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Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661
Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org
OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”
Nobleton Community Church
Date April 20, 2025
Text: Philippians 3:7-11
Pastor Paul Lehmann
The world has seen throughout history, many accomplishments because someone has been “committed.” Sometimes it is an individual, sometimes it is a team, or a community, and sometimes a group of believers. This certainly has been true in areas of the world, where the church is being persecuted.
In 1917 when the Russian revolution took place, Lenin, was committed, and Communism became the political system of what was the Soviet Union for 72 years. During that time its effectiveness was because of Lenin’s exaltation of his comrades to total commitment. Total acceptance of the cause; Total dedication to the cause; Total discipline in the cause; and Total action for the cause.
In the 1970s it embraced a third of the world. That’s what total commitment can do. But by the 1980s it began to crumble, and by 1989 communism was pretty well finished as a world-wide influence. Even in China, Cuba and North Korea, where Communism lingers, there have been huge changes, and there is a strong underground church. Only North Korea seems to have a regime that boldly kills Christians wherever they are detected. China does it too, but more secretly. Islamic countries now are the ones that readily kill Christians.
So, commitment brings success to a cause to some degree, or for a certain length of time, but we must be committed to the truth, in order for lasting change. We must be committed to the right things, if they are to last. Jesus said in John 14:6 –“I am the way, the TRUTH and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” True commitment will mean not only turning to something good, but more importantly JESUS who is TRUTH. — but from something that is destructive,–SIN. Just as Paul commended the Thessalonians in I Thess. 1:9 for turning “TO GOD, from Idols to serve the living and true God.”
For a disciple of Jesus Christ, commitment means turning from serving self to serving others, for Jesus said the one who would be first must be the servant of all. It means turning from pride to humility. When the 70 returned after being sent out by the Lord, when even the demons submitted to them, Jesus told them; “do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)
We cannot glory in the works that God himself does in us, and through us. We like Paul, must not boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Gal. 6:14). You might think; yes, we glory only in the cross, so what’s all this about RESURRECTION POWER. Is the resurrection really that important? Some people think that we can be perfectly good Christians without believing in the resurrection. However, if we look at I Corinthians 15:13-26, we see that the resurrection has to be real, or we have no gospel. No Good News. We would be still in our sins, and Jesus would have just been a good man that was unjustly put to death, but he wouldn’t have been able to die for us and bring forgiveness for sin, unless he rose again and had victory over sin, and Satan, and death and the grave.
In I Corinthians 15:54, quoting Isaiah 25:8 we read; “Death has been swallowed up in victory, Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” This is a passage showing what had to be accomplished through Jesus Christ.
We might ask the question, “why should we be committed to Jesus, and believe in the resurrection? Because it is the only way to be reconciled with God. It is through Him that he equips us for present and future suffering. But the main reason is found in our text; Philippians 3:verses 10, 11—where Paul talks about obtaining righteousness through faith in Christ. He goes on to say; “…I want to know Christ and the
POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
The resurrection means; Jesus has the POWER he claimed to have.
Many have a strong Christian heritage. As good as that is, as a blessing from God to come from that background, I have good news for those of you who do not have that kind of heritage. None of that can save us, and we see in verse 8 of Philippians 3, that Paul says all of that religious background is like rubbish, or garbage. It means nothing for our salvation.
We can appreciate any Christian upbringing we have, but we have to personally accept Jesus ourselves. When a person becomes a Christian, God takes away the bad, (by forgiving us our sins) but he also transforms us, reconciles us to God, and gives us Eternal Life.
There were five “Mission Aviation Fellowship” (M.A.F) missionaries, who lost their lives, taking the gospel to an Indian tribe in Ecuador, which was known at the time (1956) as the Auca Indians. This word in the Quechua language means, “naked savage.” The correct name of the tribe, and how it is known today is the Waodani. At the time the missionaries were killed, they were an isolated tribe known for their violence. That’s why no one wanted to take the gospel to them. One of the missionaries, Jim Elliot knew that this “lost” tribe needed to hear the gospel. He once said; “He is no fool to give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
This is Paul’s experience: He lost his “religion” and his reputation, but he gained far more than he lost. When he became a Christian, it was not the end for him, but the beginning. His experience when he committed himself to the resurrected Christ was personal and powerful.
This power enables believers to live a new life. Through this power, he is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine! This is Paul’s estimate of the Resurrection POWER OF CHRIST and what it can do in your life and mine.
This POWER NEEDS TO BE UNVAILED. There is sort of a FOG over it and many don’t see it.
It’s kind of like what happened after the battle of Waterloo in 1815 when the news came to England. You remember the story. Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, fought the last battle against Napoleon in Belgium. There were no telegrams in those days, but everyone knew that “Wellington” was facing Napoleon in a great battle, which the outcome would declare the future of England. A sailing ship “semaphored” (signaled with flags) news to the signalman on top of Winchester Cathedral. As the message was being received, the words were: WELLINTON DEFEATED—– Just at that instant a fog settled in, making it impossible for anyone to see any more signals from the tower. The news went across England and there was great discouragement and gloom all over the countryside. No more hope, no more liberty, no more England. After two or three hours the fog lifted, and the signal came again, “WELLINGTON DEFEATED THE ENEMY” Then all England of course rejoiced.
There was that day, when in the eyes of the world they put the body of the Lord Jesus Christ in the tomb. The disciples, along with a lot of people said, ”everything is ended, all is lost,–there is no justice, sin and Satan has conquered”—(Satan himself thought he had won). But then three days later—“the fog lifted” Jesus Christ rose from the dead. The truth has come down ever since and Jesus defeated the enemy! He defeated sin, Satan, death and the grave
We now have the HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE because of the RESURRECTION.
We now have the POWER that began with the RESSURRECTION. Because of the HOLY SPIRIT that He promised would come upon the disciples, they would receive POWER and they would be WITNESSES to what Jesus did, and the Gospel would be preached in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and all over the world.
There is power in the resurrection. Our future is secure;
We have eternal life because our sins are forgiven.
We can have the power to overcome our problems,
and we can be free from the bondage of sin.
Don’t be up and down in your spiritual walk—
obtain the victory that is yours through the power of the resurrection.
Paul gave up everything— his position of authority in Judaism, family, friendship and freedom—in order to know this power obtainable because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We too, have access to this knowledge and power. But we may have to make sacrifices to experience and enjoy it fully. What are you willing to give up in order to know Christ better? We too often want to “hang onto stuff” that we think we need. Things that may or may not be keeping us from the Lord or time spent with him. A crowded schedule, or plans of our own, that take up our time. Not that there is anything wrong with what we are doing, and the time it takes to do it, but if we don’t compensate for that by giving equal time to the Lord, then we must rethink, and recommit to our service for him.
When we become one with Christ by trusting in him, we experience the POWER that raised him from the dead
. Along with this power we have AUTHORITY
. We have power and authority over the attacks of the enemy.
We have power and authority over sickness and ill health. As our will becomes aligned with God’s will, and we obey him, then our faith increases, and we begin to understand just how much power we have because of Jesus who lives within us.
If you are not sure he lives within you, what are you waiting for? Before you can walk in newness of life, you must ask him to forgive your sins and “die” to your sins, since he took all of your sin upon himself on the cross.
Turn your life around (that’s what repent means), and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you.
Just as the Resurrection gives us Christ’s power to live for him, his Crucifixion marks the death of our old sinful self-nature. We can’t know the victory of the Resurrection without personally applying the Crucifixion. You may believe he died for the sins of the world, but you must also believe he died for just you. Receive him into your life this morning. Experience his power in your life so that you can walk in victory, and be assured of Eternal life, when he finally calls you home.