That I Might Know Him and the Power of His Resurrection

Sermon for Morning Worship, First Christian Church, Berryville

April 24, 2011

Job 19:23-27; Luke 24:1-12; Philippians 3:7-14

In writing to the Philippians, Paul said, 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Just a little enrichment of that text: back in verse 10, "may share his sufferings" could also be translated, "may know the sharing in his sufferings," "may know the participation in his sufferings," "may know the fellowship of his sufferings," or "may know the community of his sufferings." The key Greek root word is koinonia, and as Paul uses it, it has to do with what we do in solidarity with our fellow believers.

I have preached on this text several times in the past three years, sometimes emphasizing the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus, sometimes emphasizing the righteousness that comes by faith. Today, I have a different emphasis. Why have I chosen this text again on Easter Sunday? Because it is one thing to believe that Jesus rose from the dead, and it is another thing to experience the power of his resurrection. Paul wants to experience the power of Christ's resurrection. He wants his first readers to experience the power of Christ's resurrection. He wants us to experience the power of Christ's resurrection. Easter people should experience the power of Christ's resurrection. So today we are exploring what the power of Christ's resurrection is and how we might experience it.

Paul wants us to know in personal experience the power of Jesus’ resurrection. I wish to suggest that knowing in our personal experience the power of Jesus’ resurrection is a good goal for us to set for ourselves on Resurrection Sunday 2011.

Paul, having been called by Christ to be his own, is pressing on toward the fulfillment of this calling. He sees it as a two-step process, a dying and a rising.

In writing to the Romans, Paul had said that, when we are baptized, we are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, dying with Christ to sin and coming alive with Christ to the living God. Now writing to the Philippians, he is talking about how he views the dying and rising in his own life.

Paul has accepted that his journey as a Christ-follower may not have an easy road in this world. Of the New Testament figures you would consider the greatest apostles, which of them would you say had an easy road of it? Peter? Andrew? James the fisherman? John? James the brother of Jesus? Paul? No, not one! In fact, Paul’s goal is to be so like Jesus as to “share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” This does not mean that Paul was seeking to become a martyr, but that he was seeking to devote himself so fully to Christ that he would not turn back no matter the cost. As he said earlier in his letter to the Philippians, he took the attitude that to live is Christ and to die is gain, and that he was ready to be faithful either way. At that time, he expected that he would live a little longer for the sake of the churches he was leading. A few years later, writing his Second Letter to Timothy, he expected correctly that his time on earth was drawing to a close, but he still sought to live every bit of it for Christ. His goal at the end, was to be able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” He did not expect to stop living until he died, and, because of the power of the resurrection, he did not expect to stop living even then. It is only people who are prepared to experience the cross who experience the power of the resurrection.

Paul is not a masochist who enjoys suffering. He does not glorify suffering for its own sake. He is not seeking to suffer. Suffering is significant only as it comes in the course of sharing and living out Christ’s self-giving love, only as it involves dying to ourselves so that we might live for God. Wherever there is godly dying, we ought to expect to see the glory of the resurrection in some way coming on its heels.

Already in this life, by prioritizing faithfulness to Christ at all costs, Paul has died to his own achievements, and he has come alive to the spiritual journey into Christlikeness. Once Paul meets Christ, the question is no longer what Paul can make of himself, but what Paul will allow Christ through the Holy Spirit to make of him. Paul wants to be conformed to Christ in his dying and in his rising. For Paul, glory is no longer defined by what he has accomplished, but by the transformation he is experiencing through his faith in Jesus. He is moving on from one degree of glory to another as the risen Christ through the Holy Spirit works within him. This is the power of the resurrection at work in Paul. Paul wants the same for us. He wants us to know in personal experience the power of the resurrection.

What does it mean to know the power of Jesus’ resurrection? What is that power? Paul’s word for power is the Greek word dunamis from which comes the English word dynamite. Okay, dunamis does not mean dynamite. Dynamite had not been invented yet. Our subject is the power of the resurrection, the power of salvation, the power of miracles, the power that makes all things possible; the power that means that nothing that accords with the will and character of God will be impossible. The reason that most churches in our day do not have much impact is that they are simply not aware that they have power, dunamis. Too many of us Christians have been sleeping on spiritual dynamite without even knowing we have it. Say it with me: Dynamite! I am not sure that saying dynamite is very enlightening, but it is fun to say, and it keeps us on our toes, so we will keep saying it.

The power of Jesus’ resurrection is tied to the power that the risen and exalted Jesus exercises from his position of authority at the right hand of God. In his Letter to the Ephesians, written sometime near the time he wrote to the Philippians, Paul prayed that his readers might have the eyes of their hearts enlightened to know, among other things: … what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

That’s quite a mouthful, and it is only part of Paul’s long sentence. Let’s break it down: The power that is available in our experience is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, the same power that exalted Jesus above all spiritual powers, and that means above all the forces of evil at work in our world. The power that raised Jesus from the dead put all things under his feet including the last enemy death. The same power made Jesus head over the ongoing mission and fellowship of the people of God, the church. Putting that another way, the power of the resurrection has given believers in Christ a friend in the very highest of places, and he will share his power and authority with his earthly body, the church. If we will let him, he will break the power of evil over us and free us to be filled with his power for good. Say it with me: Dynamite!

That’s extraordinary! To the degree that we are in Christ, we wield a mighty power for good in this world. A little later in his letter, Paul assures us that God is able to do far more abundantly than all that we have yet dared ask or think or imagine, through the same power that is already at work within us, the power of the resurrection. Wow! Far more abundantly than we have dared dream! Say it with me: Dynamite!

How does the Lord fill us with this power? A few years earlier in his ministry, Paul had written to the Romans, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” God the Father, who by God the Holy Spirit raised God the Son from the dead, by that same Holy Spirit gives us our new birth as children of God. Paul continues, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” The power of the resurrection is the power of the Holy Spirit, which in turn is the power that transforms us into children of God in God’s image. Say it with me: Dynamite!

In the end of all history, God will bring about a new heaven and new earth, a perfected new creation where God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-- will reign fully and perfectly and where believers will reign with him. But already, now, God’s reign is breaking into this world with signs and wonders, transformations, and new possibilities of godly living. Over time, even through intense difficulties, faithful people learn to see that God reigns even now. Nothing that happens can separate us from his love and promises. No illness, no natural disaster, no world war, no financial collapse, no spiritually and morally wayward cultural climate, no family breakdown, no illness or affliction can separate those who persevere in faith from God’s perfect plans for us. Even in human upheaval, God reigns through and for his faithful children. Say it with me: Dynamite!

And since God reigns, death does not have the final word, nor does evil. The power of death and evil was broken when Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the tomb. However history appears, its true meaning since that first Resurrection Sunday, has been the conducting of a mopping up operation. The outcome is already decided. Only the details are still being worked out.

Long after World War 2 was over, an occasional story would appear about a Japanese soldier being found in an island jungle who did not yet know that the war was over. The majority of our world’s population is still in that unenviable position of not knowing that Jesus has already won the war by means of the power of the resurrection. They do not know it because the church has been sleeping on its dynamite, the power of the resurrection. It is high time for us to know the power of the resurrection, to know it in real life experience, and to get it out in the open where it can do some good. Let us study and pray and take actions toward that end. Say it with me: Dynamite!

Discovering the Charismatic Tradition and the Spirit-Filled Life: Finding the Balance

Joel 2:28-29; Luke 11:9-13; Acts 2: 32-41

The conclusion to Peter’s Pentecost sermon goes like this: Acts 2: 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.’ 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Thus began the church of Jesus Christ. The compelling sign of their divine calling, the assuring promise for their lives and mission, was the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Today, in our study of the Six Streams of Living Water, we address the Charismatic Tradition. The words charisma and charismatic have to do with giftedness. When used in connection with the Holy Spirit, they have to do with being gifted with and by the Holy Spirit. They are biblical words, good words, but they have picked up some negative baggage in the last couple of centuries.

Let me most emphatically assert that I do not want any part of a lot of things that call themselves Charismatic or Pentecostal. I don’t want a focus on the spectacular and the sensational because it does not promote Christian maturity. I don’t want unchecked freedom for the operation of self-appointed prophets and healers which almost inevitably leads to spiritual deception and spiritual abuse. I don’t want to be part of identifying the Spirit’s activity with spontaneous, emotional, manipulative preaching that is not solidly grounded in the Bible. I never want to imply that, if people just had enough faith, they would not be experiencing the problems they are facing; this is cruelly damaging. I will never teach that all we need to do in order to get the result we want in life is to “name it and claim it”; this is a set-up for failing to question our unconverted desires or, worse, for losing our faith when the formulas no longer work. I don’t want any part of any of those things. But, if I get carried away in over-reaction to the abuses of the Charismatic Tradition, I will miss its essential forward action of the Holy Spirit, and my Christian life will stagnate and become impotent.

When I began to discuss the Evangelical Tradition, I began with a list of historical figures such as Nicolas Von Zinzendorf, John and Charles Wesley, and Barton Stone. These names carried over to the Holiness Tradition and to the Social Justice Tradition. They also carry over to the Charismatic Tradition. The ministries of these leaders and many others like them (such as Jonathan Edwards and Charles Finney, whom my American history professor at the University of Chicago, labeled as the two most influential Americans in our history) were Spirit-led and Spirit-empowered. In each case these leaders came to prominence through powerful movements of the Holy Spirit. Zinzendorf’s Moravians, the Wesley brother’s Anglicans and Methodists, and the combination of Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists at the Stone-led 1802 Cane Ridge, Kentucky, Revival all can trace their formative moment to extraordinary activity directed by the Holy Spirit. Stone’s Christians of our own Stone-Campbell heritage would not exist without such an outbreak.

The way the groups I am describing differ from some modern Pentecostal and Charismatic churches is that they did not attempt to re-create sensational spiritual experiences on a weekly or even frequent basis and did not let such experiences become the measure of their life of faith or the mark of their identity. They saw the outbreaks of the Spirit as periodic awakenings to stimulate (1) conversion, (2) zeal in sharing the gospel, (3) seriousness about personal transformation into Christlikeness, (4) deepening of compassion for hurting people, and (5) ongoing awareness of the Holy Spirit’s leading and empowerment. They measured the benefits of the Spirit’s work by the Christlike character that emerged in the lives of the participants.

What happened to bring their balanced approach to an end? The mid-nineteenth century emergence of settled, complacent, middle-class respectability in congregations was followed by ministers who had been educated in ways that weakened their faith in the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, and the congregations lacked both the biblical literacy and spiritual hunger to demand more than the cream of wheat mush they were being fed as a substitute for the real Christian, spiritual meat of their Christian heritage. The church became spiritually malnourished. When there were spiritual outbreaks in congregations, there was no mature leadership for them, and the official lay and clergy leadership of the church, whose sense of social respectability was disturbed by the uncorrected excesses of the unguided enthusiasts, rather than merely correcting the excesses, often invited the enthusiasts out of their congregations. Wrong action.

Those who found themselves on the outside were often less educated, less affluent, and less socially comfortable than their former fellow church members. These discontents began to form holiness churches and then, when the holiness churches also clamped down on manifestations of the Spirit, Pentecostal churches. But they were often undereducated, sometimes pridefully ignorant, and they reacted with a wounded, defensive, counterattack. Wrong reaction. The old mainline denominations scorned them and avoided anything that might be associated with them, largely based on their own social status snobbery. Equally wrong reaction. Two kinds of pride warred against each other and greatly weakened the body of Christ. Sad result. Satan celebrates.

The picture in the second half of the twentieth century became more complex. There was a somewhat healthier charismatic renewal movement in the 1960’s, 1970’s, and early 1980’s that started in the Roman Catholic and Episcopalian churches and spread through the old mainline churches, sometimes divisively and sometimes not, but for the most part fading like a fad by the 1990’s. Some results of that renewal are still around, one of the clearest local examples being John Michael Talbot and the Little Portion Monastery, which is now more focused on the contemplative tradition, without rejecting their charismatic roots. As a point of interest, Little Portion also bought their retreat center from the local Episcopalian branch of the charismatic renewal movement, many of whom remain in the area.

Personally, I think that Zinzendorf, the Wesleys, and Stone had it right, welcoming the work of the Holy Spirit, never quenching the true, scriptural manifestations of the Spirit, but not seeking to repeat over and over again the spectacular signs of the Holy Spirit, and always keeping the charismatic dimensions of their faith in balance with other Christian spiritual traditions. In short, I want to be connected to the Charismatic Stream of Living Water when it is kept in balance and in perspective by the other five streams.

Having said all that, it simply is not an option for Bible-believing Christians to oppose or to ignore the work of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul, despite warning against spiritual abuses, specifically commands us not to quench the Holy Spirit, but to discerningly welcome the true work of the Spirit. The New Testament is clear that, if we have not received the Holy Spirit into our lives and are not allowing Him to work in and through us, we have not yet entered full Christian life. Even the more rationalist Campbell wing of our Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement taught the basics of the Christian faith through the Five-Finger Exercise that culminates with the Gift of the Holy Spirit on the fifth finger.

Why is it so important that we make room for the Holy Spirit? There are a lot of things that need to happen in our lives that only the Holy Spirit can do, including making all of the first four fingers real.

Finger One, Faith: Paul said that no one can truly say that Jesus Christ is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Christian faith involves having a God-perspective that only the Holy Spirit can provide.

Finger Two, Repentance: The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and gives us the desire and courage to turn toward a new pattern for our lives.

Finger Three, Baptism: We are baptized into Christ, his death, his resurrection, his ongoing reign, his church, his mission, by the one and only Holy Spirit, who alone can give the full newness of life to which baptism points.

Finger Four, Forgiveness of Sins: Only Spirit-inspired Scripture and the Holy Spirit himself can give us full assurance of our forgiveness.

Finger Five in the ongoing Gift of the Holy Spirit in person, God living in us.

Beyond that, we have:

6. Illumination: The Holy Spirit is the divine author of Scripture, and is the one who shows us how Scripture applies to our lives. As we sang earlier in the service, “Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit Divine.”

7. Transformation, Sanctification, and the Fruit of the Spirit: The Holy Spirit gradually transforms believers into the likeness of Christ, growing the fruit of the Spirit in their lives, qualities such as joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Basic Christian hope, faithfulness, and love are also included in this fruit.

8. Guidance and Empowerment for Mission and the Gifts of the Spirit: The Holy Spirit speaks to our human spirits, guiding us into meaningful mission for Jesus and giving us the spiritual gifts to carry out mission. The spiritual gifts are many. I begin the list with prophecy. In popular usage, prophecy is associated with foretelling the future, and much of the abuses of this gift through the years come from people who try to build their self-esteem, reputations, and sometimes incomes through declarations that are a bit hard to tell from E.S. P. or fortunetelling or wild speculations rooted in social or political prejudices. This popular usage is much different from the meaning of prophecy in the Bible; in the Bible, prophecy is the ability to hear the direct, immediate guidance of God, and, as appropriate, to share that word with those who need to hear it. Also closely related to prophecy are gifts of divine wisdom, supernatural knowledge, and spiritual discernment. Then there are gifts such as the working of miracles, healing, and intercession, things that supernaturally change the world, sometimes suddenly and spectacularly in order to demonstrate the reign of God, sometimes gradually and quietly in order to deepen our faith and endurance. I strongly question whether flashy televangelists and tent ministry showmen are genuine, but this does not mean that God will not use them on occasion for the benefit of a faithful person in need. There are gifts of church leadership such as teaching, preaching, administering, evangelizing, shepherding, and the art of leadership itself. Finally, there are the no less important gifts of supporting the church and its missions through giving, serving, and assisting. The most important spiritual gifts are extraordinary endowments of faith, hope, and love, love being the greatest of all. The spiritual gift of love is not a feeling, but a God-given power to give sacrificially of oneself for the well-being of others. All true spiritual gifts are essential parts of the mission and ministries of Jesus Christ and his church. They are not natural human abilities, but are things that are given, awakened, and directed by the Holy Spirit.

9. Spiritual Armor: The Holy Spirit equips us with spiritual armor in Jesus Christ, enabling us to stand strong against the lies of the enemy and freeing us to live powerfully for Jesus.

10. Christian Unity: The Holy Spirit shows us how to find unity with fellow believers by correctly discerning and employing the leading, fruit, gifts, and armor of the Spirit.

In short, there is not much worthwhile in Christian life in which the Holy Spirit does not play a leading role.

Let me conclude with my Three Laws of Spiritual Momentum, loosely based on Isaac Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. I am not a great physics student. In fact, the closest I came to taking a physics course was, “The Physical Sciences for Social Science Majors,” which was better known as “Dum-Dum Physics,” or “Bonehead Phy-Sci.” So be gracious to me.

First Law of Spiritual Momentum: Every church at rest or with slowing momentum will continue to decline in power until acted upon by the compelling force of the Holy Spirit.

Second Law of Spiritual Momentum: The rate of growth in strength and momentum of a church is directly proportional to their discerning welcoming of the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in their midst.

Third Law of Spiritual Momentum: To every wrong spiritual action in a church there is an opposite and equally wrong reaction that must be avoided if the possibility of forward momentum is to be preserved. The best way to avoid wrong reactions is to keep all Six Streams of Living Water operating healthily together.

Bottom line: We had better know the Holy Spirit, welcome the Holy Spirit, and seek the Holy Spirit’s wisdom about how to stay spiritually healthy and moving forward with well-rounded faith. It is time for us to stop living our lives with such fear of what could go wrong that we cannot enjoy what could go right. It is time for us to stop living so much in reaction to things we do not like that we have no Christian forward action at all. It is time for us to claim the numerous scriptural promises of what the Holy Spirit can do in our lives. It is time for us to surrender our prideful control and to let God run our lives.