This
Easter, I've been thinking and meditating on the Apostle Paul’s words … his
heart’s desire that he wrote in Phil. 3:10
that
I may know him (Christ) and the power of His
resurrection, and
may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in his
death,
to Know Christ = to Experience All that
is Christ
Have
you ever read this verse … or heard a message on Phil. 3:10, and thought to
yourself, “I want that!” “I want to know Christ … I want to Experience
Him in such a profoundly meaningful way … I so desperately want my relationship
with Him to be so full that I’m willing to consider everything else in life to
be worthless in comparison to Know Him and the power of His resurrection.”
to Know the Power = Explosive
Miraculous Mighty Power of His Resurrection
On the
surface, It may seem like Paul is just stating the obvious, or even thinking
out loud about what it must have been like to witness Christ’s
Resurrection.
He is
not saying that he wants to be a spectator is some grand theatre watching the
events of the resurrection unfold. No, he wants to be in the middle of it.
Present with Jesus to experience it first-hand.
Let's
consider the events of this past October (2016) with the Chicago CUBS. It’s one
thing to watch Game 7 of the World Series from home on your couch or even to be
one of the few who could afford tickets to in the stands … But it’s something
entirely more profound if you are one of the players on the field experiencing
the exhilaration of the final out that secures your victory as a
thunderous ovation erupts and roles over you in the moment. In just a
small way, that may give us a glimpse of Paul's expressed desire to experience
everything that Christ has experience including the Power of His
Resurrection.
In the
narrative of Jesus' death and resurrection, Matthew writes about 2
cataclysmic earthquakes. One at His death in Matt. 27:50-54 and a
second at His resurrections in Matt. 28:1-10. At these 2 moments we see
Resurrection Power as Life burst forth. At Christ's death, many dead saints
were awoken and came to life and revealed themselves in the Holy City, at
Jesus' resurrection, the Son of God burst forth to ultimate victory over
sin and death.
But we
also see that the Rocks of this earth moved and cried out. Remember, just
days earlier, Jesus was riding into Jerusalem on a donkey as the crowds
gathered crying out in praise and adoration for the Messiah. The
Pharisees and members of the Sanhedrin instructed Jesus to stop the
people, to which He replied,
“I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would
cry out.”Have you
ever considered that these earthquakes could very well be the fulfillment of
Jesus' words? At horror of Jesus' death and the still of the morning on the day
He rose from the dead, the silence was broken by the rocks themselves in
thunderous applause of explosive resurrection power.
Friends,
let me encourage you to do a character study of the life of Peter, the one
Jesus calls...
“... you are Peter, and on this rock I
will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Matt. 16:18.
Revisit some of the events of Peter’s life with Jesus
- He was called to
be a fisher of men and he followed Jesus
- He witnessed so
many amazing miracles by Jesus
- He walked on
Water
- He Loved Jesus
and so boldly proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah the Son of the living
God.
- He denied Jesus
3 times even when he knew it was going to happen and Rejected Jesus when
He was on Trial
- He wept
bitterly.
- He raced John to
the empty tomb
- Jesus made
breakfast for him. He jumped ship to swim ashore… Only to asked 3
times if he Loved Jesus. Jesus recreated the very moment when He
first called Peter to be a fisher of men and reset the "rock" on
which His Church would be built.
This is
the Gospel ... the Good News ... that Jesus, God's Son, willingly suffered,
died, was buried and rose again in ultimate victory over sin and death for you!
You can know Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection by allowing Him to
explode your curse and slavery to sin and death in you while raising you to new
life (eternal life) in Christ.
Easter Prayer
Lord,
on this Day of Resurrection, open my eyes and heart that I may know Christ
and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings,
becoming like Him in his death, Amen.
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