I spend a great deal of time
and conscious effort in self-examination. I want to know what my motives
are in the things I do and the way I behave. And I had no idea
when I finished preparing this message for tonight how much
I personally needed it. I hope you do. What are your
ambitions? What do you really want out of
life? What are your desires? What are
those things that motivate you and move you? Answer those questions
honestly and you'll find out exactly what you are. Now preacher, hear yourself. Answer those questions honestly,
and you'll find out the kind of person you really are. Turn
to Philippians chapter 3. I want to talk to you about the
ambitions of faith, the things that motivate, rule, and govern
the lives of God's people in this world. These are matters
of utmost concern to me, and I hope they are to you. The title
of my message tonight is Four Great Ambitions of Faith, and
they are great ambitions indeed. Now, we're going to be going
over what I hope is very familiar things with you tonight. I hope
you're very familiar with this passage of Scripture and the
message it contains. I make no apology for that. to
preach and teach the same things to you to me indeed is not grievous
but for you it is safe. Our text begins in Philippians
chapter 3 and verse 1 with an exhortation from our God. The Apostle Paul writing by divine
inspiration says, finally my brethren rejoice in the Lord. He used this word rejoice ten
times in these four chapters. We are always to rejoice in the
depths of our hearts and souls in the Lord. No matter what our
providential experiences, no matter what our providential
circumstances may be, we still have reason to rejoice. Rejoice
in the Lord. Happiness depends on happenings. Joy is found elsewhere. Joy is
not found in the things that happen to us, with us, and around
us. Joy is found in the Lord himself. Here's an exhortation to joy.
What a blessed command. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. So that in the midst of heartache,
and trial and adversity, the Apostle urges us to rejoice. A man riding as a prisoner urges
us in comfortable circumstances to rejoice in the Lord, in the
greatness of his person. As our all-sufficient substitute
and Redeemer, we have reason to rejoice. In the power of his
precious blood, the blood of Christ that cleanses deeper than
the stain has gone, that cleanses us from all our sin, we have
reason to rejoice if indeed we're redeemed by blood washed in the
blood of our Savior. We certainly have reason to rejoice
in his perfect righteousness, that righteousness that is made
ours before God, that righteousness that really is ours. What a great
reason to rejoice in the midst of difficulty in this world.
I have forgiveness of all sin. And God has given me perfect
righteousness in Christ Jesus, the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord,
in the abundance of that grace that's always sufficient for
us, in the immutability of his love, which never fails. Rejoice
in the rule of his providence, knowing that he works all things
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. Rejoice in the fact that the
Lord God our Savior continually makes intercession for us before
the throne of God. Rejoice in the fact that your
names are written in heaven. Yes, you who are gods have reason
to rejoice always in the Lord. The exhortation with which Paul
opens this chapter is marvelous. Rejoice in the Lord. May God
give me grace ever to do so for Christ's sake. And then in verse
two, the apostle gives us a very serious warning. He says, beware
of dogs. Beware of dogs. That is beware
of false prophets. The apostle calls them dogs because
that's what the word of God calls male prostitutes in Deuteronomy
chapter 23. False prophets are men who have
for their own sakes prostituted the gospel of Christ and the
glory of God. False prophets are men who for
their own sakes have prostituted the gospel of Christ and the
glory of God. His watchman, Isaiah tells us,
these false prophets are blind They're all ignorant. They're
dumb dogs. They cannot bark, sleeping, lying
down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which
can never have enough, and they're shepherds that cannot understand.
They all look to their own way, every one for his gain from his
quarter. False prophets serve themselves. Those who are God's servants,
if indeed I am God's servant, as Brother Larry just read in
1 Corinthians 9, serve the souls of men. If I am not your servant,
serving your soul's good, I am not God's servant. If I don't
give myself to the service of your soul, the benefit of your
soul, committed to the benefit of your everlasting immortal
souls, I am not God's servant, and I am not to be heard or received
as God's servant. False prophets, these greedy
dogs, look to their own way, everyone for his own gain, everyone
from his own quarter. He goes on to say, beware of
evil workers, these false prophets. This is a warning against those
who teach and preach and promote any system of man-centered works-based
free will religion. Our Lord Jesus speaks of these
folks in the day of judgment and says, depart from me ye that
work iniquity. Men who boasted of their works,
boast of their works even before the throne of God in the day
of judgment. And our Lord says, your works
in which you boast are but works of iniquity. You see, man-centered,
works-based, free will religion is the single greatest cause
of evil in this world. The good works of religion without
Christ are the most abominable evils done in the world. For
the good works of men, by which they hope to win, to gain, to
keep, or to improve their standing in God's favor, those good works
rob God of His glory, who is the God of all grace. They trample
underfoot the blood of Christ. They do despite to the Spirit
of grace. By the blood of Christ, by which
we are accepted of God, they trample that underfoot. By the
Spirit of grace, by whom we're taught of God and born of God,
they despise that. They gradually debase man these
works of religion. They gradually debase man to
his lowest, most contemptible state. That's clearly revealed
in Romans the first chapter. Paul speaks about the moral degeneracy
of society. And a moral degeneracy of society
that is accomplished by works religion. I've traveled a little
bit, I read a little history, and I've observed that wherever
works religion dominates a people, wherever works religion dominates
a people, men and women live to themselves and they live in
utter debauchery. In our society, we live in a
society today dominated by works religion, so that now adultery,
And fornication and immorality, even sodomy, are things commonly
received and embraced as acceptable by good religious folks, practiced
by good religious folks. They're called either workers.
In this context, Paul is talking specifically about Arminians,
free willers, legalists, people who teach that God's salvation
depends upon man. And then he says, beware of the
concision. Those who are of the concision are men and women who
cut, who mutilate, who torture their bodies in hope of winning
God's favor. Circumcision, of course, the
Jewish practice Paul is speaking of throughout the New Testament
epistles, men mutilating their bodies, hoping by mutilating
their bodies, they gain God's favor. But it doesn't extend
just to circumcision. It refers to all those religious
teachings that tell you by inflicting pain upon your flesh, you become
more spiritual. Whether it's by inflicting pain
through diet or by inflicting pain by not going to the movies
or inflicting pain by not eating certain foods, whatever it is,
those who teach you that by doing things to your body, you gain
favor with God are the concision, mutilators of the flesh. In essence,
Paul is saying, beware of Christless religion. Beware of any religious
custom. any religious doctrine, any religious
service that is centered in yourself and encourage you to focus attention
on yourself. Now look at verse three. Here
we're given a description of true religion. I've quoted this,
I suppose, in every message for the last two months. I've done
so deliberately because the passage is so very, very important. We
are the circumcision. We are God's covenant people. That's what the word refers to.
We are the people to whom God has pledged himself in covenant. We are the people to whom all
the promises of God are given. We are the circumcision which
worship God in spirit. In spirit. We worship God as
he is revealed in his word by the power and grace of his spirit. We worship God spiritually, in
our hearts, in our spirits. Our worship of God is not carnal. Our worship of God is spiritual.
Our Lord Jesus refers to this very same thing in John 4, 24,
when he says, the hour is coming now is when true worshipers shall
worship God in spirit and in truth. To worship God in spirit
is to worship God with sincerity in our hearts. To worship God
with an open book into our hearts so that we hide nothing before
him. We worship God in the spirit.
True worship then is spiritual. It's not carnal. It's not ceremonial. And rejoice in Christ Jesus. Now the word rejoice that Paul
uses here. And the word that he uses in
verse one are two totally different words. The first word speaks
of what we commonly refer to as joy. This word rejoice has
the idea of boasting, glorying. It speaks of confident assurance. We have confident assurance and
we boast in, we glory in not our circumcision, not the works
of our flesh, not the things we do or don't do, but we glory
in Christ Jesus. We trust Christ alone, those
who are truly God's covenant people. Those who are born of
the Spirit trust Christ Jesus alone, placing all confidence
in Him as Savior and Lord. We are complete in Him, who of
God has made into us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. In Him dwells all the firmness
of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him. Now look
at the next line, and have no confidence in the flesh. We place
absolutely no confidence in our flesh. The experiences, emotions,
or imaginary excellencies of our flesh, the privileges of
the flesh, the feelings of the flesh, the works of the flesh,
are no basis of confidence before God. not our experiences, not
our privileges, not our feelings. Our only basis of confidence
and hope before God is Jesus Christ the Lord. And then in
verses four through eight, Paul sets himself before us as a marvelous
example of self-denial. Self-denial. Let's see what that
is. Though I might also have confidence
in the flesh, He says, if any of you have got any reason to
think you're somebody, I've got a better reason. I might also
have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that
he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I've got a greater
reason. Now, listen to how he describes
himself. This is my fleshly experience. I was circumcised the eighth
day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew
of the Hebrews. I am a Jew and I know my pedigree
and I can trace my lineage right back to Abraham. I'm a Hebrew
of the Hebrews. As touching the law, a Pharisee,
I lived after the most strict manner of legal obedience. Concerning
zeal, I was so zealous in my religion that I persecuted the
church. I sought to destroy the church
of Jesus Christ and the name of Jesus Christ. I sought to
rid from the earth because I was a Jew, a Pharisee of Pharisees. As touching the law, the righteousness
which is in the law, blameless. Those things that the law outwardly
required, I performed. Read on. But what things were
gained to me. All my goodness, all my ancestry,
all my mother and father's grandma and grandpas, all my religious
relatives, kin and friend, all those things that were gained
to me, all of my religious works, all my religious experiences,
I counted loss for Christ. 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 do
count them but manure. That's the word. I count all
of my religious pedigree, all of my religious works, all of
my self-righteousness, all of my personal goodness, all things
on which I once placed all hope before God. Those things I consider
just manure, just dung. Self-denial, self-denial is an
essential aspect of saving faith. Without it, there is no faith
in Christ. Though it increasingly comprehends
all aspects of life, as we grow in the grace and knowledge of
our Savior, self-denial begins with the denial of all personal
worth and merit as a ground of hope before God. Here's a legalist
of the highest order, laying aside the filthy rags of his
self-righteousness for the blessed, pure, perfect righteousness of
Christ. Paul counted all his fleshly,
carnal, natural religious privileges, all those things that distinguished
him from other men, all those things by which he would stand
back and say, I am not as other men. I'm not like these other
people. He counted all those things as nothing but done before
God. He placed no confidence in the
flesh. You see, he found that one pearl of great price and
sold everything to get it. He's talking about self-denial.
This was done on the Damascus Road when the Lord saved him.
He said, what wilt thou have me to do? What wilt thou have
me to do? This was a decision he made every
day from the time that God revealed Christ in him. He made this decision
every day with increasing, growing commitment and consecration to
Christ, counting all things but done for Christ. Why? What was the cause of this self-denial,
this consecration, this commitment? What made this man willing to
forsake everything and follow Christ? Paul was motivated, inspired,
and driven to the point of utter obsession by four great ambitions
of faith. Let me give them to you. Just
hold your Bibles open here, Philippians chapter three. Look at verse
eight. That I may win Christ. I count all but done that I may
win Christ. What an ambition. The life of
faith is the lifelong pursuit of Christ. It is the lifelong
pursuit of Christ. People who look upon salvation
as an experience that happened sometime in the past, yesterday
or 20 years ago, miss the whole thing. The life of faith is the
lifelong pursuit of Christ. Faith sees Christ as the most
precious, most desirable, most lovely, most valuable person
and object in the world. The more he's known, the more
he's wanted. Therefore, true faith willingly
forsakes all and follows him. How do we put this in shoe leather? What's it talking about? I've
been married to this lady over here for 45 years. As you all
probably know by now, I got married when I was 18 years old. And
I'll be honest with you, I haven't yet seen the 18-year-old boy
I'd want my daughter to have married. But I got married when
I was 18 years old. What does an 18-year-old know
about love and commitment or anything else? Well, not much,
but I loved her. And I was committed to her and
her to me. But you who know what I'm talking
about know what I'm talking about. That wasn't anything. Oh, no. No. That wasn't anything. No. I love her more now than
I ever have. And I devote myself to her more
now than I ever have. And I want so much to show her
that love. I want so much to know her and
to know every thought of her mind, to know everything about
her, that I may the more heave my love upon her. And that continually
grows. That's just a little what I'm
talking about. Faith is the lifelong pursuit
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the treasure hidden in the
field for which we would gladly spend all. The pearl of great
price for which we gladly sell all. Jesus Christ is the one
thing needful. The one thing we must have. I'm thankful for the many comforts
of life with which I'm blessed. But I must have Christ. I'm very
thankful for my friends. But I must have Christ. I'm thankful
for good health, but I must have Christ. I'm thankful for my family,
but I must have Christ. I count all things but loss that
I may win Christ. Look at verse nine. And be found
in him. And be found in him. I want to
be found in Christ. not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness of God, which is by faith. The believer
is in Christ. That's what Christianity is.
That's what salvation is. It is to be in Christ. Nothing
less, nothing lower, nothing different. It is not partly in
Christ and partly in the law. It is not partly in Christ and
partly in the ordinances. It is not partly in Christ and
partly in good works. It is not partly in Christ and
partly in the church. To be saved is to be in Christ. Religion is knowing doctrine
and facts. Salvation is knowing God. Religion
is knowing what I believe. Christianity is knowing whom
I believe. Religion is being reformed. Salvation
is being regenerated. Religion makes men new converts. Christianity makes us new creatures. Religion is being in the church. Salvation is being in Christ. And we're in Christ. We're in
Christ probably by God's eternal decree. In him because God put
us in him. When Christ stood forth as our
surety in eternity, we were in him, just as we were in Adam's
loins when he was created in the garden, we were in Christ
before the world began. By God, the Holy Spirit, mighty
operations of grace, we are in Christ, living in him so that
Christ is formed in us and we live in him as he lives in us. And we're in him by personal
faith, believing on the son of God. The scripture speaks of
us being grafted into Christ, grafted into him. We who are
wild by nature are grafted into the true vine, grafted into him. Now, I'm not an agriculturalist. I don't know much about these
things. You can talk to Susan about that. But if I understand
it correctly, if you're going to graft one tree into another,
both trees must experience a cut. You've got to have a cut made
in the strong stock, and you've got to have a cut made in the
limb to be grafted in. And they're put together and
bound together until the graft grows into the original stock. That's what it is. The believer
is grafted into Christ who was crucified for us and we being
cut in the heart by Holy Spirit conviction are grafted into him
and now grow as one in him, drawing life and vitality from him. To be in Christ is to have perfect
righteousness before God. Even as by one man, we were made
sinners by the obedience of Christ. We're made righteous as I stand
before God almighty. I want to be found in Christ
while I live in this world. When I offer my service, my prayer,
my sacrifices to him, I want to be found in him. And when
I leave this world, I want to be found in Christ. And when
I stand before God. I want to be found in Christ.
Here's the third great ambition of faith. Verse 10. That I may
know Him. That I may know Him. Oh, I want to know Him. And the power of His resurrection. And the fellowship of His sufferings.
being made conformable unto his death. Brother Don, don't you
know that Christ is yours and you're his? Yes, we sang it this
morning. I am his and he is mine forever. Thank God for that. And yet I
count all things but loss and dung that I may win Christ, be
found in Christ, and know Christ. Oh, how I want to know him. I
want to be constantly renewed, ever increasingly given knowledge
of and communion with the Son of God. God is my witness. I want to
know Him. How about you? I want to know
Him. My God and my Savior my Redeemer,
and my Lord. I want to know Him who is the
great benefactor of my soul, the mysteries and glories of
His person, the riches of His grace, the depths of His love,
the greatness of His salvation, the benefits of His mercies.
Oh, I want to know Him. May God give us grace never to
take our eyes off of Christ. My soul, let Christ be the all-consuming
object of your being, that I may know him. I want to know him
in the power of his resurrection. The power of Christ's resurrection
is the power by which we are declared to be justified before
God. The power of his resurrection
is the power that gives us eternal spiritual life. The power of
his resurrection guarantees our resurrection. As he was raised
from the dead, we should be raised from the dead. But I want to
live every day experimentally, walking in the knowledge of the
power of his resurrection. Forty-seven years ago, I took
my place in the watery grave, just like you have. I was buried
with Christ and rose with him. rose with him to walk in the newness of life. That's what I'm talking about,
the power of his resurrection. I want the power of this new
life in Christ to dominate, control, and direct my life in all things. I want to continually be made
new by him. I want to know the fellowship
of his sufferings. What's he talking about? Fellowship
of his sufferings. I want to know what he suffered
for me. I speak often to you about that
which our Lord experienced in his heart, in his soul, when
he was made sin for us as best I can as it's revealed in the
scripture. And this for me is not a mere point of theology
or good doctrine. I want to know what my Savior
suffered for me as best I can, that my heart may be continually
inspired to give myself to Him. Somewhere I was preaching recently
and there were a lot of young adults in the congregation, And
I said to them, and I would like to say it to you and to every
young adult I can meet, every child living under mom and dad's
roof, most children have no idea what their parents sacrificed
to raise them. Have no idea. You mothers know
what it is to wear hand-me-down garments, and wear
the same clothes year after year because you can't afford to buy
clothes for you and for your daughter, and you'd rather buy
them for your daughter. Men and women both work hard,
work long hours, work second jobs if you have to, work third
jobs if you have to, to feed your family. And the children,
they don't know those things. But as they get older, they need
to be reminded, mom and dad, have given everything for you.
See that you honor them. See that you love them. See that
you devote yourself to their happiness and to their honor.
How much more, my Redeemer? How much more, my Redeemer? I
want to know what He suffered for me. And I want to know my
personal interest in His sufferings. I want to know that when he died,
I died. I want to know that his resurrection
is my resurrection. I want to live in the continual
awareness of a personal interest in what he suffered. And I want
to know what he accomplished by his sufferings. As his sufferings
are his glory, I want his sufferings to be my glory. I say with Paul,
God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. I want to know Christ in the
fellowship of his sufferings to such an extent that I am ever
being made conformable unto his death. Children of God, Plant yourselves
at the foot of Calvary. Plant yourselves at the foot
of Calvary and stay there. Stay there. Watching Him. Observing Him. Hearing Him. This is what I'm talking about.
As you know Christ in the fellowship of His sufferings, That knowledge of Christ has
a marvelous transforming power over us, being made confirmable
unto his death. I see Christ crucified and see
that he died as one entirely, utterly, totally consecrated
to the glory of God. God make me such. I see Christ's
sufferings and death, and see Him dying as a perfectly willing,
submissive servant to the will of God. God make me that. Perfectly willing, submissive
to your will. I see Him dying in my stead,
and I see Him dying as one motivated by nothing. Motivated by, Merle, the only
motive he had while he lived on this earth for 33 and a half
years, the only motive he had, the only motive he had was love
for God and love for you. Oh, God make me conformable unto
his death. Being motivated continually by
love for God and love for his people. Number four. If by any means I might attain
unto the resurrection of the dead. Look at verse 11. If by
any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead,
not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect.
But I follow after, I chase, I pursue after this, if that
I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ. As Christ laid hold on me, I
pursue him to lay hold on him. Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, good and bad. And reaching forth to
those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. What is
that? Utter conformity to Christ. Certainly, this includes a great
desire for the resurrection of my body at the last day. But
primarily the yearning spoken of here is a yearning for spiritual
resurrection of grace that lifts us out of the death and darkness
of sin. Sin, the world, the flesh, all
human life is just death. In Christ, there's life, real
life, eternal life, a life of righteousness, joy, and peace
with God by the Holy Spirit. This is what I want. I've not
yet attained it, but I'm reaching for it. I want what God purposed
for me in eternity, what Christ purchased for me at Calvary.
I want to be like my Redeemer. Oh, my Savior, make me like you. These are the ambitions of my
heart, the goals I seek, the things for which I live. These
are the ambitions, the goals of faith, the things that motivate
and rule the lives of God's people. I pray God will make them more
real to me and to you. I pray that he will make them
our hearts ambitions continually, that I may win him, that I may
be found in him, that I may know him if by any means I might attain
unto the resurrection of the dead. Now skip down to verse
20. Set your hearts upon these things
and by the grace of God, you shall have them. For our conversation,
our conversation, the word is our manner of life. Our manner
of life used to be in ungodliness. Our manner of life used to be
after the lust of our flesh. But now our manner of life is
in heaven. From whence also we look for
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now watch this. Who shall change
our vile body? Soon he shall change our vile
body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according
to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things
unto himself. I want to win him. I want to
be found in him. I want to know him. I want to
attain to the resurrection of the dead. And soon, soon, I shall have
what I desire. Amen.