Okay. Open your Bibles, if you
would, to the book of Philippians chapter 3. Philippians chapter
3. This is the book which we will
begin studying, Lord willing, in Sunday school this Sunday.
And the verse we will look at at chapter 3 tonight is verse
3, and it's a description of the believer's lifestyle. a description
of the believer's lifestyle. Now, one can turn it into law
by demanding that we worship God or by demanding that we rejoice,
but we know, beloved of God, that no amount of legalistic
preaching can get that desired result. It must flow from our
hearts. It must flow from within, and
it's a new heart. heart that hungers and thirsts
after righteousness being called born again by the Holy Spirit
of God. And what does, what do God's
people rejoice in? We rejoice in the Lord Jesus
Christ, don't we? We rejoice in his perfect sin
atoning work, redeeming our eternal souls with his precious, precious
blood. We rejoice in that. It's wonderful. My, When we're feeling down, we need
to just think about rejoicing in Christ. Think about the sin
atoning work. He's redeemed us with his blood.
Now we all get down. We all do. We all do. We all
get down. Do we rejoice all the time? No,
we don't always rejoice all the time. No. Do we have cause to
rejoice all the time? Yes, in Christ. But oh, the flesh,
the flesh, the flesh, right? All the flesh. Let's read Philippians
chapter 3 verses 1 to 11. Paul writes to the Philippian
brethren who we are going to see on Sunday in chapter 1. He
calls saints. I'm sitting here with Saint Dave
and Saint Zane and Saint Vicki and Saint Diane. Saint, people who are listening,
who are the Lord's, isn't that wonderful? Isn't that wonderful? Oh my. Oh my. In that word, saint, means to
be made holy, set apart. My, oh my. So look at this. Finally,
my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you,
to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware
of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. Now
I found out in preparing for the study of Philippians that
the Philippians were plagued by the same folks that the Galatians
were plagued by, the Judaizers. Saying you must be circumcised
to be saved. And listen to what Paul writes
here, for we are the circumcision. Now he's writing to God's people
here, right? He's saying we are the circumcision, which worship
God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have, look
at this, no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have
confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh he hath whereof
he might trust in the flesh, I more. Now he's gonna talk about
his past pedigree as a Hebrew. saying if anyone had a reason
to rejoice or boast in the flesh, which glory a lot of times in
our scriptures is boast. So if anyone had reason to boast
in their flesh, look at this, though I might also have confidence
in the flesh, if any other man thinketh he hath whereof he might
trust in the flesh, I more. circumcised the eighth day of
the stock of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, the Hebrew of Hebrews.
My oh my. It's touching the law of Pharisee.
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church. We know he was wasting
the church, wasn't he? Touching the righteousness, which
is out of the law, blameless. So he saw himself as blameless
before the law, before the Lord saved him. But what things were gain to
me, those I counted loss for Christ. Look at that. Everything
that he counted gain, all that knowledge, all those things,
being a Pharisee, being a Benjamite, all those things he counted loss
for Christ. They were worthless. They wouldn't save him. My, look and say, yea, doubtless
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Jesus Christ my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but done, that I may win Christ,
and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which
is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I might know
him, all that we might know him. He's revealed Himself. We know
Him now, don't we? And as Dave prayed, our hope
is that others would know Him, that He'd reveal Himself to others.
Oh my! Reveal Himself to His lost sheep,
that I may know Him in the power of His resurrection and the fellowship
of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death, if
by any means I may attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Now verse 3 is our text that we're going to look at tonight.
And we see here three features of the gospel believer. Three
features of those who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God
and believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and believe
on he who is our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at, let's
read Philippians 3, 3 again. For we are the circumcision which
worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have
no confidence in the flesh. First of all, we see here Paul
speaking to the saints of God, right, to the Philippian church.
He says we are, he's basically saying we're the true circumcision.
Yeah, and they're Gentiles, brother. This is a Greek church. So now
we know when he said the body of Christ comprises those who
are born again of Jews and Gentiles. Those are the true circumcision.
The elect of God are the true circumcision. And this is speaking of the Judaizers
or anyone else saying you have to be circumcised to be saved.
Paul's saying, no, we're all ready. the true circumcision. Because true circumcision, right? Circumcision represented the
new birth. You must be born again. Circumcision
in the Old Testament is brought forth in the new birth. It's an operation of God. We're
circumcised in the heart now, beloved. Not in the flesh, but
in the heart. We're born again by the Holy
Spirit of God. And Paul's saying they have the
name, they have a form, they have the outward sign, but we
have Christ. We have Christ. And again, circumcision
in the new birth finds its fulfillment. It's the difference between having,
listen to this, it's the difference between having the lamb of the
Old Testament sacrifices and having Christ the lamb. If people
are trusting in circumcision to save them, they're just trusting
in a type in shadow. But we trust in Christ Jesus,
the true Lamb of God. Circumcision, Paul told us in
Galatians, can't avail anyone who are uncircumcised. But a
new creature, you must be born again. And Paul's bringing that
forth here. We are the true circumcision. And true circumcision, spoken
of here, is having the heart pricked and laid open by the
Holy Spirit of God. True circumcision is renouncing
our own righteousness, saying, I have no righteousness of my
own. Christ is all my righteousness. He's everything, isn't he, Brother
Zane? He's everything to us. Without Christ, we have no righteousness.
So we renounce our own righteousness, which is filthy rags in the eyes
of the Lord. In true circumcision is of the
heart, not of the flesh. Brother Dave, we've been born
again by the Holy Spirit of God. We have a new heart now that
wants to worship God when we never used to want to worship
God. That wants to rejoice in the things of Christ when we
never used to rejoice in the things of Christ. It's absolutely
amazing. In true circumcision is to draw
nigh to God with a new heart, not the body. not the body, with
a new heart. We draw nigh to God with a new
heart, right? Because we're born again by the
Holy Spirit of God. In true circumcision is to rejoice,
now let us just rejoice in this, in our completeness in Christ. Beloved, let us leave here rejoicing
tonight in our completeness in Christ. Having no confidence
in carnal descent, tribe, or family, or ceremony, or law. Our hope is in Christ, in Christ
alone, right? That's our only hope, beloved.
You must be born again. So Paul's saying here, for we
are the circumcision, he's basically saying, we're the born-again
ones. We're the born-again ones. Let's read verse three again,
for we are the circumcision. Look at that. There's no doubt
in there, is it? It's like, well, we might be. No, we are the circumcision. We're born again by the Holy
Spirit of God, which worship God in the spirit and rejoice
in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. So the first truth
in this marvelous verse is that true believers worship. Worship's
like breathing. We don't have to be told to breathe,
do we? Neither does a believer have
to be told to worship. It comes naturally, doesn't it,
after we're born again of the Holy Spirit of God. Now, before
we were saved, we didn't desire to worship God at all. And now
after we're saved, we desire to worship God. Now that's a
miracle of God, isn't it? That he takes a rebel who wanted
nothing to do with him and turns him into a saint. who
wants to worship Him and rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
as God's born-again, blood-washed people, it's what we want. We desire
to worship God. We desire to worship God at home. We desire to worship God at work.
We desire to worship God at church. We desire to worship God wherever
we are. How do you do that? Just praise
His name. Give Him all the glory. Thank Him for a parking spot,
because it's by His divine providence, isn't it? Thank Him for the goodness
in your life. Thank Him for being our comfort.
Thank Him for redeeming us with His precious, precious blood. And when we obey the revealed
Word of God, we're worshiping Him. When we present our body
as a living sacrifice, right? That's just serving him, beloved.
That's just serving our king. We worship in him then. And it's
interesting to observe the kind of worshipers God's seeking.
Turn, if you would, to John chapter four. You know, he's seeking
for people who will worship him in spirit and truth. Listen to the words of the Master
over here in John chapter 4. Look at this. This is amazing. John chapter 4 verses 23 to 24. But the hour cometh, and now
is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in what?
In spirit. Ah, you must be born again. And
in truth. Who's the way of the truth in
life? Christ, amen, brother Dave. For the Father seeketh such to
worship him. God is a spirit, and they that
worship him must worship in what? In spirit and truth. Oh, you
must be born again. And who do we worship? We worship
the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the truth. My, oh my, isn't that
wonderful, beloved? It all centers around Christ
again. And let us remember, too, worship is not an attempt to
gain heavenly approval. Right? We already have that,
don't we, in Christ? We've already obtained salvation
in Christ. We've already been qualified
for heaven in Christ. So worship's not to gain approval
with God. No, no. That approval's already
been secured by the blood of Christ, beloved. My. And as a result of that, knowing
that the approval of God is already secured in Christ, what's it
make us want to do? Worship Him. Praise His mighty name, Dave.
Amen. That's what it makes us want
to do, doesn't it? Causes our heart to just bubble over. And do you know why? You can't
worship God unless you're saved. Can't worship God unless you're
born again. Think about how many religious unsaved people worship,
go and say they worship, when they neither have the spirit
in them, and they're not clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
They can't worship God. Unknown God, amen, yeah. And
if we worship in spirit and truth, you must be born again, and you
must worship Christ. My oh my. Yet, the unsaved religious
person goes to church. Oh, they might dress well and
be nice and tidy. And there they sing of matters.
They sing of matters that they know nothing of. They know nothing. They might sing amazing grace.
They don't know what amazing grace is. Now, we who have been
saved, we who were wretches, dead dog sinners who saved by
the grace of God. We know what God's amazing grace
is, don't we? Because we know we're undeserving
sinners. And if we got what we deserve,
we'd be in hell. But praise God, he don't give
us what we deserve. We've been redeemed by the blood
of the lamb. My, oh, my. And let us remember
this. Again, rejoice, beloved of God,
because our salvation and our acceptance by God is only in
Christ. Nowhere else. It's not found
anywhere else. Rejoice, beloved. Rejoice. We are complete in Christ. I don't know, song, rejoice,
rejoice, and again I say rejoice, right? We have a lot to rejoice
about, but see, the flesh, the flesh, the flesh, right? It can
get in the way, but let us rejoice. When we're down, let us rejoice.
When we're up, let us rejoice. When we're in the middle, let
us rejoice. My, we're so easily taken down, aren't we? I know
I am. My, oh, my. The Spirit's willing,
but what? Flesh is weak. Oh, yeah. We've all experienced that, haven't
we? Oh, yeah. But you see, even with that,
we still worship God in spirit and truth because we're born
again through Christ. And our acceptance is not based
upon our worship. Our acceptance is based upon
Christ. And we worship because of that wonderful fact that we've
been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. My oh my. So we worship God in spirit.
We don't worship God in outward rituals and ceremonies. No, we
rejoice that we are complete in Christ. And what's another characteristic of those who trust
in Christ, and this will be our third point, not our second,
but our third, is we have absolutely no confidence in the flesh. There
is no way I can save myself. I need to cast myself wholly
on Christ. And by God's grace, that's what
we who are the redeemed have done. And our prayer is that
whoever listens to this does not know him. Oh, may you cast
yourself upon Christ. May God make you willing and
cast yourself. Because Christ came to save sinners.
Yeah. Sinners of whom what? As Dave
and I were talking, we're the chiefs. We all feel that way,
right? We all feel that way, don't we?
The worst of the worst. Like I said, heaven's not full
of good people. Heaven's full of sinners. Saved
by the grace of God. In Christ, beloved, amen. Amen,
brothers, amen. In Christ. Outside of Christ,
there's no salvation. But in Christ, we have all these
wonderful blessings. Now that should stir our hearts
to rejoice, right? Oh my. My, oh my. You know, I see what Paul's doing,
and it's in my first message in Philippians. The whole aim
of this epistle, like all his epistles, is to point us to Christ.
Because he knows, just like we know, we can easily be distracted.
But we need to keep our eyes on Christ, don't we? We need
to keep our eyes on Him. Oh, so those who worship God
in spirit and truth have no confidence in the flesh, no confidence in
our fleshy works, no confidence in anyone else, only confidence
in Christ. Right? He's the one we glory
in. He's the one we boast in. Only in Christ. Let's read Philippians
3 again. For we are the circumcision which
worship God in spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence
in the flesh. The second point is the true
believer rejoices in Christ. Rejoices in Christ. You know, when we're born again,
the Holy Spirit energizes us, doesn't he? To be able to worship.
Because by nature, we don't worship. We don't worship God in our dead
natural state. I had a fellow today, I was talking
to a fellow today, and we were talking about the Greek word
in Ephesians 2 that means dead, right? That we're dead in trespasses
and sins. And I said, so, I said, so that
word means, in the Greek, a corpse. And he said, well, well, we can
still make a decision. I said, how, if we're a corpse,
spiritually? No confidence in the flesh. Well, I see it, yeah. And that
was before I put this message together. And I'm sitting there
and I said, well, how can you say that a dead person can do
something? I said, and you know what he
said to me? It doesn't mean that. It doesn't mean that. And I said,
you profess to believe the Bible, you profess to believe every
word the Bible says, and I'm showing you the underlying Greek
text where it says it's a corpse, and you're telling me it doesn't
mean that. See, Norm Wells said something a long time ago. A
long time ago, and I've never forgotten it. He said that religion
is the only place where dead means mostly dead. Not totally
dead. You can't get much more dead
than a corpse, can you? No. You can't. And so that's
how we are spiritually. We're spiritually dead. That's
why we have no confidence in the flesh, too. Because the only
confidence we can have is in Christ. He's the one who raised
that corpse, wasn't he? Lazarus, come forth. Yeah, and
I even brought that up with the fellow. I said, that's a picture
of us dead. Lazarus couldn't do nothing.
And I said, the whole reason the Lord didn't say, come forth,
because every single grave would have broke open, beloved. And
it's a picture of an effectual calling, too. Lazarus, come forth. Just like Dave, come forth, right? Zane, come forth. Wayne, come
forth. He did that. He did that for
us. Isn't that wonderful? Oh my, it's wonderful. I'll tell
you why. We got reason to rejoice, don't we? My, oh my. My, oh my. So the Holy Spirit
of God energizes every true believer, enabling them to rejoice in Christ.
And no one can rejoice in Christ if you're not in Christ. Right? The only way we can rejoice in
Christ is to be in Christ. And it's Him who gives us that
joy, isn't it? Yeah! Oh my! You know Philippians chapter
4 verse 4 says this, Rejoice in the Lord always and again
I say rejoice. You know what the word rejoice means in Philippians
3, 3 where we're in? You know what it means in the
Greek? To boast. Yeah, people think, oh, you gotta
be happy all the time, rejoice, you gotta rejoice. No, it means
to boast. Who's our boast in? Christ. Listen to this. And I'll read it with that, listen.
For we are the circumstances in which worship God in the spirit
and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.
Who's our boast in, brother Zane? Christ, amen. My, oh my. And brother Dave, we don't have
no confidence in the flesh, do we? Nope, nope, none at all. The believer, therefore, is one
who boasts in Christ. That's what rejoicing is. Boast,
Christ is my Savior. And I'll tell you, even you tell
yourself that during the day, you're gonna get a little spring
in your step, I'll tell you that. Right? Man, I know we all talk
to each other, talk to ourselves, right? We all do it, we all do
it. Well, tell yourself, praise God, I'm saved. Oh my, chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world. Now that's a reason to boast
in Christ, isn't it? Redeemed by the blood of the
Lamb, that's a reason to boast in Christ. Oh my. And this ties in with other scriptures,
1 Corinthians 1.30, But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of
God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption, that it is written, He that glorieth, same Greek
word, boasts, let him boast in the Lord. Boast in the Lord. And listen to this, Old Testament. Psalm 34 too, my soul shall make
her boast in the Lord, Jehovah. The humble shall hear thereof
and be glad. We've been humbled by Christ,
haven't we? And we're glad. We hear people's boasting in
Christ and we're glad, aren't we? When we speak to one another
about Christ, we're boasting in Christ, aren't we? And we're
glad, makes your heart go, does not our hearts burn within us,
beloved? Man, when we stay here Wednesday nights or Sundays after
service and we all start talking, man, heart just gets fired up,
beloved. It's wonderful. And then listen
to this, Romans 15, 17, I have therefore wherever I may glory,
boast, in the Greek, through Christ Jesus Christ and those
things which pertain to God. And in Galatians 6, 14, but God
forbid that I should glory, boast, in the Greek, save in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto
me and I unto the world. Isn't that wonderful? My, Brother Miles McKee says
this, we are instructed in the scripture to rejoice in the Lord,
but some believers I've met should have, should have mourned in
the Lord always imprinted on their Bibles. Religious folks
are like that too. Oh yeah. Now, well, we who are
the redeemed of the Lord, we have, we have lots to boast in
about Christ, don't we? We have lots to rejoice in about
Christ. Oh, And beloved of God, rejoicing
is our heaven-given privilege. Boasting about Christ is our
heaven-given privilege. Not everyone boasts in Christ,
do they? We know that in the world. You go out in the world
and start boasting about Christ, you'll find out there are not
a lot of people like that. But we still do it, don't we?
We still boast in Christ. Oh my. The judge of all the earth
could have condemned us. if it had it been His will. But
He saved us by His grace and by His mercy, according to His
will and purpose. And that all came about in eternity,
beloved. Now, that caused us to boast
in Christ, that we're chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world, that Christ is the Lamb slain from before the
foundation of the world, and that which God planned and purposed
must come to pass in time and space. So Christ Jesus himself,
the second person of the Trinity, comes in, becomes a man, comes
into time and space, and redeems us with his precious blood. Now
we have lots to boast about, don't we, in Christ? Not in ourselves. That's why Paul says, I got no
confidence in the flesh. My flesh can't do nothing. I
can't save myself, but Christ saved me. I'm going to boast
in him, beloved. I'm going to boast in Christ. Oh, what a Redeemer.
What a Savior. And he says, he's saved to the
uttermost, all who come to God through him, through Christ.
He says, come unto me, all you that labor in our heavenly land,
and I will give you rest. Has he not given us rest, Brother
Zane? Oh my, Brother David, he's given us rest to our soul, hasn't
he? Yeah, we cease from our labors. Cease from trying to gain approval
before God with our works. And now we know that the only
approval from God is in and through Christ Jesus. He said, this is
my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. Oh my, isn't that wonderful? Praise God. And the fact of our salvation
in Christ and the gospel truths which have been revealed to us,
the fact that God chose us in Christ an attorney and many other
biblical truths are wonderful reasons to boast in Christ, to
rejoice in Christ. Oh, now do we always rejoice? Do we always boast in Christ?
No, we don't. And we confess it as our sin,
don't we? Oh my. Just as we do our other
imperfections, I have many imperfections, I have many sins, but praise
God, they're all covered under the blood. All complete in Him. Oh my. And sometimes when I see
the wretchedness of my own heart outside of Christ, I feel powerless
to rejoice. You know, when we're in the flesh,
we feel powerless to rejoice, don't we? But let us remember
we're in the Spirit. We're born again. That old flesh
will drag us down. But rejoice, beloved. We worship
God in spirit and truth. We boast in Christ. We rejoice
in Christ. We boast in Him. And that only comes about by
God's grace, doesn't it? Oh my. And you know what else, too? My, oh my. Let's look at this
verse again. Philippians 3, 3. For we are
the circumcision, that's the true saints of God, born again
by the Holy Spirit God, which worship God in spirit and rejoice,
boast in Christ Jesus. And here's the latter part. No
confidence in the flesh. We have no confidence in the
flesh. This is the third, this is the third thing I'd like to
look at in this verse. The believer puts no confidence
in the flesh. When we see what we are outside
of Christ and realize that our flesh is unimprovable, we can't
improve upon ourselves. We just keep sinning. We can't
make ourselves better. No, all we do is sin. We see
how corrupt and utterly worthless we are in our own righteousness. It is then by the power of God
the Holy Spirit revealing Christ to us that we learn to put no
confidence in anything that the flesh tells us. The heart, the heart is wicked. That's why we need a new heart,
beloved. That's why we need a new heart. And also, what the flesh tells
us about us is not who we are. We have a new identity in Christ.
We're born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Brother Dave,
we're talking about tapes, man. We got tapes that play in our
heads from before we were saved. Oh, you're worthless, all this
and that, all that, and people, my dad used to say, you're never
gonna amount to nothing. So that's a tape that plays in
my head. Well, I'm in Christ. My oh my, he loves me. He's loved me with an everlasting
love. My dad's love for me was nowhere near nothing what God
loves me. My oh my, God's loved us. Let us rejoice in this. Let us
boast in this. And this is all by grace that
God has loved us with an everlasting love. And it'll never change. That's, that's, that's, that's
amazing grace. We can, now we, when we, if we
sing amazing grace, we sing are we washed in the blood, we're,
we're singing is redeem people. Oh my. We put no confidence in the flesh. None at all. No confidence in the flesh. For
our salvation, is all in Christ, and we now focus on Christ, don't
we? And preachers, we point you to
Christ. And I listen to preachers, I
listen to DJ Walter, he pointed me right to Christ. Oh, I need it so bad. Do you? I need to hear more about my
Savior. I need to hear about His perfect finished work. Tell
me about His serotonin work. Tell me that He died for my sins.
Tell me that he washed me in his precious blood and that God
remembers my sins no more. Oh my. Now I'll cause you to
worship and rejoice, won't it? In Christ, oh I'll tell ya. Oh
my. And we rest in his perfect, sin-atoning,
blood-washing work, don't we? He's washed us from all our sins
in his precious, precious blood. And we put no confidence in the
flesh for our salvation. Instead, we focus on Christ Jesus.
The Gospels preach, and what do we do? As the Gospels preach,
we learn to rejoice in Christ, don't we? We learn to boast in
Him. We learn to worship Him. And then we sing a wonderful
song like we did. And before service, we're going
to sing another one? Are you washed in the blood?
Oh my! I bet you will be rejoicing while
we're singing that song. Oh my, isn't it wonderful? No
confidence in the flesh. And we've learned as believers
to rejoice in Christ Jesus for the mighty work of saving our
souls. We were dead. We were a corpse
spiritually. We were alive physically, but
a corpse spiritually. And he made us alive. Why? But God, who's rich in mercy. Oh, Brother Zane, is our God
rich in mercy? Oh, my. You can't plumb the depths
of his mercy, can we? No. And you can't plumb the heights
of his mercy, can you? And you can't plumb the width
of his mercy. Oh, it's boundless. It's boundless. Brother Dave,
we're washed in that fountain filled with blood. Oh, come out
of that fountain, water the snow, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, it's wonderful. And you know
what? The believer never tires of hearing the gospel. We never
tire of hearing the gospel. Tell me again and again and again. My, let me hear about the perfect,
synatonic, finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We never tire
of hearing how his blood has washed our sins away. Oh, we
never tire of hearing how we've been redeemed with his precious
blood. We never tire of hearing our
Lord Jesus Christ and his wonderful words. It is finished. The work is done. It's complete.
Salvation is wrought. And we who are the redeemed of
the Lord believe that we are saved entirely and utterly by
someone else, and his name is the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
why we have no confidence in the flesh, beloved. That's why. And God's born-again, blood-washed
saints believe that their sole qualification for salvation is
found not in our worthiness, no, we're unworthy. But our sole
qualification for salvation is found in Christ. Nowhere else,
beloved. Nowhere else. My, so our salvation
is not found in our worthiness, but in our unworthiness. We're not worthy at all. Yet
it pleased God to save us. I make me want to worship him.
Does it make you want to worship him? Oh my. Does it make you
want to boast in him? Oh yes, beloved. Oh my. God's born-again, blood-washed
saints believe that Jesus Christ alone is our complete and continual
acceptance before God the Father. Even in heaven, we're worshiping
the Lamb, beloved. My, oh my. Now let's read Philippians
chapter three, verses four to nine. My, oh my, look at this. Though I might have confidence
in the flesh, if any man thinketh that he hath whereof he might
trust in the flesh, I more. Circumcised the eighth day of
the stock of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew of Hebrews,
is touching the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting
the church, touching the righteousness which is of the law, blameless.
But what things were gained to me, those I count lost for Christ. So he's saying, I have no confidence
in my past works. I have no confidence in my flesh.
It was all a bunch of down. And look what he says in the
next verse. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but lost for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. Oh,
he's my Lord. Is he your Lord? Oh my, for whom
I have suffered the loss of all things, but to count them but
none, nothing, that I may win Christ and be found in Him. In Christ. There's the key again.
The vein through all this. Paul's just pointing us right
to Christ, beloved. He's pointing the Philippian
believers right to Christ. Not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, and that's
the righteousness of Christ, beloved. My, so we are saved
entirely by grace, by grace. Salvation is all of grace, and
it is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's nowhere else. When God is born again, blood-washed
saints believe that all the treasures of wisdom and spiritual knowledge
are only found in Christ. Therefore, we do not weary ourselves
by chasing after this or that new experience or supposed blessing. We don't need to. We don't need
to. We have everything in Christ,
beloved. Some folks are always looking for a new experience.
I'll tell you what, I'm going to stand right here, praise God,
I'm saved. I have all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. Complain
in Him, Brother Dave. Amen, brother. Don't need nothing
else. We don't need to chase after some experience or some
new thing. No, not at all. We got Christ. If we have Christ, we got everything.
We got everything. Oh my. And God's born-again blood-washed
saints believe that all the doctrines in the scripture find their hub
in Christ. They're all spokes in a wheel,
and they go to one hub. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
All the doctrines of scripture point right to Him. This is a
hymn book, H-I-M, right? It's all about Christ. He said,
Moses and the prophets, they testify of me. The New Testament
testifies of Him. It's a hymn book. So all the
doctrines of God, right? Think of it. Think of it. Sanctification,
justification, redemption, all those wonderful doctrines find
all their center in Christ. He's the hub. They're just spokes. Oh my. We have everything in Him. So
all teaching, responsibilities, and Christian activities also
find their center in Christ alone. And God's born-again, blood-washed
saints, as they grow in grace, rather than becoming self-satisfied
and hard-spirited, they continue to develop in their understanding,
by the grace of God and by the teaching of God the Holy Spirit,
of their lack of worth in themselves. So as we grow in grace, beloved,
we learn more and more of our lack of ability in ourselves. That's why the more we grow in
grace, the more we keep putting our trust and confidence in Christ.
Isn't it true? Oh, it's wonderful, isn't it?
Oh, it's wonderful, I'll tell you what. My oh my. And we look to Christ. We look to Christ. Think of this
too, as the gospel hammer breaks, breaks us, it breaks us. That
gospel hammer comes in and just breaks us. Like hitting a rock. We're like, our hearts are like
stone. And that gospel hammer comes
in. By the power of God, the Holy Spirit, my oh my, breaks us. And then we increase in our comprehension
that we receive favor not because of anything we're doing. but
because of the fact that we're in Christ. That's the only reason
we receive favor. Isn't that wonderful? It's not
based upon our performance. See, in religion, it's all based
upon your performance. And I'll tell you what, I've
been there, Zane, you were there too. It's just work, work, work,
work, work, work, work. Dave, you were there. Work, work,
do this, do this, do this, do this. When does it end? Oh, I
don't have any confidence in the flesh now, do you guys? No,
not at all. We're just going to rest in Christ,
aren't we? Yeah, well, the exact, that is wonderful. Now, we've
been taught that, haven't we? Because when we try to fix things,
we only make it worse. Right? We only make it worse. Oh my. And we've learned as God's
born-again, blood-washed saints, that Christ's worthiness is the
source of all our blessings. We are saved, scripture says,
for Christ's sake. All our blessings, all spiritual
blessings, find their center in Christ. They're all in him.
They're nowhere else. Nothing left for us to do. He's
done it all. He said, it's finished. Our salvation,
that means our salvation's complete. It's done. As I said many times,
I preach that salvation's already finished. It's already done,
beloved. Now, in Christ, as God's born-again,
blood-washed people, we learn to remember that we are treated
as though we've never sinned, even though we're sinners. Now you make that statement and
people go, what? Well, God says he don't remember my sin no more. You know why? Amen, brother Dave. We're washed in the blood. And
as Zane said, we're in Christ. Oh my. We're already standing
before the Father in Christ. Do you know that? Scripture says
we're already seated in heavenly places in Christ. Ooh, man, I'll
tell you what. Isn't that wonderful, beloved?
This is wonderful. This is amazing. My, oh my. And the only reason we can say
that is because we are standing before the Father in the immaculate
righteousness of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the
only one who's worthy. of our praise and our worship.
So rejoice, beloved God, in the fact that we are already, right
now, right now, we have the full favor of God. Right now. Let that one sink
in. We have the full favor of God
right now, not because of any works which we have done or any
contributions that we've made, That could never be, but rejoice,
beloved of God, as we have full favor in heaven because of Christ
Jesus, our Lord, in his perfect, finished, sin-atoning work. Isn't
that wonderful? My! No wonder Paul said, Rejoice
in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice, which we know,
boast in the Lord always, and again I say, boast in the Lord. Oh my! We've got nothing to boast
in ourselves, but we've got plenty to boast in Christ, don't we?
Oh my. Now by faith we grasp that the
Father is well pleased with us in Christ. Now think about this. I know we three men have went
through a lot of stuff in the past, but I want us to think
about this, that the Father rejoices over us right now. God the Father
rejoices over us right now. In Christ. My. And your dad and sister Kathy,
they're rejoicing face to face. Isn't that wonderful? Oh my,
oh my. And do you know that the Father
could not be more delighted with his people than he already is? What that would say, especially
when we come out of religion, brother. God's already delighted
in us in Christ, and he can't be more delighted in us than
he is in Christ. With us. That's the greatest news I've
ever heard. Isn't that wonderful? Now, no
wonder we, as God's people, willingly serve Him. Right? No wonder we willingly rejoice
in Him. We want to, brother. We don't
have to, but how can we keep silent when we hear about these
wonderful truths? How can we? We can't, can we?
But as Scott Richardson said, it's gonna leak out. It does. Oh, it's wonderful. I'll tell
you what, putting this message together, I was just, I was singing
in my heart. It's wonderful, these truths.
My, oh my. And rejoice, beloved God. We
are not accepted by heaven or righteousness that comes to us.
Fulfilling rules and regulations, no, we are the redeemed of the
Lord. We rest in the fact that Christ is our righteousness. He's our righteousness. Our entire
righteousness comes from Christ and is credited and reckoned
to us. Look at verse 9, Philippians
3, 9. Look at this. We can find it
right there. and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness,
which God tells us in the scripture, our own righteousness, like filthy
rags in his eyes, he won't accept us in our own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ. You must believe on Christ. How
do you believe on Christ? You must be born again. How are
you born again? By the Holy Spirit's almighty
power. Oh, look at this. Through the
faith of Christ, the righteousness of God by faith. So we who are
the redeemed, we refuse to make resolutions and vows and pledges
to change our behavior. Why? One might ask, well, why? Why? Well, the answer is that
grace believers don't put no confidence in the flesh. Because
you ever notice what happens when you say, I'm going to do
that. Oh, the flash, the flash, the
flash, right? Oh my. Listen to what David Barnard
said. He was a missionary to the American
Indians and he said, he says, I never got away from Jesus and
him crucified in my preaching. I found that once these people
were gripped by the great evangelical meaning of Christ's sacrifice
on our behalf, I did not have to give them many instructions
about changing their behavior. He does, amen! Yeah, Christ changes
us. We don't love the things we once
loved. And now we love the things we
once hated. Isn't that amazing? That's the
work of God, beloved. That's the work of God. Oh, so
beloved God, let we who are the redeemed keep looking outside
ourselves to the glorious person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's
listen to this, listen to this in 2 Corinthians 3.18. But we
all with open face beholding as in the glass the glory of
the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory
even by the Spirit of the Lord. To be absent from the body, to
be present with the Lord and to behold him. Like I'm looking
at you, Dave, face to face. Woo, my! It is finished, yes,
indeed. Finished every jot. Believer,
this is all you need. Tell me, is it not? It's finished. That's all we need. So rejoice,
beloved of God. As our everlasting hope, the
Lord Jesus Christ was hung upon the cross and executed. And in
his perfect finished work is all our acceptance with God.
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. No contributions from us
are needed. None! We but look and live! Isn't that wonderful? So let we who are the redeemed
rejoice. It is God's grace that saves us, and it's God's grace
alone. It is faith alone which receives
that grace. It is Christ alone who is the
source of that grace. It all finds its center in Him.
And we who are the redeemed of the Lord are not in debt. We
do not serve God because we feel like we owe Him something. No,
we serve him because we love him and we love him because he
first loved us. Let's look at our verse one more
time. So let we who are the redeemed of the Lord rejoice. Look at
our text. For we are the circumcision which
worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have
no confidence in the flesh. Amen.