WEBVTT 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:04.080 Hello and welcome to the Redemption Church Podcast. 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:12.480 We're a church in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada that exists to glorify God through the fulfillment of the Great Commission and the spirit of the Great Commandment. 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:14.560 Thanks for joining us today. 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:15.839 Amen. 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:16.719 Awesome. 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:19.760 So good to worship with you this morning. 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:20.800 Thanks, Mark. 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:25.359 I don't know about you, but I find myself uh visiting the grocery store lately. 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:29.440 It's a pretty emotional experience for me with the price of everything. 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:30.879 Does anyone have that? 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:34.880 I was at Sobe's yesterday, which I guess is one of the more expensive chains. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:40.640 I should have expected this, but um I checked out and I was, you know, bagging my few things. 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:44.240 It always costs$100, no matter how much you buy, it's always$100, it seems. 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:48.399 But the person behind me only had one item, and it was a can of whipping cream. 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:52.320 And so I saw they had that one item, and then I heard the cashier say, That's gonna be five dollars. 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:55.840 And so I looked up, I said, he must have more than a can of whipping cream. 00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:58.880 There's no way that a whipping cream is worth five dollars now. 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:09.359 Lo and behold, all he had was whipping cream, and I just find that's like every visit to the grocery store has me looking at things and asking this question is it really worth it? 00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:11.439 Like, is this really that valuable? 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:14.079 Five dollars for a can of whipping cream. 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:17.439 Now that's not only in the grocery store, that's also in real estate. 00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:20.400 In fact, I'm sure you, like I have talked to many people. 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:28.799 Maybe this is you yourself, you had all these grand plans of moving, but now you just look at it and you just say, it's it's just not worth it anymore. 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:30.239 It's just not worth it. 00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:34.239 The price of homes, it's too much, it's not worth it. 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:43.280 Now, this is a reality that the value of something is based on the price that you're willing to pay for it, isn't it? 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:45.519 The value of anything. 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:57.040 And these days, many things are proving that they're just not a valuable enough, that we're just not willing enough to pay the price that this thing is being described to be worth. 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:06.000 Now, the unfortunate reality is this is happening in the grocery store, this is happening in the real estate market, but it's also happening in Christianity. 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:18.479 Many people, in fact, we'll just get into them in a moment, we'll get into how many exactly, are looking at the Christian faith and they are saying this, it's just not worth it. 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:25.759 They are looking at the life of following Jesus, and they're asking this question, what value does it give to me? 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:29.199 And the answer clearly is that it doesn't give enough. 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:31.520 And so many are turning away. 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:44.159 In fact, in his new book called The Great Dechurching, Jim Davis studies these concerning statistics surrounding the church, particularly in the United States, but I think we see a lot of the same things happening here in Canada. 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:53.280 Consider this: that today, right now, there are 40 million Americans who no longer go to church but used to. 00:02:53.520 --> 00:03:00.000 That's 16% of the American population used to attend church but no longer does. 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:13.039 In fact, in the last 25 years, more people have left the church than people who came to the church in the first Great Awakening, the Second Great Awakening, and the Billy Graham Crusades combined. 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:17.360 There is this mass evacuation of the church. 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:26.240 Millions of people across the border and here are looking at church, they're looking at Jesus, and they're asking this question: what's the value? 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:27.759 What's it worth? 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:30.960 What are we getting out of this? 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:36.319 And these statistics, don't they beg us to ask that same question as well? 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:47.520 To ask that same question before we make that decision to leave the church into abandon of faith, to ask the question this morning, what God will have us do this morning, to ask this question, what's the value? 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:51.280 Well, many are leaving the church. 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:52.479 I am sure that there are many. 00:03:52.639 --> 00:04:01.360 In fact, the the fact that you are even here this morning is a reality of this testament that there are still many who look at Jesus Christ and they say, it is worth it. 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:04.319 Following him is worth it, it is valuable. 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:12.400 Well, maybe that's you this morning, but if you were to be pressed, hey, why is it so valuable? 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:19.279 Maybe I wonder if you'd be able to really give a crystal clear answer. 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:25.199 Maybe you you know you follow Christ and you know it's the right thing to do, but you're unsure why. 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:43.199 And I have this belief that I believe God's gonna press home in us this morning, that the more we are able to answer that question of what's the worth, the more we're able to answer that question with crystal clear clarity and conviction, the more we're gonna be urged to follow ourselves. 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:44.000 Isn't that true? 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:48.639 Like you just will not pursue anything if you don't think it's worth the time. 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:53.040 There's a reason why so many of us didn't get into curling, right? 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:56.639 There's a reason why I play hockey and I don't figure skate. 00:04:56.879 --> 00:04:58.319 Just there's all these things we can do. 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:00.160 The question is, is it worth the time? 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:10.639 And until in your heart of hearts you have this conviction and this crystal clear clarity that to follow Christ is ultimately your gain, you will not follow him. 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:16.000 And until you follow him like that, your faith, it will not be a witness to the world. 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:21.839 Like if Christianity is just of some value to you, then for the world, there's nothing to see here. 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:29.839 It's not until Christians suffer the loss of all things that the world will really see the value of Jesus Christ. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:42.000 Now, because as humans we never pursue what we don't find valuable, the power of our Christian walk, it really boils down to this: how valuable is Christ to you? 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.120 What's his worth to you? 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:48.079 It's this, it really is this simple. 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:54.959 If Christ is valuable, if Christ is worthy, then you will follow him. 00:05:55.360 --> 00:06:03.600 Now, I don't know about you, but but you know, even as I study this text this week and this morning thinking about these things, it causes the spirit of conviction in me. 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:07.519 Because I come to realize like you can't sugarcoat your failure anymore. 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:16.639 You need to realize that that in any way you hold your life back from Jesus Christ, the hard root of that is just this belief that he's not worthy of your time. 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:24.800 You know, those mornings that you failed to get into God's word where you wanted to, but you just you couldn't, you just kept hitting snooze, you didn't want to get up and do it, you just didn't do it. 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:30.399 The reality of that, if we stop sugarcoating it, the reality is that we just didn't think it was worth it. 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:40.319 The reality of our fear to share the gospel, like when we really get to the heart of it, isn't it just that we value or we hate rejection more than we love Christ? 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:45.600 Like, I don't want to sugarcoat these areas of my life where I fall short anymore. 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:48.480 I want to come to a realization that this really is a heart problem. 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:53.600 This really is that in my heart of hearts, I do not value Jesus Christ enough. 00:06:56.079 --> 00:06:58.000 Causes us to do a heart check. 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:01.600 And what God's gonna do in our midst this morning is so practical. 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:03.279 He wants to show us the value. 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:07.040 You understand this is a question you are allowed to ask. 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:09.839 You are allowed to ask, what's the value of following Christ? 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:10.639 Like, what's it worth? 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:12.079 Why should I do it? 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:15.920 And every time you look into God's word, you'll find it's valuable. 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:18.720 And God wants to tell us about that this morning. 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:21.360 And we need to hear it, so why don't we turn to the Lord in prayer? 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:24.800 God, we bow before you. 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:33.120 And Lord, we confess how often, Lord, we pursue things that truly are worthless. 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:39.279 Lord, they are what Paul called them last week rubbish. 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:51.360 And Lord, we confess that we're so often confused, we so often lack clarity, we so often lack conviction that truly to have Christ is to have everything. 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:55.759 And Lord, we sing it so often that Christ is our all in all. 00:07:56.720 --> 00:08:04.160 And yet, Lord, I just I just say those words and I and I even can reflect on my life and see in so many ways that we don't live like that. 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:11.120 And so, God, we bow before you in this moment and ask, Lord, that you would speak to us at a very real level. 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:20.160 Lord, at a deep level to show us what the value of following Christ is, that our answer might be yes and amen, Lord. 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:21.040 That is so good. 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:28.160 It is so good to suffer the loss of all things in order that we may gain Christ, because there is so much gain in Christ. 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:31.439 There is nothing better that we could possess than to have Christ. 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:33.919 And so, God, I pray, Lord, that you would convince us. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:37.759 We, Lord, we cannot, we cannot believe this truth apart from your Holy Spirit. 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:39.440 This is a supernatural truth. 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:44.240 And if we're in our flesh, Lord, in the strength of our flesh, we cannot come to understand it. 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:48.639 So, God, we are entirely dependent on you and your children in this room right now, Lord. 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:57.440 We pray to you, God, asking that you would reveal to us this spiritual truth that must be imparted by the power and presence of your Holy Spirit, Lord, that you really are worth it. 00:08:58.159 --> 00:08:59.679 God, change our lives, we pray. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:01.840 Pray this in the name of your son. 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:02.720 Amen. 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:04.559 Amen. 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:07.759 We're in Philippians 3, verses 9 to 11. 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:08.639 Let me read this for us. 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:11.919 In fact, I'm gonna start in verse 8 so we can get some context. 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:20.559 Paul writes this Indeed I count everything as lost because of the surpassing worth of Christ, of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. 00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:54.320 For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 00:09:54.720 --> 00:10:07.440 Now, Paul in verse 8, the context of verses 9 to 11, which we'll be studying this morning, is really that Paul has said this, and I think if we're to read these in the fullness of our imagination, it's really shocking words. 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:16.639 Paul has said this, for his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things in order to gain Christ. 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:19.759 It's a startling statement. 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:28.480 Paul looks at everything in his life, his past religion, any material possessions he's accumulated, his family. 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:29.440 He looks at all things. 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:33.759 He says, I've suffered the loss of all things in order that I may gain Christ. 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:38.080 And this is a startling statement, but it really gets to the heart of Christianity. 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:41.919 To be a Christian is to make this statement as well. 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:50.240 The follower of Christ has, in other words, said this all my life for all my life. 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:52.960 All of life for all of life. 00:10:53.039 --> 00:11:00.080 The follower of Jesus looks at Jesus and says, It doesn't matter what I lose so long as I have you. 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:23.919 Now, the question that we ask then is, what could make Christ so valuable that not only does Paul say, I'm willing to suffer the loss of all things, but since that time, millions and millions of disciples of Christ, and here in this room, this room is filled with people who have said that very thing, who have said, I will suffer the loss of everything if I can just have Christ. 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:26.720 What makes Christ so valuable? 00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:34.399 This is a startling statement because in North America we've really watered down Christianity. 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:40.960 We've boiled down Christianity into this thing that can kind of be plastered onto a morning mug that you drink your coffee out of. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:52.639 We've made Christianity so that it's really you, you only really have to give a part of your life, and this part maybe it's a Sunday morning, maybe it's a few dollars in the offering plate. 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:59.919 But the reality is that Scripture makes clear that the calling is really all of life for all of life. 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:07.840 Here we find that Christianity it's willingly suffering the loss of all things in order that you can gain something you believe to be better. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:09.759 And so the answer is why? 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:11.200 What makes Jesus better? 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:13.279 What makes Jesus gain? 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:22.960 Paul's telling us why Christ is gain here, and first he's gonna say this Christ is gain because through Christ I enjoy perfect righteousness. 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:26.320 Through Christ I enjoy perfect righteousness. 00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:28.559 Now, notice what Paul says here in verse 9. 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:35.120 He says that Christ is gain, because when I gain Christ, I can be found in him. 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:40.480 Through faith as a Christian, Christians are found in Jesus. 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:42.879 Now, what does it mean to be found in him? 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:47.519 I think we know what that means, especially parents in our in here this morning. 00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:52.399 You know what it's like to find your kids doing something that they're not supposed to be doing. 00:12:52.639 --> 00:13:02.879 In fact, sometimes you have like the look of your kid when you walk in the room and they're doing that thing that they know mom and dad should not see, and they look at you and there's this kind of like, look, I've been found. 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:05.759 And this is what Paul is talking about. 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:17.440 He he has this driving conviction that really drives everything on his life, in his life, that on the day of judgment, when he's found by God, he wants to be found in Christ. 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:22.000 Now, on that day, there are a number of other ways that we might be found. 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:26.480 In fact, some in here, I believe, will be found in the pursuit of sinful desires. 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:39.600 You'll be found by God on the day of judgment, and you you've been living your life in that moment, doing whatever you think is good, being your own God, seeking your own pleasures. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:45.200 And on that day, you will be found by God to be in the sinful pursuit of your pleasures. 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:48.639 Others, I believe, will be found totally distracted. 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:54.480 Like at one point in their life they said Jesus was worth it, but their life showed completely the opposite. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:14:01.279 They were distracted by the pursuit of leisure and promotion and fame. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:06.960 And they'll be found on that day living a life of utter distraction. 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:16.399 Now, what Paul here is concerned with is not being found in any of those ways, but but being found having a righteousness that is his own. 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:24.159 So look what he says in verse 9 that I may be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law. 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:37.600 Paul is concerned that when when he stands face to face with God, the only righteousness he has will be the righteousness that he has worked from for himself by trying to live according to the law. 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:43.679 It's this righteousness that's achieved by this perfect obedience to God's standard. 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:44.879 Now, here's the problem. 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:49.840 Paul has just in Philippians said that if, hey, listen, if anyone can have righteousness like this, it's me. 00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:51.039 You remember that last week? 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:53.519 It's like this kind of boastful claim Paul makes, but it's true. 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:55.840 He's like, I'm the Pharisee of Pharisees. 00:14:56.080 --> 00:14:57.840 I'm the lawkeeper of lawkeepers. 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:01.679 If you can get righteousness according to the law, I have it. 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:10.960 And yet even Paul knows, even Paul knows that in his life he's done wrong things. 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:14.240 In his life, he's broken the law. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:19.440 So listen, if you're a lawkeeper here, if you're trying to get righteousness through your own flesh, you know what the problem with that is? 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:33.279 The problem is that you can do as many good things as you want, you can accumulate as much righteousness from the law as you can, but the problem is that if you've broken the law in one place, you are still a lawbreaker. 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:37.279 And lawbreakers still deserve penalty. 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:38.879 This is why, did you notice? 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:42.879 If you've ever been pulled over by a cop, put up your hand if you've been pulled. 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:44.480 No, I'm just kidding, you don't have to do that. 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:46.799 I would have both hands up. 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:55.519 But I know this the cop has never come up to my window after I've, you know, been caught speeding and said, Hey, listen, how how many old people did you walk across the street last week? 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:57.360 They just don't care about that, right? 00:15:57.440 --> 00:16:04.320 They don't care about your righteousness, they don't care about all the good things you've done, and you don't really even really feel the need to say, hey, listen, look at all these good things I've done. 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:12.559 Like I've done a lot of good things for society, because the reality is that you've been caught red-handed, you're a lawbreaker, and now justice needs to be served. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:17.519 See, the problem is not how much righteousness we can get from keeping the law. 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:24.240 The problem is that if we've broken the law in one little tiny way, we've broken it against an eternal God. 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:27.440 But but listen, here is why Christ is gained. 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:36.159 Because it is possible, and this happens through faith, when you place your faith in Jesus Christ, it's possible to achieve righteousness another way. 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:38.159 So that look what Paul says in verse 9. 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:41.039 Put your eyes on the words of God right now. 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:41.919 Look what he says. 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:55.759 Not being found being found, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:03.279 There's a way to receive righteousness. 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:13.599 What Paul's saying here is listen, you cannot achieve your own righteousness, but through faith you can receive a righteousness that you could never achieve on your own. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:22.160 And this is why Christ is gained, because when you place your faith in Jesus Christ, you receive what theologians called an imputed righteousness. 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:24.640 Now I love to give you those words just so you can sound really smart. 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:25.039 It's great. 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:27.920 Just log in in your brain, you can sound really smart with your Christian friends. 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:29.279 Imputed righteousness. 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:32.799 But what that really means is that you have this righteousness that's not your own. 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:38.240 So that on that day when you are found by God and you stand be before him, you know what you'll say? 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:44.000 You'll say, I'm righteous, not because of what I've done, but because Jesus was perfect. 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:50.400 He had a Jesus had a perfect righteousness and a perfect obedience. 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:59.200 And through faith, if your faith is in Jesus Christ, you now have that righteousness for yourself, so that on that day you will be found in him. 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:03.440 You receive a righteousness. 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:05.119 This is why Christ is gained. 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:08.319 We receive a righteousness we cannot achieve. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:15.279 But secondly, I want you to see this that Christ is gained because through him we experience powerful renewal. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:22.640 Look at what Paul says in verse 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:34.960 See, the pursuit of Christ is worthwhile because by knowing him you become intimately acquainted with the truest and greatest power. 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:42.960 Paul says that I know him and I know the power of his resurrection. 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:46.559 Now, what Paul's talking about here, it's not just a head knowledge. 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:50.559 This really is an experiential knowledge that Paul's talking about. 00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:59.440 In other words, what Paul understands is not that Jesus is powerful, he's experienced that power surge through his own life. 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:00.799 It's much like this. 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:03.440 You know, you and I, I think, have head knowledge. 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:11.440 I don't know that anyone has the experiential knowledge here of the fact that these power lines, you know, that run across the street, they have electricity. 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:13.279 We've got the head knowledge, right? 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:22.240 But I would expect that none of us have the experiential knowledge of grabbing onto those electricity lines with both hands and feeling the power. 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:29.200 I would expect that if we have had that experiential knowledge, we'd also have the experiential knowledge of being in heaven right now. 00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:30.720 We would be dead. 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:32.079 This is a different knowledge. 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:34.799 There's a head knowledge and there is an experiential knowledge. 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:38.799 And the knowledge Christ is talking about here is this experiential knowledge. 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:40.640 I've climbed the ladder, so to speak. 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:43.359 I've grabbed on to Jesus with both hands. 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:50.640 The hands of faith have gripped onto Jesus, and I have felt his resurrection power now surging through me, giving life. 00:19:52.160 --> 00:20:06.319 This is what it means to be a Christian is to experience the power, the resurrection power of Jesus surging through your life, giving life to bones that were once dead, where you once walked in enity and you were dead in your trespasses and sins. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:14.079 You are now a child of God who is alive again, resurrected to new spiritual life and awaiting your physical resurrection. 00:20:15.039 --> 00:20:21.599 It's an experiential knowledge of the truest and deepest power that history, the history of humanity, has ever seen. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:25.519 You know, God He performed many amazing miracles, didn't He? 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:42.240 He parted the Red Sea, Jesus walked on water, he cast out demons, but but there was nothing so powerful than the day that Jesus died and then three days later rose again. 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:54.960 There was no moment in history more powerful than this, because not only did Jesus defeat death, like that was something that was pretty crazy that he died and then came back to life again, but Jesus also defeated our greatest enemy on that day. 00:20:55.200 --> 00:21:00.960 There's no more powerful moment because there is like no more powerful enemy to be defeated than death. 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:04.480 Death throughout history had not lost a single fight. 00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:14.880 Like if death was a boxer, then its victory count was like a hundred billion, however many humans had lived up to that point that Jesus died, a hundred billion to zero. 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:16.880 It had not lost yet. 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:20.640 It was this undefeatable enemy. 00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:30.640 But Jesus looked death in the eyes, he climbed up on the cross, and he died, but he was raised with eternal life. 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:35.680 So that post-resurrection, you know what you and I say, and we're especially gonna say it next week. 00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:37.839 Death, where is your sting? 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:40.640 Death, where is your victory? 00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:46.240 You have been defeated finally and forever. 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:51.359 Jesus not only defeated death, he also defeated Satan. 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:55.119 So then Colossians, I love this verse in Colossians too. 00:21:55.200 --> 00:22:04.880 Paul says that Jesus nailed our debt to the cross, and by Doing so, he says he disarmed the rulers and authorities. 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:07.759 Satan was defeated in that moment. 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:12.960 He thought he had won, but Jesus was raised with new life. 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:23.680 And this amazing reality that Paul is getting to here is that the power of resurrection, that the resurrection, it does not stop there, but it flows through the life of believers. 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:24.640 Do you understand that? 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:32.240 That if your faith is in Jesus Christ, this same power that raised Jesus from the dead is flowing in your life. 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:35.920 This is what Paul talks about in Romans 8, verse 11. 00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:37.359 This is going to come up on the screen. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:55.200 Paul says this if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. 00:22:55.839 --> 00:23:01.519 Take a moment and allow the jaw-dropping nature of this reality to like hit you like a Mac truck. 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:06.960 If you're sitting here and you're saying, like, oh, that's cool, like you have not understood this. 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:18.640 The same power, how much power does it take for Jesus to be raised from the dead and to be given new life, eternal life, and have a resurrected body and to defeat sin and death and Satan forever? 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:20.799 How much power does that take? 00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:24.319 That same power, Paul says. 00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:32.480 If your faith is in Christ and if the Holy Spirit is in you, that same power is in you, giving you life. 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:35.920 I mean, you want to talk about the value of knowing Jesus? 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:39.200 You want to talk about the gain of following Christ? 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:46.400 The gain is that you receive this resurrection power that now flows and surges through you. 00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:50.079 Look around the world. 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:54.400 What else can you grab onto in this world that will give you this power? 00:23:57.119 --> 00:23:59.200 What else can we take a hold of? 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:19.920 When we think about the things that we often turn to that are not Jesus, you think about self-help books and the therapy and all the other things we turn to for power, and all that we experience is the pitally power of minor change, temporary change. 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:31.759 You think of the way that we try to grab on to power by maybe working hard in our workplaces and being promoted, and maybe we can get power as we climb up the ladder, but it's just so temporary. 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:34.640 It's a replaceable power. 00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:44.400 The day that you retire, you think about the power of having money and materials and the short-term reward, shorter and shorter every year, of having something that's newer and better. 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:47.039 Like you get a power, but it's just nothing. 00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:55.279 There's nothing like experiencing the power of Jesus' resurrection surging through your spiritual life. 00:24:56.480 --> 00:25:02.000 You seek to grab hold of Jesus every waking moment of the day. 00:25:02.319 --> 00:25:07.599 You put both hands onto Him, so to speak, as though you were putting both hands on the electricity line. 00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:10.240 Power then surges through you. 00:25:11.440 --> 00:25:22.240 It's a power that causes you to have victory over your sin, the power to transform your heart from selfish desires to desires for his service and his glory. 00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:26.960 It's a power that causes you to have a joy that the world cannot know. 00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:32.480 It's a power that causes this peace to settle in your soul that just surpasses all understanding. 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:35.599 This is the power of Christ and his resurrection. 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:41.359 And the question for you is this: Do you long to experience this power? 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:42.960 Do you long for it? 00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:46.400 And we take hold of Jesus then. 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:52.319 Take hold of Jesus that the world might see this resurrection power surging through your life, Paul says. 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:59.200 I want this power. 00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:07.680 Well, there's more gain, and this next one certainly comes to a shock as a shock to us, but notice the third thing that Paul says. 00:26:08.559 --> 00:26:14.400 He says that I may know him in the power of his resurrection and may share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. 00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:21.119 You see, the third gain that Paul points our attention to is that through Christ I endure personal sacrifice. 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:26.720 I want you to see here that the suffering Paul is talking about, it's not your suffering. 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:28.480 Did you notice that in the text? 00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:30.319 It's not your trials. 00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:35.519 The suffering that Paul is talking about is the suffering of Jesus. 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:43.200 Paul says that by sharing in the suffering of Jesus, I gain becoming like him in his death. 00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:46.480 And so this begs us to ask the question: what are the sufferings of Jesus? 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:48.880 Now, Paul has already talked about this in chapter two. 00:26:49.200 --> 00:27:00.240 In fact, look back with me at Philippians chapter 2 and look with me in verse 6, where Paul really talks in detail about the sufferings of Jesus. 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:07.680 He says that Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped. 00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:11.440 But look at this, this is the suffering, but emptied himself. 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:18.799 He emptied himself by be taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:29.200 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:50.000 It was the suffering of this willing obedience to the point of death. 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:57.599 And really from Philippians 2, verses 6 to really verse 11, Paul has been kind of trying to drive this home. 00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:05.119 If Christ did that, if Christ suffered in this way, and then he was exalted by Jesus Christ, then you also should do the same. 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:10.319 If you want to receive exaltation, like you want to be exalted in life, you want a crown. 00:28:10.720 --> 00:28:12.960 Well, the cross comes before the crown. 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:16.640 Suffering comes before glory, Paul is saying. 00:28:16.799 --> 00:28:35.839 And just as Jesus suffered this humiliation of emptying himself and taking on human flesh and experiencing these things that he had never experienced before because he was God for all of eternity, so too we as humans ought to die to ourselves, empty ourselves, that we might be filled with Christ. 00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:40.400 This is why the call to Christians from Christ is this take up your cross. 00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:44.079 Because if you're gonna follow Jesus, it takes this sacrifice. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:50.319 You cannot live with Christ without dying for Christ. 00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:53.519 This is why Paul says in Galatians 2.20. 00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:56.880 He says, I've been crucified with Christ. 00:28:57.200 --> 00:29:02.880 It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:06.319 Jesus was clear. 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:14.319 The call to follow Jesus is this call to take up your cross and to die to yourself. 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:21.039 It's this call to experience the excruciating suffering of dying to yourself. 00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:30.319 It's this commitment of a disciple to follow in the path of his master and to suffer the same fate that his master did. 00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:40.319 It is this daily suffering that even in the best moments of your life, you will still suffer with this necessity of dying to yourself. 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:44.480 And so let me ask you, Christian, do you die daily? 00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:50.960 There is no daily gain without daily death to self. 00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:57.039 There's no spiritual life without daily death. 00:29:58.720 --> 00:30:02.000 In other words, you need to be emptied before you can be filled. 00:30:02.319 --> 00:30:04.240 I love what Richard Sibbs says. 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:10.640 He says this self-emptiness prepares us for spiritual fullness. 00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:16.559 Self-emptiness prepares us for spiritual fullness. 00:30:17.039 --> 00:30:18.240 In fact, we get this concept. 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:27.519 Amber and I, the other week, we were invited to a church member's house, and I won't say this church member's house because the story really glorifies them and specifically their hospitality skills. 00:30:27.599 --> 00:30:34.079 And if I said their name, there'd be a large lineup after the service, wanting, you know, trying to get the invite over to their house. 00:30:34.400 --> 00:30:35.039 You ever do that? 00:30:35.119 --> 00:30:37.279 You're like, I'm free this Friday, you know. 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:44.000 Anyways, this person invited us over for surf and turf, which I I mean I love, but my wife loves even more. 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:46.480 Like she can really eat some lobster. 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:48.160 It's quite incredible to see. 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:51.039 And they invited us over, and we got this amazing text. 00:30:51.119 --> 00:30:57.359 Like, I don't know if there's a text I like more than this, but it was a text the morning of us going there, and they said this, come hungry. 00:30:57.759 --> 00:30:58.640 I love that. 00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:09.279 Like, I will endure the pain, which to me, you know how much I love food, it's really a pain to skip lunch and endure this hungriness, knowing that I'm gonna be filled with something amazing. 00:31:09.359 --> 00:31:11.200 Like, I want space for that. 00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:18.880 And this is exactly what God is calling us to. 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:22.640 There is a suffering that we must endure. 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:34.720 This suffering of emptying ourselves of ourself, of dying to ourself, in order that we might feel the fullness of Christ. 00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:44.400 See, before you experience gain in Christ, you you must experience this self-emptying. 00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:51.039 And so we ask ourselves in this moment, what what aspect of our self is ruling our life right now? 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:59.599 In what ways is this monster of yourself devouring everything that's good in your life? 00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:12.079 In what ways do you need to die to self to empty yourself in order that you may be filled with the fullness of Jesus Christ, in order that you may empty yourself, that you may come to the feast that is Jesus Christ Himself? 00:32:12.240 --> 00:32:22.640 I'm so convinced that the reason why we lack power in our lives is because we're so filled with the things of the world that there is no room left for Jesus. 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:34.480 How is the self causing you to be full so that you cannot receive the gain that is offered to us in Christ? 00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:44.400 In what ways is Jesus this morning calling you to empty yourself of self-energy and self-complacency in your service to Christ? 00:32:45.200 --> 00:33:06.799 To empty yourself of this self-pity in trials and in difficulties, to empty yourself of self-seeking in business and in Christian ministry, to empty yourself of self-indulgence in spare time, to empty yourself of self-defense when you're hurt, to empty yourself of self-consciousness around others. 00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:11.440 You see, in so many ways, our self is filling us up too much. 00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:17.200 We're too obsessed with ourselves to be filled with the glory and gain that is in Jesus Christ. 00:33:17.279 --> 00:33:21.359 And so the ask the question for us is this Have you died to yourself? 00:33:21.920 --> 00:33:23.759 Have you died to yourself? 00:33:24.480 --> 00:33:25.680 You must be empty. 00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:27.440 You must be empty if you'll be filled. 00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:29.519 And then the question for us then is what are we filled with? 00:33:29.680 --> 00:33:30.559 What is that fullness? 00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:33.039 Well, Paul tells us exactly what it is in verse 11. 00:33:33.200 --> 00:33:44.160 Look what he says in verse 11 that by any means possible, by any means possible, in other words, I don't care what kind of suffering it is, by any means possible, I'll take any path. 00:33:45.599 --> 00:33:50.960 By any means possible, I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 00:33:51.759 --> 00:33:53.759 This is the fourth gain I want you to see in Christ. 00:33:53.920 --> 00:33:57.839 Christ is gained because through him I experience promised resurrection. 00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:00.720 Through him I experience promised resurrection. 00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:05.759 This is the ultimate fullness that makes our self-emptying so worth it. 00:34:06.720 --> 00:34:12.880 It's the fullness that comes to us when Christ returns and will raise us to new life. 00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:19.199 And Paul here says that by any means I might attain the resurrection, not because he's not sure if he's gonna make it. 00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:22.159 Like I kind of at the first sight, it kind of looks like that, doesn't he? 00:34:22.239 --> 00:34:24.320 He's like, I'm not sure, but I'm trying my best. 00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:27.199 Instead, what Paul is saying is, I'll take any road. 00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:30.159 If it's the road of suffering, I don't care about the journey. 00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:33.760 The journey doesn't matter because the destination is so great. 00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:40.559 I'll go anywhere Christ calls, in order that I may attain the resurrection of the dead. 00:34:40.719 --> 00:34:44.639 He's saying that in light of what's coming, the suffering is like nothing. 00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:48.880 The suffering actually becomes enjoyable because of the destination. 00:34:49.199 --> 00:34:51.280 You likely have things in your life that are like this, don't you? 00:34:51.599 --> 00:34:56.639 Don't you have things like the destination of where you're going is so good that it makes the journey worth it? 00:34:58.079 --> 00:34:59.119 I have something like that. 00:34:59.199 --> 00:35:01.280 It's uh I love canoe camping. 00:35:01.440 --> 00:35:05.679 And tear camping, like that's my thing, and you know, that's one of the most divisive things you can say. 00:35:05.760 --> 00:35:09.280 There are people when you talk about canoe camping, they just look at you like you're crazy. 00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:10.639 How could you ever love that? 00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:12.000 Why don't you just book a cottage? 00:35:12.159 --> 00:35:14.800 You know they have these things like homes. 00:35:14.880 --> 00:35:18.000 You don't have to live in a tent, you don't have to canoe there, you can just drive there. 00:35:18.079 --> 00:35:24.079 But there's just there's something I love about it, and unless you love it too, you just cannot understand it. 00:35:25.360 --> 00:35:27.599 I love, I I love I even love the journey. 00:35:27.679 --> 00:35:28.880 I mean, it makes no sense. 00:35:29.039 --> 00:35:36.000 You get a canoe, it's gotta be the slowest form of transportation in the whole entire universe, and you put it in the water, and it's pretty rocky, you know. 00:35:36.079 --> 00:35:39.440 If you get any waves, like it's there are times you're terrified you're gonna die. 00:35:39.679 --> 00:36:00.719 And then not only that, when you go up, you know, camping up in Algonquin, if you want to get to the good sites, you not only have to canoe there, but you also have to canoe through like multiple lakes that are separated by like these kilometer-long portages where you gotta get out of the water and pick up your canoe and you put it on your head, and you climb through the forest where it's like there's a hundred percent bears there that you can't see because the canoe's on your head. 00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:10.880 And so you're just kind of like, you know, you're filled with trail mix, you're just this walking bear bait, and these portages are so muddy, and there's all these mosquitoes, it's horrible. 00:36:10.960 --> 00:36:15.360 I've lost shoes, I've gotten to sites, my my legs are all scratched up. 00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:24.880 But when you get to the site and it's like you're on an island by yourself, and you're on a lake by yourself. 00:36:24.960 --> 00:36:27.840 Some of you guys are like, this is a horror movie, this is terrifying. 00:36:28.159 --> 00:36:34.079 But for me, it's it's this incredible experience of like, man, there's nothing like the desk, there's nothing like this. 00:36:34.239 --> 00:36:37.280 Like you can have a cottage, but there's like a billion other cottages on the lake. 00:36:37.360 --> 00:36:40.880 There's nothing like you got this whole lake to yourself, there's no one around. 00:36:41.039 --> 00:36:41.599 Any parents? 00:36:41.679 --> 00:36:45.360 Right now, some parents are like, Amen, I will go do anything to get there. 00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:54.400 And not only that, when you are on these campsites, like, man, if you eat craft dinner, you make craft dinner over over an open fire, you feel like you're at the keg. 00:36:54.800 --> 00:36:58.480 Something about food when you're camping, it's so much better. 00:36:59.440 --> 00:37:01.920 It makes the journey worth it. 00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:12.239 It makes the hardship of the portages and the canoeing and the difficulty, it makes you do it with joy because you know where you you're going and you have such hope for the destination. 00:37:13.760 --> 00:37:21.119 Paul's looking at his life from the day he was born to the day he will die, and he's saying, This is just the journey. 00:37:21.920 --> 00:37:24.159 This is not the destination. 00:37:24.719 --> 00:37:30.320 I am after something that is so much better than anything I could receive here. 00:37:34.079 --> 00:37:36.400 Paul has his eyes on the destination. 00:37:36.639 --> 00:37:38.159 Christian, do you know the destination? 00:37:38.320 --> 00:37:41.280 Like, like, you know, I I read these words and I just had this conviction. 00:37:41.360 --> 00:37:43.119 I do not think about this day enough. 00:37:43.360 --> 00:37:45.840 Do you know that that you will die? 00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:49.599