Open your Bible, if you would,
to Philippians chapter 3. The name of the message is self-denial. Now, when religious people say
self-denial, it has a whole different meaning than what we mean. And we're going to see that today.
I'm going to let it unfold as we see this. Our self-denial
is that we have no confidence in the flesh for salvation. It's not a list of do, don't,
do, don't, do, don't. It's I can't save myself. We deny ourself as a way of salvation. We can't save ourselves. We weren't
like that before. Remember I told you guys I thought
my good would outweigh my bad? That's self-salvation, you see? Self-denial is saying, I can't
save myself at all. And we're going to see Paul.
The Holy Spirit gives us an example by having Paul pen what he used
to be and how he used to be. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. And he's basically saying, I
did all those things in religion, and now I count them but done.
Because they can do nothing for me. They can't do anything to
gain me merit and favor with God. The only favor with God
we have is in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. That's it. That's it. That's wonderful. I think we're going to be really
blessed by this. So let's read verses 1 to 8. Paul writes the brethren at Philippi. Finally, my brethren, rejoice
in the Lord, to write the same things to you. To me, indeed,
is not grievous." So he's saying it's like a preacher preaching
the gospel. It's not grievous. It's not grievous for us to tell
you these things, to tell you about Christ. Not at all. We
love it. That's our passion. That's our
passion. But for you, it is safe. Oh,
my. Beware of dogs, beware of evil
workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision which
worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus. Look
at this. See, this is the setup for what's
coming next. And have no confidence in the
flesh. See, when I said my good would
outweigh my bad, that was confidence in my flesh. Even though I didn't
realize that, it was. was saying, well, I'm not that
bad. I didn't know what sin was really. I found out I'm really
that bad. Oh my, did you find that out?
Isn't that wonderful that we found that out, Brother Brian?
Because we didn't know it before. And then we need, God showed
us we needed a savior. And he brought us right to Christ.
Oh my, oh my. Look at this. Now he's gonna
use himself as an example of if anyone has anything to boast
about, things in the flesh, but then we're going to see a self-denial
of those things. That self-denial again being,
he can't save himself. Look at this. For we are the
circumcision, which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in
Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh, though I might
Also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that
he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. Circumcised the eighth day of
the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, the favoured tribe.
In Hebrew of Hebrews, touching the law of Pharisee, concerning
zeal, persecuting the church. touching the righteousness which
is in the law, blameless. So he saw himself before the
law as blameless. Brother Charlie, he didn't see
himself as a sinner. That's how we were. Somebody
calls us a sinner, those were fighting words, weren't they?
My. Look at what he says here. But
what things were gained to me? Here's the self-denial. Here's
where he says, I can't save myself. But what things were gained to
me, those I counted for loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. Dung there is the things cast
to the dogs. in the Greek. It's worthless. It's what's utterly worthless. He says, all my works. Isn't
that amazing, Sister Carolyn? He used to be a proud Pharisee,
and now he's saying, all my works were worthless. Is that not what
we do? When we're born again in the
Holy Spirit of God? Is that not what we say? I say
everything I've done before is worthless. It's self-denial. Again, people think, oh, self-denial,
don't do this, don't, we're gonna deal with that too. Paul actually wrote something
about that in the book of Colossians. It's amazing. Now, man-centered
religion is a great evil. It's a great event. We were all
in it. We were all caught up in whether and how I can say,
well, I wasn't religious before the Lord saved us. Well, we were
worshiping self then. When I was saying my good would
outweigh my bad, I was saying, I can make it to heaven by what
I do. That's just self-worship. Oh my. But the believer denies
self. We deny self. What does it mean when a man
thinks that he can work their way to heaven? Well, what do
they do? They rob God of their glory. See, people who say, well,
I can be saved by doing this, they're robbing God of his glory. The glorious thing is Christ
was sent into the world by the Father to save sinners. And does that give God glory?
Oh my. Yeah. So people saying they can save
themselves are following false gods. They're saying, they're
saying, yeah, I can do it. And you know what else they do?
They tramp on their foot the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us meditate this week on
how precious the blood of Christ is. Right? It's the blood. When I
see the blood, Charlie, the Lord says to us, and Travis, Carolyn,
Sister Micheline, He says, when I see the blood, I'll pass over
you. Whoo! My! Isn't that wonderful? And you
know, the blood's still as effective today as it was when it was shed
at Calvary's Cross. And as a matter of fact, he's
the lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. Isn't that amazing? Oh my. People thinking they can save
themselves show contempt to the Spirit of grace. And they're
actually becoming more and more debased. More and more in utter depravity.
Isn't it amazing what the Lord saves us out of? That was us. It was funny, Vicki was saying
on Wednesday night, when I mentioned that, when I mentioned that, Hosea is a picture of Christ,
and Gomer is a picture of the church. Well, we had 14 people. We went down to seven. And she
said, how many people sticking around for that? But isn't it true? Right? We're just sinners saved by grace.
But praise God, we're saved. Praise God, we're saved, beloved.
It's wonderful. And what Paul warns about the
evil workers and the concision, found out a little bit more about
the concision. The concision are men and women who cut and
mutilate themselves and torture their bodies in hope of winning
God's favor. And that's what the Catholics
used to do, and it's still practiced sometimes in other countries. So in essence, Paul, again, what
Paul's, and I know I've said this for the last two weeks,
I'm gonna keep saying it, in essence, Paul's warning them
about Christless Christianity, if there's ever such thing in
Israel, unfortunately. So Christianity in word, without
Christ. So it's a works-based system
then. It's a works-based system. Catholicism, and I know I say
that, but I came out of it, is a Christless Christianity because
they worship, number one, they worship Mary. because Christ
has to go and ask permission to do things according to their
true doctrine and all that. But it exalts man's works. The hub of it is it's man's works. It's a workspace, not what Christ
did. And you can put that on anything,
baptism, you can add any other work in there. And I know people,
oh, they get all mad saying, oh, you're saying Catholics don't
know Christ. Well, if they stay in the system,
there's no salvation there. Now, I'm a Catholic who came
out of it. But by the grace of God, by the grace and mercy of
God, Anytime, and I'm telling you,
just a pinprick of works, man is adding something to works,
to salvation, man's works. It's not grace. It's a man-centered
doctrine. And then Paul calls the saints
in verse three, I love this, the circumcision, which worship
God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence
in the flesh. When he says we're the circumcision,
he's saying we're the Israel of God. born again by the Holy
Spirit of God. We're the ones, and then he says,
we worship God in the Spirit, which means we worship God as
he's revealed in the scriptures. And the Holy Spirit teaches us
about Christ. Otherwise, we wouldn't know nothing. We worship God as he's revealed
in the scriptures all by the power of God, the Holy Spirit. And then he finishes verse three
with rejoice in Christ Jesus, have no confidence in the flesh.
Now this is a stepping stone, as I said, into the next verses,
which deal with self-denial. We place absolutely no confidence
in our flesh. no confidence in anything we
can do to gain salvation, to gain merit with God that includes
our flesh, experiences, emotions, or imagined excellencies of the
flesh. My oh my. And the privileges of the flesh,
the feelings of a flesh, the works of a flesh are no basis
to have confidence before God. And we see in verses 4 to 8 that
our salvation is only in Christ. And Paul here again sets himself
before us as an example of self-denial. Now again, when you say self-denial,
people right away think, don't do this, don't do that. Self-denial
is here, I can't save myself. I just can't. And remember, Solitarist was
a legalist of the highest order. Note now he's saved, and we see
him laying aside the filthy rags of his self-righteousness, denying
himself in order to save himself, and saying, I'm saved by the
Lord Jesus Christ and his perfect sin-atoning work. He's the pure
one. He's the perfect one. He's the
righteous one, and I'm made righteous in him. That's absolutely amazing. Look at verses 4 to 6. Let's
read that again. Circumcised the eighth day of
the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin. in Hebrew of Hebrews, touching
the law of Pharisee, concerning Zeal, persecuting the church,
touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Well, we see that Paul counted
all his fleshy carnal natural privileges, his religious distinctives,
his educational advantages, as nothing before God for his salvation. Nothing. And we see this is amazing, too. He he saw himself is blameless
before the law. Now, what does the law do? It
shows us we're sinners. So he's telling us here, he's
saying, I thought I was perfect. because I did everything that
the law required. Well, no, you didn't. See how
the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked? We were in the same boat. It may have just been something
different. Instead of Judaism, it may have been religion of some kind. It may not have
even been religion. We might not have believed anything. But we believed in ourselves
to save ourselves, ultimately. And Paul's saying here, he's
saying, I had no confidence in my flesh. All those things I
did, they didn't gain me nothing.
They were just things to be thrown to the dogs. My, oh my. And isn't it amazing the transforming
mercy and grace of God in Christ? We see right here before us,
Brother Steve, he thought he was blameless before. And we
see he's born again by the Holy Spirit of God. He's not the same
as he used to be. And now he says, I can't save
myself at all. My righteousness is like filthy
rags before the Lord. Christ has saved me. Christ has saved me. It's absolutely amazing. Do you
know what he—you remember the story of the pearl of great price? He found it. So have we who are born again,
haven't we, Sister Colleen? We found the pearl of great price,
and his name is the Lord Jesus Christ. My, oh, my. Remember the fellow that thought—
that heard there was a treasure in the field and sold everything
he had and bought the field? Oh, isn't that amazing? That's
a born-again believer, eh? But we can't pay for our salvation. Not at all. It's not saying that.
It's that Christ is everything to us now. He's everything to
us. Jesus Christ is the one thing
needful. He's the one thing needful for
sinners. Isn't it amazing, Brother Travis?
He saved us by His grace. Oh. And Christ must be chosen. Christ is the one thing we must
have. And He makes us will in the day
of His power. And we run to Him. We choose
Him. We run to Him. No way. Only because He's chosen us first.
We love Him only because He loved us. We've not chosen Him, but
He's chosen us. And then He makes us will in
the day of His power. And we run. Isn't it wonderful? We believe
on Him, right? You remember that message about
no condemnation? Whoever believes on Him, the
Son, is not condemned. Oh my! Do you believe on Him? Man, it's a wonderful message,
isn't it? There's no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus who
walk not of the flesh but of the Spirit. So when did Paul experience this
transformation? Well, he experienced it on Damascus
Road, didn't he? He's going to Damascus. He's going to slaughter Christians,
or throw them in prison, or haul them back to Jerusalem. And he
was arrested, wasn't he, Brother Brian, by the Lord Jesus Christ. And he was transformed, Sister
Barb. He's a new creature in Christ. He's born again. Oh my. And now everything he counted
as precious, he counts as nothing. And the one thing that he didn't
count as precious, that he despised. Think of that. What a change. Now he counts as the most precious
thing in the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's incredible,
isn't it? That's incredible. That's what
God does for his people. He changes us. That's the rebel becoming a saint,
and it's all by the power of God. Salvation's in the Lord,
right? It's all by his power. My oh my. Look at verses 7 and
8. Now here's the new man. A lot
of people believe Paul was a wealthy man. It doesn't matter if he was or
wasn't. He's telling us here, everything I counted precious
before, I just don't count it. It's nothing now. I want Christ. I want Christ. And think of this
too, every day after the Lord saved him, this was a decision
that he made every day. To cling to Christ. But we know, God was keeping
him. There's an active part of that
for us. We're clinging to him, aren't we? But only because he's
keeping us, brother. Oh, isn't it wonderful? And he had an increasing and
growing commitment and consecration to the Lord Jesus Christ. And
how do we know that? Well, just by the fact that everything
that was precious to him, he now counted as dumb. Everything
that was precious to him before, he just says, it's nothing. It's
stuff to be thrown away. It's worthless. And again, the one who he despised,
now he loves. The ones he persecuted, now he
loves. I just am amazed at the transformation. And we can look in our life,
if we're born again, and we can see that transformation, that
it's incredible. Right now, we're not the same
people we were before the Lord saved us. And
that's a miracle of grace, beloved. That's all Christ's doing. Remember,
we're being conformed to the image of the sun. We don't see
it in ourselves. As a matter of fact, you know,
we see ourselves as getting worse. But you know, that's growing
in grace. We thought we were fine. We thought we weren't bad. Brother Travis the Lord revealed
himself to us and we saw his holiness and his perfectness
and oh My but praise God he saved us. What's cling to that? There's
no condemnation to those who are in Christ. Jesus. It's wonderful
Why because Christ shed his blood to redeem our eternal souls And
we can say hallelujah We can leave here kicking our heels.
Oh I don't think I can do that anymore,
but in spirit, in spirit, right? Oh my, my oh my. So he's now, he's just committed to Christ. And he counts
all things but loss except for Christ. And then again, the underlying
Greek word, I found this interesting, for dung means what is fit only
to be cast to dogs. And then this was the other part
of it. What is thrown away is worthless. Now think of that. All these works that Paul did,
he's telling us, beloved, they were worthless. And only a regenerated man or
woman can see that. Can see that everything we attempted
to do to save ourselves was worthless. And everything Christ did for
us, you can't put a price on it. It's all so amazing. It's astonishing. God saved my soul. God, the Lord Jesus Christ, God
in the flesh, saved my soul. Again, the apostle considers
all his religious works, but when he goes to the Pharisees,
worthless. That which is fit to be cast to the dogs. And Paul
was a man separated to Christ. dedicated to his Savior, that
he could honestly say, what things were gained to me, those I count
lost for Christ, yea, doubtless I count all things but lost for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them
but none. Now again, most religious people,
following the influence of Romanism, make self-denial denying themselves. Such as, I only eat fish on Friday. Oh, I can't have any beef on
Friday. That's more for me then. That's
more for me. See? Little things like that,
right? I'll tell you why. So, Romanism
has had an influence on things and where people think,
well, if I deny myself certain meats and drinks or certain pleasures,
lawful pleasures, and even the privilege of marriage, right?
There's a certain sect that their priests can't marry. then they can attain spirituality
and godliness. No. Being there and tried it,
it doesn't work. There's nothing there. Turn, if you would, to Colossians
chapter 2. We see God the Holy Spirit dealing
with this very thing. This very thing. by obeying the
legalist and will worshipers' creed, which is, this is what? Touch not, taste not, handle
not, don't go with someone who's this way, I don't do this, I
don't go and watch certain things or don't watch certain things. Does anyone have to tell you
what to watch and what not to watch? Do we not know what's
good and what's not good? My oh my. My oh my. But people will use
these things that they're attaining a certain spirituality. They believe that they're gaining
merit and favor with God. And I was there. I'm not making
fun. I was there. I was there, beloved. I had one
preacher I knew. Now get this. I'm not going to
mention who he is. It was years ago. None of you
know him, so it doesn't matter. But you know what he'd say? He'd
say, when I go to the grocery store, I don't go down the liquor
aisle. Why not? It's just another aisle
in the grocery store. Right? You go down the aisle,
there might be something down there you might want. Go down the aisle, and I mean,
there might be a different kind of drink or whatever. You go
down the aisle, and you turn, and you go up the next aisle.
But he made it this, and Vicki and I heard him. He said, well,
I don't go down the liquor aisle when I go to the grocery store.
I do. It's just another aisle. If you don't want nothing, you
just keep walking, right? Oh, well. Look at this in Colossians. Look at this. This is amazing.
Because religion has done this. They made certain things you
do and certain things you don't as gaining you merit and favor
with God. Look at this in Colossians. This
is amazing. Chapter 2, starting in verse
20 and going to 23. Oh, actually, no, we're going
to go all the way into chapter 3, verse 3, because it's all
one connection. Wherefore, if ye be dead with
Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living
in the world, are ye subject to ordinances? So the false teachers
were coming in and saying, you had to do certain things in order
to be saved. And you had to not do certain
things in order to be saved. Look at this, touch not, taste
not, handle not, which are all things, which are
all to perish with the using after the commandments and doctrines
of man. Which things indeed have a show
of what? Wisdom and will-worship. Look
at that. The scripture says there's a
thing called will-worship. See, this is, oh, I deny myself
this, and I deny myself that. Our self-denial is I can't save
myself. Now, there's certain things I
don't touch, because I don't, for me personally, I can't. Right? Look at this. Which things have indeed a show
of wisdom in will worship, in humility, in neglecting of the
body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh. If ye
then be risen with Christ. Here it is. Here's our exhortation,
beloved. Seek those things which are above,
where Christ sits on the right hand of God. What do we grace
preachers always say? Look to Christ. Keep looking
to Christ. Keep looking to Christ. Set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life
is hid with Christ in God. Now, if there's certain things
you don't want to drink and certain things you don't want to do,
then you don't do them. If there's sin to you, don't
do them. Don't do them. And here's where a lot of folks
go off the rails. They think, well, I can do them.
And so they do them in front of a brother who doesn't think
he can do them. And then, oh my. That's why Paul
says consider your weaker brother or sister. And you do it in private
if you want. My oh my. So, isn't this amazing? So after he tells them, oh they
say touch not, taste not, all this stuff. which he calls will
worship, it's Houston will worship, and it's the traditions of man.
Look at verse 22. After the commandments and doctrines
of man, that's what these false teachers were teaching. What
they were teaching was after the commandments and doctrines
of man. My oh my. Then he says, set your
affection on things above, that's your heart, not on things in
the earth. For you are dead and your life
is hid with Christ in God. Praise his mighty name. So in
verses four to eight of Philippians chapter three, the Holy Spirit
by the pen of Paul sets before us an example of true spiritual
denial, which is I can't save myself. And everything I did
that I thought was gonna recommend me to God or gain me merit and
favor with God was nothing. It was worthless. We're denying self, aren't we?
Isn't it amazing? Oh my. And this self-denial comprehends
all aspects of our life. As we grow in grace and the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ, we realize even more as we're growing
in grace. It's amazing God saved me because
I could never save myself. And everything I did was worthless
to try to gain merit and favor with God. And this self-denial,
having begun with the denial of all personal worth and merit
as a ground of hope before God, of salvation, continues as we
learn more about Christ, Jesus our Lord, who is the only Savior
of sinners. And as we grow in the grace and
knowledge of Christ, we see more and more of our inability to
ever have saved ourselves by our works. That just becomes
more and more evident. And we praise the Lord Jesus
Christ for saving us by shedding his precious blood. What was
the cause of Paul's self-denial, his consecration and commitment
to Christ? What made this man willing to forsake all? to forsake
all, forsake everything and follow Christ. Well, Paul was inspired
and motivated and driven to the point of utter obsession by four
great ambitions, which we're gonna look at in the next few
weeks. And they're found in verses eight
to 10 of Philippians chapter three, that I may win Christ,
number one, and be found in him, number two, and be found in him,
number three, that I may know him, And number four, if by any
means I might attain them to the resurrection of the dead.
May God the Holy Spirit make these four for ambitions, the
ambitions of our hearts. And that's what we'll be looking
at for the next few weeks, beloved. Praise the mighty name of Jesus.
Isn't he so good to us? Isn't he so wonderful to us?
Brother Steve, can you close us in prayer?