The Power Of Resurrection Life

I want to talk about our identification with the resurrection of Christ.    Let`s remember that  He is not happy with just part of us, He wants all of us!  As it has been said, 'too many Christians live between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, believing in the cross, but not the power and glory of the resurrection.'  We will focus on our new resurrection life in Christ and the process that takes us there. Living in the reality of His resurrection life means freedom from the slavery of sin, death to my ‘self’ and becoming so aware of my life fully in Christ.

Resurrection Life Starts With A Complete Tear Down.  Philippians 3:1-8

Paul begins this chapter by driving the point home that your place in Christ has absolutely nothing to do with your religious ‘self effort’.  There was a lot of “follow Jesus + do this, do that and look more like us” attitude surrounding the church at Philippi. 

If you have any inkling or any thought that your spiritual status is locked into your personal performance and ability to live the Christian life, you are missing the point altogether.

As a pastor I can easily get caught up in all of this too. We can talk about all our education and degrees, our ministry experiences.  For me, the tear-down began in my office as a pastor in a previous ministry when I decided to place my degrees and ordination certificate in a box.  It was an important step for me to recognise where my confidence lies.

What do you boast in?

Where does your confidence lie? 

Perhaps you have claimed one or more of the following. I was raised in a Christian family.  I was baptized or confirmed in a church, or educated in a Christian school. Maybe even now you claim… I read my Bible and pray, I’ve gone on missions trips or I am a good human being.  Some of these are all blessings and privileges; however they do not make you a follower of Christ or put you in good standing with God.

It isn’t about us, it isn’t about our name, it isn’t about our status.  As we will see it is about the presence of Jesus in you, it’s all about His name, it’s all about His status. 

Resurrection Life Is Being Found In Christ v9

Paul makes it absolutely clear that the only way that I can be found in Christ is when I let go completely of everything else that I put confidence in for my standing with God.

 He is saying, “I don’t want anything to do with a righteousness that I can somehow manufacture or whip up the ability to do so in and of myself.  I want to in faith completely clothe myself in the righteousness that comes from Christ.  It is a complete transfer of trust.  You are making the move out of the house that you built to the house that God has built.

We are simply taking God at His Word by receiving His promise that Jesus gives eternal life to those who trust in Him. This is what it means to be “found in Him.”  It is a righteousness that is outside of myself.

This past Sunday Sharon and I went to our former church in Milton, Southside, where they were having a worship celebration before the building was going to be torn down.  The church had sold their existing property and are now embarking on a new location.  In many ways, I see the incredible opportunity they have to completely design their new space around their values. 

Here, at Crossings, we are going through a tear down of sorts with the repurposing of our store front and what the Roxy will become.  For some, it will feel like a loss of identity; however it is a great opportunity for us once again to start from the ground up.  The foundation of where we want to go is resting in knowing, loving and obeying Jesus.  This is where we find ourselves.

Resurrection Life is the Power of Knowing Jesus v10,11

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

That I may know Him: It was the cry of Paul`s heart, he was fixated on really knowing Jesus

To “know” (ginosko) Christ does not mean to have head knowledge about Him, but to “know Him” intimately and passionately.

I can say “oh yeah, I know that person, I’ve seen their pictures on Facebook and I could recognize them in a crowd…but do I really know them?  Well, no. Have I had a ‘one on one’ conversation with them?  Do I know what really makes them tick? 

So, there is a knowing that goes below the surface, a real relationship where I’ve actually shared a meal with them, I’ve laughed with them and maybe even cried as well alongside them.

Here is a quote from Charles Spurgeon, a famous preacher from the late 1800s

“They tell me he is a refiner, that he cleanses from spots; he has washed me in his precious blood, and to that extent I know him. They tell me that he clothes the naked; he hath covered me with a garment of righteousness, and to that extent I know him. They tell me that he is a breaker, and that he breaks chains, he has set my soul at liberty, and therefore I know him. They tell me that he is a king and that he reigns over sin; he hath subdued my enemies beneath his feet, and I know him in that character. They tell me he is a shepherd: I know him for I am his sheep. They say he is a door: I have entered in through him, and I know him as a door. They say he is food: my spirit feeds on him as on the bread of heaven, and, therefore, I know him as such.”

To know the power of His resurrection

His resurrection: Knowing Jesus means knowing this power, the new life that is given to us now, not when we die.

“He wants to know His power, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead flowing and surging through his body.  He wants to experience that power that overcomes sin and produces the fruit of the Spirit in His life.  It is a life that leads me to great and selfless acts of love

And the fellowship of His sufferings

He wasn’t afraid to suffer for proclaiming His faith.  He knew that by proclaiming Jesus alone….There are no other rites of passage would get him in to trouble.  He knew it was part of his bond with Jesus.

Being conformed to His death

Paul knew that this meant death to our own selfish desires.  It is a daily denial of self.  It is saying God I want to put your agenda first and foremost. It is Romans 6

It is recognizing I have been called to a new lifestyle. 

Paul also expresses a desire to “…attain to the resurrection from the dead”.

Paul is concerned with achieving a distinctive resurrection life—a new life that stands out from the rest. This calls to mind Hebrews 11:35, which speaks of a “better resurrection” for those who suffer.  There are certainly rewards for those who follow Christ to death and Paul wasn’t shrinking back from what he knew would eventually await Him in martyrdom.

The Takeaway

It all comes back to joy!

For Paul, it was all about Jesus and experiencing the fullness of His presence resting on Him, to rejoice in that as he begun the chapter with when He spoke of himself as those who serve God by His Spirit.  Joy is a major theme in the book of Philippians.

In West Africa there is a fruit called the “taste berry.”   It is a small red berry called miracle fruit temporarily rewires the way the palate perceives sour flavors, rendering lemons as sweet as candy.

Praise could be considered the “taste berry” of the Christian life. When you spend your day in praise and gratitude even in the most sour and difficult circumstances in your life can taste sweet. While this might seem odd, it is absolutely true. If you praise God for who He is and what He has done for you, gratitude will well up within you.

This is absolutely part of ‘knowing Him’

Questions

How have you struggled with “confidence in the flesh”?  In what ways could my religious background be an impediment to my faith?

What are some things that could be more important in my life than my relationship with Jesus Christ?

What does righteousness by faith look like, practically?

How can we make praise and gratitude a daily part of our routine?