Needless to say, I'm nervous.
This is the first time I preached in almost three months. Well,
I hope it'll be the first time I preached in almost three months.
I feel good. I hope it continues that way. We'll see. I've got a stool up
here. I'm going to try to use that. I don't know if I can,
but we'll give it a shot. Would you turn with me to Philippians
chapter three? Rich, you might need to turn the thing up a little
louder because I'm not going to try to speak very loud. Tonight, Brother Bob Coffey will
be bringing the message for us, and we're going to observe the
Lord's table tonight. And also, this week I'll be going
once again to get my throat stretched out a little bit more. So I'm
going to do that on Thursday morning. So I'll covet everyone's
prayers regarding that. Now, how do I come up with a
message at a time like this? What is on my mind? What is on
my heart? Well, there's a... For one thing, I've had all week
to prepare one message. So I prepared three messages.
I'm only going to preach one of them, though. But I kept coming
up with something different. But this is the thing that I've
settled on. This is a passage of Scripture that meant so much
to me while I was in the hospital. There was a time when I couldn't
get out a book and read it or even read the Bible, but this
is a passage of Scripture that I've memorized, and it was so
sweet to me. I'd like to read it to you. Let's
read Philippians chapter 3, verses 7 through 11. And I'm titling
this message, My Sixfold Desire, and I think you'll see why I
titled it. Did I mention we're going to have the Lord's Table
tonight? Okay, all right. See, I'm out of practice. Philippians chapter three, beginning
in verse seven, Paul the Apostle says, 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've suffered the loss
of all things, and to count them, those things that I lost, but
done, that I," and now here's the first desire, that I may
win Christ and be found in Him. Not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ. the righteousness which is of God by faith. Here's the second desire, that
I may know him. Here's the third desire, that
I may know the power of his resurrection. The fourth desire, that I might
know the fellowship of his sufferings. The fifth desire, that I might
be made conformable unto his death. And here's the last desire,
if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the
dead. Let's pray together. Our merciful and gracious Heavenly
Father, we're so thrilled that we can come into Your presence
and know we're accepted for Christ's sake, that we're truly Your sons
and daughters through the Beloved, and we thank You. Now, Lord,
I ask in Christ's blessed name that You would be pleased to
anoint Your Word, that You would speak to the hearts of each person
here according to Your will. Reveal Christ to us, Lord. May
He be exalted and glorified at this time. We confess our sins,
we pray for forgiveness and cleansing. How thankful we are for the blood
of thy dear Son that cleanses us from all sin. Lord, we pray for your continued
blessing upon this assembly. Let thy will be done. And what
we ask for ourselves, we ask for all your people wherever
they meet together. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. And there's a few things that
I'd like to say to set this message up as we consider this six-fold
desire that I know every believer possesses. This is not just Paul's
desire, this is your desire. If you're a child of God, this
is my desire. But there's a few things I need to say to set this
message up. In John chapter 3, verse 6, you
might notice in the bulletin, I wrote an article about this.
In John chapter 3, verse 6, our Lord said, that which is born
of the flesh is flesh. And that which is born of the
spirit is spirit. Now, when the Bible uses the
term flesh, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, it's not
just really talking about this stuff that we feel, epidermis.
It's talking about the nature of fallen man. the nature of
man after the fall, the nature that we're all born into this
world with. A sinful human being will beget
a sinful human being, and that sinful human being cannot rise
above its nature. It can't be improved. You know,
it can't even be influenced. Not truly for good. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh, and it will never be anything
but flesh. Sinful. Our Lord also said, but
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. And just as that which
is born of the flesh cannot rise above its nature, that which
is born of the Spirit cannot sink below its nature. Now, this
is talking about the new birth. This is talking about being born
again. That which is born of the Spirit
is not spiritual. You know, that's kind of a vogue
word in our day. call themselves spiritual people or spiritual
people, and that's in vogue. But that's not what the text
says. It doesn't say that which is born of the spirit is spiritual,
but that which is born of the spirit is spirit. That's talking about the new
nature, the holy nature. We're said in 2 Peter 1, 4 to
be partakers of the divine nature. Would you turn with me for a
moment to 1 John chapter 3? Verse 9, and this is a verse of scripture
that used to trouble me greatly, until I understood what it meant. Whosoever, 1 John 3, verse 9,
whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. Have you committed any sin this
morning? Sure you have. Does that mean
you're not born of God? Let's go on reading. Whosoever is born of God does
not commit sin, for his seed, God's seed, the seed of the Holy
Spirit, that new man, remaineth in him, and he cannot sin. He lacks the ability to sin because
he's born of God. Now that is a reference to the
new nature that every believer possesses. This holy nature,
this holy seed born of God. It's called in other places the
incorruptible seed. It cannot sin. Now, if I'm a
believer, if you're a believer, we have a holy nature that cannot
sin. Now, when you look inside your
heart, Do you see that holy nature? Can you find it? Well, I've got
news for you. If you do, you're looking at
the wrong thing. I'm sure of that. When I look
within my heart, right now while I'm talking to you, when I look
within my heart and look at everything there, all I can see is sin. And I mean that. The faith I have, the love I
have, it's so tainted with sin, everything about me. So when
I look within my heart, I don't see a holy nature. I really don't. So how can I
know if I have one? That's the question I'm asking.
How can I know if I actually have a holy nature? Well, here's
the first way I know. I know by faith. I know by faith. Faith is believing
God. Faith is believing God's Word. Now, the Bible tells me that
if I am a believer, if I've been born of the Spirit, I have a
nature that cannot sin. Now, if the Bible says that,
it's so. And I believe it. I believe it strictly on the
testimony of God's Word, even though I can't look within my
heart and say, yeah, I see that holy nature there. I can't see
that. But because God's Word says this to me, I believe I
have it. I believe the Word of God. Do
you? I believe the Word of God. I love that passage of Scripture
in Romans 6, verse 11, where Paul tells the Romans to reckon
yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God,
who are Lord Jesus Christ. Now, do you feel dead to sin?
I dare say you don't feel very dead to sin, do you? But if God's
Word says you're dead to sin, if God says you're dead to sin,
are you dead to sin? Yes, you are. We believe this
by faith. That's how I know I have this
holy nature, because God's word tells me I have a holy nature,
and I believe the word of God. Now, there's another way I can
see this. Would you turn with me to Romans chapter 7? I can see this not by my actions,
but by my desires. Now, stay with me. This is very
important. Romans chapter 7, verse 18. Paul says in verse 18, for I
know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.
For to will, now that word will can just as easily be translated
to desire. To will, to desire is present
with me. I see my desire. Now, how to perform that which
is good, he goes on to say, I don't find it. Now, I know what I desire,
and I know that my actions never correlate with my desires. How
to perform that which is good, I don't find it. But he's talking
about his desire. To will, to desire, is present
with me. In Philippians chapter three,
in our text, which you turn back there, Paul expresses these desires. Now, like I said, while I was
in the hospital, the Lord used this to be a great comfort to
me. These are my desires, and I can see them. These are my
desires, just like they were Paul's desires. Now, what you
really are is seeing in your desires. The sinful desires,
you know those sinful desires you have, those evil, ungodly
desires that you'd be so ashamed if anybody could see into your
heart, find out what's really there, that's what your flesh
really is. You want to know what you're really like? There you
go. But you know, and I can speak to a believer, these holy desires,
These desires that we find in this passage of Scripture, like
I said, these desires are just as much my desires as they were
Paul's. These holy desires are the work
of the new man in you, the work of God in you. And you can see
these. And you can see whether or not
you have this holy nature by seeing these desires. Now, let's
pick up reading once again in verse seven. Let's look in chapter
three. I'm pretty comfortable in this See, I don't guess it's distracting
anybody, but we'll go on. Paul says in verse 7, that what
things were gain to me, what things that I used to consider
as advantageous that I would put in the pro column or in the
plus column, but what things that were gain to me, I've had
a change of thinking regarding those things, those things I
now count as I used to count them as precious,
as helpful to me, and now I count them as garbage. What do you
do with garbage? You throw it away. You don't
keep it. You throw it away. Now, there was a time when I
considered these things as greatly desirable, something that would
help me. Now I look at them as garbage. Verse 8. And I count all things but loss,
but refuse, but garbage, for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord. Now I want to ask you a question. Do you count all things but garbage
in comparison to the excellency of this knowledge? the knowledge
of Christ Jesus the Lord. He says in verse eight, For whom
I suffered the loss of all things, and it's not much of a loss,
I cannot be done. Any time that I hear someone
speak of what they've lost for Christ, I think, are you mourning
over it? You wish you had it back? Oh,
I could have had this, could have had that, did this? No. Paul says, I count it with done,
that I may win Christ. Now, here's the first desire
that Paul expresses. I've suffered the loss of all
things, and to count it with done, that I may win Christ. and be found in him. Now here's my first desire. And
while I'm sitting on that hospital bed, you don't need to be sitting
on a hospital bed to have this desire. You can have it right
now. It's our desire all the time. You don't have to have
something traumatic happen to you for this to be your desire.
But this is my desire. Oh, that I may win Christ and
be found in him. Now that's my desire above all
other desires. I simply want to be found in
the Lord Jesus Christ. When God comes looking for me,
there's one place I want to be found. I want to be found in
Him. When the rain starts coming down
during Noah's time, where's the one place you'd like to be found?
In the ark. When God passes through in judgment
on Egypt to destroy the firstborn, if you're a firstborn son or
firstborn anything, where would you want to be found? You'd want
to be found in the house with the blood over the door, nowhere
else. I said this before, you wouldn't even stick a finger
out the window, would you? I'd want to stay in that house and
not be outside of it. If you were running from the
avenger of blood in the Old Testament who had the right to kill you
because you killed one of his relatives, Where's the one place
you're going to be found? In the city of refuge. That's
the only place where you could find safety. And if you went
outside that city, there was no safety. The one place of safety
is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we don't have to speculate
as to what Paul meant by that. Let's go on reading in verse
9. Paul said, oh, that I may win Christ and be found in Him.
Now, what do you mean by that, Paul? What do you mean by being
found in Him? Well, here's exactly what Paul meant by being found
in Him. Not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Now, you'll notice, in expressing
every one of these desires, Paul expresses them as if he desired
them and didn't have them yet. Did you notice that? Oh, that
I may win Christ and be found in Him. Was Paul in Christ when
he said that? Yes, indeed. But yet, when he
expresses this, he expresses his desire, Oh, that I may win
Christ and be found in Him. When he says, Oh, that I may
know Him, did he know Him? He sure did. But yet, he says,
oh, then I might know him. When he said, oh, then I might
know the power of his resurrection. Did he know the power of his
resurrection? Absolutely. But yet, he says, oh, then I
might know the power of the resurrection. You know, I'm persuaded of this.
If you and I know anything, I mean truly know anything, if we have
any true spiritual saving knowledge, we're persuaded of this. We've
got just a little bit. Just a little bit. God is so
glorious, so great, so infinite. Our knowledge of him is so minuscule.
Well, you've got the word, don't you? Yeah. How much of the word
do we really understand? Our knowledge is small. Paul expressed that. But, oh,
he said that I might know him, be found in him, not having my
own righteousness. I don't want to. Here's what
Paul means when he says this. And I, oh, I can get hold of this.
I'm expressing the very desire of my soul when I say this. When
God comes looking for me, I don't want to be found standing in
my own personal obedience. I don't want to have anything
to do with that. I don't want to stand before God on my own
in any way. You see, when he says not having
my own righteousness, there's a reason he says why I don't
want to have my own righteousness. There's three words that describe
human sin. Sin, iniquity, and transgression. Transgression is the bad stuff
I do. It's breaking God's law. Iniquity
is the good stuff that I do. That's what the inequity, the
righteous things supposedly I do, is not equal. Inequity. Sin is
my nature, my sinful nature. So I have a sinful nature that
has bad acts. The good acts, supposed, are
nothing but bad acts. So in reality, you and I truly,
if the truth is known, we truly don't have any personal righteousness.
Isn't that so? That's why Paul says, I don't
want to stand before God in my own personal righteousness. Now,
if the Lord Jesus came back now, I dare say every one of us would
rather be here than in a bar. Would you say that so? I'd rather
be found here worshiping, hearing the scriptures read, hearing
the word preached than in some bar or some terrible place. You
know, we think if the Lord came back, wouldn't you like to, maybe
if you're not here, maybe be reading the Bible? That'd be
kind of good, wouldn't it? Or maybe on your knees in prayer.
Wouldn't you like it if the Lord came back and he comes back?
There you are on your knees, praying, seeking his favor, his
grace. Or perhaps when he comes back,
you'd be witnessing or telling somebody the gospel and you think,
well, that'd be a great way for the Lord to come back and find
me like that. But you know what Paul said? Paul said, when the Lord
returns, we sing this song. Here's the best way to emphasize
this point. When he shall come with trumpet
sound, Oh, may I then in him be found. Dressed in his righteousness,
what's the next word? Alone. Faultless to stand before
God's holy throne. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. Now, where does your desire measure
up here? Do you desire simply to be found
in Christ? I don't want to stand before
God on my own in any way, to any measure, to any degree. Oh,
that I may win Christ and be found in Him. And look what else
Paul says about this in verse 9. He says, Not having my own
righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. How can I know if I have this
righteousness? Can you say, oh, that I may win Christ and be
found in him? Is that really the desire of your heart? Well,
that's what faith is. I want to simply be found in
him. Let me show you a passage of scripture in 1 John chapter
2. Would you turn over there for a moment? Verse 28. And now, little children, abide. Stay, remain, don't go outside
of. Abide in Him, that when He shall
appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him
at His coming. What's the only way that you'll
have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming? by
abiding in Him. Now, this is the first desire,
and what a desire it is. These other desires go with it,
but what a desire this is. Oh, that I may win Christ, that
I might simply be found in Him. Now, let's go on to verse 10. Here's the second desire that
Paul expresses. Oh, that I may know Him. Paul, don't you already know
him? Yes, I do. But oh, that I may know him. Now, I do know him. I'm speaking
for myself. I know the Lord. I know him from
his word. I recognize his voice when he
is preached. I know the one who's described
in this book. I know him. I know the Lord. He knows me. And that is said
of all believers. I know you know the Lord. He
knows you. I know it. I recognize it from
his word. And I know the true Christ as
opposed to the false Christ, because the true Christ is presented
in his word. I know his voice. Now, I can't
remember if I've ever used this illustration before. I hope I
haven't. But we have a dog. I call it a pseudo dog. It's
a Kiwi, little Rat, yeah, rat. Puppy, it's a
sweet dog. But I can't call it a pseudo
dog. But that dog, when we get home and we open the car door,
that dog, we have to keep it in the kennel when we're gone
because it will use the bathroom all over the place. So we have
to do that. But it'll be yipping, yipping. It's so happy we're
home. I mean, it is going crazy. It's so happy. But sometimes
we'll hit the door and just knock on the door or hit the bell or
something like that. And all of a sudden it thinks
it's not us and it shuts up. It won't say a word. And if I
come in, it's real quiet. And then if I'll disguise my
voice, it stays quiet. Kiwi's a coward. I mean, she's
a real coward. But then when I use my regular
voice, all the yip, yip, yips going on again, she recognizes
my voice. And another voice she will not
hear. We've done this on numerous occasions.
It's interesting the way this dog does. Maybe that's mean.
I don't know. But we do it nonetheless. But the illustration I want to
use is my dog knows my voice. But my dog doesn't know me very
well. It's a dog. It's a dog. I know Christ. I know his voice. I know him in the gospel, but
I think my knowledge of him could be compared a whole lot to my
dog knowledge of me. And that's why I say, oh, that
I might know him. Now, one of these days, the scripture
says, then shall we know. First Corinthians 13, I think
it's verse 10. Then shall we know, even as we
also are known. But until then, the very desire
of my heart is, oh, that I may know him. Don't you want to know
the Lord Jesus Christ? I don't want to just know about him.
I want to know him to where he knows me. Oh, that I may know
him. Thirdly, look in verse 10. That I may know him. And here's
the third desire Paul expresses. And that I may know the power
of his resurrection. I'm feeling like I can stand
up, so you're all going to forgive me if I get off my... Well, as
soon as I do that, my legs start trembling, but that's just because
I'm nervous. It's not because I'm weak. That I might know him and the
power of his resurrection. Now, when we talk about his resurrection,
Paul said, this is what I want to know. I want to know the power
of his resurrection. Here's the first question I want to ask
you. How much power was exerted in his resurrection? When Christ
was raised from the dead, can you imagine the power? I mean,
what makes you feel more helpless than when you see a dead corpse,
when you when you see a dead body and you know life was once
in that body and there's not a thing you can do to retrieve
it? You look at that body and that's that's not the purpose.
It's a lifeless body. And oh, what if you could retrieve
it, you would, but you can't. We feel so helpless before death.
What power? Our Lord Jesus Christ, when he
was taken down from the cross, they took down a dead body. Now, how that happened is beyond
my understanding. Jesus Christ, who is life, died.
I can't understand how that happened, but he did. They took down a
dead body. But what almighty power was exerted
in raising him from the dead. Paul says, I want to know the
power of his resurrection. Now, what does he mean by that?
I know most religious people use that and say, well, I want
to know the power of his resurrection so I can live victoriously in
this life and so on. And I know what people mean by
that. And of course, I want to live victoriously in this life,
too, whatever that means. But that's not what Paul's talking
about. The power of his resurrection,
well, first of all, I want to know the power of his resurrection
in this sense. Now, remember, we're talking
about omnipotence. It was omnipotence that raised Christ from the dead.
God's power, God's almighty power that raised Christ from the dead.
That's the same power that causes my sin to be no more. Now, it takes omnipotence to
cause something to not be. You know, matter in the physical
realm, matter cannot be destroyed. It simply changes shape. We can't
make something actually not be. You know, the log that's burned
in the fire turns ashes. It changes shape. The energy
goes off into the air. Everything's still in the universe.
It takes omnipotence to cause something to not be. When Christ
was raised from the dead, my sin was put away. It is not, it is no more. Now, don't you want to know the
power of his resurrection in that sense? My sin is not. The power of his resurrection
justifies. Now, remember this regarding
justification. Justification means not guilty. Not forgiven, not merely forgiven.
Not merely, well, I'm still sinful, but it's covered, so God can't
see it. No, it means not guilty. Listen to this scripture, the
last verse in Romans chapter four. He was delivered for our
offenses and raised again for our justification. The power
of Christ's resurrection is such that when he was raised from
the dead, this sinner talking to you, every believing sinner,
is justified. No sin. I want to know the power of his
resurrection and the satisfying power. Now, what do I mean by
that? Loves me. She proves it over
and over. She loves me. I have no doubt
about that. She loves me. Ask her. Now, she knows me. I've
said this before, and people say, well, I love you. I wouldn't
change you. Well, if you were around me enough, you would. You ask
her if there's things about me she would change, and she would.
Without a doubt say yes, and she was made numerous things. I'm sure doesn't mean she doesn't
love me, but I understand that I Know anybody I wouldn't change
in some way But when the Lord looks at me Because of the resurrection
of Christ He is completely satisfied with me There's nothing that
I could do to make him any more satisfied with me, because of
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. When he was raised
from the dead, God said, I can't look for anything else. Everything
that he requires, I have in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Isn't that wonderful? Is there any wonder? Paul said,
oh, that I might know the power of his resurrection. And I tell
you what, Knowing God is satisfied with
what Christ did, that gives me a clear conscience. That's the
only place a clear conscience is found. It's not because I
didn't do it. It's because he didn't do it. And I'm completely
satisfied. I'm satisfied with God's satisfaction.
That's what it means to know the power of his resurrection,
the satisfying power. It's the life-giving power. Would
you turn with me for a moment to Ephesians 2? Just turn back
a few pages. You know, the fact that you believe right now, the
fact that you love Christ, the fact that you repent, why is
that? Is that because of some power
in you? Is it because of any moral superiority in you? Look
what Paul says here in this passage of scripture. Verse 19. Ephesians. I'm sorry, Ephesians chapter
one, verse 19. And what is the exceeding greatness
of his power to us who believe according to the working of his
mighty power, which he brought in Christ when he raised him
from the dead and set him in his own right hand at the heavenly
places? Do you know the same power that
was used in raising Christ from the dead? That's the power that's
used in creating faith in my heart and in your heart. The
same power. And if you have faith, I know
this. If you do have faith, you know there's a time you didn't
have it. And now you do. You might not be real clear as
to when that time was, but there was a time when you didn't have
it. And now you do. And you know, sure, as you're
listening to me, that the reason you have it is God gave it to you.
He put it in your heart by almighty power. And you know that, don't
you? I don't have to argue with anybody about that, that has
faith. They know that. This is the work
of God. Then I might know the motivating
power. I love that passage of scripture
in John chapter eight. where the Lord is dealing with
that woman that was caught in adultery. And he stands to her
on resurrection ground. He speaks to her from resurrection.
He stooped and he rose up, signifying his resurrection. He said, Woman,
where are those thine accusers? She said, No man condemn thee.
She said, No man, Lord. He said, Neither do I condemn
thee. And he said next, Go and sin no more. Now, here is the
greatest motivation for obedience. This is the only motivation for
obedience. It's not obey or this will happen
to you or that will happen to you. It's you're not condemned. Go and sin no more. Love so amazing,
so divine demands my soul, my life, my all. What about the
assurance-giving power of his resurrection? I want you to look
at this with me. Romans 8. Verse 32. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not? What could
possibly prevent him from freely giving us all things? Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who is he to condemn it? It is
Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again. Who's even at the right hand
of God, who also make a better session for us. What assurance
giving power there is in the resurrection. Now back to our
text. Philippians 30. Paul says, oh,
that I may win Christ and be found in him, that I might know
him, that I might know the power of his resurrection. And look
what he says next, that I might know the fellowship, the partnership
of his sufferings. Now, what in the world does that
mean? Does that mean I want to suffer like he did? No. I couldn't honestly say that
I want to suffer like he did. That's not what that passage
of scripture means. What does it mean? Well, it means
this. I do want to know that what he
did, he did for me personally. I want to know that I have a
part in his sufferings. I want to know that my name was
written on his heart when he died on Calvary Street. I want
to know that I'm one of those ones he was praying for. And
he said, I pray not for the world, but for them which you've given
me. For they are thine. I want to know that I'm one of
them. Now, I heard a man say once, and this disturbed me greatly
when he said it. He said, you can't really know
that you're saved or you can't even be saved, is what he said.
You can't be saved until you know for sure it was your sins
that he was dying for and suffering for. You can't really know that
you're saved unless you're sure that he was dying for you. And
I remember that really bothered me a lot, because how do I know
I'm one of them? You know, I believe that he died
for the elect, and I believe he died for only the elect, and
I don't believe for a second that he died for every single
individual. We heard such a good message on that last week. When
he died on Calvary Street, he accomplished the salvation of
everybody he died for. And that's why I'm so zealous
about holding on to this. My only hope is that he died
for me. If you tell me that he could die for somebody and they wind
up in hell, you're taking away my only hope. My only hope is
that what he did is enough and I don't need anything else. But
this fellow, at any rate, he said, unless you can tell for
sure that it was your sins he was dying for, you're not saved.
Well, you remember when the Ethiopian
eunuch said to Philip, What hinders
me from being baptized? Now, I want to know, is there
a reason I shouldn't be baptized? Is there a reason why I shouldn't
confess Christ? And he was asking this, really
wanting to know, is there a reason why I shouldn't have full assurance?
And you remember how Philip answered him? He said, if you believe
with all your heart, you may. And he answered, I believe that
Jesus Christ Died for my sins? Is that what he said? That's
not what he said. He said, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. Do you believe that? I'm saying
this to everybody. I want to open up the net as
wide as I can. You listen to me carefully. Do
you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Do you really
believe that? Would you turn with me, 1 John,
for just a moment? Do you confess, I believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, God the Son, God manifesting
in the flesh, and all that means? Look here in 1 John, chapter
5, beginning in verse 1. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. Do you believe that Jesus is
the Christ? You're born of God. How else
would you explain that? You really believe that? You're
born of God. And everyone that loveth him
that begat, loveth him also that's begotten of him. By this, we
know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep
his commandments. For this is the love of God that
we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous
for whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world. This is
the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is
he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus
is the son of God? Do you let me ask you a question. Do you believe that Jesus is
God? Do you believe he's God the Son, the second person of
the Trinity? Why do you believe that? That's
a pretty hard thing to believe, that that man is God. Why do
you believe that? The reason you believe it is
because you're born of God. That's what that passage of Scripture
says. This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our
faith. Who is he that overcometh the
world? He that believeth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That's not all this verse means.
Back to our text. Look at it. Philippians 3. He says that I might know the
fellowship of his sufferings in this sense. Look at verse
29 of chapter 1 of Philippians. Verse 29, for unto you it is
given in the behalf of Christ. This is a gift given, not only
to believe on him, this is the faith you have was given to you,
but it's not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for
his sake. There was a martyr when they were burning him at
the stake. The last words that anybody recognized him saying
were this, to die for Christ is an honor I do not deserve. You remember the way the disciples left after they were
beaten in Acts chapter five, rejoicing that they were counted
worthy to suffer shame for his name? To die for Christ is an
honor I don't deserve. The greatest honor that could
be bestowed upon you or me is for the Lord to allow us to be
a partaker in his sufferings here on earth. What an honor. What an honor. Didn't the Lord
say rejoice when men hate you and speak evil of you? He said
rejoice. Partaker of his sufferings. Look what he says next in verse
10. It says, O that I may know him,
the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformable unto his death. And here's the fifth desire,
O that I might be made conformable to him in his death. Well, what
does he mean by that? Well, look across the page in
Philippians 2 verse 8. And being found in fashion as
a man, He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. The father said to his son, Go
and let them nail you to a cross. And he said, Yes, father. He became obedient even though
it killed him. Is obedience to the Lord Jesus
Christ optional? Not in any way. He became obedient
to death, even the death of the cross. Now, we're not saved by
our obedience. Thank God for that. But we're
not saved apart from obedience. And there's something very comforting
in the way he says this. He says, I want to be made conformable
to his death. This is God's work. Being made conformable to his
death. Yeah, I want to do whatever I
do willingly. Now, don't get me wrong. Don't misunderstand
me. I want to do whatever I do willingly. I do what I do because
I want to do it. That being said, I want to be made to obey. You know, I've heard people say,
well, you won't believe it turns people into robots. I'm not so sure
that's a bad thing. I wouldn't mind being God's robot,
would you? Being programmed to do his will, to obey him. That's
my desire. That's my desire. I want to be
made conformable unto his death. Be made to be obedient, to order
my steps. Daniel broke, order my steps
in your word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
I want to be made, this is my desire. or be obedient. To whatever he says for me to
do, I'm to do it even if it kills me, no matter what the cost. That's the only kind of true
obedience there is. And then last, he mentions in
verse 11, if by any means I might attain
the resurrection of the dead. Beloved, this day is coming. These bodies
will be called from the dust, that they become, and they will
be resurrected bodies. And in these resurrected bodies,
there is no more sin, no more pain, no more sickness, no more
weakness, no more tears, but perfect conformity to the image
of Christ. Oh, how I want to attain unto
the resurrection of the dead. Behold, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the
sons of God. Therefore, the world knoweth this not. Beloved, thou
art the sons of God. And it does not yet appear what
we shall be. When I talk about being conformed to the image
of Christ, I don't even know what I'm talking about. But we know that when he shall
appear, we shall be like him. That's what Paul's talking about.
But we'll see him as he is. if by any means I might attain
unto the resurrection of the dead. So, in conclusion, I want
to read these scriptures. Look at our text. Paul says,
Yea, doubtless. This just wraps this up. Yea,
doubtless, that I count all things but loss, for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I suffered
the loss of all things, and do count them but done, that I may
win Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, But that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may
know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship
of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death, if
by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Are those your desires? Well, I can only speak for me.
They're mine. Let's pray.