The consequences of knowing Christ (Quality: Good)

[0:00] For the help of my gracious God, I will speak to you from verse 10 in the 3rd of Philippians.

[0:14] Verse 10 in the 3rd of Philippians. That I may know him, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.

[0:50] We dwelt last Sabbath upon the subject of the resurrection. And we read of Mary, Lazarus.

[1:03] We noticed that there was a distinctly independent line of teaching in the life of each believer as regards his knowledge and acquaintance with the Lord Jesus.

[1:35] We saw the various characters in that chapter 11. We saw finally how Martha went to meet Jesus in her infectious, difficult way.

[1:55] How Mary sat still in the house in her quiet, meditative way.

[2:09] Both of them had obviously largely similar thoughts. Both of them prefaced their remark to Jesus with, If thou hast been here, Lord, where my brother had not died.

[2:39] He spoke of the delay of Jesus when he heard that Lazarus was sick. He abode two days still in the same place.

[2:57] Seeming to show an indifferent spirit. And he explained things even beforehand.

[3:12] And he said this sickness, not unto death, but unto the glory of God. As we know in the issue, it was.

[3:29] It was Martha that received the last review. And she said it's no use taking away the stone. He'd been dead four days.

[3:43] So the impetuous ones often get the review. The quieter ones stand and observe.

[4:00] Said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest believe, Thou shouldest see the glory of God, still undefined as to what was going to happen, to no mention of raising him from the dead.

[4:27] The glory of God. Then, although we didn't get as far as that, we know how Jesus rejoiced in his spirit.

[4:47] He who had previously been weeping and grieving, now rejoiced. Jesus.

[5:02] Rejoiced. And I thank thee, O Father, that thou shone me to the mighty ordeal for the Saviour to conduct such an incident from start to finish and to declare to individuals the glory of God and such different individuals as I said of Thomas, who so unwisely said, let us go with him that we may die with him also.

[5:59] As if the massacre of twelve disciples was likely to follow Jesus going back into Judea.

[6:11] today, my mind is upon this text which has been with me through the fire which I have recently passed because because it is the first word of resurrection in my soul the Lord was pleased to give to me as I led of some seventeen years it was the text of the first gospel sermon

[7:11] I ever heard and that I do not mean I'd never heard a sermon for I like some of you children here I taken to chapel regularly twice on a Sunday what I do mean is this that I sat in amazement as I heard this minister speak from the first words of this text that I may know him I don't think he got much father it was an Easter Monday anniversary day at

[8:14] Guildford in Surrey he was to me after a father in the ministry I had the honour in the end of laying him to rest but little did he know or anyone else that this was the beginning of days as regards a hero but as regards other things about this glorious subject has been my staff which I have carried with me all my life hence

[9:15] I feel as I told you last Sabbath that I humbly desire to set before you my people these things that I have handled and tasted the word God now now I have come nearly to the end of it end of it is in the next verse and that is if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead and I say with tender confidence that the

[10:29] Lord has assured my faith that I shall stand there in that day upon this most blessed foundation and attain unto the resurrection of the dead I have felt even during this week that to me death has lost its sting I have seen the mighty picture work I spoke to you last sabbath evening of the finished work of

[11:35] Christ it is finished no words can express the remarkable sense of security faith alone can do this but as we go back over life's pathway we are able to piece things together that at one time seemed to be irreconcilable the apostle of several occasions gives us a picture inside exercises his own soul and here are a few of them and it is on my mind with the

[12:48] Lord's help speak to you with regard to this desire to know Christ the implications therein for it is not like you or me naturally we desire certain things and seek to follow it out there are certain things bound up in this great matter of knowing Christ which are not the work of the carnal mind never will be but the work of the spirit and they constitute two things they constitute loss and they constitute gain there is no such thing as resurrection newness of life the new birth workings of God good spirit within without there is a corresponding lesson of loss sacrifice not sacrifices which will be put before you with an option but you can take either this one or that one oh no loss and you who have come this way under the quiet influences of the holy spirit who have gone out into daily life following your calling fixing with the usual usual stream in the world know very well that there are things that you have to deny yourself so did not die because of the fear of God there may be many raise their eyes at you but to you there is a sense of complete inability to do as they do and to your place and only to your place it is a sad thing it says why can't

[16:31] I why must I suffer this why must I be regarded as such strange person come come me out from among them and be separate touch not the unclean thing is the command God brought out in the spirit and substance of it very gently will you take what it really means you know already some of you the cost you know how your nature rather would have the smile than the frown you know how easy it would be to say yes instead of no but what is this peculiar principle within is it because you belong to the strict and particular

[17:57] Baptist is it far from what is it then is it because you belong to a peculiar people yes it is but peculiar in the meaning of the word of God oh yes no no way and in this there is loss the apostle had his learning education that choice treasure that he possessed so singularly dealt with by God that he was able to count it lost for

[19:19] Christ's sake this is death the mysterious death of which we were speaking last week the death where Jesus denied that it might be so only about two days didn't hurry this death goes on most quietly and yet it never finishes there may be a time when you kick hard against it there will be you will ransack your brain find some excuse but you will end in failure so that when

[20:36] Paul was brought to that gracious question Lord what wilt thou have me to do it was the beginning of knowing Christ let me repeat that it was the beginning of knowing Christ yes there he was quite ignorant of the gospel certainly ignorant of the future but there as a little child Lord what wilt thou have me to do can you measure then your hope with regard to this gracious work of loss in such terms as this or are you clinging holding as tightly as you can are you striving with every muscle what hope think you is there of success strive against your maker the

[22:36] Lord said to all at Damascus it is hard for you to kick against the bricks you and referring to the stick that the oxen driver used to spur the beast on in the plough there was called kicking hard against the beast you let me tell you this and I tell you with all love that the battle is the Lord's you may be determined but so is he you may sigh never but the

[23:51] Lord says go go this is where the beginning is gently and when you see it in later life you'll praise him for it as I do now and all these earthly things were sweet to me as they are to some of you perhaps today I remember when the Lord first dealt with me just prior to this sermon that I stood on the platform at Woking Station where as some of you know there is a long stretch of open railroad which tapers to a point and

[25:05] I saw in that stretch my unknown future I knew that that must be the way and no other in this therefore there was the loss of his knowledge and ability but as time proceeded he that once persecuted Christ preached the name that he had once persecuted the change came the struggle grew less love entered the principle was there but wasn't there before that

[26:22] I may know him this is God's method the next with his dear servant was persecution open persecution wherein he suffered the loss of his reputation that precious reputation that we set so much for us think he's going to stand us in good stead when we come to the day of the resurrection and he was opposed not only by his fellow countrymen but by the disciples themselves for the time being and he found that in suffering the loss of his reputation there was something blessed he was a reputable figure no mean man was the apostle in his position in life what reputation has the

[28:15] Lord set before his people what is your desire you are willing to choose rather suffer affliction with the people of God and to enjoy the pleasures sin precision you looked at that scripture as it affected God's servant Moses there is loss of reputation now without going further this means a loss in self

[29:17] John Baptist puts it perhaps the most concisely when he says he must increase but I must decrease he little knew that that decrease would be in the dungeon at the hand of the ax man but it was buff for a moment decrease what blessed preparation for the company of the Lord's people to decrease in your own estimation salvation and such teaching as this and I haven't mentioned the convicting work of the

[30:27] Holy Spirit your trials go utterly helpless you feel until they overwhelm you you come almost alive flat upon your face and say Lord I can do nothing decrease lost you see you'll salvage nothing nothing there'll be nothing worth salvaging out of this ruin but what is the beauty of it is that you won't want to salvage anything Paul puts his upon the downhill he says

[31:39] I may count them at dung drop glory in the as I mentioned to you some of those clear and crystal waters of the gospel truth how sweetly clear they are that this is the way to the resurrection lost you say you don't seem to have lost much as regards providential things you may say I thought that people that suffered last went about like beggars and tramps you think very wrongly the lord has given the order of his servants his people and they are not those who disgrace the streets by their beggary they are not those who regard these things as being out of the question so that the counting of all things but loss was that I may win

[33:40] Christ now this is therefore the first part of that gracious word which the lord brought into my life and I learnt what loss was and went on learning what it was and knew what it was to suffer loss in many things for Christ sake not that I didn't rebel again here and there but for Christ's sake to suffer loss and even your own dear friends wonder what you're doing think you're acting most foolishly when the lord called the disciples from their nets they left them after his resurrection

[35:09] Peter says I go fishing very evidently they hadn't left them in that sense never to return they left those nets for the period of their service as disciples of the lord jesus and yet with all we have various incidents where they still retained their ship and their nets and toiled all night and jesus walked on the waves to meet them this is loss putting these things in their second place counting first things first when the question arises which is the most important wherein will

[36:17] God be honour wherein will his name be magnified seek ye first the kingdom of God is this where his name will be honour or am I to seek those things which are of the flesh and of time, that I may know the power of his resurrection.

[36:56] I can't go on any longer. These are few, shall I say, extracts from my spiritual diary.

[37:12] It has been very precious to me the last few weeks. And I thank God for them, and you children, and you young men here.

[37:30] I pass them, indeed I preach them to you, as vital experiences in the pathway to the resurrection.

[37:46] As you hear them now from the lips of one who has trodden now most of these phases.

[38:04] Power of his resurrection. Fellowship with him in his suffering. Not only the trials or bodily suffering, but reproach.

[38:27] Being made conformable unto his death. Look at the glorious ultimate death.

[38:40] What will this passing world and these lesser things be when we come? To stand where good Murray McCain once drove.

[38:57] When I stand, said he, with Christ in glory. Looking all life's finished story.

[39:11] Then, Lord, shall I fully know, not till then, how much I owe.

[39:26] Amen.