The title of my message is A
True Child of God. Just about everybody professes to be Christians. Those
folks that used to kill one another in Ireland, Protestants, Catholics,
but both sides claim to be Christians. And in our day, in our world,
in this neighborhood, your neighbors, your family, most folks say they're
Christians. But Paul describes a true child
of God. He tells us who a real believer
is. He identifies God's true people. Let's read the first three verses
of Philippians 3 again. Finally, my brethren, Rejoice
in the Lord. They write the same things to
you, to me. Indeed, it's not grievous, but
for you it is safe. Beware of dogs. Beware of evil
workers. Beware of the concision. And
here's the description. We are the circumcision. And
what Paul means by that, the true children of God, the true
Israel, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ
Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Paul begins in
verse 1 with the word finally, finally. Rejoice in the Lord. The word rejoice or joy occurs
16 times in this epistle and references to Christ including
the pronouns he, him. Out of these 104 verses in these
four chapters in this letter to the church at Philippi, out
of the 104 verses, Christ is mentioned 61 times. 61 times. And Paul was in prison when he
wrote this epistle. In Acts chapter 16, when he first
went to Philippi, after casting the devil out of a young woman
who by soothsaying brought her masters, we're told, great gain,
Paul was cast into prison, he and Silas. Before that, they were beaten
and then cast in the prison. And we read that They sang praises
unto God, and the prisoners heard them. You see, as Joseph told
his brethren, once he identified himself to them when they came
down to Egypt, he said, you meant it for evil, but God meant it
for good. And the magistrate and those
Men who had lost their income from that young woman that Paul
cast the devil out of, they meant it for evil, but God meant it
for good. Because there was a jailer there.
Who would have thought? Who would have thought? There
was a jailer there that God from eternity had set His love on,
that had chosen in His Son. But he must hear the gospel.
He must hear the gospel. Therefore God in his marvelous
providence arranges Paul to be there precisely at that hour
for that certain jailer to hear the gospel of God's grace and
falling on his knees and asking, what must I do to be saved? Paul gladly tells him. And we're
told that he's saved. He believed with all of his house.
And that same night, Paul baptized him. What a blessed, blessed,
reality of God's marvelous providence and grace. Paul says rejoice
in the Lord. Paul didn't rejoice in his circumstances
because they were often changing. And he doesn't exhort us to do
that. But he says rejoice in this. Rejoice in the Lord. He never changes. He never changes. You can't rejoice in your sorrow
and your pain and your trials and your burdens, oh, but look
to Him. He's never changes. He's the
same yesterday, and today, and forever. Look what Paul says
at verse 4 of chapter 4 in this epistle. He says, Rejoice in
the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice. He expresses the same
truth that the prophet expressed in Habakkuk. Listen to these
verses. The prophet said, Although the
fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines.
The labor of the olive shall fail, and the field shall yield
no meat. The fox shall be cut off from
the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. Yet, yet,
I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation."
Again, Paul says, finally, in conclusion, And he concludes
his epistle like he did all his epistles, just as he began it,
with Christ. With Christ. Look at the very
first verse of chapter 1. Paul and Timotheus, the servants
of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus. Verse 2, grace be unto you and
peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. And then in the last chapter,
the last chapter, the last verse he says, the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you all. and everything in between. Verse
1 of chapter 1 and the last verse of chapter 4. It's all about
Christ. And he tells us here, for me
to write these things to you, it's not grievous. It's not a
hardship for me. For you, it's safe. Safe. Because to be reminded of Christ,
to keep your eyes fixed on Christ is the best antidote against
pride. Does anybody in here, I'm talking
to God's children, have a problem with pride? I'm not the only
one. No, no. But the best antidote
against that wicked weed that'll grow anywhere, and it'll flourish
up here, is to be reminded who made you to differ from another.
What do you have that you didn't receive? And if you received
it, why do you boast as if you didn't? And the best guard against
false teaching that this church was surrounded with is again
Christ. Christ. My pastor told me one
time, and I believe, of course you know I'm referring to Don
Fortner, And I believe, I suspect that Mr. Mayhem told him the
same thing years ago. But he said, the best way to
expose a crooked stick is to lay a straight stick down beside
of it. And the crooked becomes obvious.
And the best way, the best guard against false teaching is to
keep your eyes focused upon he who alone is the truth. Christ always, Paul says. Philippi,
the chief city, we were told in Acts when Paul went there, the chief city of Macedonia,
a great flourishing city. A lot of smart people lived there. Philippi, it was named after
the father of Alexander the Great, his father Philip. It was named
after him. But in none of these 104 verses
does Paul even hint at that fact. He doesn't mention it at all.
Perhaps at another time, before Paul's gaze was fixed on something
else, perhaps at another time Paul would have been taken in
by the splendor and the sights in Philippi. Perhaps he would
have made mention that he was where Philip the Great was, the
father of Alexander the Great. But Paul doesn't mention that
one time, does he? Not once. Not since that day,
as he says in verse 12, that he was apprehended by Christ
Jesus. Now Paul's whole life is summed up in these words,
Oh, I want to win Christ. I want to be found in Christ. I want to know Christ. Now Paul wants Saul of Tarsus. And very likely Saul of Tarsus
was named after Israel's first king of the Old Testament, King
Saul. They were both of the tribe of
Benjamin, as Paul makes mention of in this chapter, him being
of the tribe of Benjamin, so was King Saul. And one of the
characteristics we read in the Old Testament of that tribe was
this. They would divide the spoil and
devour the prey. Doesn't that sound like Saul
of Parsis? Before he was apprehended of
Christ Jesus? As he leaves Jerusalem that day
with authority from the chief priest to arrest all God's people
that he had chased from Jerusalem and heard they were hiding in
Damascus, I'll go get them there. They can't hide from me. I'll
drag them back. Oh yes, devour the prey. But
that was before. That was all before. He met that
one. That one, Joe. That one that brought him down
in the dust. That one that Saul of Tarsus
found out was not Jesus of Nazareth an imposter. Not a deceiver. Oh, no. Jesus of Nazareth was
all that he claimed to be. Very God of very God. King of kings and Lord of lords. The everlasting Father. The Prince
of Peace. Paul bowed to Him and he looks
up and you know what? He never got over it. Never got over it. Until his
dying breath, he was saying, let me tell you what happened
to me. Let me tell you, I was the chief
of sinners. I was a persecutor. But listen
to this. Will somebody listen to me one
more time? I obtained mercy. Glory to his name, Paul would
say. And he never got over it. Like
the old hymn says, this was the desire of Paul's heart. Concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul said, be thou my vision. Be thou my
vision. Oh Lord, by your grace, put blinders
on me. Don't allow me to look left or
right. Keep me looking at you always
until I see you face to face. And that's what he wants all
men to see. To comprehend the wonders of
the Lord. Him. Old Paul said that I might
know Him in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Him who reconciled me to God. Him who has made sin for us that
we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Him whom to know
is life eternal. The first of this year, on January 8th of this year,
I came to church one morning and Brother Lowell was already
here. And I came in the door, and there
sat a couple I'd never saw before. It wasn't hard to detect, because
there was nobody here but Lord and me and John and Kay. And I chatted with them a little
bit. And then that morning, I preached
from John 17, our Lord's high priestly prayer, where he said,
this is life eternal. that they might know thee the
only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." And John
Copeland sent me a very kind and encouraging email the next
day. And now here they are with Carol,
Abby. Oh, he works in a mysterious
way, doesn't he? His wonders to perform. him that I might know him who
loved me, Paul said, and gave himself for me. Look what he
says at verse 14 of Philippians 3 again. I press toward the mark
of the prize of the high calling of God. And where's that prize,
Paul? What's the mark that you're aiming
at? Christ Jesus. Always. Always and forever. That will steal Paul's desire. I know folks hear that. And they
say, well I don't understand. I just don't understand that. I don't understand why you make
so much of Christ. I don't understand why that's
always your subject. Aren't there other things that
you would at least consider preaching? There are issues in our day.
There are wrongs. Should you not deal with these
things? What about that guy in the White
House? It's not what God called me to do. And Paul, there was
wrongs in his day. Slavery. Paul preached Jesus Christ. God's grace sets men free from
the greater bondage of Roman rule. He sets men free from the
chains of sin that enslaves them. And He does so by the preaching
of the Gospel. People say, well, as I said,
I don't understand. You know why? Because you've
never seen Him. If God is ever pleased to open
your eyes, to behold His Son, then you'll understand. Remember
what He told His disciples in Luke chapter 10? He had sent
out, preached the gospel, cast out devils and they come back
rejoicing. And He says in this, rejoice
not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice
because your names are written in heaven. And he rejoiced and
said, Father, I thank you, Lord of heaven and earth, that you
have revealed these things to babes, but you've hid them from
the wise and the prudent. Blessed are your eyes, he told
them. Why? Because they see. Hmm? Huh? Blessed are your eyes, Peter,
because they see. You see me. You know who I am. God's done something for you
that He didn't have to do. And He's not done for everybody.
He didn't do for Judas standing there next to you. But He's revealed
to you who I am. Oh yes. If God ever does that
for you, then you'll understand. Then you'll understand. You're
joining us in Satan. I've never seen nothing like
that. I've never seen nothing like him. I've seen churches,
and I've seen rules, and I've seen regulations, and I've seen
walking owls and doing all kinds of things, but I've never seen
him. Oh, what a sight. Do you remember? Do you remember? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. I remember, like blind Bartimaeus, I sat
by the wayside, begging. What a sad picture, just existing, just existing. But, but, like Bartimaeus that day,
that day started like every other day in that poor beggar's life,
that poor blind beggar. He made his way, he groped his
way to that same spot at the wall of Jerusalem at the
gateway, sat down in that same old place like he did day after
day after day, year after year. And if he heard the footsteps
of anyone passing by, he'd say, can you help me? Can you help
me? I'm a beggar. I'm blind. Could you help me? Could you
give me something? What a pitiful picture. One day, he heard a commotion. He heard what must have been
a great multitude. So much noise. And as they got
closer, he asked, what is this? What's going on? And one of them
in the crowd looked down at him and said, Jesus of Nazareth is
passing by. Oh my soul! This day may have begun like
any other day, but bless God, it's not going to end like any
other day. Because Bartimaeus had heard
of Jesus of Nazareth. He'd heard what He'd done. He'd
heard who He claimed to be. And he cried out, Thou Son of
David! That's a description of the Messiah. Thou Son of David, have mercy
on me. Don't pass me by. I can't see
you, but please, look upon me. Take notice of me. And he tries
to shout over the crowd that noise. And someone says, Barnabas,
shut up. He doesn't have time for you.
And Bartimaeus screams even louder, Thou Son of David, have mercy
on me! And someone says, Bartimaeus,
Jesus wants you. Jesus wants you to come to Him. Bartimaeus throws down that old
raggedy cloak. and they bring him to Jesus,
what do you want? I want to see. I just want to
see. And the Lord said, so be it. And we're told in that instant,
his eyes were open and he was looking at the light of the world.
and he followed Jesus in the way we're told and glorified
God. Oh, Jesus of Nazareth passed
by. Do you remember? I hear folks talk about, usually
it's some celebrity, what they gave up for Jesus. I gave up
a $20 million contract and took a $15 million contract. What
I gave up, I'll tell you what I gave up. I gave up my misery
for his mercy. I gave up my guilty burden for
his blessed peace. I lost my filthy rags to be dressed
in his absolute pure righteousness. I gave up a wasted life Like
Paul says here, that I might know him. Know him. One evening, one of
my younger brothers was visiting me years ago. We were sitting
outside. It was dark. And he was into
astronomy. And he said, Larry, look up there.
Look at those stars. And he got sort of caught up
in that. The galaxies. He said, do you realize that's
just one galaxy? Our galaxy. I mean, it's just
no end. And that's just one. And I let
him go. And then I said, Ernest, that
is amazing. But I will tell you something
even more amazing. I know who did all that. I know him who spoke it into
existence. That's what's amazing. No wonder
Paul said, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 3. Again with me. Paul describes a true child of
God. We are the circumcision. We,
not them that he refers to in verse 2. They claim to be because
of an outward sign, but we really are in reality. They have a sign,
we have the reality. They trust themselves, we trust
Christ. Theirs is only based on ceremony,
ours is spiritual. Theirs is all outward, all but
ours is inward, the hidden man of the heart. Just as what we'll
do here in a few moments. Baptism. It's a picture of what's
already taken place inwardly. It can't produce the change,
John. It can't make you a new creature
in Christ. If you're not a new creature
before you go in, you won't be when you come out. But it's a
picture of what's already taken place. It identifies you with
God's people and more with Christ Himself. It won't produce the
change. Only grace can do that, but it
pictures it. Every case in the book of Acts.
This is exactly how it was. In Acts chapter 2, 3,000 people
believed and were told they were baptized. In chapter 9, Ananias
comes to Saul of Tarsus who was just converted. Saul arise and
be baptized." And he was. We refer to the Philippian jailer
in Acts 16. That same night, he and his household
believed and they were baptized. That's how we identify with God's
people and with Christ. And we say by that, going down
into the watery grave, I am one with Him. The old man is buried,
and I'm arising to walk in newness of life. I will live for Him."
These three things that Paul gives to describe a true child
of God, they're impossible to do otherwise. Only a Christian
can do these things. Any of them. An unregenerate
man cannot do these things, which are this. Worship God in the
Spirit. That's the response of grace.
That's the fruit of being born again. All three of these are.
They're not the work of the flesh. As Paul says in chapter 2 of
this epistle. Work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling. Verse 12. For it is God that
worketh in you both the will and the do of His good pleasure. Oh yes. The new birth. Or rather, these things are the
result of the new birth, not the cause. Worship God in the
spirit. That is, worship the one true
God. Remember what our Lord told the
lady at the well? He began to probe her heart,
and she got uncomfortable. And she said, I'm religious.
He already knew that. I worship in this mountain. I
know, you know, The Jews say we ought to worship in Jerusalem,
but we've got our own temple here in Samaria. I mean, it's
just as good. Remember what our Lord said to
her? Lady, you don't have a clue. You worship you know not what. They that worship God must worship
Him in spirit and in truth because God seeketh such to worship Him. It's not an outward show of carnal
emotion like the Pentecostals do and call that worship. They stand up and strut around
like a peacock and say, look at me. I've got more than you. That's the very opposite of worship.
That's glorying in the flesh. You know what true worship is?
It's bowing down before the footstool of a sovereign God and looking
up at Him and saying, He loved me and gave Himself for me. The second thing Paul mentions
here, and rejoicing Christ Jesus, period. Period. Nothing else. Nothing else. It's not what I've
done. It's what He's done. What He's
done for me. Rejoice in Christ Jesus. Why
not rejoice in Him? God made Him to be sin for us. God made Him to be unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Christ is all
that I'll ever need. throw everything else out, Paul
said, and count it done that I might know him. Is he enough? Is that enough to rejoice in?
Ask that thief on the cross. What works did he have? And our
Lord said, today you'll be with me in paradise. And the last
thing Paul says in verse 3, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Why would I? Why would you, child of God?
What part did the flesh play in this great salvation? God
did all the saving. Did He not? Don't trust yourself
but Him. hymn. I love the old hymn that
says this, oh how blessed and delightful it is to be enabled
by grace to sing these words and know that they're so. I need
no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough
that Jesus died and that he died for me. We are the true children
of God who worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ
Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. That's a description
of a child of God. Does that describe you? If so,
thank God for His grace. If not, may God enable you like
Barnabas to cry, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me. God bless you.