Turn with me, please, to the
book of Philippians. This will be our starting place
today. The book of Philippians chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3. 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. 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. Circumcise the eighth day of
the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew of the
Hebrews, as touching the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal,
persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is in
the law, blameless. But what things were gained to
me, those I counted 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 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. I took my title for this message
from this last verse we just read, and be found in him. Now Paul, he begins this third
chapter by exhorting the church at Philippi to rejoice in the
only one who's worthy to rejoice in. The Lord. Because there's
no other thing, no other person for a believer to rejoice in.
All our praise is due to Him that loved us and washed us from
our sins in His own blood, as John tells us in Revelation 1.5.
And Paul reminds the Philippians again in chapter 4 to rejoice
in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. Now
this was not Some advice from some novice. This came from a
man who had suffered endless persecutions, imprisonments,
hardship, simply because of the preaching of the gospel, the
gospel of Christ crucified. Paul's back must have been a
mass of scar tissue after enduring 195 lashes. You think about that.
195 lashes spread out over five beatings by the Jews. And yet these are
the things in which Paul rejoiced. This word rejoice means to be
glad, to take delight in. And only the abundant grace of
God bestowed on a believer can make someone rejoice in things
that would otherwise cause so much pain and distress. Paul
counted it a privilege to suffer for Christ's namesake. Now throughout
the Scriptures we find reasons given to us to rejoice in the
Lord. We read in Luke chapter 10 of
the Lord sending out the 70. In verse 1 it reads, after these
things the Lord appointed other 70 also and sent them two and
two before his face into every city and place whether he would
come. And in verse 17, the 70 returned
and reported to the Lord saying, Lord, even the devils are subject
unto us through thy name. These guys were excited. But
our Lord told them to rejoice, not that the spirits are subject
to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Can there ever be found a greater
reason to rejoice than that? David in Psalm 68.3 encourages
us, let the righteous be glad. Let them rejoice before God. Yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Exceedingly rejoice because you
can't carry this thing of rejoicing too far. There's no such thing
as overdoing it when it comes to rejoicing in the Lord. In
Psalm 119 verse 162, David writes, I rejoice at thy word as one
that findeth great spoil. David likens God's word which
He has so graciously given to us, to one who comes upon a massive
treasure trove, so vast, so massive, that it sets him for a dozen
lifetimes. And that is how the believer
sees the Word of God as the most valuable treasure that can possibly
be had. And that applies to both the
written Word, but especially to the living Word, Christ Jesus
our Lord. In James 1.9 we read, Let the
brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted. Now there's
a reason to rejoice if there ever was one. We've been brought
from the lowest degree possible, that of a wretched, hell-deserving,
vile sinner, to the unimaginable exalted status of being joint
heirs with Christ. We're not just set for life,
we're set for eternity. We sing with David, my soul shall
be joyful in the Lord, it shall rejoice in his salvation. Now, Paul gave up much to become
a servant of Christ. He held a high position within
the ranks of the Pharisees. Otherwise, he could not have
obtained those letters from the high priest that he received
to bring those bound back to Jerusalem that he found worshiping
in this name of Christ. And he declares in verse six
of our text, in Philippians 3, that touching the righteousness
which is in the law, he was blameless. He lived the strictest of lives
when it came to observing every statute and every law of God. And like every single believer,
his righteousness was probably the hardest thing that Paul gave
up. We're so prone, even after we
believe that all righteousness is found in Christ, to still
fall back into that ditch of self-righteousness. If there
ever was such a thing as bragging rights when it comes to doing
all the right things to be pleasing to God and ourselves, Paul would
have certainly qualified. Some think that he was the rich
young ruler that we read of in Mark 10. In verse 21, It says,
then Jesus, beholding him, loved him. Now, whoever this young
man was, he was definitely one of God's elect, because Christ
never loved anyone that he later sent to hell. Yet, Christ crushed
this young man's hope in himself, and we're told that he went away
grieved. and probably went away angry,
because when you tell a religious man that his righteousness is
worthless, they generally don't take it very well. Now, false
religion also requires men and women to give up much. But in
the end, they simply trade the chains of sin for the chains
of dead religion. And sadly, both lead to the same
eternal end. Patrick Henry, that firebrand
of the American Revolution, when he gave his famous speech that
we all learned in school concerning throwing off British rule because
it had become so oppressive, he uttered these words. He said,
I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give
me liberty or give me death. But before he uttered those words,
he asked this question, is life so dear or peace so sweet as
to be purchased at the chains of slavery and bondage. Forbid it, Almighty God, that
that is exactly what dead Christ's religion does. It promises peace
when there is no peace. It enslaves men and women with
the chains and the rules of regulations It cannot improve the condition
of the soul, but only make them two-fold more the child of hell
than they were before. Taste not, touch not, handle
not. Those are the things that they
preach. Do something right and God will
reward you. Do something wrong and he'll
punish you. But in works-based religion,
God's actions are not really actions at all, but rather reactions
to what man does. God's will is driven by the actions
of man in free will religion. One of the laws of physics is
that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction,
and that's a good description of what natural man believes
about God, that he simply waits to see what man is going to do,
and then he does what he can to offset things, and as we say,
get things back on track. But the sovereign, almighty ruler
of the universe doesn't react. Rather, he says, I will, and
they shall. Psalm 2, verses 1-4 become one
of my favorite passages of Scripture as I see the madness going on
in our own country and around the world. And it reads thus,
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together
against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, Let us
break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us."
And how does God react to this? Does He start stressing, wondering
what's going to happen next? No, we're told in the next verse,
"...that he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh." The Lord
shall have them in derision. This word derision means the
act of ridiculing or laughing at someone mockingly. Contempt
or scorn manifested by laughter. Contempt and scorn. That is what
our God feels when He views His peons making plans to cast off
His rule. He has a good laugh. And the reason our God finds
these actions of men amusing is because of what we read in
Daniel 4.35, that scripture that we're so familiar with, spoken
by Nebuchadnezzar when his sanity was returned to him. And all
the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. All seven
plus billion souls on this earth are counted but dust when compared
to the majesty of our God. And all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him what doest
thou. Now, there are only a few places
in Scripture that speak of God laughing. We just read one in
Psalm 2. Turn with me, please, to the
book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 1. Speaking of God laughing, of
all that we read in Scripture, I believe this is one of the
most sobering passages that there is in God's Word. Proverbs 1,
we'll begin reading in verse 22. How long, ye simple ones, will
ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their
scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn you at my reproof, behold,
I will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my words
unto you. Because I have called, and ye
refused, I have stretched out my hand in no man regarding,
but ye have said it not on my counsel, and would none of my
reproof. Because of that I will also laugh
at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh. This is God speaking. When your
fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a
whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then
shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall
seek me early, but they shall not find me, for that they hated
knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would
not of my counsel, they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall
they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their
own devices. For the turning away of the simple
shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me
shall dwell safely and shall be quiet from fear of evil. Psalm 2, Proverbs, I should say. Paul
warned the Galatians that God would not be mocked. You won't
spend your life spitting in God's face. And then when it comes
time to die, turn to Him for salvation to keep from going
to hell. He warned you that if you think
that you can do this, The last laugh. Don't be so foolish as
to think you can play God for a fool and get away with it. You do so at the peril of your
own undying soul. So we've already talked about
what Paul gave up to follow Christ. But let's compare what Paul gave
up to what he gained. We've already read the list of
things in verses 5 and 6 in Philippians 3. that he had. We won't review
those. But what did Paul gain? He tells
us in verse 8 that he gained the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord. When Paul speaks of gaining or
obtaining the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, he's
talking about a subject that can only be known by revelation
from God the Holy Spirit. Any and all saving knowledge
that we have of Christ is given to us. We know that faith is
a gift of God, that it's given to us. And without faith, we're
told it is impossible to please Him. And the fact that this knowledge
of God and of Christ is given to us, this privilege to know
the things of God, is what we will and should always rejoice
in. As we're told in Jeremiah 9,
23 and 24, Thus saith the Lord, let not
the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory
in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches, but let them that glorieth glory in this, that
he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which
exercises lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these things I delight, saith the Lord. If we can put
these in human terms, we can say that these things make God
happy. He exercises loving kindness
as he tenderly and lovingly draws his elect to himself, to the
feet of Christ. He exercises judgment which he
did when he poured out his wrath on his son who was standing in
our stead. And he exercises righteousness
when he clothes us and covers us with the righteousness of
Christ. Throughout his letters, Paul
uses the word mysteries to describe the hidden things of God and
tells us that God makes known these mysteries to his people. Christ told His disciples as
much when in Matthew 13, 11, He said, Because it is given
unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but to them,
to the lost men and women that God leaves to themselves, it
is not given. Never gloat, dear saint. Never
look down your nose at a wretched sinner, no matter how vile. Because
if you know your heart, you know that if God took His hand off
you, you would be, as I, the most corrupt, disgusted, twisted,
vile sinner imaginable. Now we know that Paul was given
a special revelation from God as he explained to the Corinthians
in the twelfth chapter of his second letter to them when he
speaks of being caught up into the third heaven and hearing
unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter
and being given an abundance of revelations. And this experience
completely changed Paul's mindset about everything in his life
to the point that he declared in verse 10 of that 12th chapter
that he took pleasure in infirmities, that he took pleasure in reproaches,
in necessities, that he took pleasure in persecutions and
in distresses for Christ's sake. Obviously, these things are not
something that you would normally take pleasure in, but Paul counted
it the highest privilege to suffer for the sake of the Gospel. And
in verse 9 of our text in Philippians, Paul expresses his desire to
be found in Him, to be found in Christ. To be found in Christ
is to be found in the safest place in this universe. David declared in 2 Samuel 22,
2, the Lord is my rock and my fortress. He repeats these exact
same words in Psalm 18, 2. Now a fortress is a stronghold,
a place of defense and security. Nahum 1, 7 assures us that our
God is a stronghold in the day of trouble. David made this comparison
to God being a fortress because that was the closest thing of
his day that he could compare him to, an impenetrable place
of refuge. One who was inside a fortress
had nothing to fear when it came to forces outside of that fortress
because they could not penetrate the walls of the stronghold in
which he had taken shelter. Likewise, we have nothing to
fear when it comes to the attacks of the world and Satan himself,
because we are in Christ. Paul speaks of being found in
Christ. This word found means to set
or ground on something solid, to establish something often
with the provision for continuing existence. As I read that, I
thought, boy, that's a good description. Continuing existence. Continuing
through eternity. And as we are indeed said and
grounded on Christ, we sing the word of that old hymn, on Christ
the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. And as a verb, this word found
that Paul used means to cast or form something by melting
and pouring into a mold, as is done in a steel mill. I thought
when I read that, what a good description of how our God melts
our hard hearts and our stubborn wills and pours us into the mold
of Christ, conforming us to his image. I once heard Tim James
talking about how one who is refining gold knows how or knows
when the impurities of that gold are all gone. Tim said it's when
he can see his reflection in it. And that's how our God sees
us when He looks at us in Christ. He sees a reflection of His holiness
and His righteousness because we are found, we are hidden in
Christ. Paul states that his desire is
to be found in Christ. This word in means to be located
inside or within something or someone. Now of all the mysteries
of God, to me this is one of the most mysterious. How that
beings that are born in time can be found in someone that
is eternal. You ask most anyone what the
term eternal means, and they will tell you that eternal life
means that your life never ends, but that's only half right. Eternal
means that something has no beginning and no end. And the only way
that that can possibly make sense is to say that we have been in
Christ from before the foundation of the world. We know when our
life began, we have a birth certificate to prove it. And yet the scripture
tells us that we have been in Christ from eternity past, before
the foundation of the world. It means there was never a time
that the elect were not found in Christ. And if ever there
was a mystery, that certainly is one. And Paul makes it clear
throughout his writings as to why he wanted to be found in
Christ. Every blessing that our God bestows
on redeemed sinners is found in the person of Christ. Paul
uses this term, in Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus
repeatedly throughout His writings when referring to the benefits
that we enjoy since our God has put us in Him. I'd like to read
a few of these just in random order. I'm not going to ask you
to turn to them for sake of time, but I'll just read them to you
and make a few brief comments. Remember that Paul is talking
about being in Christ Jesus. Paul wrote to the Colossians
and told them in Colossians 2.10 and ye are complete in him, lacking
nothing that is required by the strict holiness of God to be
seen as righteous in his sight. And it's vitally important to
know that the only reason any vile sinner is found in Christ
is because of God's sovereign choice, God's election of a chosen
race. Paul wrote to the Ephesians,
and in chapter 1, the scripture that we're so familiar with,
that we enjoy all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as He, God the Father,
hath chosen us in Him, Christ the Son. And verse 4 makes it
abundantly clear that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world. Therefore, in my mind, it is
the height of insanity for any man or woman to say they have
salvation because they decided for Jesus. when the choice was
simply made by God Almighty, and it took place before God
ever spoke this world into being, much less before anyone was ever
born. And since we are chosen in Him,
we are also accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace. To be found in Christ means that
we have access, by faith, into the hidden things of God. As
Paul wrote to the Colossians in 2 verses 1-3, he said, in
whom, in Christ, are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You never leave a treasure lying
around. It's too precious for that. A
treasure is always hidden. Those who would steal it and
misuse it are able to get to it. And the wisdom and knowledge
of God are exceedingly precious. Therefore, we're told that they
have been hidden in Christ to be revealed to God's chosen people
in His good time. Romans 3.24 tells us that we
are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus. In order to be justified by God
or before God, we must be redeemed. And that redemption must come
from a source outside of ourselves, which is exactly what Paul told
the Ephesians when he wrote to them and said, in whom? In Christ. In whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of His grace. And we no longer have to fear
being found guilty before God's strict and holy law because we're
taking refuge inside that fortress that David spoke of, inside the
fortress of the crucified Christ. As Paul tells us in Romans 8.1,
there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. And once we're found in Christ,
there is no power in the universe that can separate us from Christ. Romans 8, 38 and 37, 38, Paul
writes, For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
that pretty much covers it all, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. As the words
of that old hymn, more secure is no one ever than the loved
ones of the Savior. And we're sanctified, we're set
apart to God's sacred person, their purpose, in the person
of Christ. In Colossians 1-2 it says, unto
the church of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified
in Christ Jesus. Call to be saints with all that
in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
both theirs and ours. And even though many times it
would appear that the world's winning at every turn, that evil
rules this world, we know that's never the case. Paul promised
the Corinthians in Corinthians 2, verse 14, he says, Now thanks
be to God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ. Not sometimes causes us to triumph,
not most of the time causes us to triumph, but always causes
us to triumph. Even when we, with our limited
sight and understanding, fail to see it, our God is having
His way and doing His people good, making us to triumph all
day, every day. 2 Corinthians 5.19, to wit that
God was in Christ. reconciling the world unto himself,
not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed
unto us the word of reconciliation. Now here indeed is a place to
fall on our faces and wonder in awe. The omnipotent God of
glory came to this earth, robed in human flesh, in order to reconcile
the world to himself, a world that he could have left to perish,
but instead chose to reconcile. Reconcile means to restore friendship
or harmony between two or more warring parties, which was done
in spectacular fashion when Christ poured out His blood to purge
away our sins, which separated us from God. And wonder of wonders,
God sent His ambassadors to men to plead with them to bow to
the Lordship of Christ, as Paul described in 2 Corinthians 5.20. Now then, we are ambassadors
for Christ, he wrote. As though God did beseech you
by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. This word beseech means to ask
or entreat with urgency, to supplicate, to implore the very God of this
universe who delights in mercy, uses his ambassadors and implores
men not to be so foolish as to perish when he stands ready to
save. Galatians 2.4 says, and that
because of false brethren, unaware or brought in, who came in privately
to spy out our liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that
they might bring us again into bondage. In that same book of
Galatians, Paul tells him in chapter 5, verse 13, that they
have been called unto liberty. And he exhorts them in verse
1 of that same chapter to stand fast, therefore, in the liberty
wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again
with the yoke of bondage. Paul tells him, don't be dragged
back into dead works religion. And also in Romans chapter 8,
verse 21, He tells us what will happen when we set aside this
robe of flesh. And he promised the Romans that
the creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Liberty goes hand in hand with being a chosen child of God,
as stated in 2 Corinthians 3.17. It says, where the Spirit of
the Lord is, There is liberty. We don't earn
liberty by our works because we are, or I should say, we don't
earn liberty by our works like a prisoner who's released early
because of good behavior. It's given us, liberty is given
us because of our being in Christ. Our Lord, shortly after He began
His public ministry, read this text from Isaiah 61.1, that were in the synagogue that
day. He read, "...the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because
the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the
meek. He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening
of the prison to them that are bound." And after he read this
text in Luke, we read in Luke 4, verse 21, it says, And the
eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on
him. And he began to say to them,
This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears. He told these men
plainly that he had come to set lost men and women who were bound
with chains of sin He came to set them at liberty, to give
them the freedom that they could not acquire any other way. In Ephesians 2.10, it says, we
are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus on two good works
which God has ordained before that we should walk in them.
His workmanship, not ours. When it comes to spiritual things,
there's no such thing as a self-made man. All the handiwork of God
was created in His Son. Ephesians 3.11 tells us, according
to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord. All of God's eggs are in one
basket. Every act of His from a hundred
trillion millennia in the past to a hundred trillion millennia
in the future are all wrapped up in one person. in Christ Jesus,
His Son. Every purpose of the triune God
is centered in Christ. Paul wrote to the Philippians
in chapter 3, verse 14, I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The calling of
God is done in the person of Christ. And it's a high calling,
so high that it cannot be attained aside and the person and the
work of Christ. Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy
1.14 and said, And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant
with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. There's many
places in the Scripture that speak of the love of God and
never, never is that love spoken of toward men and women except
it's spoken of in the person of Christ. And the love of God
to sinners was not a stagnant love, but it was on full display,
as John tells us in 1 John chapter 4, in this was manifested the
love of God toward us. Because God sent His only begotten
Son into the world that we might live through Him. Herein is love,
not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son
to be the propitiation for our sins. In 2 Timothy 1.1, Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to
the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. This promise
of life, not just life, but abundant life, as Christ declared in John
10.10 when He said, I am come that they might have life, and
that they might have it more abundantly. And in the first
chapter of the Gospel of John, we read, in Him was life, and
the life was the light of men. And we must always remember that
that promise to us of life cost us nothing, but it cost our Lord
everything. Because we're told in Leviticus
17.11 that the life is in the blood. His blood. And when our Lord became a bloody
sacrifice on that Roman tree, our life was eternally secured.
In 2 Timothy 1-9, Paul writes, Who hath saved us, speaking of
Christ, and called us with an holy calling, not according to
our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. I've
already touched on these two points. of God's purpose and
grace, so I won't comment further except to say again that they're
both found in the person of Christ. In 2 Timothy 2.10 we read, Therefore,
I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they might obtain
the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Salvation is only found in one
place. More accurately, in one person. We're told clearly in Acts 412,
that neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none
other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. When Simeon took up the infant
Jesus in his arms, when his parents had brought him into the temple,
as we read in Luke chapter 2, Simeon declared this, Lord, now
let us thy servant depart in peace, because according to Thy
Word. For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation."
As our pastor told us many times, salvation is not a thing. Salvation is a person. And that
person is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. So by way of review,
we have seen that to be in Christ means to enjoy all that Christ
is and all that Christ has. All spiritual blessings. wisdom
and knowledge, redemption, eternal security, the love of God, sanctification,
liberty, God's eternal purpose, God's high calling, the promise
of abundant eternal life, exceeding grace, salvation, resurrection. When we declare that Christ is
all, we mean just that, that there is nothing that the believer
needs or wants that is not found in the person of Christ Jesus.
Therefore, we can rest in the fact that the best place in this
universe to be is to be in Christ Jesus. Now, to those in the sound
of my voice who have never bowed your knees to the Lordship of
Christ, who have never bowed your heart to the Lordship of
Christ, you need to understand That as it is the most blessed
place one can be found is to be in Christ. So the most terrifying
place one can be found is to be found outside of Christ. Our
God is described as a consuming fire. We're told that it's a
fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. To be
outside of Christ is to be as one on whom Christ described
as having the wrath of God abiding upon you. You're but one breath
away from an inescapable horror. unlike
anything that the human mind can imagine. All the horrors
and the unspeakable sufferings that were ever inflicted in all
the torture chambers of this world combined cannot begin to
compare with the sufferings of the damned in hell. So do not
be so foolish as to trade your eternal soul for a brief moment
of pleasure that this world has to offer, if you're able. I plead with God to show you
mercy, to put you in Christ Jesus, the only place in which men and
women can escape the terrible fury of God, which will one day
be poured out on law-seekers. Jimmy, come meet us in this hall,
please.