9) Phil 3:10 "Suffering and resurrection power" In principle number 6 we briefly alluded to experience of suffering in the Christian life and how important it is to understand this reality in order to stand firm. I would like to develop this thought a little deeper. I've run in Christian circles where the emphasis is on suffering. Somehow suffering is seen as some kind of special level of spirituality. In my experience, this is never the case. While living in Madagascar the Lord showed me the purpose of suffering one day from this verse. He showed me that suffering strips of self-reliance and forces us to come to grips with the message of the cross. The message at the cross is that Jesus suffered and then rose again with resurrection power so that we can do the same. Suffering always goes hand in hand with resurrection. To take one away from the other. If you are suffering right now, I want to encourage you take your suffering to the cross. And move beyond it into a far more glorious reality--the resurrection power of Christ. I remember feeling so lonely, so isolated, and cut off my first few months in Madagascar. I lived in 6 different places in the first 6 weeks sleeping in some 12 different beds. It wasn't much fun at all. Whether you agree or not, I saw it as a form of suffering because I was going through all of this because of saying yes to Jesus and His missionary calling on my life.
The temptation to have pity parties were tremendous. "Woe is me!" Have you ever been there? "I'm going through such a tough time". The Lord rebuked me very gently and showed me that He allowed this to happen so that I would draw nearer to Him. In so doing, He showed me the cross. I don't mean a wooden one in a church building, but rather the real power of the cross. It is the place where we die to ourselves with the glorious end result of experiencing an inflow of heaven's power into our lives. Paul put it this way in Galatians 2:20 " I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live." Stop. Think about that for a second. "It is Christ who lives in me; the life I now live I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." Embracing the cross of Jesus isn't just the place where we receive forgiveness of sins. It isn't just a place of suffering and anguish. It is the place where we come to the end of ourselves so that we can experience the power and glory of the resurrection of Christ in our lives. And I can honestly tell you that there is nothing like having Christ live on the inside. Do you want to stand firm in the 21st century? Then take your suffering to the cross and embrace Christ's power available for you- TODAY.
10) Phil 3: 12 "Keep pressing on": I love the idea of our Christian walk being similar to climbing a mountain. David develops this idea frequently in the Psalms by alluding to our pursuit of God being like a climber ascending the hill of the Lord. The reason I like it so much is because of this idea of pressing on. Let's be honest, it is really easy to get comfortable and hit a plateau in our walk with the Lord. Things become easy. Blessings abound our way. And so we go into cruise control mode where we just let our lives coast along. For many people living in the West this is all the more common because of the comfort of our culture and national prosperity that we enjoy. Yet, as believers we are not called to get cozy and comfortable talking about "The good old days" in our walk with the Lord. We are called to keep pressing on! For some, the temptation is to give up because of how difficult this season has been. You don't feel like you're coasting at all. You feel like you've been steadily losing ground and you wonder if it's worth it to even keep trying. I have a word for you today: "Keep pressing on."
Paul tells the believers that no matter how great his experiences in Christ have been (the resurrection power) and no matter how difficult his trials have been (the suffering), he has made a decision: he must keep pressing on towards the high calling Christ Jesus. No matter who you are, how long you've walked with the Lord, how easy or how difficult it's been, you need to continue in this walk of faith until you see Jesus face to face by "pressing on." The greek is even stronger for this word. It means: "to run swiftly in order to catch a person or a thing; to run swiftly in a race to reach the goal; to seek after eagerly, earnestly with the endeavor to acquire." This is your calling: to swiftly run after Jesus! To find His glorious love with which He gloriously loved you. Remember your ultimate calling is to know and love Jesus. Period. Everything else in life falls into place when you get this priority set. And the only way to accomplish this is to run swiftly after Jesus. I promise you that if you are swiftly pursuing HIm you will have no time for abandoning your place of sure standing.
David Livingstone, the great missionary explorer of Africa, used to say: "I will go in any direction provided that it be forward."
11) Phil 3:13 "let go of the past to move into your future": Another key point for standing firm in the 21st century is to let go of the past. Paul even goes one step further by saying, "this one thing I do". I've thought long and hard about this comment and I think that he had difficulty forgetting the things that he had done in the past. He attacked Christians ferociously. Dragged them off to prison. Confiscated their belongings. Yes, he had a troubled past that he needed to forget in order to keep moving forward in his walk with the Lord. I wrote extensively about condemnation in last week's blog, but if Paul needed to press past condemnation in order to keep moving forward than I promise that you will too. The best way to do this is to keep your eyes fixed on Christ and His destiny and purpose for your life. You haven't been brought into the Kingdom, washed by His blood, and made an heir of His promises just so you can wallow in the place of shame and condemnation. Hardly, you have been brought into the Kingdom for a specific purpose. Don't let the enemy keep you from reaching it by living in the past. Another thing that keeps people in the past is religion.
Some of you reading this blog grew up very religiously with lots of strict rules of do's and don'ts. And you may even think that Jesus is a strict task-master waiting to punish you. If that is the case, you need to realize what Paul realized--Jesus came to set people free and to liberate their hearts so that they could enjoy God and live lives of significance in the Kingdom. God has something great in store for you! It may not look like it now, but He does. Don't let sin, religion, or disappointments with people or situations (see How to Survive a Toxic Ministry Situation from July) keep you from moving forward into your God ordained future. Press toward the goal that Christ is calling you to in Christ Jesus! This is no surer way to stand firm in Christ than to keep moving forward towards His calling on your life.
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