Am I Lost?

Q: What does the Bible say about being found in Christ?

Being found in Christ signifies recognizing one's spiritual lostness and receiving righteousness through faith in Him. The Bible teaches that to be found in Christ means to acknowledge our lostness and to rely entirely on His righteousness rather than our own. In Philippians 3:8-9, the apostle Paul emphasizes that he counts all things as loss for the sake of knowing Christ. This indicates a profound understanding that our true worth and identity are only found in Christ, who is our righteousness by faith. We must realize that without being found in Him, we are spiritually lost, with no hope of salvation.

Q: How do we know we are spiritually lost?

We know we are spiritually lost when we recognize our inability to please God by our own efforts or righteousness. Spiritually lostness is revealed through an honest assessment of our nature and actions. As stated in the sermon, our flesh naturally rebels against God and cannot please Him (Romans 8:8). It is only by divine revelation that we might see ourselves as we truly are—sinners in need of a Savior. This understanding leads to longing for righteousness not from the law, but through Christ's faith and grace. The Lord's people are keenly aware of their lostness, as they acknowledge their complete reliance on Christ for salvation.

Q: Why is it important to admit we are lost?

Admitting we are lost is crucial for recognizing our need for Christ's saving grace and righteousness. Acknowledging our spiritual lostness is foundational to the Christian faith. It allows us to understand that we cannot achieve righteousness through our own works. As noted in the sermon, the flesh often resists this truth, leading to self-righteousness. However, only those who admit their lost state can cry out for God's mercy and grace. This humility is essential, as it points us toward an all-sufficient Savior, Jesus Christ, who alone can provide the righteousness we desperately need to stand before a holy God.

Q: How can we be assured of our salvation?

Our assurance of salvation rests in Christ's righteousness and not in our own works or efforts. Assurance of salvation is rooted in the recognition that our righteousness comes solely from Christ. Philippians 3:9 emphasizes being found in Him, not having righteousness of our own. This assurance is a result of God's election and grace through faith; it is not dependent on our performance but on Christ’s completed work on the cross. When we understand this truth, we can confidently rest in our salvation because it is secured by Christ's faithfulness rather than our fluctuating efforts. The believer finds peace and safety in knowing that all who are in Christ are eternally secure.

Q: What is the role of faith in being found in Christ?

Faith is the means by which we receive Christ's righteousness and assurance of salvation. Faith plays a critical role in the believer's relationship with Christ. It is through faith that we are united with Him, enabling us to receive His righteousness. According to Philippians 3:9, Paul speaks of the righteousness which is through faith in Christ. This faith is a divine gift, whereby God enables us to see our need for a Savior and to trust in Christ alone for our justification. Thus, faith is not merely intellectual assent; it is a heartfelt reliance on Christ that leads us to be found in Him and to participate in His redemptive work.

to be in the book of Proverbs this hour, the third chapter, Proverbs three. Paul is declaring the one desire, the singular desire that all of God's people have. And did you know that you only have one true desire if you are the Lord's? One singular desire. You say, well, I have a bunch of different desires. Yeah, I mean, I understand that, but if you were asked what is the one thing you have needful, the one desire that you have, it would be to be found in Christ.

Is that not true? I've got to be found in Him. I have to be found in Him. Not looking to self, not left to self, but looking to him alone as all of my wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Let's read this together. Proverbs, I'm sorry, Philippians. Did I say Proverbs? Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. Philippians chapter three. Somebody tell me otherwise next time. That's Wednesday night, come back for Wednesday. We'll be, Proverbs chapter 24. Lord, will it Philippians chapter three. I just want to read two verses, um, verse eight and nine. Paul says, yay, 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 and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness, which is of God by faith. The title I've given this message is am I lost? And that thought came from verse nine where it says, and be found in him. Only people that are lost need to be found.

Did you know that? You say, well, yeah, we knew that. Well, I'm just saying because what does it mean to be found in him? That means that I had to be lost at one point. If I'm going to be found, I have to be lost. Only the Lord's people are made to be lost and are also made to be found. Am I lost? Am I lost?

I wrote an article in your bulletin. You might've read it, but it's things that are impossible with man. Things that are impossible with man are possible with God. All things are possible, Christ said. Two places, Mark and Matthew, I believe. The point is, is that it's impossible for your flesh to count everything as loss.

We live in a society, and it's not just the society, it's also our flesh, and from the very beginning, men always point to me, look at me, look what I have done, look what I have accomplished. If you set a world record, you're probably not going to keep that a secret. Probably going to tell people about it if you had been striving and working and trying to set that world record. If you invent something that's amazing, that's going to help people, you find the cure for cancer, you're probably not going to keep that a secret. You're going to say, look what I have done.

That's how we are by nature. So it's impossible for us to count everything as loss in the flesh. And I say in the flesh because the things that are of the flesh can't mind the things that are of the spirit because the flesh and the spirit are enmity against one another. The scripture says they're hostile towards each other. The flesh and the spirit hate each other. So the flesh is always saying, look at me, look at myself, look what I have done, look what I've created, look what I look at the life I live, look at the work that I've done.

I'm not as bad as that person. I'm not as bad as that person. I used to do that. I don't do that anymore. Well, I've never done that. I would never do that. You ever heard that before? You know the self-righteousness that's in that statement? I would never do such a thing.

You know what the Lord's people say? But for the grace of God, there go I. Look at David. He called a man after God's own heart, and yet he was a murderer and an adulterer and a thief and a liar And yet he was a man after God's own heart. How can that be? Because God was not looking at David's flesh. He was looking at the new heart that he had given David.

We are but sinners by nature and by practice. We are born sinners and we are going to remain sinners in this flesh, but The good news of the gospel is that the Lord came to put our sin away. That was his purpose. Call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sin. Not give them a chance, not give them an opportunity, not give them a choice. He came to do something and that something was to save his people from their sin.

It's impossible to count everything but loss that we have done or have not done as part or evidence of our salvation in the flesh. And yet when we are given the new man, when the Lord has blown his spirit upon us and given us life, that is exactly what we do. We say, no, it's not what I've done. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us. Not according to my works, render unto me, Lord, the good things that I have done, but according to thy works, according to thy good deeds, according to thy, what you have done, allow that to be my righteousness, because if it's not, I have no righteousness.

The second thing it's impossible for our flesh to do is admit that we're spiritually lost. Which is really interesting because we're all born spiritually lost in the flesh. I'm not lost, I know exactly where I'm at. But it's spiritually things. The spirit and the flesh are enmity against one another.

They that are in the flesh cannot please God, scripture says. Then it goes on to say, but you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If so be that the spirit of God live in you, dwell in you. And if any man hath not the spirit of God, then he is none of his. The Lord gives his spirit to his people.

The point that I'm making is, is that our flesh cannot say, okay, I'm counting everything but loss. But do you know that the Lord causes us to actually cry that from the heart by faith? When the Lord gives us faith to believe, we say, this is just, we see things in this life as just temporary.

We see them as fading away. We see them as disappearing. We see them as going. Look at yourself now versus yourself in elementary school. You're getting older. You're dying. That's how it works. We talked about this the first hour, didn't we? We're going to go back to dust, the scripture says, if we have an appointment with God. It's appointed unto men once to dine after this, the judgment. Flesh is gonna turn back to dust. What's my hope? Well, let's ask the question, am I lost? Because if I'm lost, I don't have hope. I don't have hope. There's only those who are lost and those who are found. There's only those who are dead and those who are alive. There's only the righteous. And there's those who are the self righteous, which is no righteousness at all.

We heard that the first hour. It's not righteous if it's the righteousness, which based upon what we do, we're not good based upon what we do or good based upon what we do or do not do. Christ must be our goodness. My desire this morning is to give rest. to the Lord's people, to give hope to the burdened, to give peace to the weary, and it only comes through and by the Lord. It can only come through and by the Lord. He must be the doer of it, our efforts are in vain. Am I lost? Well, the first question I have is this. Has God ever given you the desire to be found? Think about that. Has God ever given you the desire to be found?

It's interesting, and I hate using the word ironic because that's just not the proper word. It's wonderful, full of wonder. It's marvelous how the Lord does this. Only the Lord's people believe themselves to be lost. Think about that for a second. The last question I'll be asking us is, what's your greatest fear? It's to be lost. It's to be left to myself. Is that not true? Have you ever had a desire to be found? Some people say, no, I figured it out. I got every odd dotted, every T crossed. I've done this and I've done that.

I made Jesus my savior. I made Jesus Lord. He's already Lord. You can't make him something that he already is. He's the savior of his people and he's the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. My doing doesn't change that. He's God and I'm not. He's sovereign and holy and just and good and I'm all the opposite of that. I'm sinful and dead and corrupt. My thoughts are wicked. My heart's deceitful above all things, the scripture says. Desperately wicked. My hope's not in myself.

Only the Lord's people are made to need to be found. I've got to be found. That's what Paul says right here. And being found in him. Not found by him, found in him. Of course, that's by him also. That has to do with election, but to be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but by the righteousness, which is by the faith of Christ. It's not even my faith, it's his faith bestowed.

Has God given me the desire to be found? Well, the first evidence of that is that you see that you were in total darkness, or you see that you are in total darkness. What do I mean by that? Well, naturally speaking, spiritually, we can't produce light because we're dead. Christ is the light. We know that from John chapter one. This light was the life of men. the Lord is the light for his people. Now, if I look around me in this world, does it look dark to you? Does it look bleak? I'm not just talking about the circumstances of politics, I'm talking about the circumstances. Scripture said in the end time there'll be wars and rumors of wars.

Don't think that that's something that caught God off guard. God's not on guard. He's seated as the successful sovereign savior of his people, the ruler of this world. He doesn't have to guard. He's not on defense. He's just purposed everything for it to unfold as he has gloriously chosen for it to by his determinant counsel. There'll be wars and rumors of wars. So don't fret at that.

I'm not talking about, what I'm talking about is the absence of interest in the truth. because the truth of the Lord is our light. The gospel of the Lord is our light. There's an absence of needing the truth. Now, there's not an absence of church-going people.

That's not what I'm referring to. There's plenty of self-righteous, church-going people. You can go to any church around this area, and you'll find a lot of people that go to church. You'll find a lot of people that grace the doors of that church and that building every Sunday, perhaps every Wednesday, and they do it very faithfully. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about, can you look around and see that people still hate Christ the way that they hated him when he was on the earth? Can you see that?

It's pretty plain and clear. If you go and tell somebody that salvation is a choice, but it's just not your choice. You tell somebody that God was the one that chose to save his people. It wasn't your choice that caused you to be saved. People get a little bent out of shape over that one. You tell them that God don't love everybody, that Jesus didn't die for everybody, that his blood accomplished that which it purposed to put away the sin of his people.

People don't like to hear that. Why? Because it renders our flesh powerless and our flesh is full of pride and arrogance. Our flesh is full of sin. Our flesh will shake its fist at God at this very moment, except the Lord calls us to be restrained by his power and by his grace. We see that the world hates Christ right now, just like it did when he was upon the face of the earth.

Think about all the people that the Lord met. Enter into this thought for just a second. How many people did the Lord meet, even Pilate? Talking to Pilate, face to face with God's talking to Pilate. Christ Jesus in the flesh is God, first and foremost. We must establish that. He's the fullness of the triune Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. He's the fullness embodied in person, in flesh, robed in flesh.

Talking to Pilate, and Pilate cannot see him. Pilate doesn't have a clue who he's talking to. The Lord said, I came to establish truth. Pilate looks at him and says, what is truth? And that's the last thing you ever hear of Pilate. Leaves him right there. That's the end of Pilate. What else happened to him?

Well, scripture doesn't say. What is truth? Christ could have looked at him and said, I am. Just like he did in the Garden of Gethsemane when they fell over backwards, I am. And every one of them went backwards, didn't they? Why? Because of his glorious power to it. He was establishing, you can't touch the disciples. This is my time, it's not theirs. He didn't say a word. He opened out his mouth.

Why? Because his time had come to die. He purposed to die. By his glorious counsel, he caused a seed to fall on the ground at the appointed time and water to come out of the sky and the sunshine that's however many miles away, and maybe somebody knows how many hundreds or whatever thou, I don't know how many miles away the sun is, but that particular ray of light takes a long time to get from the sun to here, and yet it hit that seed at the appointed time, and it sprouted up to create the very tree that he was gonna be crucified on. He purposed that.

Now do I need to be found of this God? Am I lost? Do I need to be found of him? Or do I rest the hope of my eternal life in what I have done or in what I am doing? Because there's really no third option. It's either that I might be found in him not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, or that I might present myself unto God in my righteousness by saying, Lord, I've done this.

Lord, I've done that. Lord, I quit doing this. Lord, I've never done that. Lord, I've been good to people. I've been kind. I've been nice to people. I've tried to let the good outweigh the bad. I've worked really hard to get rid of the bad stuff that I used to do. And I've just been giving, and I've been helping, and I've been serving.

What'd the Lord say? No, I'm going to disannul your covenant. Your covenant's void. He says, I'm looking at one covenant, and it is the covenant of grace whereby Christ Jesus hath saved his people. It's the covenant where I chose to save you. before you were even formed in the womb.

It's the choice that God made to redeem his people back to himself. It's his choice. Now, do I need to be found in him or am I relying on myself? That's the only two options. Interestingly enough, only the Lord's people are the ones that says, yes, truth, Lord, I'm lost. I need to be saved. Lord, I'm lost, I need to be found in Christ. I've got to be found in you.

Don't leave me to myself, because if you do, I'll be like that one sheep that wanders from the fold. That's what the Lord talked about in the parable. He said, how many of you having 100 sheep and 99 are fine, but the one wanders off? How many of you not leave the 99 and go find the one? It's a picture of, if the Lord leaves us to ourself, we'll just wander from the fold, won't we? The good news is, is we have a good shepherd. He brings us back according to his purpose, according to his will. What did he say of all that the father giveth me? I shall lose. I've lost none. I've lost none. John 17 father, all that you've given me. I've not lost one. I've not lost one.

God, he said, well, according to the Lord's purpose, all that the Lord had purposed him to have, all that the Lord had given unto him, he successfully redeemed. It wasn't an effort or an attempt, in a sense, it was that he purposed it and it was done.

Isaiah 53 says this, all we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way. Can you relate to that? Guilty as charged, truth Lord, left to myself I would go my own way. I would be like the sheep, I would go astray. And then you know what the rest of that verse says? And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. even as sheep that's gone astray, yet the Lord put the iniquity of his people upon his son. Isn't that amazing? So that he doesn't see our going astray. So he doesn't see our unbelief. He doesn't see our unrighteousness. He sees the righteousness of Christ. He sees the blood of Christ that is our covering. And he says, I'm well pleased with my people.

Do I need to be found in him? Do I have the need to be found? If so, You've already been found. If you need to be found, if God has given you the desire to be found in Christ, not having your own righteousness, but his, if he's given you the faith to believe him, you've already been found.

That's the glorious news. He did the finding. Somebody said, let's see, how do they word that whenever they say, I went to church and I found Jesus last weekend. You ever heard that expression? Well, I didn't know he was lost. First of all, I'm the one that's lost. I've gotta be found. Isn't that true? I've got to be found. I'm the one that's lost. Lord, you're gonna have to find me.

What is our flesh's natural response hearing that we, that we're sinful? that we're depraved, that we need a savior. What's our flesh's natural response? Well, I can work harder, I can do more, I can pray more, I can fast, I can serve more, I can do this, I can do that, I can choose to work, I can learn, I can grow.

I have a garden right now and I can't cause that garden to grow. Did you know that? I can water it. And if the sun doesn't shine, I guess I could put a UVA and UVB light or whatever light I'm supposed to put on it. But if God doesn't give the increase, all he has to do is just send a stink bug or something and destroy the whole thing in a matter of a day or two. God doesn't give the increase, I can't even cause that plant to grow. How about a cold, can I wheel away a cold?

The last time I got sick, I was like, man, I really wish this would go away. So here I am. I'm taking vitamin C. I'm taking zinc. I'm using Zycam, which, by the way, you've got to shove that up your nose. And it's terrible. But I was going to get rid of that cold. And guess what? It didn't get rid of anything. At the end of it all, I had a very sour-tasting vitamin C that I was eating. And my nose kept burning because I kept shoving stuff up inside of it. It didn't do me any good.

Why? Because I can't will away a cold. I can't sit here and say, OK, be gone. It's not going to happen. Yet, I think I can cause Christ to find me. I'm the one that's lost, remember. By my own choice, I'm the one that's lost. You say, well, I didn't choose to be lost. In Adam, we all died, and in Adam, we are all made guilty, and our nature is to choose sin. Therefore, yes, we did choose to be lost.

There's no doubt about that. Flesh is offended when it hears that God's only pleased with Christ. And men will flock to other men who have ideals and different things that cause them to feel better about themselves and they will affirm one another. Here's what the Lord says about them.

Let them alone, they be blind leaders of the blind. If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. If I'm in darkness, If I'm blind, I'm in darkness, I need the light. Lord, I don't need a contact or a prescription for glasses, I'm blind. You're gonna have to say, receive thy sight. Lord, I don't need a help with hearing, I'm deaf. You're gonna have to give me ears to hear, I don't even have ears. It's not that I need braces on my legs to be able to walk. I'm lame, I have no strength, I'm impotent. I'm a leper, I'm dead and dying.

Lord, save me, find me, keep me. It's not our deeds or our moral living or nothing that we do that causes God to do anything. It's that he chooses to do so according to his will and all by his grace. I cannot get to God, I cannot please him in myself and in my flesh. There's nothing but sin and evil. I must be found in Christ alone.

If that's your confession, the good news is you've already been found. How do we know that? Well, because the Lord only gives that confession to his people. Second question, am I lost? Well, Is my hope truly in the fact that I can constrain or restrain God by something I do? You know what that means? Can I make him do something, or can I prevent him from doing something? We've already touched on this a little bit. But do you know what that really comes down to? It comes down to this one question. What think ye of Christ? What think ye of Christ?

Pilate couldn't see him. It's interesting, because the disciples said, Lord, show us the Father. And he said, have I not been so long with you? And you've seen me, you've seen the Father. So even his disciples had to receive sight of the Lord to see him, didn't they? It's all the Lord's giving. All the people, they couldn't see him.

And he asked the Pharisees, he said, what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? I was talking to a man one time that's very religious, and I asked him, I said, really, the gospel can come down to this simple question, what think ye of Christ? And he said, oh yeah, yeah, whose son is he?

And he finished the verse. Well, everybody that I would talk to or have talked to in religion say he's the son of God. But they don't mean the fullness of God in that. They mean the offspring of God. That he was similar to God or like unto God. That he had godly character or godly qualities. He could do certain things that were miraculous. And they almost liken him to like Greek mythology or something.

Yet the Lord's people are made to know Christ is God. The fullness of God. The baby in the manger. He was the eternal I am. He's the one that created everything, the world and the fullness thereof. He's the one that calls everything. He purposed it by his own grace, by his own determinant counsel. He was just as much God in that manger as he was when he said, peace, be still to the wind. He was just as much. It's amazing to me also that he was a hundred percent man and a hundred percent God. We can't even fathom that. Um, But a good example of that would be as he was so much man that he was sleeping in the boat with the disciples.

They said, Lord, do you not care that we perish? Yet he was so much God that he said, peace, be still, and the wind stopped. He was so much man that he said, I thirst on the cross of Calvary. Yet he told the woman at the well, if you knew who asked of you, you'd have asked of him and he'd have given to you living water. Eternal life. What think ye of Christ? He is God, he is sovereign.

And the thought of I will is the original sin in the garden that causes us to take the place of him by saying I can do something that causes God to do something or I can do something that prevents God from doing something. That doesn't sound very lost to me, does it you? Remember the Republican and the Pharisee? I liked what Todd said last week. I've never really thought of it this way, but he said the Pharisee was in the temple praying within himself, and he said, Lord, I thank you that I'm not like other men. I'm not like this man or that man. I don't do this or that. Here's what I do. He said, I tithe, I fast, I pray, I give, I so on. But the most interesting part is that he was looking up. He was looking up. And yet the publican said unto the Lord, have mercy on me, the sinner, while he was beating upon his chest and he was looking down.

And the Lord said, one of these went home justified. Justified. Why? Because one was lost and needed to be saved. And one thought they were saved. And yet he was lost. Do we see that? That's the message this morning. The Pharisee believed himself to be righteous. Therefore, he was lost. The publican believed himself to be the sinner. Needing a savior, and therefore he was found in Christ because God's the doer of it. And it all comes back to Christ being God and successfully redeeming his people. It all comes back to everything being fulfilled.

Even when he told John, I have needed thee to baptize me. When John said that to the Lord, he said, suffer it to be so, except for it is meat for us to fulfill all righteousness. Righteousness, God. So the Lord Jesus Christ had to fulfill righteousness for himself. No, he was doing it for you. He was doing it for me. That's what he was doing. Everything God required is our righteousness. Christ Jesus did perfectly because he was God. He's the only one that can please God.

We're like the blind man, brethren. This one thing I know, whereas I was blind, now I see. I don't have any other confession other than that. I was blind and now I see. Why? He did it, the Lord Jesus Christ. Not myself, I didn't do it, he did it. It's not me. We've been given this confession. Look at verse nine.

That I might 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 God, And the last question I have for us this morning, the question is, am I lost? Well, ask yourself this.

Does the thought of being lost scare you? Does the thought of being left to yourself, is that your greatest fear? That's my greatest fear. Left to myself, that means that eternity I will not have life. I'll have eternal death. It means that I don't have Christ as my righteousness. It means that I have no hope or assurance that when God looks upon me, he will see anything good whatsoever and his justice must be satisfied. His wrath must be poured out upon sin. He will not acquit the guilty, which means if I am not in Christ, I am guilty.

Therefore, hell will be my home. That's the frightening part about being lost. That's the frightening part of being left to self. And he's made it very clear here that the righteousness which is of the law is not our hope. It's to be found in him. I've got to be found in him.

It is my greatest fear that he did not choose to save me, that I'm not one of the elect. Do you know who is never afraid of being one of the elect? One that the Lord has not revealed himself to. The man or the woman that never worries about not being the Lord's.

Now I remember in false religion very clearly that we may have to have affirmation from each other for a brief moment. Well, we got that pretty quick. We were able to say, well, you know, you've done this and that you're good to go. What I'm talking about is not being found in Christ. Those who are afraid of not being found in Christ are the ones that God has chosen to be found in Christ. Is that not amazing?

Here's the reason why the Lord does things backwards in our mind. And I said our mind, it doesn't mean he's doing them backwards, it's just in our mind. Our little pea brains couldn't handle it if we understood everything about the Lord. The reason he does things backwards in our mind is because we would be the cause and effect of it otherwise. Do we see that?

If my being found was dependent upon me, or if this worded itself based upon my choice, I would be the cause and therefore the effect would be being found. But God is the first cause and the effect is his purpose and his choice in salvation. Therefore I am found in Christ. He doesn't allow me to see evidence in my life that I have been found, because if He calls me to see evidence, I would think, okay, here's the reason why I was found.

I'm doing this or I'm doing that. And He says, no, to God be all the glory. We would glory in ourself. We would glory in our self-righteousness at that point. The Lord says, no, I'm not going to let you have any glory. Not in the beginning of your salvation. Not when it was accomplished on Calvary. Not before time ever began when I elected you. Not whenever I called you out of darkness into my glorious light. Not whenever I keep you for the rest of your life. Not whenever you die and take your last breath. And not whenever you stand before Christ, robed in his righteousness.

I'm going to get all the glory. You and I will say, well I know I've been found because of this. We heard the first hour, that word I is a really bad word. If my sentence pertaining to salvation starts with I have, that's a really bad place to be because salvation's not dependent upon me in any way. Salvation's not determined by I in any way. It's all determined by the Lord and by what he has purposed. Thanks be to God that that's the case.

Otherwise we would have no hope. Have you been made to see that if he doesn't choose to do all the saving that I am lost indeed without hope? You know, men and women by nature, they don't have that hope. They may say it in word, but indeed they deny it by what they do. My hope is that he did all the saving. Is that your hope?

He did all the saving, period. There's nothing else to add to that. There's no clause, there's no fine print. He has to do all the saving. Completely, totally, 100%. Because it has to be done perfectly, and you and I are not perfect. Is my rest found in his election, his redemption, his regeneration? Or is all my hope in my Sacrifice. I've sacrificed so much for God. My service is so faithful to the Lord. My selflessness. Oh, I've been so selfless. I've helped this person. I've given to charities. I've helped these people. I've given to the church. I've tithed.

That's what the Pharisee said, was it not? I don't need to be. He didn't need to be found. He'd already thought he's got God in his pocket. You know something that I find Well, and it's only because of what the Lord says about it, but they have these little figurines now that are so-called Jesus figurines that are about this big. People put them in their pocket.

That's not of the Lord. That's not of the Lord. It's called a graven image. No. Everything we see by our natural eye, if we look to it, as part or evidence of our salvation, whether to show man or to show God, it's not of the Lord, brethren. It's not of the Lord. We will grab hold of that and say, all right, I know that I've been found because I got Jesus in my pocket. See how sad that sounds? That's just not true. It's not true. It's not of the Lord.

What is my comfort? What is my hope? What's my assurance? Am I lost? Am I lost? Because if I'm lost, I got to be saved or I'm not. I have no hope. First thing we know about this is that if we're lost, it's our doing. Because we can't find God. Who known the mind of the Lord? Where are you going to look for him? He's higher than the heavens. We can't find God.

It's not going to happen. So if I'm lost, it's my doing. For sure. Somebody said, well, yo, we fell in Adam, so we're, brethren, every time we sin, we're making the choice to remain lost. It's just how we are by nature. We're going to remain lost, no matter what we do. Lord's gonna have to do all the saving.

So is my greatest comfort my faithfulness to God in what I've done, or is my greatest comfort Christ's faithfulness on behalf of his people? I can rest in that. His righteousness becoming my righteousness, I can rest in that. His perfection being given to me freely by His grace and me being found perfect in Christ by His choice, I can rest in that because He's God, He's holy, He's perfect.

Not in myself. I go to try to bake a cake, I can't even get it right, you know what I mean? You can relate to that. Trying to think, I burnt popcorn the other day. It's not, you know how hard it is to burn, maybe somebody else feels this way, I don't know. You know how hard it is to burn popcorn? Well, apparently it's really easy. I burnt popcorn, it's terrible, but I hate burnt popcorn.

What's my point? If I can't get something right that's so simple, what makes me think that I can get salvation right? Think about that. Based upon what I do in this flesh, if I can't get popcorn right, can't will away a cold, I mean, can't change the weather. They can't even get the weather right whenever they predict it. Is that not true?

What makes me think I can do something where God is going to say, notice me. Well, I see, God's gonna see me. God's gonna see you sitting up a little higher than your fellow man and say, okay, I'm gonna choose to save you. I'm gonna find you because you're better than the rest of your peers.

No. No, you know what he calls that? Iniquity. And he says, I hate all workers of iniquity. That's what he said. That's the truth of the gospel. Psalm 5, 5, look it up. It's, he hates. Somebody said, well, yeah, he's a God of love. That's true. He loved perfectly and he hates perfectly too. It's amazing that he chose to love his people because it's part of his glorious nature and character, isn't it? We love that about our Lord. We find it amazing. We stand in awe of it. We can't understand it or comprehend it.

That's why it's called grace. But that's our hope, isn't it? That we might be found in him, not having our own righteousness, which is of the law. not having our own righteousness based upon what we do or do not do, but having the righteousness, which is by the faith of Christ. Meaning God has made us righteous and given us faith that looks to Christ, that believes him, that rests in him. Why? Because we've been found in Christ.

Look at verse eight and nine in closing. Yea, doubtless, 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 who count them but done that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness of God, the righteousness, which is of God. Don't you love that word of? That's possessive, isn't it? He produced it. He worked it. The righteousness which is of God by faith. Does your heart and my heart cry out truth, Lord? All I am and all I do is for you. I count for loss because I have to be found in Christ. I've got to be found and I must be found in him. Because all my righteousness is filthy rags.

If so. Then rejoice. Because by the Lord's amazing grace, he only gives that cry unto those who have been found in Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your marvelous salvation, whereby you get all the glory. Thank you for choosing to not leave us to ourself, but revealing your truth. Will we ask as we partake of these elements that you would bless them. That we may be in remembrance of your sacrifice, your service, your selflessness, Lord, your faithfulness under the father, your fulfillment of all righteousness and truth. Being the embodiment of those things calls us to look to you alone. And rest. In Christ's name, amen. We'll ask.

Am I Lost?

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about being found in Christ?

How do we know we are spiritually lost?

Why is it important to admit we are lost?

How can we be assured of our salvation?

What is the role of faith in being found in Christ?

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About Caleb Hickman

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Am I Lost?

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about being found in Christ?

How do we know we are spiritually lost?

Why is it important to admit we are lost?

How can we be assured of our salvation?

What is the role of faith in being found in Christ?

Sermon Transcript

About Caleb Hickman

Comments

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