Last time we were together, we had begun chapter 3 of the book of Philippians, and we considered together the subject of rejoicing in Christ. Now just as a quick recap of what we had been considering, because it's really one continuous argument that the Apostle Paul is unfolding, Paul was warning the Philippian church about the false teachers that had infiltrated into their ranks In verse number two, he says, beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. And more than likely, although he doesn't mention them directly, it was the Judaizers who were causing the Philippians' problems. Those who were teaching that it was incumbent upon the Gentile believers to follow the Old Testament ceremonial laws and so on. Paul was warning them that if they would give heed to such false teachers, that it would distort the gospel of grace and it would remove their hope in Christ, thus removing the joy that they would have in Him. And that was really the opening argument that Paul was making in verse number 3, that we are not like those, or for we are the circumcision which worship God in spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. He was positioning himself against the false teachers, those that had confidence in the flesh, those that could not truly rejoice in Christ Jesus. And he's saying, we are those, not those who mutilate the body, as he would use that word concision in verse number two, but we are those who rejoice in Christ because we have nothing else to hope or to rejoice in. having repudiated everything of his flesh, in the verse number 4 down to the verse number 7, and having repudiated everything that he previously had put confidence in. Paul now begins in the verse number 8 and onwards to present the sufficiency of Christ as Savior and as our sanctifier as well. Now, Wednesday evening we considered, due to the anniversary, some of the distinctives of our denomination. And I mentioned our first distinctive was that we are reformed in doctrine. But one of the qualifiers about being reformed in doctrine was this, that we seek in all that we do, in all of our preaching, in all of our studying, in all of our doctrine, to keep Christ at the very center of all that we would preach, teach, and believe, especially in regards to the application of that doctrine. that we strive to keep Christ crucified at the very center of all we preach. This isn't just some nice aim that was put before our denomination in its beginning. It's also not something we do because great men in the past have placed the emphasis upon Christ as well. For example, C. H. Spurgeon said, and Christ, and Christ, and Christ, and nothing else but Christ. I gave you this quote on Wednesday evening, but let me give it again. Spurgeon said, I would purpose that the subject of the ministry of this house, as the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, as long as this platform shall stand, and as long as this house shall be frequented by worshipers, shall be the person of Jesus Christ. I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist, although I claim to be rather a Calvinist according to Calvin than after the modern debased fashion. I do not hesitate to take the name Baptist, but the body of divinity to which I would pin and bind myself forever, God helping me, is Christ Jesus. who is the sum and substance of the gospel, who is in himself all theology, the incarnation of every precious truth, the all-glorious embodiment of the way, the truth, and the life." Now, although we agree wholeheartedly with the quotations there from C. H. Spurgeon, and his Christ-centered approach to doctrine and to life, Yet this principle is not founded in history, in Spurgeon, in a denominational distinctive, but rather this principle of applying Christ to all of life is found in Scripture itself. We've already seen this most significantly in the book of Philippians. As we thought about chapter number 2, as Paul there is making application to the lives of the believer, how does he do that? He points them to Jesus Christ. He points them to his incarnation and then to his exaltation. And in chapter number three, again, he is pointing them to Jesus Christ, that they are to rejoice in him. And now here he's going to begin to unfold the sufficiency of Jesus Christ in all that he is for the believer. That the believer needs nothing else, no one else, other than Christ and Christ alone. This idea of keeping Christ in the very center of all things is proven here by the doctrines that Paul is dealing with. He deals with imputed righteousness. He deals with justification. He deals with sanctification. He deals with the doctrine of resurrection. He deals with the doctrine of the general resurrection. And yet, in dealing with all of these wonderful doctrines, how does he weave and tie them and give them a foundation? He does it in through the person and the work of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe, as Paul is speaking here in the verse 8, down to the verse 11, if we were to give it a subject title, it would be resting in Christ. Resting in Christ. And I say that because of the phrases that Paul uses. The key phrases throughout these verses. Notice in verse number 8, it says, "...for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but done, that I may win Christ." That I would gain Christ. Then in verse number 9, "...and to be found in him," in Christ. Verse number 10, "...that I may know him," that I may know Christ. And so the all-consuming thought of Paul here is knowing and being united to his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's resting in all that Jesus Christ has done for him. And in that resting, he is trusting, he is relying completely and entirely all that he is upon Christ and upon Christ alone. Now, there's three things that I want to bring to your attention today based upon that subject of resting in Christ. The first thing we see is this, that resting in Christ means a rejection of the flesh. Resting in Christ means a rejection of the flesh. Then secondly, resting in Christ means a reliance on Christ's righteousness. Thirdly, and lastly, resting in Christ means receiving an experiential knowledge of Christ. Notice with me, first of all, here, in the verse number 8, and also as well in the verse number 9, that resting in Christ means a rejection of the flesh. Paul has done an appraisal here, in the verse number 4, down to the verse number 7. And in those verses of Scripture, he's saying all of the things that he could have had confidence in concerning his flesh. The things that he had directly done, and the things that he had indirectly received. All of those things, he begins to list them as the things that he was counting on, depending on, and trusting in, in order to justify him before God. Let's just step through these for a moment. Notice he says there in the verse number five, that he was circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel. Again, we come back to that covenantal sign. He had the sign of the covenant placed upon him that marked him out, not as a pagan, not as a Gentile, but as one who belonged to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then he also goes on to say that he was of the tribe of Benjamin. And this is interesting, because whenever the diaspora happened in the 8th and also the 6th centuries BC, many of the Jews, whenever they were taking captivity into those foreign lands, lost their tribal identity. And notice here how zealous not just Paul, but Paul's ancestors were. for the things of Israel, for the knowledge of who they were, that even though there was the diaspora that happened, they still retained the knowledge of the tribe that they belonged to, while many had lost that idea. As we'll come to see as well, when Paul goes on to say in verse 5 that he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, he had not become a Hellenized Jew either. But notice again the significance of being of the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin was one of the most respected tribes. Because he was of the second son of Rachel, Benjamin was also the son of Rachel that was born in the promised land. Benjamin, as a tribe, in their inheritance in the promised land, was given the city of Jerusalem. And again, there's many other things that show that the tribe of Benjamin was honored above and beyond many of the other tribes and sons of Jacob. But then notice he describes himself as in Hebrew of the Hebrews. Again, whenever the diaspora happened and the Jews were carried into these foreign lands, some of them stayed in those foreign lands and did not return back to Israel. And whenever that happened, these Jews became Hellenized by the Greeks. They adopted Greek culture, they adopted Greek understanding, they adopted the Greek language, and so on. Many of them lost even the ability to speak in Hebrew. But not Paul. Even though he was born in Tarsus, modern-day Turkey, not born in Israel, his family remembered their lineage, remembered their heritage. Paul remembered even the language of the nation of Israel. And he was sent to Jerusalem to be educated by one of the most respected teachers, Gamaliel. He was as Hebrew as what they would come. He was as Hebrew as he could possibly be. Then in verse number 5, as well, he said he was a Pharisee. He's touching the law, a Pharisee. In Acts chapter 23 and verse 6, Paul would say, So not just did he become a Pharisee, but his father was a Pharisee. Now, the Pharisees had arisen in that intertestament period between the end of Malachi and the beginning of John the Baptist and his preaching under that new covenant. And they had arisen up as those who were trying to uphold the law. In many ways, perhaps it was an overreaction against all of the Jews who'd become Hellenized and forgotten practices of the ceremonial law. And so they went to the other extreme, fell into the other ditch, where they began to create all of these oral laws and traditions that were equivalent to the law, to the moral law of the Old Testament that they had to keep. Now, although the Pharisees only numbered approximately 6,000 in the time of the Lord Jesus Christ, yet they still had a very influential place in the nation of Israel. Many of them were on the Sanhedrin. Many of them had positions of respect and authority and so on. And so they were a highly influential people. And Paul was one of them. Verse number six, concerning Ezekiel, he persecuted the church. Again, verse number six, touching the law, or touching the righteousness of the law, he was blameless. In other words, there was nothing concerning the law, and he uses that term law in the broadest of sense, not just the moral law, or the ceremonial law, or the Mosaic law, but all the other laws that the Pharisees had created and attached to that law. He said, concerning all of those things, I was blameless. There wasn't one part or one place where anybody could look at me and say he had come up short or he had failed. Now, of course, he's not using the term sinless. Paul would acknowledge in Romans chapter 4 that by the works of the law, no man can be justified. He would acknowledge that the purpose of the law was to show people their sin. But what he's saying is this, in terms of his outward reputation and character, he was faultless. No legitimate charge could be laid against him. But he's making now an appraisal. And that term, when it's used there in the verse number 8, "...but what things were gained to me, I counted lost for Christ." It's the idea of a businessman or a merchant. And he finds something that is of great value, but he has no place to bring into his stock that which is of great value. And he's looking at all of his current stock, and he's saying, if I had this newer, better stock in here, I would be making far more money. It's of far more value. So what does he do? At a loss to himself, he takes all of that stock and he just discards it and gets rid of it. He takes the loss. He takes the loss of all of that financial loss to him. And he brings in that new stock because of the surpassing wealth that it possesses. And so it is with the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul looked at all of the things that he could have confidence in the flesh. And he looked at all of this, and he looked to Jesus Christ, and he said, none of this is going to give me peace with God. None of this is going to be able to justify me in the sight of a holy God. None of this is going to guarantee me resurrection from the dead. None of this is going to help me in being made conformable unto Christ. So he takes it all, and he discards it away, that he may possess Christ and have Christ. Notice not just the appraisal that he makes of his own self-righteousness, but also the attitude that he had. In verse number 8, he says, He's doubling down here. He says, Just in case there might be something where he missed out, he's now saying, Anything you could think of. And of course, he's writing this to those who would be thinking as they're reading this and saying, well, perhaps is he still trusting in this or trusting in that? And Paul uses this term, all things, to exclude anything of the flesh. He says, everything is loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. Now, what is that knowledge? It's not just the knowledge of Christ's existence. It's not just acknowledge of Christ's work. It is a saving knowledge in Jesus Christ. It is a knowledge that knows that He is Savior and He is Lord. And it is a knowledge whereby you have placed all of your hope and all of your confidence for life and for salvation and for eternity in Christ and in Christ alone. This was Paul's attitude. Again, speaking about that knowledge, we could look to John chapter 17. John chapter 17, in the verse number 3, it says, Again, this is a saving knowledge because it is a knowledge that gives and grants eternal life. 1 John chapter 5, in the verse number 20, And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding. Here is that knowledge, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true. There's our union with Jesus Christ. We are in Him, even in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. So again, when Paul is speaking about the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, that is of more value to him than anything before he had confidence in, It's a saving knowledge in Christ. It reminds us of something important this morning, that it is able for people to have an intellectual knowledge of Christ. It is able for people to know even some of the circumstantial elements of the life of Christ—his death, his burial, his resurrection—and yet it is possible for them not to have a knowledge that saves. It's possible for them not to have rested on Him for salvation. It's possible for them never to have trusted in who they know Him to be as Lord and as Savior. It's possible. And we must make sure that the knowledge we have of Jesus Christ is not a mere intellectual knowledge, not an artificial knowledge, but a knowledge that is trusting and depending on Him as Savior and as Lord. In many ways, we could look at those words that Paul uses, Christ Jesus. He is the Messiah. Paul is saying here, I believe in the Messiah, the Christ Jesus. And then he uses that word, Lord, that He is both Savior and Lord to me. This is the knowledge that he has, that experiential knowledge that has transformed and changed his life. And then he goes on to say, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. You see, I'm not just saying this. This is not just mere theory for me. All of those things that I disregarded, that I previously had confidence in, I've lost them all now. And you think about Paul. and the great hatred that there was against Paul by the Jews, those of the stock of Israel, those who'd received the same sign of the covenant, those that were of even his own tribe of Benjamin, those that were also Hebrews, those that were even Pharisees, those that would have loved him and respected him as he previously had lived. Now he had lost all of that for the sake of Christ. But again, just in case anybody would think that somehow Paul had felt that this was a loss, that somehow Paul was regretting the decision that he had made, that somehow there would be a, oh, I wish I hadn't given that up, all of the Pharisaical laws and traditions and so on. What does he say? Although I have suffered the loss of all these things, I do count them but dung. Dung. They are worth nothing to me other than manure. that I may win Christ." And here we see something very interesting in the argument of Paul, that if you would win Christ, if you would have Christ in your life, if you would gain that saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, you must reject everything of your own self-righteousness. You must reject everything of confidence in the flesh. Now, we know that as Christians. It's the very center of the gospel. that we are saved by faith in Christ alone and not by works that we have done. And yet, my friend, how many of us still believe that God is somehow pleased with us or will accept us based on the works that we have performed? How many people still today will say, yes, Christ takes me so far, but I also must contribute for my justification. And Paul says, you can't have them, though. You cannot have them, though. It is either that you have Christ or you have confidence in the flesh. And if you have confidence in the flesh, you cannot have a true saving knowledge of who Jesus Christ is. Are you trying to cling on to both this morning? Are you trying to rest in both things? Well, let me say to you, as Paul would say this morning, that if you do not count all of the things of the confidence of the flesh as done, you cannot have Christ. and you will never have Christ." Paul, secondly, would go on to say that resting in Christ means a reliance on Christ's righteousness. And so he's saying, I am not relying upon my own righteousness, but I am relying on Christ's righteousness. In verse number 9 he says, "...and be found in him." And there's that Pauline language again of the Holy Ghost that's describing the union that we have with Jesus Christ. When you and I are born again, we are born into the family of God. When you and I are born again, we are birthed into the kingdom of God, and we are birthed into a spiritual, never-ending relationship with Jesus Christ. Where His Spirit dwells within us, it can never be removed or taken away, and we are forever united to Him. And that's the language that Paul uses right throughout the New Testament. Those who are saved and have a true saving knowledge of Jesus Christ have been united to him. Paul is saying that he is gaining Christ. He is gaining Christ because he is trusting not in the confidence of the flesh, for he has found in him not having mine own righteousness, which is off the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ. Here he is speaking very clearly that by the deeds of the law, no man can be justified in the sight of God. Here he is speaking very plainly that although it is good for us to keep the law, although it is good for us to obey the moral requirements that God has set upon us, yet in no way will the keeping of the law be able to justify us in God's sight. He's spoken here about his relationship. He is found in Christ. That is the foundation of all that he has and all of his hope for resurrection and all of his hope for peace with God. It is found in Jesus Christ alone. Then notice the righteousness he was resting in. 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." Now, there we have that very important phrase, the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God. We find that same language used in Romans chapter 1 and verse number 17, when it says, For therein is the righteousness of God revealed. Now, what is that righteousness? Well, we could understand it as the righteousness that God possesses in and of himself. God is a righteous being in all that he is. But that's not what Paul is specifically speaking of here. What Paul is speaking of here is the righteousness that God gives to the sinner when they believe and trust in him. A righteousness that is not his own righteousness in terms of the sinner's righteousness, but a righteousness that comes from Jesus Christ. And whenever that sinner believes in Christ as Lord and as Savior, God gives to them his righteousness, that they are then justified in his sight. How did Christ merit for us this righteousness? Well, Romans chapter 5, a pivotal chapter in Scripture, Romans chapter 5, and it says there in the verse number 19, we'll just read it for time, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, that's Adam, Romans 5, 19, so by the obedience of one, Many shall be made righteous." Whose obedience is that? It's the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ. We're in our first representative Adam field and plunged all of us today into sin and into iniquity and into our fallen state. Jesus Christ came along as the second Adam, our second representative, and he perfectly kept the law of God. Adam broke God's law, Christ perfectly kept the law. And in keeping the law of God, rendering obedience to it, he merited for us a righteousness. And what did he do with that righteousness? Well, 2 Corinthians 5 21, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, And there's that phrase again, the righteousness of God in him. How is it that you and I receive this righteousness of God? We receive it by looking to Jesus Christ. It is his obedience that we receive. It is his merited righteousness that becomes ours. And this is the righteousness that Paul was saying, that he was trusting him and trusting him alone. And this was the only righteousness that could justify him in the sight of his God. But how did he receive it? How did he receive this righteousness? Well, but that which is through the faith of Christ. the righteousness which is of God by faith." You receive it by faith. Again, Romans 5 and verse number 1, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. When we look and we believe and we trust on Christ and we rest on Jesus Christ for our salvation, we receive his righteousness by faith and by trusting alone in him. Let me ask you this morning, what are you trusting in? What are you trusting in in order to make you righteous before God? Can you say with Paul that you want to be found in Christ, not having your own righteousness, which is off the law, but only that righteousness of God that is given to you by faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you say that this morning as your own testimony, as your own statement of faith, that yes, I am resting in Christ and I am resting in Him alone. Notice with me thirdly and finally this morning that resting in Christ means receiving an experiential knowledge of Christ. I want you to see the connection that Paul is making here. He has repudiated the flesh. He has rejected the flesh. He is resting and relying on the righteousness of Christ alone. But that righteousness is not just something that just is a static thing. Yes, it justifies us legally in the sight of God, but notice the connection now. As God is saving and justifying that person, He is actually bringing them in to a relationship with Himself. Sometimes the idea in modern evangelicalism is, let's get the person to say the sinner's prayer, and if they could only say the sinner's prayer, then all of their slate is clean and will not worry too much about how they live afterwards. As long as they've said the prayer, we can call them a Christian. As long as they've prayed the prayer, we can give them assurance that they're definitely going to heaven because all of their sins are forgiven. But notice here the connection. That justification and a relationship, a continual relationship with Christ are connected. You cannot have one without another. And so away with this notion that somehow a man can be justified and not sanctified. Away with this notion that you can be justified, that all of your sin can be forgiven, that a home in heaven can be yours and secured for you, and yet you can live in sin and rebellion against God. Such a gospel is blasphemy against God. Resting in Christ means that you have a reliance on Christ's righteousness, but resting in Christ means that you receive an experiential knowledge of Christ. Verse number 10, Paul would write, that I may know him, that I may know him. He wants that saving knowledge of Christ to be worked out in his life. He wants that saving knowledge of having eternal life to be worked out even further in how you would live. And notice here the two main areas in which that experiential knowledge of Christ is worked out. First of all, that you would know the power of Christ's resurrection. And secondly, that you would know fellowship and communion with the sufferings of Jesus Christ. What is the power, or what is it to know the power of Christ's resurrection? Well, first of all, to know the power of Christ's resurrection is to know what it is to be regenerated. In 1 Peter 1, in the verse number 3, it says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again on to a lively hope. by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." Notice those words, according to His abundant mercy, has begotten us, has birthed us, has made us alive and given to us a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so what did Jesus Christ purchase for us? in his death, burial, and in his resurrection. What has his resurrection sealed and guaranteed for me and you? It is guaranteed that he is able to take the one who is dead in their sins and to make them alive. It guarantees that he is able to take that sinner from the deadness of their sin and to give them spiritual life. But also the power of Christ's resurrection is in that he is able then to justify sinners. Romans chapter 4 in the verse number 25, who was delivered for our offenses and was raised for our justification. Delivered up for our sins. Here we have that wonderful truth of substitution. Christ died in our place and he was raised, resurrected from the grave as a declaration that he was the Son of God. that the gospel that he had preached was true. And that as he had died upon that cross, that God the Father had received the punishment for our sin and had received a payment for that sin. That the delivering over of Christ for our offenses had been accepted and God had been satisfied. And now he was raising up his son as a token, as a receipt, that the debt was paid, that the sin was covered, that our sins were dealt with. Knowing the power of Christ's resurrection is to know that he is able to justify sinners, but also, thirdly, to know that he is able to resurrect the saints. Verse number 11 of Philippians chapter 3, Paul would write, Now that phrase, if by any means, is not written as a doubt. Paul is not writing here as a doughty man, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection. No, it's written here in a sense of humility. He's recalled all that he was. He's recalled here the evil that he had done against Christ and his church. He's recalling here how he had previously rejected Christ, and it was only by the mercy of God that he'd been drawn to Christ and given a righteousness that was not his own, but a righteousness that justified him before God. And in humility, he's saying, if by any means I, I would attain unto the resurrection of the dead, he's humbly yet confidently acknowledging that as Christ was resurrected, so he will also be resurrected from the grief as well. But notice here as well, this experiential knowledge. You've been regenerated, you've been justified, and you will be resurrected on that day of general resurrection. But then also as well, you will know the fellowship in his sufferings. Paul would write in verse 10, "...and the fellowship of his sufferings be made conformable unto his death." What is one of the identifying marks of a Christian? That they are willing to suffer for Christ. That they are willing to endure great hardship, even unto death, Paul is saying here that he would be made conformable unto death, that the Lord would give him and bring him into such fellowship with Christ and communion with his sufferings that it would even bring him to the point where he would just conform and submit himself even to death, just as Christ became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. That is one of the key identifying marks of the Christian, that they would be suffering with Christ. they would suffer for Him. I think we have today different marks of grace, don't we? We say that somebody's a Christian if they've prayed a prayer, if they go to church maybe once a month, that person's a Christian. I submit to you that that's not the type of Christianity that Paul is presenting. That's not the type of Christianity that knows the power of Christ's resurrection. If you can selfishly deny the worship of God, if you selfishly can turn to sin and engage in habitual sin without any pricking of your conscience, that is not the Christianity of the Bible. That's the Christianity of today's culture. Do you know what it is to be willing to suffer for Christ? Do you know what it is to be willing to lose it all, even to the point of death, to share in the sufferings of Christ? That is the mark of grace. That is the mark of somebody being justified. And again, my friend, notice, although in our doctrine and even in Scripture as well, these different parts of our salvation are laid out, they are all one encompassing. That yes, regeneration is different to justification, and justification is different to sanctification, and sanctification is different to glorification, but they're all one package. You cannot have one without the other. And that is why Paul is bringing together here the idea of justification by the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ and this knowledge of the power of his resurrection. Regeneration, justification, and someday our resurrection. It's all one. It's all one. I pray, my friend, that you would look to your Savior today and that you would rest in Christ. Paul has said, I want to win Christ. Paul has said, I want to be found in Christ. Paul has said, I want to know Christ. Is that your desire today? Is that where your heart is at? Or have you gained Christ in your life by repudiating the flesh? Have you, and are you found in Him by not trusting in your own righteousness, but by trusting in His righteousness? And can you say today that you have that true experiential knowledge because you've seen the power of His resurrection in your life to completely and totally transform you? My friend, you need Christ today. You need Jesus Christ in all of His person and all of His work to save and to deliver you. Can you truly say today that for me to live is Christ and to die is gain? Can you truly say that? Can you truly say, above and beyond some cultural introduction that you have been given to Jesus Christ, above and beyond all of that, that you know Him? That you know Him? that He has saved you and transformed you and changed you. Oh, we can never make too much of Him. We can never spend too much time dwelling upon Him. As I said last week, I wish I was here to have preached upon the anniversary of our denomination, but also it had me thinking March 17th about St. Patrick, And oftentimes people look at St. Patrick and they say that he was a part of the Roman Catholic Church, which he was, but at a very early stage. And they confuse him and muddle him up with all types of Catholic propaganda and so on. Let me give to you a prayer by him. Christ be with me and Christ within me, Christ behind me and Christ before me, Christ beside me and Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me and Christ above me, Christ in quiet and Christ in danger, Christ in all the hearts that love me, Christ in the mouth of friend and stranger. Does that sound like a man that is trusting in some other mediator? Does that sound like a man that is trusting in some other righteousness? No, as his own confession would say, I, Patrick, a sinner. And he was trusting in Jesus Christ. Can you say that today? That for you to live as Christ and to die would be gain. That you know Him and He is known of you. Are you truly trusting in Him? I pray today, that you would be able to say, I am resting in Jesus Christ, and I am resting in Him alone.