TO KNOW HIM

In our last session we looked at the difference in following a religion verses having a relationship. today we will look at the joy of living in a relationship with Jesus.

In Philippians 3:9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness,  which is from the law but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.

The law could never declare one to be righteous it could only reveal our inability to be truly righteous before a holy God. It pointed to the promised One that would be able to fulfill the law in all areas, and exchanging our unrighteousness for His righteousness,  as we surrender to His finished work on the cross. Let's look at a few scriptures that support this.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Matthew 5:17 Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law then Christ died in vain.

Galatians 3:23-24 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

So what do we do with the law once we are saved? Isaiah 51:7 tells us the His law is in our heart. But one more and moving on.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

The heart we once had was hardened by stubbornness,  selfish desires, strong will; but through the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit our hearts now become fallow ground, pliable to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. Now because of the Holy Spirit our desire is no longer to please ourselves but to please God, no longer seeking our way following our desires, but seeking His way and following His desire for us. His law is no longer a requirement to justify ourselves before God but it has become placed in our heart as part of who we are in Christ.

Philippians 3:10-11 that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

There again is the word "know" speaking of an intimate relationship, and "the power of His resurrection",  John 2:19 says that Jesus will raise Himself up, Acts 2:24 says God raised up Jesus from the dead and Romans 8:11 says the Holy Spirit raised Him up. So what does this mean? It took the unity of the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit to raise our beloved Savior and that Resurrection Power lives in us. (Look at Acts 1:8) It is the power to walk in victory, to walk by faith, to keep pressing forward and upward in this journey we call life. "Fellowship of His sufferings" we are in a partnership with Jesus and the kingdom of God and because we are not of the world, we will be mocked, ridiculed,  and persecuted. Jesus said in the world we will have tribulation but to be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world. (John 16:33) And because He has overcome trough the power within us we can overcome also. Before our salvation we are told in Ephesians 2:1 that we were dead in our sins but we were made ALIVE by the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit. How are we "conformed" to His death?  It means that as we were told in Philippians 2:8 Jesus both humbled Himself and became obedient to His death on the cross. Here He is Deity, God in the flesh and He was willing to be obedient to the Father and die for mankind. That we might be reconciled to God and be restored in fellowship with God as God desired it to be in the beginning. He did this by allowing the wrath of God for sin to be poured on Jesus Christ. So does God expect us to die also? Yes!! 

Matthew 10:38-39 And he who does not take His cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

To take up my cross is a daily act of complete surrender, to say Lord I want Your will for me, I want Your way for me, I want to walk as You desire for me to walk. I humble myself by letting go of my life and saying the old Linda is dead, Christ lives in me, I am guided not by my desires but by His desires for me. I allow His Holy Spirit in me to teach me and guide me. I seek His word to light my way, that I might know the will of God for me and to learn more of His character.  I surrender myself to prayer that I might speak with my Father and listen for when He speaks to me. I worship Him for who He is both privately and corporately. When Paul said "I may attain" he was not speaking in doubt but of humility and striving to pick up his personal cross daily. Some scriptures you may want to read privately: Romans 6:1-23. I had hoped to get further into looking at our citizenship but that is for session 8.

 

 

 

RELIGION VERSES RELATIONSHIP

Today we begin in chapter 3, looking at a warning about false teachers.

Philippians 3:1-3 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.

Notice the phrase "rejoice in the Lord", as a Christian we can rejoice in our relationship with Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul in the very beginning reminds us that we are in a relationship; Paul is about to address a problem that has found its way into the church by focusing on religious, ceremonial procedures verses a relationship with our Lord.  In this session I hope we will see the difference. As it was in their time so it is in our time, some may look a little different in their demands of what the church is to look like and act like but it is still focusing on performance verses relationship.

Paul has heard about what is happening and is writing a warning to the church because Judaizers, who taught that Jesus does save BUT you had to add the observance of the law to that to complete your salvation. "Dogs" today dogs are pets, loved ones and brings a smile to most people's face. But in that day it was a deriding term some Jews used of Gentiles. In other words it was a term that spoke of their disgust of them. Today circumcision is practiced not as a religious act but a decision made in the hospital when your son is born. But for the Jews it was a sign of the covenant God made with Abraham and a requirement established by God that when a son was 8 days old they must be presented to God and circumcised.

Paul tells the church that our confidence is not in ceremonial laws, nor our performance. Our confidence rest in Christ Jesus our Lord and what He as accomplished for us.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, not of works, least anyone should boast.

Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.

Galatians 3:2-3 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

Even today there are false teachers and prophets teaching salvation through our works rather than salvation through the blood of Christ Jesus our Lord. We see it as they knock on our doors bringing tracks declaring another gospel. What is another gospel? Any that declare that salvation can be found in many ways, when Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me." Also many deny the deity of Christ, they say He was a prophet, a Teacher, a Man of God but deny that He is God, if Jesus is not God then we are truly lost, because His sacrifice would have been useless, the perfect Lamb of God had to be without sin, a mere man could never be without sin.We can even hear it on television as they try to sell themselves to get you to send in money by saying "if you buy this, or give this God will open the windows of heaven and bless you 100 fold." Our blessings and gifts from God were purchased by the blood of His Son, anyone trying to sell you a blessing is a Deceiver, run from that deception. This kind of talk is what gives the church a bad name. False teachers speak, this a little bit of truth to attract you but their lies are of deception. Attempting to snare you into believing that as a Christian you must dress a certain way, wear your hair a certain way this  is focusing on religion and not relationship, etc. Yes as a Christian we do not want to dress like the world that does not follow Christ, but there is nothing wrong with a little style. We are all unique individuals with a diversity of personalities, though Jesus does work on our personalities, He is focused on changing our character. While religion wants us to conform to be like everyone else, Jesus wants us to transform to be more like Him. Jesus prophesied about false prophets in:

Matthew 7:20 Therefore by there fruits you will know them.

in John 15 Jesus talks about when we abide in Him we will bear His fruit. The verses in Matthew 7 show us that just as a Christian is attached to the vine through salvation and remain in Him we will bear His fruit. A false prophet will be attached to the world, the flesh and the devil and will bear its fruit. They may deceive for a time but their fruit will surely give them away. Are they building the kingdom of God or their own kingdom?

Back in Philippians verses 4-6 Paul begins to share his testimony before Christ. How he of all people had confidence in the flesh, confidence in the law, confidence in his performance then he says:

Philippians 3:7-8 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the  of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

Paul laid aside his human achievements and counted them as nothing for his relationship with Christ. What human achievements are we hanging on to? What does our trophy room look like in our minds " I did this for Jesus, I served here, I did that. See my accomplishments! " Do we play these over in our minds like a check list to present to Jesus? As my pastor recently said "You are either living a performance based life or a faith based life." Let us ask ourselves which are we living?