when we come in to know Christ, we know who God is. And
we know who He is and what He's like. We know Him. The very purpose of the Scriptures
is that we might know Christ. That's why this book's written.
That we might know Him. It's not a book of history. It's
not just a book of facts and morals. It's a book of Him. Our
Lord, our Savior, it's a book of a hymn. It's a hymn book. That's what it is. All the types
and the pitches were given that we might know Him. They point
to Him. All of them. You cannot harmonize. There is absolutely no way in
this world to harmonize the Old Testament and the New Testament
without knowing Him. You can't do it. You cannot do
it. He's the key. He's the bond.
He's the glue. He's the bridge. You cannot harmonize
Him without Him. He's the tabernacle. He's the
Passover land. He's that prophet. He's the priest. He's the king. He's it. He's
the story. It is knowing Him that makes
the Word of God harmonized. Until a person comes to know
Him, this book is a mystery. This book is not that easy to
read. But when you come to know Him,
it comes together. It comes together. One of the
reasons that God has given to His sheep, pastors and teachers,
is that they would feed them with knowledge. Go over in Jeremiah
chapter 3. That's why the Lord has given
pastors and teachers. Over here in Jeremiah chapter
3 and verse 15. And I will give you pastors according
to my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. Look over in Luke chapter 1.
concerning John the Baptist. Luke chapter 1. He said here in verse 76, And
thou, child, speaking of John the Baptist, shalt be called
the prophet of the highest, for thou shalt go before the face
of the Lord to prepare his ways To give knowledge of salvation
unto his people by the remission of their sins through the tender
mercies of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high have visited
us. To give light to them that sit
in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into
the way of peace. That's what I'm doing this morning.
Standing here, Frank did it just a little while ago. Take the
word of God and you feed the people with knowledge. But now
only God can take this knowledge, this excellent knowledge, and
put it in the heart. I can give it to you. I can stand
here and talk to you. But only God can put it in the
heart and make it real. Only He can do it. A true saving
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ is absolutely necessary if we
are going to grow in grace. You cannot grow in grace unless
you grow in Him. You have to grow in Him. The
Scripture says in Colossians 3.10, the new man is renewed
in knowledge. And as his knowledge of Christ
grows, you know what else grows? Peace, joy, comfort, assurance,
faith, These grow as we grow in Christ. Over in 2 Peter. Let me read
this to you out of 2 Peter. 2 Peter verse 1. And Simon Peter, a servant and
an apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like
precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and
our Savior Jesus Christ, Grace and peace be multiplied unto
you, and he tells us how, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus
our Lord, according as His divine power hath given unto us all
things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge
of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue. It is also absolutely necessary,
this excellent knowledge, that Paul is speaking of is absolutely
necessary to worship. We are not ignorantly worshiping
a God this morning. With understanding and with knowledge,
we've come here and we worship the living God. Those who worship God, the Scripture
says, must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Well, you have
to know the truth. You have to learn the truth. If you're going
to worship God in spirit and in truth, you have to know it.
Well, Christ is truth. Christ is truth. When Paul went
to Athens, they had an altar built there to the unknown God. Just in case we miss one and
he shows up at the service, we better have something That we
can say, we're waiting on you. We have something ready. You know what that is? That's
superstition. Paul said, I perceive that in
all things you are too superstitious. If you look that up, it says
overly religious. Overly religious. It is absolutely necessary to
worship of God. And then it is absolutely necessary,
this excellency of knowledge that Paul counted all things
as lost for, is absolutely necessary in service, in serving Him. You cannot serve
someone you don't know. You're not going to serve someone
you don't know. Paul said this, I can do all
things Did he end it there? He said, I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me. I know where my strength
comes from. And I know who gives me the ability and the gifts
that I have. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
this excellent knowledge that God gave him of Christ. He said,
I know. I know. I know him. I know who enables me to do this.
And Cecil prayed, Lord, help enable John to preach this morning.
We know who enables the man to preach and the people to hear.
God does. He gives the hearing ear and
the seeing eye. We know that. He's taught us. It is absolutely necessary to
service. And if faith is totally dependent
on its knowledge of Christ, the more you know Him, the more
you'll trust Him. I promise you, the more you'll trust Him. Where
there's no real knowledge of Christ, no, there's this excellency
of knowledge that Paul speaks of, this knowing Him, where there's
no knowledge of Christ, there's no faith. There's no faith. Paul said this, I'm not ashamed,
over in 2 Timothy 1.12, I am not ashamed, for I know whom
I have believed. He wasn't talking about what
we call the five doctrines of grace. He was talking about a
living person that he met that struck him down on the road to
Damascus, took him to a desert, and taught him the gospel for
three years. I know this person. I'm totally convinced and persuaded
that he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him against
that day. What have you committed unto
him? Absolutely everything. Absolutely everything. He's able
to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day. That's
why Paul said over in Romans 10, how can you believe on Him
of whom you've not heard? Can't do it. Can't believe on
an unrevealed Christ. You cannot pray without this
excellent knowledge that Paul speaks of. This relationship. This living relationship. You
cannot pray without it. Whatsoever you ask in my name. Dare any man enter God's presence
apart from the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's dangerous. The only way of communion with
God in prayer is through that one mediator, that one high priest,
Jesus Christ. You cannot pray without knowing
Him. And it's absolutely necessary
to all comfort. Our comfort comes from knowing
Him. And it comes from knowing He
finished the work. He satisfied justice. He put
away my sins. He seated at God's right hand
making intercessions for me and for all His children. This is
what subdues all my fears. He overcame all principalities
and powers. It's absolutely necessary. This
excellent knowledge, this relationship, a living relationship with Him is absolutely necessary for me
to find any real comfort in this life. He is my comfort. He's my comfort. That's why Paul
said in the beginning of this, we rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have no confidence in this flesh. We rejoice in His person, in
His work, in His blood, in His righteousness. We rejoice in
Him. Then it's absolutely necessary
to eternal glory. Eternal glory. Just as we cannot
enjoy any real comfort or peace without this knowledge of Him,
neither can we enter into heaven without it. The relationship
does not start there. It starts here. Here is where
it starts. Here is where the love relationship
starts. Here is where the marriage starts.
Not there. Here. Here is where that union
starts. This, in John 17, verse 3, this
is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. Now this is more than just
facts. This is a real relationship.
They might know thee. Christ said to those false preachers,
He said, depart from me, I never knew you. They said, we've preached
in your name, we've cast out devils in your name, we've done
many mighty works in your name. He said, depart from me, I never
knew you. I never had any relationship
with you. There was never any connection between me and you.
Never any union between me and you. Do you know what alienates a
man from the life of God? The Scripture says it's ignorance
and blindness. Listen to this Scripture, Ephesians
4, verse 18. Having the understanding darkened,
being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance
that is in them because of the blindness of their hearts. God has to remove that blindness. He commands the light of the
gospel of His Son to shine in our hearts. He removes that blindness.
He removes that ignorance. And He gives us this excellent
knowledge of His Son. Who He is, what He did, where
He is, who He did it for. That's real. That's real. Now this knowledge of Christ
is unlike all other knowledge. All other knowledge The Scripture teaches us over
in 1 Corinthians, all other knowledge puffs up. The more educated, the more arrogant. That's typical. That's typical
the way it goes in the flesh now. That's the way it is with
the flesh. More intelligent, more arrogant. Further away from God. Further
away from God. I'll tell you something else
about all other knowledge. All other knowledge will fade
away. If I live long enough, if I live
long enough, I'll forget most of everything I've learned. Really. Sad but so. But I will. But this knowledge of Christ,
we will spend eternity growing in it. Can't comprehend such
knowledge, such excellent knowledge, such vast knowledge. It's an endless knowledge, but
it'll only grow. All other knowledge is fleshly
and it's natural, it's earthly, but this knowledge here is divine. It's of God. It's of God and
it'll grow and flourish throughout eternity. Paul says this, he said, But
I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached
of me is not after man. This is of God. I learned this
from Him. He said, This gospel that I'm preaching, God revealed
this. This is God's message. This is God's gospel. And He
divinely gave it to me. I didn't learn it from men. For
I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but
by the revelation of Jesus Christ." That's how you get this excellent
knowledge. It's a revelation. By the Spirit of God of the Lord
Jesus Christ. The most learned man in the world
cannot find out Christ. Look how intelligent Paul was.
Look how learned the Apostle Paul was. He was as learned as
any man of his day, and yet he didn't know Christ. He went about
to destroy the church and to put out that name. Oh, the most learned man in the
world cannot know him unless he's revealed, unless he just
makes himself known. You remember how those two guys
on the road to Emmaus were talking about him, and he was walking
right along with them, wasn't he? Their eyes, their understanding was
held until they come up to the end of it, and then they understood. He has to reveal it. He has to
reveal himself. Has to, if you're going to know him. And the most
illiterate person in this world, uneducated, can understand the
mysteries of the gospel. if God is pleased to reveal it
to you. Because it does not come by natural understanding. It
comes by revelation of a person, Him. Hell is full of so-called
wise men. Full of them. I thank thee, O
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things
from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them to babes.
That's how it comes. You see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble are called. Not many, not many, but God has
chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.
You see your calling. Do you fit in that category? If not, Lord, make me fit in
it. Make me fit in it. No matter how much knowledge
I attain to, if it never brings me to God, if it never brings
me to a saving relationship with Christ, I don't need it. I don't need it. Because it lacks that one thing
needful. Christ. Christ. No Christ, no blood. No blood, no atonement. No atonement,
no righteousness. No redemption. It all equals
no salvation. I'm not saying that knowledge
saves. Don't misunderstand me. Christ
saves. But no one who does not know
Him is saved. Those whom the Lord saves, He
saves them through knowing His Son, bringing them to His Son. Now closing, a true saving knowledge
of Christ, however little it may be, is sufficient. It doesn't matter how little
it may be. It is sufficient to make you wise unto salvation.
It's sufficient. If God gives it, it's sufficient. Christ is all that you and I
need to know in order to be saved. He is all I need to know. I need
to know Him. I need to know Him. And you will
not spend your time nor your life in vain seeking to know
more of Him. You will not do it. Paul said,
Yea, doubtless 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, that I may have Christ, that I may be found in Him."
Paul's desire only grew as he got older. His desire to know
Christ and be found in Christ only grew. It just grew stronger
and stronger. And that's the way it is with
believers, to know Him more and more and more. Not having my
own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ, His righteousness. And I may know Him and the power
of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings be made conformable
unto His death, if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection
of the dead. Not as though I already attained, either were already
perfect. But I follow after. I'm following after Him. Running
after Him. Like a child running after his
father or mother. Running after Him. Getting to Him. He's the finish line. Christ
is the finish line. If that I may apprehend that
for which also I'm apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I
count not myself to be apprehended. I don't know it all. I'm not
there yet. But this one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind. Not looking back and thinking
about what I might have missed or what I've given up. I haven't
given up anything. Forgetting those things which
are behind and reaching forth. You ever see someone trying to
run a race and trying to win the race and they're reaching
out to that finish line? They're reaching forth. What's
he reaching forth to? Christ. Christ. Reaching forth to Him. He's eternal
life. He is eternal life. Reaching
forth unto those things which are before. I press. Well, what words he's
using here? I press. I press toward the mark. That white line that says it's
the finish line. I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. There's
the life of a believer. Paul says, now follow us as you
have as an example on down in that chapter. To know Christ,
to know Him That's what's important. We can keep these things in their
proper place. That's what's important, to know Him. Be found in Him. Press toward Him, follow after
Him. He's the finish line. Alright, Mike.