Participation in His Suffering

Philippians 3:10-11I want to knowChrist—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings,becoming like him in his death,and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrectionfrom the dead. Passion (Greek) = Suffering This name represents the passion (suffering) with which Jesus willingly went to the cross. He did this to pay for your sins—the sins of all of His people.  I want to know Christ, His power of resurrection and participation in His suffering…Paul’s ConfessionHere, “To know” means a continuous experiential action.Paul wanted to experience the power of Christ resurrection continuously in his daily life.    Participation in SufferingIf you want to know Christ fully, in his resurrection power, we must be willing to participate in his suffering!    Matthew 16:24-25,“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. Suffering? 1. Our suffering is inevitable.      a. Reality of the Sinful/Fallen World      b. Christian Calling   2. Our suffering is purposeful.      a. Not meaningless suffering.     b. The purpose of our suffering is “To know Christ and His given life.”  3.  Our suffering is temporary.       a. There will be the end of sufferings     b. There will be the reward of going through sufferings  Our Response to Suffering 1.     Stop Complaining 2.   Start Complying