EXPERIENCING A RESURRECTION

Philippians 3:10-11 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

The theme of our church is “To know Him and to make Him known.”  We want to know Him.  The Amplified Classic in Philippians 3:10 says it this way, “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly] ….”  I like that the Amplified Classic says “progressively,” that with any relationship it grows; it is not instantaneous.  You were instantly born again, instantly baptized in the Holy Ghost, and can even be instantly healed, but your relationship with the Lord is progressive.  Your intimacy with Him can either be more or less. He loves you unconditionally, but He can be more or less pleased with you.  We must make it our mission to intimately get acquainted with Him.  We do this through study of the Word of God, prayer, fellowship with Him, coming to church, and anything else that allows us to know Him more.  

Then, the next part (fellowship of His sufferings) throws people off; some people read it and ignore it.  If you know anything about the new covenant that Jesus made for us, you know that there are certain things you don’t have to suffer through.  Because Jesus suffered on the cross, you are relieved from suffering certain things.  He became sin so you could become righteous, so you no longer have to suffer the effect of sin in your life, you no longer have to reap death.  And you no longer have to suffer sickness and disease, not ever, because the Lord took stripes on His back so you can be healed.  You don’t have to suffer in poverty because Jesus became poor so you could become rich.  It’s all settled in the Word of God, but you still will suffer, not things you have been redeemed from but in many other ways.

This is why you have to crucify your flesh; you have to put it under and subdue it every day.  This is not just concerning temptations to sin but anything the flesh wants to do to keep you from walking with and in the plan of God.  The will of God is not always easy, and I’m concerned about a generation who thinks God’s plans should fit neatly into their life and schedule.  There are things you will have to give up to please the Lord, and that will cause suffering in your flesh.  It is, however, the only way to get a resurrection.  Something has to be dead before it can be resurrected.  Killing some things in your life, like “This is my time,” or “This is about me,” or “This is what I like to do,” will have to happen to get a resurrection.  Kill it when God raises it up to you, and you will be grateful that you did because what a glorious thing to experience a resurrection.