Amen, thank you, Kristen. We're in Philippians chapter three this morning. While you're turning there, let me read you a thank you note. It says, Great Old Baptist Church, we all wanted to thank you so very much for providing us a wonderful meal after the service. Your kindness, support, and love is truly appreciated during this difficult time. It will always be remembered, the old family. And we are continuing to pray for them. And I hope you are. Philippians chapter three. I told Brother Hayter's Sunday School class this morning, I stepped in to teach that class this morning. I'll tell you, the message that Brother Fillion gave last Sunday night was a wonderful message. I probably won't look at Philippians chapter 2 the same way after that message. It's one of those messages that just connects the dots for you as you begin to just understand what the Scripture is teaching, and I think that what he brought out, the examples of The Mind of Christ was a wonderful exposition. And what that did was, I don't know about you, but sometimes when I hear a message or a thought or something, it just kind of pulls me back into the book where it was preached. And my mind has been in Philippians this week. And then on Friday, I went to a preacher's fellowship, and the guy spoke in Philippians. And I thought, man, we are in Philippians. And so this morning, we're in Philippians, all right, Philippians chapter three. I had a hard time really Coming up with a title for this, I've kind of settled on it, but I'm not sure that I totally like it, but this is my title this morning, Can You Spiritually Count? Can you spiritually count? And I think it's important for us to understand what Paul is doing here in these 10 verses, because I believe he is coming to a conclusion. And he uses this word count in a very effective way. And I want us to look through the, obviously through Holy Writ, inspired scripture through the pen of Paul, an understanding of how we should approach life. And really what it is, it's everyday Christianity. If we can fully embrace what he's teaching us here, and we can, if you will, organize in our minds the principles that we even heard last Sunday night and plug them in together, I believe that it would be transformative in our Christian walk. Philippians chapter three, beginning in verse number one, it says, finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord, right? The same things to you. To me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh." Though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. Circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, the Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law, Pharisee. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gained to me, those I counted lost for Christ. Yea, Delis, and I count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and who count them but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having mine 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. Father, I pray that you'd work in our hearts this morning. I pray that you would teach us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and through the perfection of your word this morning. I pray that we would understand Paul's purpose and his drive and his really the principles that you are giving through his pen and father I pray that we'd walk from this place understanding our Savior and loving him more we ask these things in Jesus name amen David Russell who I don't know who David Russell is but he is quote he is cited with this quote I think it's a pretty good quote the hardest thing to learn in life is is which bridge to cross and which to burn. Which bridge to cross and which bridge to burn. Paul burned some bridges in his life because he understood who Christ was. The first thing we see is the confidence of Paul. Let me give you the three points really we're gonna drive home here in this message this morning. We have the confidence of Paul. We have the counting of Paul. and we have the conformity of Paul. He says this in the very beginning, he says, finally. Now, I believe what Paul's doing, and we always make the joke here that he says finally, then he preaches another two chapters, all right? He was a Baptist, there's no doubt about it, all right? But what he's doing, really this word finally is he's drawing a conclusion. And he is really taking what he's been talking about in verses chapters one and two, and specifically I think the mind of Christ that was very eloquently put Sunday night, and he's saying okay, based on this, let me flesh out for you the conclusions that we should come to, the things we should understand. He says, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord, to write the same thing to you. Now, it could be this, that he's sending Timothy and Epaphroditus with his desires. And by the way, we don't have everything that Paul communicated to these churches, because not everything that Paul communicated to these churches was holy writ. There are other letters that have been written, that were written. In fact, even the New Testament references some letters that were not Scripture. How do we know it's Scripture? Well, because when the church received a document, a letter, an epistle from one of the apostles, the Holy Spirit that was in their heart certified that this was the Word of God. It was not, well, I wonder if that is or not. They knew. They knew immediately and they knew by the working of the Word of God. And the Word of God has stood the test of time. And so it could be that he sends Timothy, because we know he does this, he's gonna send Timothy and Epaphroditus to the church there at Philippi, and it could be he says, listen, I want you to tell them this and this and this and this. And so now the Apostle Paul, when he's writing this epistle that is holy writ, he says, listen, I'm gonna write, it doesn't bother me, to write to you what you're gonna hear from the lips of Timothy and Epaphroditus. And he says this, he says, to me indeed is not grievous, He's saying, I'm not reluctant. It's kind of like the person that says, listen, I am so sorry for being a bother. I'm so sorry for, you know, bringing this up or to say this, right? And the person's like, oh, no, no, no, it's not a problem at all, right? This is what Paul's saying. Listen, it doesn't bother me. I have no, I am not reluctant to repeat to you in written form because of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit what maybe even Timothy and Epaphroditus are gonna say it doesn't bother me to repeat myself again. We see he's a Baptist. All right, and he says this for you it is safe What's fascinating about this word safe is it actually means to trip up to overthrow, to cause to fall or stumble. That's the main word. But there's a negative particle in front of it which reverses or gives us the opposite of that word. So what he's saying is this. He's saying, listen, what I'm writing to you doesn't bother me to repeat this. I'm not reluctant to do it. Why? Because I'm gonna write it to you, it's gonna cause you not to fall or stumble. In fact, it's gonna give you stability in your Christian life. It's gonna bring firmness in what we understand is truth. What does he say? He says, beware. This is the Greek word blepo. It means to look. What he's saying is this, is that we are to pay attention. We are to be continually on the lookout for what he's about to identify. Paul is writing to the church at Philippi, a Gentile church, and really they're dealing with the Judaizers. What are the Judaizers? The Judaizers were mostly Jews. There was probably even some Gentiles that got sucked into it. And what they were wanting to do is they were wanting to add works to faith. One preacher one time had a lady come and argued with him about faith and works and she said this, she said, well I really feel like salvation is like a rowboat. And one or is works and one or is faith. If you just row with one you'll go in circles, but if you row with both you'll get to heaven. And the preacher said there's only one problem with that, no one gets to heaven in a rowboat. It's not true. Our works have nothing to do with our eternal security. And the Judaizers here were infiltrating the church and they were trying to say, oh, hold on, you gotta take Christ and faith and you gotta add Jewish traditionalism, specifically circumcision. They're saying, oh, if you're not circumcised, the sign of the old covenant, then you can't be a part of the new covenant. And Paul is dealing with that extensively in his writings. And even in Philippi, that's what he's dealing with. And so he says, hey, be continuously on the lookout for what? Dogs. I don't know about you. I don't necessarily mind dogs, all right? My wife hates mean dogs. When we were teenagers here in this church, and I liked her, all right, from a young age, we used to do a Wednesday visitation. And it was a team visitation. And I know where my wife's love line is, right? And she loves me up to the point that a dog attacks. And then she's gonna abandon me, right? I learned this very early on and I still chose to love her. We're walking up to this door and I don't know why the youth pastor allowed us to go together. That was probably an oversight. But we get up on the house, we get up to this house and I knock on the door. And immediately we hear this guttural growl, and from around the side of the house comes this pretty big Doberman pincher. I mean, big dog, right? And he's standing, we're up on the step there, and the front porch, and he's down on the sidewalk, and he's just doing one of those nasty, really big dog growls. And beside him is this little yappy dog, right? And the little yappy dog is over the top, right? I mean, just, I mean, just going at it. And he's just like, you know? And Chris, I could immediately feel that Kristen was, well, her spirit within her is melting, right? And I looked at her dead in the eyes and I said, do not run. Now, I had hurt my ankle in basketball. I think I had separated the growth plate. And so I had this walking boot cast. So not only was, you know, I was a victim here in this situation. I couldn't even hobble quickly and I looked at her and said, don't run. And so we start down, we start down off that porch, and I put her in front of me, and that Doberman is walking behind growling, he's putting his nose right in the back of my thigh. Like I can literally feel his nose right in the back of my thigh, and he's just growling, and he is right there with me. And the little yappy dog, right, is down at my ankles just going crazy. Well, about halfway down the driveway, she had had enough. And she just took off and left me in the dust. I mean, just took off on a dead spray. And I knew, I'm in trouble at this moment, right? So I turned around and I went, ah, like this. And they both backed up, those dogs. And then I'm hobbling, trying to get out of the driveway. And that little yappy dog latched onto my good leg on my ankle and bit me, all right? The Doberman didn't mess with me, all right? So dogs, I think, I've never understood why someone can die from a dog. I know, maybe I'm... Now, a wolf? Yeah. But a dog? Look, just take your hand and ram it down their throat. They've only got one thing they can kill you with, and that's their mouth. I'm going to save someone's life here today. Lose your arm, but don't let them get a hold of your neck. All right, but what are we talking about? Was he saying this? Was he saying, hey, beware, look for those nasty little canines? No. If we understand the culture of this moment, the term dog was used by the Jews to reference Gentiles. All right, to reference Gentiles. In fact, one of the commentaries that I referenced says this. It says that the Jews considered dogs to be the most despised and miserable of all creatures. All right, and used this word to describe the Gentiles. But here, Paul is not saying beware the Gentiles. Paul is now switching the statement and he's using the term dog to reference the Judaizing Jews. He's saying, hey, beware of these Jews and their dogs. Another description I thought was good from a commentary said this. It said, perhaps the Jews use this designation because of the herds of dogs that's proud about eastern cities, without a home and without an owner, feeding on the refuge and the filth of the streets, crawling among themselves and attacking the passerby. Paul uses the term here of those who prowl around the Christian congregation seeking to win converts. And that's exactly what these Judaizers were doing. They were coming into the church and then they were leading born again believers away from the truth and adding works to faith. So he says beware, beware of dogs. Then he says beware of those that are evil workers. He says, beware of evil workers. So be continuously looking on the lookout for those that would work evil. You know, God has not called us to be a people of evil works. He's called us to be a people of good works. The lines in the scripture are very clear. The Bible tells us exactly what the works of the flesh are. It tells us exactly what the works of the Spirit are. He classifies them for us. In our world of tolerance today, We've allowed this worldly concept to filter into the church, and we have this idea like it doesn't really matter if somebody's involved in that. It's all right, we just kinda, you know, well, they're just, you know, that's just who they are. No, if they're saved, if they're born again, if they have Jesus Christ in their heart, if they're empowered by the Holy Spirit, then they are to be agents of good works. They should not be agents of evil. And so the apostle Paul says, beware of these Judaizing dogs that would love to come by and to wound, that would love to come by and to prowl or prey on the weak Christians of the church. He says, beware of those that are working evil. But he also says what? He says, beware of the concision. Now this is a little bit of a play on words because he's gonna reference circumcision in the next verse. This word concision has the idea or communicates the idea of mutilation. The idea of mutilation. He's talking about these who are saying that circumcision is a requirement for heaven. He specifically, really, we use this last reference here to give us context and understanding of even the dog reference, evil workers, and now these that are given to this mutilization or this incision is the idea. And so he says beware, right? He goes on, in verse three he says this, for we are the circumcision. Now that's a fascinating statement. He's talking again to a Gentile church, and he's saying this, we are the true worshipers of God. And he's talking to Gentiles that were not circumcised, but he says we are the circumcision. Now remember, if you're not aware of the Old Testament and the significance of that, when God gave the Abrahamic covenant to Abraham, he promised that through the seed of Abraham, the Messiah would come, by which all the world would be blessed. Just because a person was a Hebrew or a Jew did not mean that automatically they went to heaven. They still, the Old Testament saints, still got saved the same way New Testament saints did. It was in the finished work of Jesus Christ. His death, burial, and resurrection. The difference is they believed in the promises to come and we look back and believe on the promises that were fulfilled. They were looking at the cross, we are looking back at the cross. Now, as a sign that they had believed the promises of God, the sign of the covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, was circumcision. That was the sign. The new covenant, which is the New Testament, is the circumcision of the heart, which is made available through the presence of the Holy Spirit that comes to dwell within us. And that dwelling of the Holy Spirit is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which takes place the moment someone accepts Christ. It's not some second echelon of spirituality. It's not some elite plateau of spirituality. It's not like you get saved and then after you have perfected yourself and you've become an elite Christian, then you get the Holy Spirit or you get more of him. No, the moment we're get saved, we are all baptized into one body by one spirit, the Bible says. That's the baptism of the Holy Spirit. All of us get all of the Holy Spirit. We get all of God. He doesn't get all of us because we have to learn to submit to him in our daily living, right? And so he's saying, he's looking at these Gentile believers who are saved and he says, listen, you are the true people of God. You are those that have been circumcised in the heart. You are the true worshipers of God. He goes on, which worship God in the spirit. Worship God in the Spirit. This is the determining factor. Listen, this morning, if you're watching online or you're here in the building, and you've never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are not worshiping Him. You can't worship Him. Because you cannot worship God unless the Holy Spirit dwells within you. And the Holy Spirit will not dwell within you unless you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. what separates us from the world, what separates us from the sons of Satan, what separates us from the carnal or the natural man, what separates us from the old nature is that the Holy Spirit lives within us and we are new creatures in Christ. And now we can worship God in spirit and in truth. This is not an action, This is a, it is not just a point in time action, it is a presence, it is a, I'm trying to think of the word that I'm trying to communicate here. It is a state, it is a state of being. The moment we get saved, the Holy Spirit comes within us and now we can worship God in spirit. Not because of something we have achieved, but because of his, Dwelling presence within us. Not only does he say that they were the circumcision which worship God in spirit He says and rejoice in Christ Jesus. Hey, here's what we know. We know this It's not because we are somebody it's because Jesus Christ is everything It's because we recognize this that Jesus Christ is the one who's offered to us salvation that he's the author and the finisher of our faith right of our hope and that it wasn't us. Listen, we're not on some path of perfection here. This is not some class of reformation. This is not some study in how we can discipline ourselves and become religious. No, this is about a relationship with a Savior who died for our sins, and we rejoice in that Jesus Christ finished His work. And he did it because he loved us. And I love this statement here, he says, and have no confidence in the flesh. No confidence in the flesh. You know what Paul's saying? Paul's saying, I have no, absolutely no confidence in the flesh. I have no persuasion of the flesh. He says, the flesh has not been the one that's persuaded me to this. He's saying this, it's not the flesh that has brought me salvation. It's not my desires or my determination or my own discipline. No, he said, I have no confidence in the flesh. And I think it's important for us to understand that when it comes to our salvation, it's not of man, it's of God. You don't get to heaven because you're a member of a church. You don't get to heaven because you're a good person. You don't get to heaven because your granddaddy was a preacher. You don't get to heaven because you were raised in a Baptist church, you wore Baptist diapers. You don't get to heaven because you follow the sacraments. You don't get to heaven because you have Bible memorized. You don't get to heaven because you are a moral person. You don't get to heaven because you're an American. The only way to get to heaven is to be gloriously saved and born again through the blood of Jesus Christ. He says, I have no confidence in the flesh. Can I say here and say, I just wanna stop here for a moment and say this. Paul is dealing with his salvation, he's gonna go ahead. This passage though is gonna transition into his sanctified living. And so therefore, because Paul gets there by verse 10, I think it's a worthy application in this moment to say this, that even for the Christian that is saved, we still cannot put any confidence in our flesh. We can't put any confidence in our flesh for our salvation, and we cannot put any confidence in our flesh for our service or our sanctification. John chapter 6 and verse 63 says, it is the spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, they are life. Paul said this in Romans, Romans 7 and verse 18, for I know that in me, that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. In Romans chapter eight, verses eight and nine, it says this, so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Those that are unsaved cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, he said, but in the spirit, if so be that the spirit of God dwelleth in you. Now, if any man have not received the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. He's saying, listen, the only reason that we can now please God is because the Holy Spirit lives within me. This is what Galatians is teaching in chapter five, beginning in verse 13. For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty. Only use not your liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. This I say then, walk in the Spirit, And ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth, it desires against the spirit, and the spirit desires, it lusts against the flesh. And these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Now the works of the flesh are manifest. Which are these? Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness. Here's what he's saying, he's saying, listen, it's not our flesh that saved us, and I'll tell you right now, if you're gonna serve God, we cannot do it in the flesh. He continues. Paul takes this understanding of no confidence in the flesh, brings it right into how he is reasoning. Listen, Christianity's not blind faith, there's reason. Someone says, well, you just, boy, you've put all your faith and hope in just some shot in the dark. No, I haven't. There's reason. You show me how one man can fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies just in his first coming. What's the probability of that? I'll tell you what it is. It's supernatural. It's real. It's miraculous. It defies the human understanding. Why? Because it's beyond something that man can do. Jesus Christ was exactly who he claimed to be. And so there's reason, there's thinking. Even Isaiah said, come now, let us reason together. What is the reasoning? Well, Paul says this in verse four, though I might have confidence, though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, either more. First, there's a comparison. He says, let me tell you something. If there's any person living, right? And he's speaking to the Judaizers. He said, if there's a Judaizer that thinks that they can trust in their flesh, let me tell you something, I can trump it. If there was anyone, he said, I'm looking at these Judaizers and I'm telling you right now that I was better at their false religion than they are. There was a time where they couldn't even shine my shoes, I was such a good Judaizer, is what he's saying. He goes into his credentials. Circumcised the eighth day, that's important. If you're not circumcised the eighth day, you're outside of the law of God. Paul was circumcised, even his parents were following the law to the letter. to the nth degree from the time that he was an infant. It goes on, not only just the eighth day. He says, of the stock of Israel. You know what he's saying? He's saying, both of my parents are Jews. He said, I wasn't in some way assimilated into the culture of the Jews. He said, I wasn't married into it. He said, not only was I circumcised the eighth day, but I'm on the stock of Israel. He goes on, of the tribe of Benjamin. That's important. The first king came from the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin was a tribe that stuck with Judah during the split of the kingdoms. He's saying, I wasn't even a part of the 10 tribes that left and were the northern kingdom. I was a part of the kingdom of the tribe of Benjamin, who stayed with Judah, of which became the true and real kingdom, of which became the king, David, right? And Solomon came from, of which God gave the Davidic covenant to that. It's the other tribes that split off of Benjamin and Judah. Not only was he of the tribe of Benjamin, he's a Hebrew of Hebrews. He's saying, listen, Hebrew was Paul's native tongue. Unlike some of the Israelites, he did not adopt Greek customs. He knew thoroughly both the language and the customs of the people of God. He was a Hebrew son of Hebrew parents in every single way. He goes on and he says this. as touching the law of Pharisee. He said when it came to the Judaizers' law, he's saying not just the law that was given by Moses, but all of the extra laws that were put on. I was a part of the sect that was the most stringent and the most strict. I was of the sect that was called the Pharisees. That's impressive when you think about man's opinion or man's credentials. Then he talks about three things he's chosen. He said, concerning zeal, he said, not only was I all that, but I was zealous. And here's how I proved my zealousness. He says, I persecuted the church. Touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. He said, listen, I kept, all right, I kept the Judaizers way of life. Now we realize this, no man could keep the law of God. The only one that could keep the law of God was Jesus Christ. But according to the way the Judaizers thought in their paganism, in their works-based salvation, Paul said, according to their perspective, I'm blameless. There was nothing that any other Pharisee could point at Paul and say, this disqualifies you from being a part of our Pharisee sect. No one could do it. He was blameless. Look what it says. Now I love this part. Sometimes people try to explain this in this idea that Paul said, you know, all of that I was and all that I had done, it was a loss. As though when he when he evaluated the value of that, he had to put it in a negative column as though it was some sacrifice in that moment. That's not what he's saying. I don't believe he's saying this, boy, I'll tell you what, I was somebody, boy, I sure missed those days. That's not what he's saying. You know what he's saying? He's saying this, listen, I looked at all that I was and all that I had and the prominence and the position and the power that I had within the Judaizers religion, and he said, I realized this, that it was worthless. I counted it lost. He's saying this, he said, I realized that it had no spiritual value. Compared to what? He said, I counted a loss for Christ. When Paul began to realize and began to rationalize and when he began to reckon the value of all that he was in his sin and all that he was as a Judaizer, and then he began to understand who Christ was, he looked at this stuff from the world and his past life and he said, man, I don't want any of that, I want Christ. I believe this. I believe that every Christian has to come to this point where there is this consideration in their heart and mind. I think the New Testament speaks of this in the book of Hebrews when reminding us of the testimony of Moses. It says, By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches. Think about that. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect under the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, the pharaoh, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. You know what Moses did? Moses came to the same conclusion that Paul did, and that was this, that all of the riches and all of the wealth and all of the power and all of the prominence of Egypt and this world and religion is not worth anything compared to what we have in Christ. Can I say this? There's a lot of Christians that haven't come to that conclusion. Now, you're saved by faith. You've put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, but you're still holding on to some mistaken, delusional value of this world. You think that this world, that there's something there. And you know where it's communicated? It's communicated in the fickled perspective of the life actions that you live. Paul's gonna flesh this out for us here in this last verse. But realize this, none of that mattered to Paul anymore. He saw no intrinsic value, no spiritual value in all that he was. He walked away from it and he didn't walk away from it dragging his lip going, boy, I was somebody back then and now I'm just a nobody. No, he walked away from it saying, man, I'll tell you what, I am so thankful. He maybe even skipped away from it because he saw the true value of life was not in the world or in religion. The true value of life was nothing in comparison to all that Christ is and all that he's done. We see this last few verses here of the conformity of Paul. He says, of Christ Jesus my Lord. Now this word knowledge through this text is the Greek word, the root word would be gnosis. And we're gonna talk about that in a second. But this is what he's saying. He's saying, listen, I consider it all empty, all vain, all loss, all nothing compared to this surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ. Really of experiencing Jesus Christ. He says, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. This word dung, it refers to things, such things as half-eaten corpses. like lumps of manure or human excrement, the portion of food rejected by the body as unnourishing, or to the scraps or leavings of a feast, the food thrown away from the table. That's what the picture of is here. He's saying, listen, I look at all that that was and I consider it to be nothing but dung. Why? That I may win Christ. This word win means to gain Christ. You know what he's saying? He's saying this, he's saying this matters nothing to me anymore, why? Because I lost that so that I could actually gain Christ. Have you stopped to think about our gain in Christ? who we are in Christ, all that God has given us in Christ. Oh friend, it ought to drive us, it ought to drive us to a worship of praise and adoration to think that all that we have in Christ. Like this world doesn't matter. You realize this, you realize, and everybody wants to talk about the 1%, right, the 1%. You've got to have millions of dollars to be in the 1%. Let me tell you something. If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, what we have coming for us will make the 1% look like they're paupers. And it's not just something that's eternal. It is eternal. It's not something just for the next dispensation, or the next dwelling, or the next existence. It has a reality here. Here's what he says, he says, and be found in him, to be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law. He says, to be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. He said, listen, I walked away from all of this so that I could gain Christ, and now I'm found of Him, not because I was somebody, but I am looked upon by the Father because of Jesus Christ. I have access to the Father through all that Jesus Christ has done for me. Okay, he's building, he comes here to verse number 10. And he says that I may know him. He says that I might experience him. Oh friend, do you realize just because of who we are in Christ, because of what Christ has done for us, because of His sacrifice on the cross, because of His sanctification that He offers to us, the justification of our sins, because of all of this, we can now experience Christ. We can know Him on a personal level, not just in the theologies, and not just in a theoretical sense. We can have a personal relationship to know Him. This is what Paul wanted. to experience Christ. He says that I may know Him, that I may experience Him, and then this is a parallel thought, and that I may experience the power of His resurrection. Not just experiencing Christ Himself, but experiencing the power of His resurrection. The word know here Let me read you what I found. It says, to know, to recognize, to know personally through experience, to appropriate. The word often implies a personal relation between the knower and the known, involving the influence of the object of knowledge upon the knower. He says that I may experience him experimentally. The aim of the righteous just mentioned. This verse resumes and more fully explains the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. To know him is more than merely to know a doctrine about him. Believers are brought not only to redemption, but to the Redeemer himself. He says that I can experience the power of his resurrection, assuring the believers, the power of the resurrection assures us of our justification. Romans four and verse 25, who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. The power of his resurrection. It's the power of the resurrection that's gonna raise our dead bodies and his coming. Lastly, he says that I may experience the fellowship of his sufferings. These sufferings were not Christ's substitutionary sufferings on the cross. Paul knew that those could not be shared, but he did desire to participate with Christ since he was one of his in suffering for the sake of righteousness. Colossians chapter one and verse 24 says, who now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake which is the church. I could spend so much time here and I don't have the time. The last phrase there says being made conformable unto his death. To be conformed is to take on the same form. Now some have said that this is Paul saying he was gonna die in a similar way. It could be, I think it's deeper than that. I think he's saying this, to be conformed to the likeness of his death. namely by continued suffering for his sake and mortifying the carnal self. The words becoming like him translate. which means being conformed inwardly in one's experience to something. In this case, to Christ's death. As Christ died for sin, so a believer has died to sin. He should exhibit that cutting off from his formal sinful way by daily being set apart for sin and living a new life by means of Christ's resurrection power. This is what was being preached Sunday night. Let this mind be in you. It was the mind of Christ that took Christ from the glories of heaven, rolled him in a servant's body to become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And it is you and I who have to conform ourselves, right? We have to be conformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and we have to yield to that, submit to that, so that we live in conformity to his death. What does that mean? That we have the mind of Christ. That we have the mind of Christ. That just as Jesus Christ's death was for the destruction of sin, so as we live our Christian life, we mortify our flesh. What does Paul say? I die daily. I die daily. So my question this morning, and Paul said it this way in Galatians 2.20, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Here's the question, the question is this, can you count spiritually? Is this where we are? Do we look at all that the world has to offer, and all that the world has to push, and the philosophies, and all the things of the world, and we say, well, I want to serve Christ, but boy, I got this goal, and that goal, and this goal, and that goal, and we're just on that fence, we're on that seesaw, and we have not considered all these things lost yet. We have not looked at them as they are, and they are worthless in the economy of heaven, because we want this, and we want Christ. And Paul says, no, no, all I want is to experience Christ, and to experience the power of his resurrection, and to experience the fellowship of his suffering, and to be conformed to his death, meaning this, that my daily living, how I live every day as a Christian, I am dying to the flesh. and living unto Christ. Boy, I'll tell you, if we could get that, if we could understand that, it would change us. It would change us. Father, I pray you'd help us to embrace these truths. Help us to live what is communicated, commanded, and instructed here in these verses. Before I finish my prayer this morning, maybe you sit here this morning and you say, Pastor, I'm not sure I'm saved. We talked about worship, we talked about having the Holy Spirit within you, and you'd say, Pastor, pray for me. I'm not sure that I've ever accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. Listen, I'd love to pray for you, and honestly, I wouldn't call your name out. My prayer can't save you, but I'm gonna pray that God speaks to your heart. If you're here this morning and don't know Jesus Christ is your Savior, would you let me pray for you in the quietness of this moment? Is there anyone like that that would slip their hand up? Anyone at all? Christian, then, can I ask you this question? Have you come to the same conclusion that Paul came to? Can you count spiritually? I really think, I really think that one of the reasons Paul was used of God in such a great way is because of this passage right here. because he lived his life seeing no value, no eternal value in what the world had to offer. Not for his salvation and not for his service. Father, I pray that you would work in hearts as only you can. I pray you'd be with that one that they didn't raise their hand but they don't know you as their savior, that you draw them to you. We pray that you'd work as only you can in Jesus' name, amen. Stand with me with heads bowed and eyes closed as the piano begins to play. I don't know how God spoke to your heart this morning, but I encourage you to come. Take some time, do business with God. I'll say this, if we don't learn by spiritual discipline to count the way Paul counted, when we get to heaven and we stand before Jesus, we will have miscounted. When the service of our life is placed before Christ and the fire of God falls upon it, will it be gold, silver, and precious stone or wood, hay, and stubble? Paul said, listen, I've walked away from all of that so that I can experience Christ. I've walked away from all of it. In his heart and mind, there was no value. There was no value in Judaism. There was no value in the world. He was singular in focus that I may know him. In fact, later on in the passage, he says, this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, pressing forward from those things which are before. He said, I press for the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.