I think most of us are old enough
to remember a program on television. Years ago, I can remember my
father watching it. It was called Issues and Answers. Do you remember that? Remember
that? It ran, and my memory's not this good. I had to go online
to get this little bit of information, but Issues and Answers was a
news broadcast that ran from 1960 the 1981, and their focus,
the format of the program was to discuss current and relevant
issues of the day, pretty much like they do today on different
programs of that nature. The reason I thought of that
is this. You have churches today that
have the same focus. They answer what they consider
to be relevant issues. relevant issues. Now you, as
I say that, are probably thinking of instances of it already in
your mind. You can just drive around and
see evidence of it on their billboards. And what they consider relevant
is according to what people want, what they think is most important. You have an example of this when
I've seen churches advertise the following. announcing their
services. Have you noticed this? It's been
going on for several years now. They have a traditional service,
a traditional service at 10 o'clock and then after that they have
a contemporary service. Got something for everybody.
Whatever you want, take your pick. If you want to come as
you are, if you just want to Why win in your PJs? It's okay. Contemporary. Contemporary. Contemptible would be more appropriate. But they say we have something
for everybody. You just take your pick. Here
in Philippians chapter 3, thank God, Paul tells us plainly, without
doubt, what is relevant. What is always important. what
is always timely, all the time, whether you live in 1600 or in
2000. He tells us what's needed, just
as he did in every epistle he wrote. Every one of them, every
time Paul opened his mouth, picked up his quill or dictated an epistle,
it was all about Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Whether he
was writing to church or churches, whether he was writing to private
individuals like Titus and his beloved Timothy, there was only
really one issue with the Apostle Paul, would to God that was so
today, and that is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And that brings
us to our text, verse 9. I asked Bobby to sing that song,
Complete in Thee. Complete in Christ, because that's
what Paul tells us here in verse 9 of our text. And be found in
Him. Jesus Christ. That's what being
a believer is. People say, what's a Christian?
What's a real believer? It's to be found in Christ. It's
to know Christ. It's to trust Christ. It's to
bow to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what a believer is. And
be found in Him, Christ. Not having my own righteousness. Paul said, I thought I had that
at one time, but we read previously what Paul thought of that once
God turned the light on. Which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ. The righteousness which
is of God. God gives us this righteousness
through His darling Son. God has made His Son to be to
us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Does it sound like we lack anything?
Complete in thee. In Christ alone. In Christ alone
is the title of my message. Paul says he wants to win Christ,
to know Christ, and to be found in Christ. Sadly, and I know
this is true of your neighbors, and your friends, and your family,
your loved ones, your relations, most of them don't give much
thought to that, do they? They don't consider that relevant
at all. Everything else is more important.
Nothing else is more important. Everything is more important
than this. Having Christ, they tell us,
can wait. That can wait. I wonder if those
people we read of in Revelation chapter 6 had the same attitude. I wonder if they had those foolish
thoughts. Knowing Christ can wait. Being
found in Him, I have plenty of time for that. Why don't you
turn over there with me. Revelation chapter 6. Oh, I imagine
this multitude of people were much like that rich fool
that after he died didn't cease to exist, didn't experience a
soul sleep, didn't float around in purgatory. No, he left it
up his eyes in hell knowing too late what a fool he'd been. Here in Revelation chapter 6,
look at verse 12. And I beheld, John writes, when
he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake,
and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became
as blood, and the stars of the heavens fell to the earth, even
as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a
mighty wind. That's what God's going to do.
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, And
every mountain and island were moved out of their places. The
great creator of all says, time shall be no more. Verse 15, and
the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men, people
that everybody admired, looked up to, they're celebrities. Aren't
they something? I wish I was like them. Not now. Not now. Look at them now. The
kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the
great captains and the mighty men and every bondman and every
free man. hid themselves in the dens and
in the rocks of the mountains. Why? Why? And look what they
say. What a strange prayer this is,
verse 16. And say to the mountains and
the rocks, fall on us and hide us, hide us from the face of
him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. Ooh, he's not like we were told. He's not like we imagined. He's
not like us at all. They see him as king of kings
and lord of lords coming in the clouds with power and great glory,
and they say, we're not prepared to meet him. Oh, we would rather
perish under the rocks of this mountain than to face him that
sits upon the throne. For the great day of his wrath
has come. It's not a fairy tale. It's not
a fable. The great day of his wrath has
come. And who? Who? shall be able to stand."
That day that we read of in Revelation chapter 20, like these in chapter
6, those could find no hiding place. Death and hell gave up
the dead that was in them, so did the sea. The graves opened
and every man stood before that great, white, righteous, holy
throne of God Almighty. No wonder they prayed for the
rocks in the mountains to fall on them. Here again, their question,
who shall be able to stand? That requires some consideration,
doesn't it? I mean, I know people are real
flippant about it. As I said, hardly ever give it
a serious thought. That's so sad. Who shall be able
to stand? I wonder if you'd ask these people,
any one of them, in this group, what's important to you now?
What's relevant now? What do you wish you had done
now? Would you not have given everything
like Paul said and counted it done that you might win Christ
and be found in Him? Your sins have found you out
and you don't have a mediator. You're standing before God Almighty,
a righteous God that hates sin with all of his holy being and
you don't have a mediator. You don't have an advocate. Oh
my soul, is it any wonder they pray for the rocks and the mountains
to fall on them? Again the question they ask in
the light of that high and lofty holy one they see descending,
they ask who shall be able to stand? Who can stand before his
presence? When I was a child living in
that coal camp in West Virginia, near dark in the evenings, in
the summertime, those long summer evenings and it would begin to
grow dark, my friends and I would get together and we didn't have
all these gadgets. We never heard of a smart phone.
or a tablet or an iPad. I mean, we didn't walk around
with our nose stuck in that. Somebody almost walked in front
of my car the other day, a young fellow, because he had his nose
stuck in a phone. I said, buddy, you better look
up and see where you're going. We didn't have those things.
We would entertain ourselves. And one of the games that we
would play as it began to get dark was hide and seek. You remember
that? Remember that? You play that,
Billy? Hide and seek. Somebody would be it. You know
how it went. And they would cover their eyes.
Better not catch a peek. And they would count to a certain
number, while the rest of us that were in the game would go
hide somewhere. Go hide. And once they counted
to that certain number, they would turn and say, ready or
not, here I come. I'm going to find you. The prophet
at the command of God, uttered much the same words when he said,
prepare to meet thy God. Ready or not, God Almighty is
going to usher every man, every woman into his August holy presence. Again I ask, who shall be able
to stand? Look across the page. Here in
Revelation, you have the answer. Here's the answer. In chapter
7, verse 9, after this, after this, after God's chosen, God's
elect have been sealed, after this I'll be held in low a great
multitude. Oh, our Lord shall have a glorious
crown. He shall see it revealed to his
soul and be satisfied. I saw a great multitude that
no man could number." Ooh, that's grace. That's grace. And of all
nations and kindreds and people in tongues. And they stood. That
other group cried, who shall be able to stand? And yet Here
are these standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed
with white robes and palms in their hands, and cry with a loud
voice saying, Salvation to our God, which setteth upon the throne
and unto the Lamb. There they stand. Now that requires
more great matter to get a hold of than I possess. Oh, but I
can only imagine. There they stand before the throne
of God, and they're not crying like that other group. They're
not praying to be hid from His face. They stand in the full
glow, the full smile, the presence of God Almighty, and they're
not afraid. They're not afraid. Oh, they're
rejoicing and they're singing. Oh, how they must sing when they
behold the Lamb upon His throne and they cry as they wave that
palm leaf of victory. Glory to God. Great things He
has done. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. They have no fear. No fear. Now think about that. They have
no fear. People today, in order to soothe
their conscience and allow them to sleep at night, they imagine
a God. I mean, He's just as much an
idol as if they carved it out of a tree. A God of their imagination. And this was the charge God had
to Israel. He said, you thought that I was
altogether such a one as yourself. Hmm. We have a traditional God
and we have a contemporary God. We have a Jesus Christ that doesn't
require that you bow to Him. You can just use Him as your
far escape out of hell if that's all you need. Come and take Him. Oh no. Oh no. I wonder again
if that's some of the thoughts that that group had in chapter
6. No, they stand before God as
God and the Lamb and they are without fear. How about that? They're not afraid. They're not afraid. They're not
trying to hide. I mean, they're standing there around the throne
of God, right before his throne, and they're just singing to beat
the band. No fear whatsoever. You know
why they're without fear? Because they're without fault.
They're without fear of God because they're without fault before
God. In chapter 14 of this same book in Revelation, that's exactly
what we read. Of those who were redeemed from
among men, those God had chosen, those sheep that Christ redeemed,
that bride of His, they're all before the throne of God, and
they are without fault, we read in chapter 14, verses four and
five. How can that be? My soul, if
they're without fault, then they should be without fear. God doesn't
find any blemish in them. God doesn't see anything about
them to be upset about, to be angry about. Without thought
before the throne of God. How can that be? Exactly here. Because they're found in Him. They're found in the Lord Jesus
Christ. In Christ alone. Someone sent
Robin this article written by Brother Henry Mahan the other
day, and she sent it to me, and I made a copy of it. I thought
when I was preparing this message and studying, I thought this,
that article by Henry would go good. It would fit well. The
title of Henry's article is this, What Does God Require? What Does
God Require? Again, most folks don't give
that much thought. They think God will accept anything. It really doesn't matter. What
does God require? Henry said, if a person has a
concern and doubts about his hope of grace and eternal life
and eternal glory, he might consider the following questions. One,
God requires perfection. God requires perfection. Am I
perfect? No. Then I need to have one who
is perfect to stand before God. Another question, number two,
do I have a righteousness that can stand the test of God's holy
law and presence? And of course the answer is no. Then is there one who will give
to me such a holiness? Three, will God hear my weak
and sinful voice before his throne? No. Then is there one he will
hear who shall be my advocate and my intercessor. Do I have
an acceptable blood atonement and can I act as a suitable high
priest before his presence? No. Then do I have one who is
a great high priest in the heavens with one sacrifice for sins forever? And last of all, Henry asked,
the scriptures declare he that have clean hands, a pure heart,
who had not lifted up his soul to vanity nor sworn deceitfully
shall stand in his holy place. Can this be said of me? No. Then do I have one in whom all
the fullness of holiness and power and truth dwells who will
love me and take my case as his own and bring me to God." And
Henry answered that with these few lines. Yes, there's one,
only one, the blessed, blessed Jesus, he's the one. When afflictions
press the soul and waves of trouble roll and you need a friend to
help you, he's the one. Oh, my soul. Oh, to be found
in him. I found this old hymn while I
was studying My hope, blessed Jesus, is anchored in Thee. Thy
righteousness only now covereth me. Thy blood shed on Calvary
now is my plea. My hope, my hope is in Thee.
I stand on the rock that no tempest can shake, and life from Thy
hands every moment I take. Thy love will endure when all
others forsake. My hope is in Thee, my hope is
in Thee. My hope for eternity rests in
Thy hands. My heart deeply longs for that
fair better land, where one day complete in thyself I shall stand. My hope is in thee, my hope is
in thee." Isn't that exactly what Paul said here? Oh, in that
day I want to be found in him. That's Paul's stanza. The only
place a sinner can stand accepted by God is in Jesus Christ. How often, how many times in
chapter 1 of Ephesians do we have that expression? In Him. In Him. In Him. Beloved in Him. Chosen in Him. Redeemed in Him. Accepted in Him. One day gathered
all in Him before the throne of God Almighty. Let me just
read you two verses, one in Genesis and one in Romans and I don't
think I need to comment. I think it'll be self-evident
and then also one in 1st Corinthians that give us an idea of this,
what it means to be found in Christ. You're familiar with
this one in Genesis chapter 7 verse 21, and every living substance
was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both
man and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of heaven. And they were destroyed from
the earth, and Noah only remained alive. And they that were with
him in the ark." There is therefore now no condemnation
to them who are in Christ Jesus. That's our ark. He's our refuge. He's a sure anchor for the soul.
But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. That's the issue,
is it not? That's what's relevant. I wonder,
as people gathered this morning about this same hour, and I dare
say much bigger crowds than what we have here this morning, but
that's okay. That's okay. I'd rather be gathered
with the few that love the gospel of God's free grace than sitting
with the multitude that hates it. That hates it. Wouldn't you? But I wonder if those folks are
ever pressed with this question. Are they ever exhorted to consider
this? How can you, I know the verse
says how can a man, but how can Larry Criss, how can this man
be just with God? People hear about signs of the
times, the last days, there are prophecy experts that have become
rich by making, setting dates when Christ shall come. And each
time that date comes and goes, they're proven wrong, but it
doesn't stop them from trying and going on with such foolishness.
But never press with this question, how can I be just with God? Considering
who God is, who He really is, who He tells us that He is, demands
not the best I can do, but the best that He can do. Demands
perfection. Jesus Christ answered that dilemma,
didn't he? God hasn't changed. Man hasn't
changed. And thank God his son hasn't
changed. In Romans chapter 4, Paul said,
but now being justified by faith, we have peace with God through
the Lord Jesus Christ. I had a conversation just a couple
of days ago with Brother Lindsey Campbell. in the church in Danville. He was there when Don came, before
Don got there. Faithful, faithful man. I'd heard
that his brother had died. I met his brother years ago,
but his brother had died, and I called Lindsey, left him a
message, and he called me back, and he said, Larry, about a year
ago, I think it was, while his brother was on vacation with
his family, he developed a bad cough. He let it go for a while,
but then he went to the doctor. They told him, well, you've got
pneumonia. You've got pneumonia. That's
what's wrong with you. That was wrong. That's wrong diagnosis. He continued to get worse, went
to the hospital, and found out he had cancer. Lindsey said 25
days from the time he was diagnosed with cancer, he died. Lindsey
preached his funeral yesterday. That's exactly what religion
does. It gives man the wrong diagnosis. They misdiagnose man's
condition. The Bible says man, by nature,
is dead in trespasses and sins. Modern day religion diagnoses
man and says, if you'll take the first step, God will take
the rest. God's done all he can do. Now
it's up to you. They apply a remedy based on
a false diagnosis. Most people today think salvation
is easy. I heard that all my life. All
my life I heard it. If I heard anything, if I heard
anything at all about God, about salvation, about my condition,
It was pressed upon me. It's easy. It's all up to you. If you'll take the first step,
God will take the rest. But when God Almighty got me
lost, I found that it wasn't easy. It wasn't easy. I wanted to believe. I tried
to believe. I tried to convince myself that
I really was believing. Just closing my eyes and wishing.
People said, well, just look inside. Man, look inside. I don't
see nothing there but darkness. Hopelessness. Oh no. I found
out by God's grace that salvation is not easy. Salvation is of
the Lord. Salvation requires grace. Salvation
is a miracle. And glory to His name, He performs
it for all of His own. Is that not so? I like our quote
in the bulletin today that heads your bulletin by Brother Don
Fortner concerning these religious hucksters. doing what the Lord
told Jeremiah was being done in his day. They've healed the
hurt of my people only slightly, saying, peace, peace, when there
is no peace. Peace, peace, when there is no
peace. You accept Jesus as Savior, but you never bow to his Lordship.
That's OK. Peace, peace, when there is no
peace. How ridiculous. How dishonoring
to God. With that in mind, Don wrote,
Our minds, our thoughts, our opinions about all things. Did
you hear that? About all things. Spiritual.
I hope everyone reads this. I hope everyone reads this. Not
just here, but those that I mail it to. Our minds, our thoughts,
our opinions about all things. Spiritual, moral, political,
philosophical or scientific, must be molded and must bow to
the Word of God. We must not allow the influence
of a reprobate world to mold our thinking about anything.
Man, when I read that, I said, Amen. We can't allow, we can't
be influenced by what a reprobate, godless, blind world considers
to be moral. My soul and life. I mean, the
longer I live, just as Paul told Timothy, in the last days men
are not going to get better and better, they're going to get
worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Let me hurry
along. Notice what Paul says here in
verses 5 and 6. He tells us what he once was,
where he once was found. And he was content to have it
so. Wasn't he? We won't read them again, we
already have. But in essence, this is what
Paul was saying. That's why he tells them. Beware. Beware of a Christless religion. Oh, what an ugly expression.
What a horrible thing. Christless religion. Beware of
any religious custom or doctrine or service that is centered on
yourself and encourages you to focus upon yourself. Bring attention
to yourself. Paul spoke from personal experience,
didn't he? In Philippians chapter 3, look
again at verse 3, For we are the circumcision, compare what
he says in verses 5 and 6 to this, we are the circumcision
which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have no confidence in the flesh. True religion. True religion. And the Bible uses that word,
true and undefiled religion. The religion of Jesus Christ,
Christianity, is not man-centered. like most today. It's not man-centered,
it's Christ-centered. True Christianity is not ceremonial,
but it's spiritual. It's not after a creed, but after
a conviction brought into heart by God's Holy Spirit. It's not
outward, it's not outward, it's inward. How can I know God in
my heart? It's not outward. It's not doing
something with this flesh. It's not walking forward, saying
a prayer, signing the card, shaking the preacher's hand. It's inward. Nicodemus, you teacher in Israel,
you must be born again. If you're not, you can't see,
you can't enter, you can't know the kingdom of God. It's spiritual. You're born of God. Those who
are born of God trust the Lord Jesus Christ. They've been circumcised
with that circumcision not made with hands. The inward work of
God's Holy Spirit. Paul said at one time, at one
time he trusted everything. A Christless religion. But then
Paul tells us something happened, as we said in the reading, that
changed all that. Look at verse 7 again. But. But. Aren't you glad for that? Aren't you glad for that? Aren't
you glad that God didn't leave you where you were? Maybe you
were in religion. Aren't you glad God didn't leave
you there? Paul was in religion. Steeped in religion. Up to his
neck in religion. But something happened that drastically,
drastically, changed Paul's perspective. God Almighty gave Saul of Tarsus
that day on the Damascus Road what we call an attitude adjustment. Saul of Tarsus came down to the
feet of Jesus Christ and learned that Jesus of Nazareth was not
an imposter. He was not a deceiver. He was
everything he claimed to be and Paul bowed to him. Every child
of God, every believer bows to the Lord Jesus Christ. I despise
that doctrine that says a man can know Christ and never bow
to him. That dishonors my Savior. That
is so dishonoring to my Savior, and it gives multitudes a false
hope, just a false hope. No, no. A true believer, as a result
of God's work of grace in his heart, receives an attitude adjustment. Paul, along this very same line,
in Galatians chapter 1, said this, You've heard of my conversation,
the way I live, in times past, in the Jews' religion. how that
beyond measure I persecuted the Church of God and wasted it,
just like he said here, and profited in the Jews' religion among many
my equals in mine own nation, being exceedingly zealous, he
was mad, exceedingly zealous of the tradition of my fathers,
Paul had a Christless religion, zealous, religious, but lost.
And then he says there, just like he says here, but, but,
Oh, glory to His name. Paul is standing at the throne
of God right now, thanking Him, thanking Him with an unsinning
heart for the blessed intervention of grace that day on the Damascus
road. But when it pleased God who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace to reveal
His Son in me, well, isn't that a novel thing? Isn't that a strange
word in the light of so-called Christianity today? Paul tells
us a believer is this, a believer is somebody that's had Jesus
Christ revealed in them. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Everything else, anything else
is a false hope, is it not? Now, now, Paul's robe of self-righteousness
appears to him how it always appeared to God. filthy rags. Dumb. Dumb. God got Paul lost. Paul never knew that before.
We sang a moment ago, only a sinner saved by grace. That's so easy
to sing. So easy to sing. So easy to say. Oh, but it takes God's grace
to bring you down like he did this religious rebel. and bow
before the Lord Jesus Christ, crying, Oh, I'm the sinner, if
you will, you can make me clean. Paul's religion before this was
a Christless religion, therefore it must be a damning, hopeless
religion. Before Paul knew himself to be
found in Christ, he must be forced, sweetly forced by God's reigning
grace, to willingly let go of everything else, especially his
self-righteous road, his religion. Brother Bruce Crabtree was telling
me several years ago, his father lived to be a very elderly man. I can't remember exactly how
old he was. But he went the way of all flesh, all flesh is grass. And Bruce went to visit him,
sat next to his bed. His father's died. And Bruce
gives him the gospel. His daddy was religious and Bruce
said, oh dad, I wish you could let go of that. Let go of that
self-righteous robe. Let go of your religion and take
Christ. And his daddy said, oh son, I
can't. I can't. I can't let go. Oh, but God. But God. brought Saul down and stripped
him and got him lost in order that he might lift him up and
put him on a solid rock. Paul, take off that filthy robe
of your self-righteousness. It's a stench in my nostrils."
And Paul threw it down. And God Almighty robed him in
the perfect righteousness of his own son. How about that? But God. Hmm. Brethren, Paul
wrote, and he wrote from experience. My heart's desire and prayer
to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear them
record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's
righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
For Christ is the end, the fulfillment, the consummation, the purpose,
the end of the lawful righteousness to every one that what? That
believeth. That believeth. I like what Carol
Poole said along that line. He's a pastor up in North Carolina.
He said, the law was not given as a remedy for man's problem,
but as a reminder that we have a problem and need a remedy.
It points us not to any prescribed performance on our part, but
to a person, the one and only remedy, Christ Jesus our Lord. That's the cure in Christ the
Lord. Last of all, Paul tells us where
he and every believer is now, found in Him. Paul tells us what
he renounced, and now he tells us what he has, what's he resolved
to cling to, to apprehend, to press forward for, Jesus Christ,
His righteousness. And again, just as Paul spoke
by personal experience concerning his Christless religion, He also
speaks just as dogmatically about his personal experience of having
Christ. Having Christ. Think about that
tonight. May God bring it to your memory.
When you lay down tonight, the night's done, the day's done
rather, and you turn off the light, not knowing what tomorrow
may hold, not really knowing honestly whether we'll have a
tomorrow, oh may this sweet, sweet thought Comfort you like
the blanket that you might be wrapped up in. Found in Him. I'm in Him. I'm in Christ Jesus
and with His holy garments on, I'm as holy as God's own Son. Let me close by reading again
or quoting a verse of the hymn Bobby sang for us. Dear Savior,
when before thy bar All tribes and tongues assembled are, among
thy chosen will I be at thy right hand, complete in thee. In Christ alone, believers are
in Christ by God's eternal choice and decree. We're in Christ by
the Holy Spirit's operation of grace in time. And we're in Christ
by personal faith. I know whom I have believed.
I know whom I have believed. Wonderful Savior, all glory to
Thee. In Thee is salvation so full
and so free. I'll shout forth Thy praises
through all eternity. My Savior, my Savior, my hope
is in Thee. My hope is in Thee. And thank God, that's a good
hope. That's a good hope. God bless
you.