All right, let's open our Bibles
now to the book of Philippians, chapter 3. These people in Philippi were
quite special to Paul. You remember he determined to
go several places and preach, and each time he was determined
to go somewhere, the Lord would block his path, tell him not
to go there. And finally one night a man from
Macedonia, that's this country, Philippi is the chief city of
Macedonia, a man from Philippi, from Macedonia, appeared to Paul
and said, come over into Macedonia and help us. And Paul went down
there And there he met Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened when
she attended to the gospel that Paul preached. And there he met
the demon-possessed girl, and God brought her to know Christ.
And there he had that wonderful experience in jail, when the
Philippian jailer was brought to the Savior. And those were
some of his early converts in Philippi, and he loved this place.
And he wrote this, and these people, and he wrote this epistle
to the Philippians. And here in verse 3, the Apostle
Paul just opens his heart to them, reveals his innermost thoughts,
lays bare his soul, talks to them about his past and his present
and his future, his aspirations and his desires. And he says
here in verse 1 of chapter 3, finally, finally my brethren,
my beloved brethren, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. We always
have cause to rejoice in the Lord, don't we? No matter how
dark the way or how rocky the path or how cloudy the day or
how deep the waters through which we're going, we always have cause
to rejoice in Him, in Him. Not in our faith, not in ourselves,
in Him. And he says to write the same
thing. You've been saying that over
and over again, Paul. Well, I'll say it again. I'll
say it again. You've been preaching that gospel
all these years. I'll preach it again. Woe is
unto me if I don't preach that gospel. But to write the same
things to you, to me, indeed, it's not tiresome. Don't ever
get tired. That song Mike just sang, I've
heard it so many, many, many, many times. But I called him
this afternoon and I said, sing it one more time. He'd give it
more grace when the burdens grow greater. Does, doesn't he? One more time. It's not, that's
not tiresome. But for you it's safe. It's safe. Keep reminding you of these basics,
these fundamentals, this foundation. Keep bringing us back to Christ,
Christ, Christ. That's safe. Now beware of dogs. He's talking about here in verse
2, false prophets and false preachers. And you have a reference here
over to Isaiah 56 where Isaiah called them dogs, greedy dogs,
greedy dogs. Beware of these false preachers.
Beware of the evil workers. Christ, you know, when they said,
we've cast out devils in your name and we've done many wonderful
works, he said, depart from me ye evil workers, workers of iniquity. That's what he called them, evil
workers. Beware of the concision. Beware of the circumcisers. Beware
of the legalists. Beware of the people who touch
not, taste not, handle not, who put upon you burdens that our
fathers couldn't pass, who tried to mix grace and works and law
and the gospel. Beware of them. Beware of those
people who will take you back to the law, back to circumcision,
back to the Sabbath days, back to tithing, back to all of these
things that served their day and met something that needed
to be met. For he said in verse 3, we're
the circumcision, we're the people of God. who worship God in spirit,
who rejoice in Christ Jesus, who have no confidence in our
flesh or anybody else's flesh. Now, look at verse 4. Here he
just opened his heart. He said, Though I might have
confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he hath
love, he might trust in the flesh in his own righteousness, in
his own works, in his ancestry, in his doings, in his zeal, in
his enthusiasm, in his religion. If anybody thinks he hath well
to trust in the flesh, I'm over it. Why, he said, I was circumcised
the eighth day, and you know that's the the day on which all
of the Jewish boys were circumcised. But what he's saying, everything
about his birth and his life, his ancestry, his religion, was
according to the law. That's what he's saying. Everything
was according to the law. I was circumcised the eighth
day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin. I was
a Hebrew of the Hebrews. As touching the law, I was a
Pharisee. He was a member of the Sanhedrin.
He was one of those fellows that were rulers and teachers. And
he said, concerning zeal, having a zeal for God? You know, he
talked about those people in Romans 10, about the Jews. He said, I bear them record.
They have a zeal, concerning zeal. I had a zeal. He said,
are people in false religions zealous? Of course they are.
Are they serious? Of course they are. Are they
dedicated? Of course they are. Do they think
they're right? Of course they do. He thought he was right. He said, as far as the law was
concerned, he said, I was blameless. That's what he said in verse
6. Concerning zeal, I persecuted the church. Touching the righteousness
which is in the law, I was blameless. Blameless. Now look at verse
7. Here's where I want to pause
for just a moment. But what things, all of these
things, my birth, my ancestry, my Jewish traditions, my customs,
my ceremonies, my education, my learning, my law, my morality,
all of these things, these things I counted gain. They were gain
to me. They were important to me. My
friends, there was a time when the Apostle Paul felt that his
Jewish heritage, his kinship with Abraham, his morality, his
own righteousness, these ceremonies, Holy Days, Sabbath days, there
was a time when he felt that these things were not only necessary
for acceptance with God, but sufficient. He really believed
that these things were sufficient to bring him before God and make
him accepted and holy. What he was doing, he believed
that, he was sincere in that. He said that, these things were
gained to me. They were important to me, they
were necessary to me, they were sufficient as far as I was concerned
to take me to God. And I think a lot of us back
in our religious days, we were brought up from children. And
we were brought up in religion. We were brought up in the custom
and tradition of our family and our denomination and our, made
our profession. And we really were quite comfortable,
quite comfortable, and felt like that everything was all right
between us and God, didn't you? Quite comfortable. He was very
comfortable. These things were gain to me.
They were important. They were necessary. As far as
I was concerned, they were sufficient. And when you talk to your kinfolks
and friends and relatives, and they've made their profession
there in church, and they teach Sunday school classes, and these
men preach, and they sing in the choir, and they do all these
things, they're comfortable. Yeah, they're satisfied. Like
Paul here, these things are gain to them. But these there things
that meant so much to me by God's grace, when he revealed the Lord
Jesus Christ in me, I counted all these things but loss. Loss. I look back at my, trace
my heritage back to Abraham, son of Abraham. Loss. Of the
tribal Benjamin, loss. My education at the feet of Gamaliel,
lost. My zeal for the law and all my
gifts that I gave and things I did, lost. Lost. Yea, doubtless, listen, and I
count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord. You can't have Christ in these
things. You cannot rest in Christ and
these things. You just cannot do it. It's an
impossibility. Over there in Galatians chapter
5, Paul wrote this to the Galatians. In chapter 5 of Galatians he
says in verse 1, Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made us free, free from the law, free from its curse,
free from its condemnation, free from it as a covenant, free from
it as a way of approval, satisfaction. He's redeemed us, made us free. Don't become entangled again
with that yoke of bondage. Verse 2, Behold, I, Paul, say
unto you, if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
I testify again to every man that is circumcised, he's a debtor
to do the whole And Christ is become of no effect unto you,
whosoever of you are justified by the law, you are fallen from
grace, you are departed from Christ. You can't be Christ in
anything else. You just can't be. You can't
have Christ in these things. You can't rest in Christ in these
things. Now, look at verse 8 again, Philippians
3. Yea, doubtless, Paul took all
of this, all of this that was so important to him and so vital
to him, that these things that were his life, his righteousness,
his acceptance with God, he rested in these things. And he said,
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 I'll go this far, I do count
them but dumb. Garbage. Useless. Useless. Now, three things he
said here, the end result of this emptying of his heart, this
burying of his soul, this confession of his faith, this expression of his confidence
in Christ. Here are three things. I count
all of these things but lost. Number one, that I may win Christ. and be found in him, be found. God finds me in Christ, not in
baptism, not in a denomination, not in a tradition, not in a
covenant of work, not in my self-righteousness, not in anything but Christ, that
I may be found in him, hiding in him, secure in him. totally
immersed in Christ, baptized with the Spirit of God into Christ,
put in Christ by God's covenant mercy, put in Christ by his love
and grace, put in Christ by his Spirit, put in Christ by faith,
Christ alone, found in him. Throughout my life and when I
come to die that I may be found in him. when I stand in the judgment
with all of the multitudes of this world, that I may be found
in him." Oh boy, not having my own righteousness, not having
it, not professing it, not looking to it, not claiming it, not arresting
it, not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but having
that righteousness which is through the faithfulness of Christ. This
righteousness is not through my faith in Christ. It's through the faithfulness
of Christ, faithful to God, faithful to the earth, faithful to his
Word. He's faithful through the faithfulness of Christ,
which is of God by faith, through faith, through faith. That's
right. Through the faithfulness of Christ,
it's the righteousness of God that is ours through faith, by
believing him. What shall we say that Abraham,
our father, hath pertained, hath received? Righteousness. Well,
how did he receive it? By words? No. By faith. He believed
God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness. That's how
he came to be righteous before God. Secondly, that I may know
him. and the power of his resurrection. And that's what I'm going to
dwell on tonight. I've looked at that statement that Paul made,
these three things. Let's go to the third, then I'll
come back to this, verse 11. If by any means I might attain
unto the resurrection of the dead, that day when he said,
the trumpet will sound, and the voice of the archangel shall
and the dead in Christ rise, I want to rise with them. I want
to rise with them. I want to hear his voice and
come forth. I want to win Christ and be found
in him, found in him. I want to attain unto the resurrection
of the dead. That's my desire, that's the
cry of my heart, that I might One day, see him and be like
him. Now, right in the middle of this,
he says this. I want to look at this statement
for a few moments. That I may know him and the power
of his resurrection. What is Paul saying here? What do you think he's saying?
What I know he knew, he knew the Lord. Remember in 2 Timothy
1, 12 when he wrote to Timothy he said, I know whom I have to
lift you. I know him. I know no man after
the flesh. I knew the Lord like that one
time when he was here in the flesh, but I know him that way
no more, but I know him. I know the Lord. Yes, he knew
the Lord. And he knew the power of God.
He knew it was the power of God that made Christ a body. I believe
he wrote the book of Hebrews, and he wrote, says, the body
hast thou prepared me. That takes the power of God.
He wrote, great is the mystery of God, that as God was manifest
in the flesh. He knew the power that sent him
to the cross to be our substitute. He knew the power that raised
him from the dead, raised from the dead by the power of God.
He said, we'll be raised by the same power. And that power of
God that called us from darkness to light. So here he says that
I may know him. He said, I know whom I have believed.
And the power of his resurrection I know the power it took to bring
him forth, to put him there and to bring him forth and to seat
him at the right hand of God. I know that power. What's he
saying? What's he talking about? I'll
tell you what I believe he's saying. When he says that I may
know him, this is what he's saying. My determined purpose is that
I may progressively, more and more, become deeply, intimately
acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ. Like Peter said, grow
in grace. And in the what? And the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know him, but I want to grow
in the knowledge of him. Huh? Isn't that what he's saying? I want to progressively, more
and more, day by day, more deeply, more intimately, I want to become
acquainted with my Lord, that I may perceive and recognize
and understand more clearly, more strongly, the wonders of
his person, the glory of his person. Over here in Matthew
11, Matthew 11, our Lord says something over here in Matthew
11, verse Matthew 11, 28. He says, Come
unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I'll give
you rest. Now take my yoke upon you, and
learn of me. What did he say, learn of me?
He didn't say learn from me. He didn't say let me teach you.
He said, you come and learn of me. Learn of me. Learn about me. Isn't that right? Learn of me. And the more you
learn of me, the more you know me, the more you see the wonders
and the glory of my person, my love for you, my grace, you're
going to find more rest. That's what he's saying. Oh,
that I may know him. I know him. I want to know Him
better. I see Him, I want to see Him
better. I know something of the wonders
of His person and the glory of His word. I know something of
it. I want to know more. That's why I'm here. That's why
I'm reading. That's why I'm preaching. That's
why I'm studying. That's why I'm praying. The disciples
said, Lord, increase our faith. Help us to grow in grace and
the knowledge of Christ. We may learn of him. Now watch
this. Back to the text, Philippians 3. That I may know him and the
power of his resurrection. I'll tell you what he's saying
here. He's saying, oh that I may in some way, day by day, by God's
grace. Now I'm saved. The thief on the
cross was saved. He went straight to glory with
our Lord. That's right, he went straight
to glory with our Lord. A man saved when he believes
Christ instantly, we don't grow in salvation, we don't grow closer
to God, we're in Christ now. But oh, if God enables me to
live a little while longer, that I may in some way come to experience
the power, the influence, the joy and the peace of his resurrection. What is included in the resurrection
of my Lord? Well, let's see. Here, I want
to give you five things, five things about this resurrection
of our Lord. The more we see it, the more
we learn of it, the more The more assurance we're going to
have, the more rest we're going to have, the more confidence
we're going to have, the more joy we're going to have, the
resurrection of our Lord. Turn over here with me to Luke
24 a minute. Luke 24. Luke 24. Now, the first thing I see is
this, in the resurrection of our Lord. Here's what I want
to grow in. I want to grow in the security of it. the security
of his resurrection. The security. When these women
came to the tomb, here in Luke 24, upon the first day of the
week, very early in the morning, they came to the sepulchre, bringing
the spices which they prepared and certain others with them.
And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And
they ran in and found not the body of the Lord Jesus, And it
came to pass that they were much perplexed. Thereabout, behold,
behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. And as they
were afraid, they bowed down their faces to the earth. These
men said to them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He's
not here. He's not here. He's not here.
He's not here. Somebody said, this is the only
place regarding which it's good news to say, he's not here. He is not here. If you're looking
for Christ, he's not here. That's the only place I know,
there, the grave, where it's good news for him to say to me,
he's not here. You're looking for Christ, you're
looking in the wrong place. He's not here. He's not here. If he were here, where would
I be? If he were here, what would my
hope be? If those women had found him, where would I be? Where would
you be? It'd be sad, wouldn't it? But he is not here. He has risen. And when I see
these words, I can rest in the fact that death won't hold me
either. Oh, I tell you, this security,
he is risen, he's not here. The law sentenced him, found
him guilty, bearing our sins. Justice slew him, and death held
him, and buried him, and he came forth. And up until that time,
no man had ever died and risen to die no more, up until that
time. And from that time on to this time, no man, no human being,
no son of Adam has ever risen from the grave to die no more.
Then how can I have any assurance that I will? This right here. He's not here. He's not here. He's not here. And he said, because
I live, you live. That's what Paul says, I want
to know Him, and I want to know this power of His resurrection. I want to grow in an understanding
of the hope of it, of the security of it, of the joy of it. He's
not here. He's risen. He's risen. I went out to that cemetery a
lot of times, and you have too. I've gone there a lot of times.
And I've stood there and I've watched them. Now you go to the
mausoleum, but back then we used to stand there and look at that
empty hole and watch them put the bodies of our loved ones
down there and put dirt on it. What hope do we have? What confidence
do we have? Only one thing. He's not here. He's risen. Because He lives, we're going
to live. That's right. That's the power
of His resurrection. Secondly, there's the victory
of it. The victory of His resurrection.
Turn with me to Romans chapter 6. Romans chapter 6. When you understand, when you
see this, when you understand this, when you grow in some understanding
of how happy, how joyful it makes you, how confident. Here in Romans
chapter 6, listen to this, Romans 6, it says in verse 4, therefore
we are buried with Christ by baptism unto death. that like
as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For
if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death,
we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing
this, that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin
might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. He that
is dead is freed from sin." Now listen. Christ took my sins and
your sins in His body on the tree. He paid for them and He
was buried and He arose. And when He arose, He arose without
sin. He's free from sin. Free from
sin. He's free from all sin. Sin cannot
come back and put a claim on Him. Sin cannot come back and
arrest Him. Sin cannot come back and sentence
Him. Sin cannot come back and slay
Him. He's free. He's already died and He's free
from sin. And you are too. If you died
with Him, and you were buried with Him, and you rose with Him,
you're free. Sin has no claim on you. The
law has no claim. Listen to verse 8. Now if we
be dead with Christ, we believe we shall also live with Him.
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more. He can't die anymore. Death hath no more dominion over
Him. Thanks be unto God, who giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. O death, where
is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
That's the victory. Sin has no claim on him, it has
no claim on us. Death has no claim on him, it
has no claim on us. Paul said, who can lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who
can condemn? It's Christ that died, yea rather,
is what? Risen. He is ascended who ever
lives, ever, ever, ever lives. He is a priest of an endless
life. Oh my, let's go back again. Oh,
that I may know Him, more and more the wonders of His person,
the glory of His person and His work, and the power of His resurrection,
the security of it. Where did He come from? He came
from death. He came from the grave. He was dead. Where I shall lie someday, and
He came for it. And He can't go back, because
what put Him there is satisfied. He's free. There's no claim on
it. And that's me. I want to know
that, don't you? That's what I'm talking about.
That's what Paul says, I want to realize it. I want to experience
it. It used to be a doctrine. That's
where you start with the doctrine, the doctrine of the resurrection.
But after a while, you don't believe in the resurrection,
you believe Christ who lives. After a while, it's not the resurrection
of the dead. Somebody comes to you, do you
believe in the resurrection of the dead? I mean, that's elementary. If you believe Christ, you believe
in the resurrection. He's alive! You can't put him
in a grave. He's not here! This is what Paul is saying,
and believing he lived, and believing he died, and believing he was
resurrected and was raised for our justification. That's the
way a man is saved, believing it. But we get further than just
believing it, we experience it. That's what I'm talking about.
I know, I know, experiencing the resurrection. I expect to
rise. I expect to. I believed I was
going to, now I expect it. Isn't that right? You know what
I'm talking about. Here's the third thing. That's
the victory of the power of an endless life. Alright, Paul says,
I want to experience the security, the comfort of his resurrection. I want to experience the victory
of it. To realize that sin, death, hath no more dominion over me. He delivers us from the fear
of death and from him who hath the power of death. Thirdly,
that I may experience the boldness, the boldness and confidence of
one who's risen. Now let me say this briefly.
You see our Lord arrested in the garden. They come and arrest
him. And they bind cords about his
wrist like they put handcuffs on a criminal. He didn't say
anything. They led him like a common criminal
before Pilate. He stood there and Pilate said,
aren't you going to answer me? Don't you know I have the power
to crucify you or let you go? Not a word. Turned him over to
the soldiers and they slapped him and spit upon him. Plucked
out his beard. jammed a crown of thorns down
on his head. And as a sheep before her shearers
is dumb, he opened out his mouth. Your king? Tell us who hit you,
your puppet? Prophesy. Then they nailed him
to a cross and they mocked him while he died. The corn of wheat
falls into the ground and dies. Submissive, surrendered, silent. weakness. But he didn't come
out of that grave that way. He came forth in power. With
power, he came forth from the tomb. With power, he ascended
up on high. With power, he led captivity
captive. With power, he entered the throne
room. With power, he occupied the throne. And with power, he presented
his church. holy, blameless, thoughtless
before the Father, the conqueror. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
they've been closed a long time. And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting
doors, the King of glory is coming near. Who's this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts, strong and mighty, not to be beaten, spit
upon, despised, harassed, and mocked, and crucified. The King
of Glory, the Lord of Hosts, is coming in, and He's got a
host of folks with Him. So be ye lifted up, ye everlasting
doors, the King of Glory is coming in with power! And then Paul looks at you and
me, and he says in Hebrews 10, listen, in Hebrews chapter 10,
he says this, verse 19, Verse 18, now, verse 17, God said there's
sins and iniquities I'll remember no more. Paid for, put away. Now where remission of these
is, there's no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren,
boldness. Come on. Boldness to enter where? The Holy. Access to the presence
of God. You dared a few moments ago call
him your father. To walk into his, how'd you do
that? How'd you get that kind of boldness? I tell you how,
the power of his resurrection. Because he went there, I can
go there. Because he, my forerunner, has
gone into the presence of God with his blood as my high priest,
I can call him father, I can come fall into His presence,
the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which
is consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, His
flesh. And having a high priest over
the house of God, let us draw near. The King of glory opened
the gates and they stand wide open for His people. The presence
of God welcomes you. because you're holy. That's the
power of his resurrection. Old Isaac Watts says, come believers,
approach your God with new melodious songs. Come, render to almighty grace
the praises of your tongues. Here, sinner, You may bring your
cares and wipe your sorrows dry. Come into the mighty Savior's
presence and you'll never die. Weak as I am, yet by His grace,
all things I can perform. And then I'll triumph in His
name and I'll rise above the storm." That's right. Boy, I tell you, Oh, that I may
experience the security of His resurrection. That I may experience the victory
of His resurrection. Sin hath no dominion, death,
over me. Oh, that I may experience the
boldness, the boldness of His resurrection. Having a high priest
over the house of God, let's come boldly before the throne
of grace. Come often. Come frequently. Come continually. Come boldly. You're welcome.
You're a son. I don't know anything that gives
me any more joy than one of my children or grandchildren open
the door and walk in. How about you? Open the door
and walk in. Isn't that pleasant? And my Heavenly
Father says, Hap, open the door and come on in. You're a son.
Come on in. Boldly. Oh, you don't have to
slip around the back door. She comes. She just walks. She doesn't even ring the bell,
does she? Just comes right on in. Right on in. And sits down
to the table and says, what's to eat? That's boldness, isn't
it? You can do that when you're a
son or a daughter. When you're loved. When you're
wanted. When you're welcomed. That's boldness. That's the power
of His resurrection. Quickly now, fourthly, the fellowship
of it. Learn something here. It takes
a while to learn this. When our Lord arose from the
tomb in triumph and glory, it didn't change his relationship
with the apostles. When he was a man, and he arose
a man, I know that, he never ceased to be a man, but when
he was in limited circumstances, When he was clothed and robed
in human flesh, when he was made in the likeness of sinful flesh,
he walked with them and talked with them and embraced them and
loved them and they were, they had a close relationship. He
loved them. Well, when he accomplished all
that God gave him to do, glorify me with the glory which I had
with thee before the world was, I finished the work you gave
me to do and went to the tomb and came forth. The glorified,
the glorified Lord, the glorified Lord. He still had the same compassion
and the same love and the same fellowship. Watch it now. Watch
it. When he arose, the angel told
the women, go tell his disciples that he's going to meet them
and listen. Be sure you tell Peter. You mean
the one that, yeah, especially him. Isn't that something? And then when Mary came to the
tomb, she's sitting there crying, she thought they'd taken away
her Lord, and he stood there by her. And he said, Mary, you
think about this is the Lord of Glory, this is the Redeemer
of of Abel and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the whole creator
of the universe, the one who sustains all things and contains
all things and keeps all things going and in Him all things consist
and hurls the snowflakes and the lightning through the sky
and causes the wind to blow and fills the clouds with water and
causes the grass to grow and the herbs to yield their meat. The one that's in charge of everything
is standing there talking to a dear woman. And he calls her
by her name. He says, Mary, Mary, he's as precious and affectionate
and loving for you, even though he's in his glory. That's right. He walked with those disciples
on the mass road. He says, why are you sad? Why
are you sad? Then he came into the room that
his resurrection has not altered his relationship with the unrisen. That's what I'm saying. Oh, I'm going to understand someday
I'm going to be like him and someday I'm going to praise him
as I ought and love him as I ought and be what I ought. Do you think
anything could happen in your life without him? If he numbers the hairs of my
head, I know he numbers the tears. I know he numbers the heartaches,
don't you? I know he numbers my days. I know if he numbers
my hairs, he cares more for my heart than my hairs and my head.
But that's the far-reaching power of his resurrection. I've known people that get to
be successful and they forget their friends and family and
loved ones. Folks they knew when they were
in poverty, and folks they knew when they were in privation,
and folks they knew when they weren't near so important as
they think they are now. But not my Lord. He said, the
glory that you gave me, I gave Him. That's right. That's the power. That's what
Paul said, I want to know the power of His resurrection. The
power, the glory of it, the sweetness of it. the joy of it, give me
the strength that I need. Fifthly, and I'll quit, that
I may experience the understanding of it. Turn to Luke 24, the understanding,
what all is included in His resurrection. Oh, my, my, my, my, my. His resurrection. It's not resurrection
only, it's His resurrection. What's included? And in Luke
chapter 24 it says this, it says in Luke 24, 44, he said to them,
this is when he gathered them around him there before he was
ascended to the Father, he said, these are the words I've spake
unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses and the prophets
and the Psalms concerning me, all the scriptures. Then opened
he their understanding. that they might understand the
Scripture, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus
it behoove Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third
day, that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in
his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. He opened their
understanding, opened their heart, and taught them all that he is
and all that he did. And he's done that for us. He
taught us. You know, there's only one reason
why anybody that's here, there's only one reason why anybody that's
here who professes to believe Christ and to know Christ and
to love Christ and to understand the riches of His and the glory
of His person and work and His glorious resurrection, there's
only one reason why a person would leave. I don't mean leave
a building or leave a group, I mean leave Him. They just never
understood. That's right. That's the only
reason, Ken, they just never... They said they did. They claim
to. But I'm telling you, when He
opens your understanding, the Son of God has come and given
us an understanding, who He is, what He did, why He did it, where
He is now, an understanding. To whom shall I go? He has the
words of life. What'd they do down here in verse
50? And he led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up
his hands and blessed them, and he came to pass while he blessed
them. He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And
what did they do? They worshipped him. He opened
their understanding. They worshipped him. And they
returned to Jerusalem with great joy. He opened their understanding.
And they were happy. And they continued in the temple.
He opened their understanding. They were not going anywhere.
They're going to continue, continue in the faith, continue in the
fellowship. He opened their understanding. And they blessed, they praised
God and they blessed God. He opened their understanding.
Oh God, do that for us. Do that for us. Show us. Reveal
unto us. Oh, that we may know Christ and
the power of his resurrection. The security of it. The victory
of it. the joy of it, the fellowship
of it, the boldness of it, the understanding of it. The gospel is so sweet and so
precious and so wonderful, and yet, there's an understanding.
There's a reason for being joyful. There's a reason for rest. Be
able to give a reason for your hope. There's a reason for hope.
And He's the reason. That's it. He's the reason. Our
Father, I pray you'd bless this message. I believe you gave me
this message to preach to myself and to these brethren and sisters
who are so dear to me and dear to you and dear to one another,
so in need of comfort and strength and encouragement. Lord, that
we may know, that we may win Christ and be found in Him. that
we may attain unto the resurrection of the dead, that we may on that
day, when men hear his voice, we'll hear it too, when men come
forth, we'll come forth, when men see him in his beauty, may
like him, that we'll see him, we may like him, and that we
may know thee, and we may grow in understanding and joy of the
power of your resurrection. Teach us. strengthen us, minister
to us, heal us, establish us, settle us, perfect
us, get glory from us. I pray for Christ's sake. Amen.