Scripture reading: Isaiah 43:16-21: 16    Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 17 who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.

Sermon text: Philippians 3:4-14: 1   Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2   Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness, under the law blameless. 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.

Introduction

How do you explain a changed man?

Everyone knew him — and everyone knew his temper. This man believed in his word; if he told you he’d try to kill you, he was honor bound to try. Everyone knew of his alcoholism on the weekends, his violence at home, and the hardness of his heart.

That’s why the church went completely silent the first time the man gave his testimony, only to break into rejoicing later at what God had done in his heart. Everyone in the community and in his life saw a changed man when he confessed Jesus as Lord of his life and was born again. After his spiritual birth, the man became not only a softer person but also one of the most faithful members of his church.

This man’s testimony demonstrates the power of the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. Only a risen Christ could change a person’s heart. It took an event just short of a miracle to convince this man that Jesus had risen from the grave. Only a risen Christ could have changed St. Paul from his ways: from a persecutor of the Church to a pursuer of Jesus’ prize of eternal life. Jesus still changes lives today. Can He change your life? Will you give Him the chance? Regardless of the desperation of your situation, Jesus still softens hearts and still brings people spiritual life.

Sermon

St. Paul opens this passage to the Philippian church with an explanation of his own conversion. Every conversion begins with the person as he is. Who was Paul?

The Scriptures tell us that St. Paul was a Jew from Tarsus (Acts 21:39) whose family had somehow obtained Roman citizenship (Acts 16:37, 22:25). We also know that St. Paul, as Saul, studied under Gamaliel, the foremost Pharisee teacher of Jerusalem (Acts 22:3). As St. Paul told the Philippians, he was a “Hebrew of the Hebrews.”

Of course, there was more to St. Paul than his identity as a Jew. He also identified himself as a “persecutor of the church.” This fact is often misunderstood, but the phrase “Pharisee of the Pharisees” explains why St. Paul so intensely persecuted Christians. Before he was St. Paul the Apostle, he was Saul the Pharisee. Saul the Pharisee could not understand how a man could rise from the dead; he saw the Christian proclamation of Jesus’ resurrection as heresy. As one of the Pharisees’ foremost students and defenders, Saul saw his role as defender of the faith.

What could have changed Saul? How did a man who so vehemently denied the pivotal truth of Christianity become one of its staunchest advocates?

Saul learned the truth of the resurrection. That truth — that Jesus rose from the dead 3 days after His crucifixion — changed his life. That truth has changed lives ever since.

We sometimes forget that people 2,000 years ago knew the basic facts of life. St. Joseph didn’t believe Mary’s story of the Incarnation; he tried to break their engagement. St. Joseph and the people of his generation knew the facts of life.

People of first century A.D. also knew that the dead stayed dead. That’s the reason Saul the Pharisee didn’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus. The Pharisees believed in a resurrection, but they believed the resurrection would occur in the last day before the final judgment. If Jesus truly rose from the dead, He shouldn’t have been alone!

How did Saul learn the truth of the resurrection? In his case, Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. St. Luke told the story in the 9th chapter of Acts. When Saul encountered Jesus, his life changed forever.

St. Paul told the Philippians that everything he had counted as nothing compared to knowing Jesus. The foremost of the Pharisees was convinced that Jesus rose from the dead.

For St. Paul, the resurrection changed everything. The resurrection demonstrated Jesus’ power over death; it demonstrated Jesus’ divinity to His disciples; and it gave St. Paul a new reason for living.

What does the resurrection mean to us today?

First, the resurrection overcomes our physical limitations. In the Church, everyone is equal before God; we’re all sinners. Every human being has, in some way, committed some action that breaks our relationship with God. Once that event happens, we find ourselves cut off from the only relationship that matters. Jew or Gentile, male or female, we all stand before the God we seek unworthy to call Him “Father.”

However, the resurrection changes the relationship. St. Paul told the Romans that Jesus’ death paid the penalty for our sins, making it possible for God to declare us innocent even when we are guilty. Even more, St. Paul told the Romans that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23); however, the resurrection demonstrates that God remits those wages for those who believe in Jesus as Lord of their lives. While our bodies die — and everyone will face physical death — the part of us that lives beyond our bodies will experience an eternal life in full relationship with God Himself.

When we are “born again” through believing in Jesus Christ and His resurrection, we join the fellowship of the Church. In the Church, we are all equal, regardless of race or gender. The salvation that comes through belief in Jesus is available to all people, regardless of who you are.

Secondly, the resurrection gives us a new way of looking at life. St. Paul told the Philippians that “whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” We see so many people today wandering aimlessly through life, wondering why they’re here. When we are born again, we come to know why we’re here: To have a relationship with God our Creator. God created you for a special reason. No other being in the universe has the potential to have a complete relationship with God. Jesus gives us that privilege. St. Paul told the Philippians that “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” We all know influential people who help their friends advance in life because of their friendship. When you believe in Jesus, you come to know the ultimate Friend: Your Creator.

Lastly, the resurrection gives us a new goal in life. Everything that existed before seems less important in light of our new relationship with God through Christ. We find a purpose to our lives: To tell others what we’ve experienced. Furthermore, St. Paul told the Philippians that his goal was that “I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” When we come to love someone, we want to share everything with them. St. Paul loved Jesus so much he was willing to die for Him. Jesus died that we might have a new relationship with God. He rose again that we might enjoy that relationship forever. Don’t you want someone else to know about that relationship?

Conclusion

History is filled with stories of people whose lives were changed because of their belief in Jesus. St. Paul wasn’t the first, and he certainly wasn’t the last. Everyone who confesses Jesus as Lord of their lives — meaning swearing your allegiance to Him and declaring you will live as He tells us in the Bible — and who believes that God raised Him from the dead will experience this new relationship and this new life. This is the true power of the resurrection: that we might love God and love others who He created for that relationship.