Philippians - Resurrection Power
I read a lot of storybooks to the girls when they were little.
One of the stories I read to the girls was about a dad and his daughter. One night, as Dad is tucking in his little girls, he asks her if there is anything else he can get for her before he turns off the light. She answered and said, “Yes, Daddy. I want the moon.”
So, Daddy patted her on the head, took a ladder to the highest mountain, leaned the ladder into the sky, climbed to the top, grabbed the moon, and brought it to her. She slept with the moon that night. From that day forward, wherever she went, she brought the moon with her.
She raced with the moon. She played catch with the moon. She tossed it, bounced it, and caught it. But something peculiar happened to the moon the more she played with it. The more his daughter played with the moon, the smaller the moon became. The more she treated the moon like a toy, the smaller it became. The more she played with the moon, the more it shrank until it was just a sliver. In the same way, sometimes followers of Jesus experience something similar regarding Jesus.
The more “familiar” we become with Jesus, the more we take Him for granted.
For many, pressing in and growing in a relationship with Jesus is not as important as it once. Instead of trying to understand his greatness, we become content with a mediocre image of Jesus. Instead of being the Lord of our lives, Jesus becomes merely an addition—something else we add to our lives to give us balance. Today, I want to invite you to be open to the fact that Jesus is more grand and more awesome than you can imagine.
Let’s read together:
SHOW ON SCREEN:
Philippians 3:10-16 (NLT2)
10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! 12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. 15 Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. 16 But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.
Verses 10 and 11 should fascinate us because Paul said he wanted to know Christ Jesus. Paul had surrendered his life to Jesus, but he understood that…
SURRENDERING IS BEGINNING TO LIVE BY HIS RESURRECTION POWER
Paul was already saved. He had already been transformed by Jesus on the Road to Damascus. Paul viewed "knowing" Jesus not only as a moment where he was made right with God but also as a moment when he began to experience the resurrection power in every nook and cranny of his life. The more the Apostle Paul “pressed into” his relationship with Jesus, the larger Jesus became. Rather than shrinking, his perspective of Jesus grew larger and larger. The more challenges he faced, his perspective of Jesus grew more grand.
Sometimes, followers of Jesus “retreat” when they face challenges and life gets hard. Because God doesn’t answer their prayers, Jesus must not be as big as they thought he was.
Instead of shrinking away, the Apostle Paul leaned in closer to Jesus. He knew that every trial, every hardship, was an opportunity to experience more of Jesus' power and presence. Paul didn't settle for a small view of Jesus; he wanted to know Him more deeply, to experience the fullness of His resurrection power in every aspect of his life. As we read Paul's words in Philippians 3, we see a man who was relentless in his pursuit of Christ. He wasn’t content with knowing Jesus from yesterday; he wanted to experience Him in the today. Paul knew that the more he pressed into his relationship with Jesus, the more he would see how grand, magnificent, and life-changing Jesus is.
For us today, the challenge is the same.
Are we content with a small, comfortable view of Jesus, or are we willing to press in, to know Him more, and to experience the fullness of His power in our lives? Are we ready to let go of the past, to forget what lies behind, and to reach forward to what lies ahead?
Let go of the past, and experience the resurrection power of Jesus working fully in your life.
If you are controlled by fear, doubt, or insecurity, it is because you have been hurt by something in your past. If you want to experience the full resurrection power of Jesus working in your life, forget the past and reach forward to what is ahead! If Jesus is more than an addition to our lives, if Jesus is everything to us, then, we must let him transform every area of our lives. Paul's words remind us that surrendering to Jesus is not just a one-time event; it’s a daily choice to live by His resurrection power. The more we trust and lean into Jesus during difficult times, the more we see how amazing Jesus truly is. Paul described the grandness and supremacy of Jesus when he wrote to the Colossian church.
He wrote:
Colossians 1:15-21 (NLT2)
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.
In this passage, we see that Jesus is:
Image of the invisible God
He existed before creation
The cause of all of creation
Supreme over all creation
He holds all creation together
He is the source and head of the church
He made peace with God through His Blood.
All of history streams from Jesus and points to Jesus. He is the beginning and the source of everything we see and can’t see. He designed the molecular structure of cellular life.
Wrap your mind around this thought for a few minutes:
THERE WAS NEVER A MOMENT WHEN JESUS WAS NOT.
There was never a moment when Jesus was not. He is eternal, without beginning or end, the Alpha and Omega. If you had not had a moment when you began, you could not exist today. If Jesus had a moment when he began, he could not be God.
Jesus is not presented as a part of God’s creation, or as a child of God, but as the Chief of God’s family…Chief in creation. Chief of redemption. He is before creation. He is the cause of creation. He is the leader of the whole family. In every way CHRIST is FIRST. Jesus as supreme, the highest authority over all. That means you can trust Him completely. Jesus has the power and wisdom to guide every aspect of your life.
He's not a distant figure or just a historical leader. He is actively involved in sustaining and directing the universe, including your personal journey. Nothing in our lives is beyond His reach. He holds all things together, including the challenges we face, the decisions we make, and the path we walk.
So, when you feel overwhelmed in your marriage. When you feel overwhelmed in your singleness. When you feel lonely, discouraged, or afraid. When it seems like everything you have worked hard to achieve has collapsed around you. You can rest in the truth that Jesus is in control. He is the beginning. He is the end. And He is everything in between. When you surrendered your life to Jesus, it wasn’t to balance out good with bad. “Jesus is Lord” means that…
JESUS IS NOT A BALANCER; HE IS ALL-CONSUMING
Paul understood that Jesus was more than a balancer. He understood that Jesus did not come to bring a little bit of truth to his life. A sliver of hope. A sliver of peace. A sliver of transformation. Paul understood that Jesus came to transform and regenerate every molecule of your life, including your decisions regarding your dating relationships.
Your decisions about parenting. Your decisions about your finances. Your decisions about marriage. Your decisions to grow in self-control. To be more than a father. More than a brother. More than a sister.
Jesus came for a complete transformation of your life. He does not want to bring balance to your life – he wants you to be consumed with a love for Him that changes every relationship and every decision you make.
He has existed eternally – he was not created from the dust of the earth.
He is Creator.
He is Redeemer.
He is Sustainer.
He is the Breath Giver.
He is the Light Maker.
He is the Divine Healer.
He is the Soul Saver.
He is Truth.
He is Justice.
He is Compassion.
He is Merciful.
He is the Prince of Peace.
He is the Mighty One.
He is the King of Kings.
He is Almighty.
He is Everlasting.
He is Alpha.
He is Omega.
He is a Consuming Fire.
He is the Word.
He holds all creation together.
He is as close as your next breath.
He is trillions and trillions of miles through the furthest galaxy.
He is my rebuker.
He is my corrector.
He is the Encourager.
He is the Comforter.
He is the Forgiver of sin.
He is the doorway to Heaven.
He is closer than a brother.
He is a lamp unto my feet.
He is a light unto my path.
He gives me guidance.
He gives words of life.
He is the Way.
He is the Truth.
He is the Doorway to peace.
He is the Master of all life.
He walked in the Garden of Eden.
He spoke from the burning bush.
He is the Breath Taker.
He is the Promise Maker.
He is the Promise Keeper.
He is unstoppable.
He cannot be quenched.
He is always and forever.
He takes delight in you.
He is your joy.
His love never changes.
His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
He must increase.
I must decrease.
His birth was miraculous.
His death a tragic necessity.
His resurrection proof that He was God in the flesh.
The very image and likeness of God.
He is coming back.
He is coming back.
He will return.
He is my Jesus.
And He is Lord of all.
He is a consuming fire. He is the Alpha and Omega – the beginning and the end. He desires to take over and control every aspect of your and my lives – and he is not thrilled about merely being an addition. He wants to be your everything.
Do not settle for a past knowledge of Christ.
Let’s press on, just as Paul did, to know Him more deeply, allowing His resurrection power to transform every part of our lives.