"An Unbreakable Unity!"

How do we, or any church for that matter, go from having a unity that can be easily broken to an unbreakable unity? This is an important question for me as your brother in Christ, and one that I have been praying about for us and the churches of Henry County.

There are many answers that can be proposed, but I keep coming back to this one thought: as long as our unity is based on how we feel about one another, then it will remain fragile. The foundation of our unity needs to change from our feelings about us, to our faith in the one God who has called us together to be His body with Jesus Christ as the head! The unity of a church, to be a unity that stands the test of time, cannot be based on success measurements, spreadsheets, personnel qualification, pastoral satisfaction, or any other manmade measurement. It's not enough to be happy with the pastor, to feel good about the numbers (attendance or finances), or even to have visible success in areas of focus. Unity that is based on how we feel about things will always be tossed here and there by the circumstances of the moment. We need a unity built upon the Rock!

Our unity will only be unbreakable if it is grounded in our faith in Jesus Christ with Him as Lord and us in our rightful place at the foot of the cross. We are each sinners, saved by grace, who fall short of the glory of God. We are each people who only have life because of the gift of God, given to us even while were still sinners. In fact, each of us was once dead in our sins! We each are new in Christ and have one common mission: to go out as ministers of reconciliation. This means we are to share the good news of Jesus Christ with a darkening world one person at a time, through word and deed. It is only be the mercy of God that we are here together, and for His purposes and His glory! Not ours!

God has given us such great mercy so that we can be the body of Christ who has a laser-focus mission. And that mission is not based on our feelings! It is a mandate that requires our unity to be rock-solid and that is only possible if we ask God to give us an unbreakable unity. For our unity to grow stronger, our faith must grow stronger! This is a matter of prayer and fasting!

In Luke 18:13, Jesus taught us this humble prayer, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Maybe this is the answer to all the issues that divide churches. Is a six-word prayer too easy of an answer to a problem that has plagued the church for two millennia? Doesn't it require us to do more work, to think a little harder? Well, cleverness and novelty have only lead to disunity upon disunity, so let's stay focused on the Cross! This is an ancient truth that must be remembered in the heat of our feelings!

It might not be fancy or long-winded, but the answer is found in the right heart-attitude of a man and woman who dares to pray this justifying prayer. Let us join together as individuals and as a community of Christ-followers to pray this prayer every day. We each are in the same dilemma (sinners), we each have the same need (mercy), and we each have the same Savior (God). Through a life of humility and prayer, may our lives be built upon the solid-foundation of Jesus Christ, the humility of His death upon the cross, and the power of His resurrection. Then our unity will be an unbreakable one. All else is fragile and can be broken!

Please join me in praying this prayer every day, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Thank you Jesus for what you have done, are doing, and will do in and through us!

"Intentionally Building Community!"

I don't know about you, but I was raised to be a good American, loyal to the flag and friendly to my neighbors. I grew up in a small town in northern Connecticut and I remember delivering newspapers with my brother (regardless of the weather), shoveling out neighbors who were snowed in, raking big piles of leaves so that we could jump in them, and enjoying the hospitality of neighbors whether we were invited or not. Times seem to have changed across the country, but our need for community has not!

One of my favorite books of the Bible is the wisdom literature of Ecclesiastes. In this book, the author states, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). In this passage we read the importance of community, of relationships, in our lives.

When times are good, it seems that we can make it through life without anyone's help. Have we experienced the slow unweaving of the strands of community in America during our times of prosperity? These were times when people could afford to stand alone, when people were seduced by the idea that they could get back up without help from their neighbors.

I cannot believe that hard-working Americans intentionally unwove their neighborhoods or their communities; but with greater prosperity came greater opportunities for more travel, more activities, and bigger houses with bigger fences with automatic garage door openers. Success led to isolation!

Did we lose focus on the importance of community in the midst of prosperity? And now that times are tough, and people are falling all around us with bankruptcy, underemployment and unemployment, repossessions, addiction, divorce and infidelity, are we struggling to know how to be neighbors and communities?

How do we reach out to help? Not just one day a year, though every effort is wonderful and necessary. I applaud the recent Day of Caring that united our citizens to help their neighbors and I anticipate the upcoming Faith in Action focus of local churches to get out of the church and be the church to bless our community. Thank you and please keep making intentional efforts to build community!

How do we get to know the names of our neighbors and know one another's needs? Whether in times of plenty or want, sickness or health, the reality is that we need to be intentional about building community! We may not know our great need for friends and neighbors until it is too late.

Don't wait for hardship to hit your front door and then realize you have no one who will love and support you. If you are already experiencing hardship and feel isolated, please reach out to your neighbors or reach out to a local Bible-teaching Christ-centered church. Community is essential, so let's start building it together, one neighborhood at a time, one relationship at a time.

"The Focused Life!" Philippians 3:13-16

"The Focused Life!"

Captivated by Christ: An expository sermon series on Paul's Letter to the Church in Philippi (message #23)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

September 26, 2010

Our Scripture Lesson for today continues our intensive verse by verse teaching of the book of Philippians in a series of messages called, "Captivated by Christ". The Word of God from Philippians 3:13-16 (NIV), for a message entitled, "The Focused Life", "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. ¹⁶Only let us live up to what we have already attained." [Prayer]

In this passage, we are going to witness the focus of a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. Paul is teaching us what it means to intentionally follow Jesus Christ so that we may understand what our lives should look like as men and women, young and old, who are committed to the Mission of God—the sharing of the Gospel!

First, DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST FOCUS ON THE GOAL!

Paul starts in the first half of Philippians 3:13 "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it." What is the 'it' Paul is expressing that he has not yet taken hold of? We learned the 'it' from last week's lesson from Philippians 3:10-11 when Paul expresses his primary aim in life, the primary ambition for all disciples of Jesus Christ, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." Paul wants to intimately know Jesus Christ more and more, live out the power of the Holy Spirit living in him, and become like Jesus Christ in his attitude and actions. This is the aim of our lives when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

The "it" Paul has not yet attained is a completed spiritual maturity in Jesus Christ. Paul does not boast about himself or his accomplishments, rather, he does the opposite, he authentically and honestly says, "I have not arrived yet!" He is teaching us, through his example, one of the primary steps to living a focused life and that is to make a sober judgment of yourself. In Romans 12:3 Paul teaches, "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."

After making this humble and honest assessment of his spiritual journey, Paul then express what he along with every disciple of Jesus Christ must do. He establishes our action plan in Philippians 3:13b-14, "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward [epekteinomai] what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Paul, who is at once humble and confident, knows that his life as a Christian leader is the both-and of a normative lifestyle for all to follow while at the same time being in process as a fellow-worker along with every other disciple of Jesus Christ! This is a valuable and often forgotten paradigm of Christian leadership.

As he often does, Paul makes connections between the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ with an athlete. To help us understand Paul's teaching this morning I want you to watch a short video clip of a modern day athletic hero. Show video of Michael Phelps at 2008 summer Olympics.

Listed in your sermon notes are three parallels between World Class Athletes and Disciples of Jesus Christ. Let's walk through these one at a time.

1. A World Class Athlete is Focused on the goal! As a former world class athlete myself, ranked once upon a time in the top 75 in the world and top 4 nationally in the hammer throw, I can tell you that a world class athlete is obsessed with one thing: accomplishing his or her mission of winning! Just like at the end of the day, for-profit businesses have one mission statement and that is to make money, athletes, at the end of the day, have one mission and that is to win.

As an athlete at that level of competition, your life is focused on that one goal that has been established. Michael Phelps has not won 16 total Olympic medals to include 8 historic gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games because he was distracted with lots of good things that he had done in the past nor was he distracted by his set backs or failures of the past.

No, he was singularly focused on accomplishing his mission. Paul says, "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind". Paul too is not focused on all that he accomplished in the past, nor is he allowing the Devil to steel his future by keeping him in captivity over his past failures. (Some of us need to hear that again: As a disciple of Jesus Christ you do not let your past steal your future by keeping you in captivity to either your successes or failures!)

Disciples of Jesus Christ must have a laser-focus on today and the goal of today. Your mission if you choose to accept it is to know Jesus Christ more and more intimately. It is our aim in life to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. To become like Him in the deepest places of how we think, how we relate to other people, our attitudes and actions, our words and deeds. This should not be something we simply talk about; this is the obsession of our life that dictates how we live and how we schedule our days and nights.

2. A World Class Athlete Strains for the goal! I qualified for 3 Olympic Team Trials, competed in 2 of them, and earned the hammer thrower alternate position on the 2000 Olympic Team. I have competed throughout the USA at the highest level, and in multiple countries in international competitions. I can tell you this truth from personal experience: attaining the goal does not happen without pain, injuries, setbacks, and hard work. There is a price to pay! Focus must be followed up with perseverance!

World Class athletes strain for their goal. Michael Phelps did not happen upon 16 Olympic medals; he strained for every single one of them. In fact, his performance in this video is the exact word picture that Paul is stating in the Scripture lesson this morning. The Greek word epekteinomai translated "straining toward" is the word picture of the athlete stretching out every fiber of his body at the finish line. This is the final strain to get to the wall first, to break the tape. In the video I showed you, Michael Phelps' victory is not even visible with the naked eye, what won the race was the final strain at the end of the race! This is sports drama at its best, but do not only remember the visible strain that captured the world's attention, remember the lifestyle of dedication and hard work that brought him to that moment to be in position to win the prize.

Friends, we have a goal that we must strain for every day and this requires a life of focus, suffering (just like an athlete, we too will have pain, injuries, setbacks, and days marked by grueling hours of hard work). Paul says, "straining toward what is ahead"!

3. A World Class Athlete Perseveres to win the prize!

The gold medals that Michael Phelps won at the 2008 Olympic Games put him in a category unto himself, but the truth is those medals will not bring him the indestructible joy nor the peace beyond human comprehension that Paul teaches about in this letter.

The prize of a human athlete can be stolen whereas the prize of a Disciple of Jesus Christ can never be snatched away! The prize of a human athlete can rust or fade, whereas the prize of a Disciple of Jesus Christ will never rust…it is not perishable, it is imperishable! The prize of an athlete, and take this one from one who has sought after the prize with an obsession, the prize of an athlete will not satisfy! But the prize for which we persevere, as Paul stated, "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." This prize will satisfy for it is the prize of receiving by sight that which we have already received by faith. We have been given the down payment through the Holy Spirit filling us with the power of the resurrection by quickening our human spirit and bringing us back from the dead so that we can have a relationship with God again, as we were designed, for eternity!

Paul declared of this prize in 2 Timothy 4:8, "Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

We can daily strain for this prize of right standing with God because we do not train like athletes who do not yet know the outcome of the race! We have the victory!

There is grace in this race! Though we are sinners and our sins have caused great destruction in our world, God still grants us the privilege of right relationship when in faith we accept Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior, freely receiving that which He finished on the Cross of Calvary 2000 years ago—forgiveness, acceptance, and the love by the Father.

How then do we respond to such an undeserved love (grace!) as this? We focus and we strain until that day comes when we receive face to face the promised prize! We strain every day of our life, even when the circumstances of the day are overwhelming. No one wins the gold medal without bad days in training and bad competitions! We persevere to win the prize that which has already been reserved for us!

Paul commands his most beloved disciple in 1 Timothy 4:15-16, "Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."

The life of a disciple of Jesus Christ is the life of progress focused on the stated goal of Christian Discipleship: to know Jesus Christ and to be changed so that our lifestyle, our words and deeds, reflect Jesus Christ. But not only for us, our lives encourage and motivate others to this goal. And that leads us to our second point. DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST FOCUS OTHERS ON THE PURSUIT OF MATURITY!

Paul continues in our Scripture lesson, Philippians 3:15-16, "All of us who are mature [teleios] should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear [apokalyptō] to you. Only let us live up to [stoicheō] what we have already attained."

When we start this journey, we know that we will not attain perfection in this life, but us who are mature in Christ should be of the same mind and heart as Paul. And in journeying towards 'knowing Christ' wholeheartedly, we focus others on the pursuit of Christian maturity; in other words, we spur people on in their discipleship.

The Greek word teleios does not point to the eschatological perfection, but speaks of being brought to maturity in this life for a specified purpose. This word is used by Paul again in 1 Corinthians 14:20 "Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults [teleios]." Paul says that maturity is to think properly about Christ and therefore, about how we are to live our lives. Our conduct must follow our beliefs. Our actions must follow our words.

Paul is very directly challenging anyone who does not agree with what he says is the way of life of every Christ-follower. Essentially, until the day of your death, as long as you have breath, your life should focus on knowing Jesus Christ! All else is rubbish!

What about those who don't agree with this teaching?

We all know from personal experience there are distractions upon distractions made readily available to us by the world that will lead us away from believing this truth taught by the Bible.

But Paul says, if you are immature in your walk with Christ (and we know you are immature if you are not living your life this way…ouch!) then God will reveal (the Greek word translated "make clear" is apokalyptō. How does God reveal to us His will for His life? Well, amazingly enough, we can learn from the Bible how we are to think properly in order to know the biblical truths to base our lives on; therefore, live as mature disciples of Jesus Christ. In Romans 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Only when you give up the ways of the world and allow God to reveal to you His truths will you then know and live according to this way of life: to forget about the successes and failures of your past that prevent you from being who you are today and strain toward the goal!

If you will live this way, then you will not only be focused on the goal yourself, but you will then be a Christian leader whose primary job is not to get busy in Church work, but to focus other people on becoming mature in Jesus Christ! You are a leader because God has transformed your personhood so wherever you are on your journey, live up to the faith that has grasped you.

The Greek word is stoicheō and in its very limited usage in the New Testament speaks to the regenerate life in the Spirit of God. It is used again after the listing of the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:24-25 where Paul strongly teaches, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step [stoicheō] with the Spirit."

Friends, we are to be fully alive in Jesus Christ! It is the life that is animated by the power of the resurrection! This is the life of every disciple of Jesus Christ! The same power that brought Jesus Christ back from the dead also brought you back from the dead and now is the power source of your life. The Bible declares in Ephesians 2:4-5, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."

Our mission as the Church of Jesus Christ is greater than the mission of a world class athlete who is sacrificing every other area of their life in order to win the competition and receive a perishable prize.

Our mission as the Church of Jesus Christ is to manifest the same power that brought Jesus Christ back from the dead so that through our lives we too may be alive in Christ and lead other to a saving faith in Jesus Christ so that they are madefully alive in Jesus Christ. There is no greater cause on earth, no greater prize to be attained.

Altar Call and Response Time

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What is in your past that distracts you from focusing wholeheartedly on the goal to win the prize for which God has called you heavenward in Christ Jesus?

2. What steps are you taking today to press on into the future that will allow you to win the prize? With prayer, discuss with an accountability partner, assess, make adjustments, and press forward.

3. For further study, read Romans 12:1-8. Discuss the steps you should take in order to live the focused life in Christ.

· Dedicate your body (v. 1)

· Eliminate competing distractions (v. 2)

· Assess your strengths & growth areas (v. 3)

· Cooperate with other believers in the body of Christ (vv. 4-5)

· Identify and utilize your spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ (vv. 6-8)

"An Insatiable Appetite!" Philippians 3:10-12

"An Insatiable Appetite!"

Captivated by Christ: An expository sermon series on Paul's Letter to the Church in Philippi (message #22)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

September 19, 2010

Show edited Youtube comedy clip. It's good to laugh!

For the last 2 weeks, we have dealt with the foundational truth of justification by faith alone. This is the reality that we are made right with God by what Jesus Christ did on the Cross of Calvary, where He took on all of our sins as the final atoning sacrifice, the final Passover Lamb. I have emphasized that we are saved (God imputes His righteousness on to us through faith) in the instant we ask Jesus Christ to forgive us our sins and to be our Lord and Savior. It is by faith and not by works, so that no man shall boast! We now will look at what life is like for the disciples of Jesus Christ who have been given this free gift of grace. It is my hope, that for the object of our faith-Jesus Christ-we will experience the same insatiable appetite as this comedian expressed. But not for a worldly buffet line of consumption, or a spiritual smorgasbord of activity that cannot satisfy, but for the Living God who is the only One who can satisfy.

The Word of God from Philippians 3:10-12 (NIV), "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. ¹²Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." [Prayer]

What can we learn from Paul's testimony that teaches us about the life of disciple of Jesus Christ? Let's jump into our teaching. First, DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST HAVE AN INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR INTIMACY WITH GOD!

Paul starts with the first half of verse 10, "I want to know [ginōskō] Christ and the power [dynamis] of his resurrection [anastasis]..." (Philippians 3:10a).

Christ is the object of our faith! It is through Him that God has imputed righteousness upon us so that we can live in eternal life and it is Paul's greatest desire to know Christ. The Greek verb ginōskō is not to know of Christ, but to intimately know Him. This is a personal knowledge, not merely intellectual or conceptual, but in the closest and most intimate knowledge. In fact, this verb is used in Genesis 4:1 of the knowledge Adam and Eve had of one another as husband and wife. As Paul said in last week's section, verse 8, "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Phil. 3:8). For Paul, after nearly 30 years of walking with and knowing Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, his greatest desire is for more and more intimacy with God! He had an insatiable appetite for Christ!

Paul stated in Ephesians 2:4-5, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."

This is the power (the dynamite!...the Greek word for power is dynamis) of the resurrection in our lives. We once were dead in sin (transgressions), but because of God's mercy and by His undeserved love (grace!) we were born again through faith in Jesus Christ!

What does it mean to be born again? It means that when once our spirit was dead within us due to sin, we were brought back to life by the Spirit of God quickening our spirit to eternal life. The same power that brought Jesus Christ back from the dead (the power of the resurrection) is the same power that brings us back from the dead! If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you have experienced the power of God in your life! The Bible declares in Romans 8:11, "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you."

Jesus Christ is the object our faith and the focus of our lives as it is through Him that we have life and it is through the Spirit of God, who is the power of the resurrection, that we are to now live and breath and have our being. We are to be Spirit-filled disciples of Jesus Christ! This is a life of love and our ability to live this life and become like God requires of us to have an insatiable appetite for more and more intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Listen to Paul's prayer for the disciples in Ephesians 3:17b-19, "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

The power of the resurrection that Paul has an insatiable appetite for is not a power over death itself (Paul did not fear death!), but rather the power, along with all the other disciples of Jesus Christ, to intimately know the never ending capacity of God's love through Jesus Christ! This knowing is beyond any knowledge because knowing God through the Spirit is to have fellowship with the God who made you and saved you! This is intimate knowing!

This thought carries us into the second point and the rest of verses 10-11. DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST HAVE AN INSATIABLE APPETITE TO BECOME LIKE JESUS CHRIST!

Paul continued in Philippians 3:10b-11, "...and the fellowship of sharing [koinōnia] in his sufferings, becoming like him [symmorphizō] in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection [exanastasis] from the dead."

Paul takes his desire to intimately know Jesus Christ to an experiential level of having koinōnia (translated, "the fellowship of sharing") with the sufferings of Jesus Christ! The Bible records of Paul's conversion in Acts 9:15-16, "But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man [Paul] is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.'" And Paul did suffer greatly for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can read a description of his suffering in 2 Corinthians 11. But the key is not that God calls us to suffer for suffering sake, but to know Christ through the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings for the purpose of becoming like Him. The Greek word symmorphizō is key to understanding why Paul wants to know Christ this way. This is the only usage of this word in the NT. This word means to identify with the very nature (morphe) of; therefore, the very life of Jesus Christ. To become like Him in our very essence!

Paul earlier told exactly what the morphe or unchangeable nature of Jesus Christ was in Philippians 2:6-8, "Who, being in very nature [morphe] God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature [morphe] of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!" Paul is saying that he wants to be transformed in his unchangeable nature to the unchangeable nature of Jesus Christ. How can you be transformed from one unchangeable nature to another? Doesn't the world unchangeable mean you can't be changed? That is why first, Paul speaks about knowing the power of the resurrection before he speaks about the fellowship of sharing the sufferings of Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, when we experience these sufferings and become like Jesus Christ in His nature of being God yet emptying Himself into the very nature of a slave, then in this death we attain life. We attain the resurrection! We lose our life to gain it eternally!

Let's do a quick Greek lesson. The word resurrection shows up twice in our passage today. The first usage when Paul talks about knowing the power of the resurrection, Paul uses the normal Greek word anastasis. In the second usage, when we Paul says, "and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead", Paul adds a preposition to the word for resurrection, exanastasis, which literally means "out-resurrection". Paul is not casting doubt on our immortality by wondering if we can somehow attain the resurrection of the dead. No! Paul is emphasizing us living out the power of the resurrection so that it is visible outwardly; our lives being a witness to the power of the resurrection! Our transformed lives, much of which happens through suffering, bear witness to Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection!

Paul states in 2 Corinthians 4:10-11, "We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body."

As a disciple of Jesus Christ, it is our life ambition to become like our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the object of our faith and the aim of our lives! We hunger and thirst to Him better and to reflect His glory more and more! And this leads us to our third and final point, DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST HAVE AN INSATIABLE APPETITE TO BE SATISFIED IN CHRIST ALONE!

Philippians 3:12 is a direct response to Paul's self-awareness of his deep desire to know Jesus Christ with such great intimacy and power. Paul humbly proclaims, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect [teleioō], but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."

The Bible declares that "we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:8-10). This is our telos (our end purpose!). The Greek word teleioō translated "been made perfect" indicates coming to completion in the Designer's intent of who we are! Paul recognizes that he has not arrived at full maturity in Christ. Even after nearly 30 years of walking faithfully and passionately with Jesus Christ; after sharing greatly in the suffering of Christ while declaring the gospel in town after town; and even while he pens these words while in jail for defending the gospel awaiting Caesar's trial to determine if and how he will be executed Paul acknowledges that he has not arrived in knowing Christ. In this recognition Paul points out the most important reality of His discipleship: His relationship with God was not his to begin, so it is truly not his to complete! It is not Paul's pressing on that will complete the work; God will complete that which God began!

Jesus Christ stated in the Gospel of John 15:16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last."

We reach our telos, our end purpose, by realizing that only Jesus Christ can satisfy our insatiable appetites, whether for more of Him or to be like Him. We must allow the God who made us to work through us to do the good works He prepared in advance for us to do! We are His for His purposes!

So, even though Paul uses the language of an athlete here and will continue to build on that in the following verses, the ultimate reality is that even in the straining and pressing of an athlete's discipline, your insatiable appetite will not be satisfied by work and accomplishment. It is not the work of a disciple that satisfies the greatest need of your life. It is not your endless efforts to be obedient and to do good works for Christ that will complete you. It is Jesus Christ, the One who gave you right standing with God, who satisfies you and completes you from beginning to end. He is the beginning and the end! The alpha and the omega!

I pray for you the same prayer that Paul prayed for the Christ-followers in Colossians 1:10-12, "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light."

The worthy life is a life that has found satisfaction in the grace of God through a faith relationship with Jesus Christ. Have you accepted Jesus Christ to be your personal Lord and Savior? Right now, God is speaking into your heart and life, today He is choosing you! You have been trying to find satisfaction by consuming. But consuming from the world does not fill your need…like a Chinese buffet, you can gorge yourself, but you'll just find yourself hungry again. Come and drink from the Living Water and eat from the Bread of Life and you will never need to consume again. There is lasting satisfaction found at the foot of the Cross! There is healing available at this altar if you will walk forward in faith and seek your satisfaction in Christ alone…

The Great Reversal (Philippians 3:4b-9)

"The Great Reversal!"

Captivated by Christ: An expository sermon series on Paul's Letter to the Church in Philippi (message #21)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

September 12, 2010

God's Word from Philippians 3:4b-9 (NIV), for a message entitled, "The Great Reversal!", "If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. ⁷But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." [prayer]

Show Youtube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfkcD4kxZJA&feature=related

"The Great Reversal!" is a message dealing with the paradigm shift that must happen in our minds and hearts, to move from a paradigm (or world view) of self-reliance to God-dependency; from works-based religion to grace-based relationship.

But this is not an easy shift to make; no paradigm shift is easy! There is a tug of war that happens in our hearts and heads between the simple faith of a child and the seduction of hard work, acclaims, and accomplishments. From that which our culture holds true in an age of tolerance to the truths of the ancient Scriptures. We live in a culture where the Gospel has been compromised (by adding to it and taking away from it). We need to hear the truth as proclaimed through the reading and preaching of God's word. This is a war for our souls and we must know in whom to place our full confidence.

Does righteousness come from us being good people as measured by our good deeds (our works)? We live in an age of tolerance where a majority of people, even those who claim to follow Jesus Christ, argue that it does not matter what you believe about God because there are many roads to heaven and being a good person is what really matters. Is this true?

Let's jump into our Scriptures lesson and watch Paul unpack the great reversal. He starts by sharing his own testimony gathered from his previous world view that said he had to work, under the Law, for his righteousness (his right standing with God). The bottom line of Paul’s testimony: RIGHT STANDING WITH GOD IS NOT EARNED THROUGH WORKS!

In Philippians 3:4b-7, Paul shares, "If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ."

Last Sunday, we spent a good amount of time unpacking verses 1-4a where Paul was directly warning the Church in Philippi about the “dogs" who were a group of Jewish Christians, the Judaizers, who would not let go of the Jewish Religious System, the Law, from being the basis of being "righteous" before God. Therefore, they were following Paul from town to town and adding to the Gospel the requirements of the Law to include circumcision. They added to the Gospel works of the flesh.

Paul made it very clear that we could put no confidence in the flesh, but rather, as Christ-followers, we placed our full confidence in our covenant relationship with God through the imputed righteousness placed upon us through faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul is now listing his credentials as a Jew to further refute the Judaizers not to boast or bring credit upon himself, but to bear witness to the truth of the great reversal through his own testimony. Paul has every reason to be able to put confidence in his flesh because he lived faithfully under the Law. In verses 5 & 6, Paul demonstrates how from birth, he was a God-fearing, Law-observing Jew.

His parents were faithful in the Law and as according to the Scriptures had Paul circumcised on the 8th day. We read in Genesis 17:11-12a, "You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised."

Paul was "of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin". Paul was not a proselyte, who came out of Greco-Roman society and converted to Judaism. Paul was pure blood, not an Ishmaelite from Abraham's son with Hagar, but from the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We read in Genesis 32:28 "Then the man said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.'" He had pure lineage who belonged to one of the two faithful tribes that did not rebel against the Davidic Line, the tribe of Benjamin. This is the tribe that the first King of Israel, Saul, came from and most likely Paul's namesake as his Hebrew name was Saul (1 Samuel 9:1-2).

Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews, meaning he was raised in the studies of the language and culture of his racial and religious heritage. In order to get a fuller grasp of who Paul was prior to Christ and the credentials that brings to the table listen to Paul's account in Acts 22:3-8 where Paul is addressing a Jewish audience at the Temple in Jerusalem (he states this after they have been beating him and trying to kill him before the Roman guard arrives).

"Then Paul said: 'I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?' 'Who are you, Lord?' I asked. 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied.'"

Paul continues, but in the opening section of this testimony, he is doing exactly what he is doing here in verse 4-6, he is laying down his credentials to be the one who can declare the great reversal! Both from his past and from his personal encounter with the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.

Paul was not just of pure Jewish decent, he was the exemplar of a God-fearing, Law-observing Jew! He had walked the life of a Pharisee (which means, "The Set Apart Ones") meaning that he had separated himself from all common tasks in order to make it the one aim and duty of his life to keep every smallest detail of the Law. Paul devoted his life to this rigorous and unbending observance of the Law. He had experienced Judaism at its highest and most demanding peak.

As we just heard from Acts 22, Paul had a burning zeal for the Lord, a badge of honor in Judaism, that manifested in himself doing what they were currently doing to him--persecuting Christ-followers. According to the Law, Paul had followed every aspect and every detail to have his sins atoned for so that on a daily basis his works through obedience to the Law would find him faultless before God; meaning, he believed his works had given him right standing with God (righteousness)!

Of all people, God chose this one man whose life was a living argument for the great reversal! Paul was fully qualified to be the one to refute the old paradigm carried forward by the Judaizers and state, "whatever was to my profit [the old paradigm] I now consider loss for the sake of Christ [the new paradigm]." The Old Covenant was fulfilled through the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of the sacrificial system as the final atonement for all sin. Jesus Christ brought fulfillment to the Temple through Pentecost and we, those who believe on the Name of Jesus Christ are now the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

The Old Covenant has been fulfilled through the Righteous One, Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ who brought the great reversal where we no longer have to work for right standing with God (an impossible venture in the first place!), but we now receive it through faith. As Paul declares in Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast."

For nearly 2000 years, the great reversal has been in effect, but we still find many who are seeking right standing with God through works. We do not have any righteousness of our own, not by church membership, sacramental obedience or liturgical rites, nor by extra biblical revelation knowledge or spiritual experiences. Paul has made it clear that he, of all people, has lived a life that would bring about right standing with God, but when he came face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, his paradigm was forever shifted. He realized that everything he has strove for, worked for was now loss and gladly so because RIGHT STANDING WITH GOD IS THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST! And through Jesus Christ, Paul found eternal life!

The only way to the indestructible joy Paul speaks about in Philippians 3:1 and the peace of God that transcends all human understanding he speaks about in Philippians 4:7, is to abandon the way of self-reliance and accept the way of grace, God-dependence. The mature in Christ rest in God because they have found a security that cannot be lost. When joy and peace are lost it is because our eyes have moved from Jesus Christ back to ourselves!

Paul continued in Philippians 3:8-9 "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith."

In Acts 22, we listened to Paul's testimony of his personal conversion on the road to Damascus. Paul was on his way conducting business as normal as a Pharisee showing great zeal for the Lord by making his way to Damascus to arrest anyone worshipping Jesus Christ as God. This is critical to understanding the great reversal because Paul's life was in every way turned upside down by a personal encounter with Jesus Christ! His encounter with Jesus Christ changed his worldview, shifted his paradigm, overwhelmed his life experiences, and fulfilled all that he had been becoming as a God-fearing Law-observing Jewish Pharisee. Let me say that last part again: His personal encounter with Jesus Christ fulfilled all that he had been becoming as a God-fearing Law-observing Jewish Pharisee.

Later in Acts 22, in verses 14-15, Paul continues in his personal testimony to share how God spoke through a faithful Christ-follower (Ananias) of the purpose for which he was now to serve God, "Then [Ananias] said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard."

God gives Paul an experience that cannot be denied and a command that cannot be overturned at a cost that is unimaginable. Paul must now completely turn away from all that he has ever known and believed and become a witness for the great reversal—from a man whole-heartedly committed to works-based religion to a man enraptured by faith-based relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul shifts from a life of self-reliance and earthly success, to a life of God-dependency and earthly suffering. Paul is a living testimony to the promise of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Matthew 16:24-25, "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.'"

The Great Reversal is a call to, in faith, willingly give up all that you thought was gain so that you may gain that which you thought you would lose by giving it up—real life, indestructible joy, everlasting peace, true love, fresh mercies every day, hope no matter the circumstances, and eternal life through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ!

Here lies the dilemma: are you willing to lay it all down in faith so that you may gain all this and so much more through faith in Jesus Christ?

Paul brings it all together in verse 9: “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.". We cannot have right standing with God through our own efforts. He has tried it to the extreme; he thought (like millions still do today) that he could have right standing with God (righteousness) of his own that came through the religion. The reality is that no religion can save you, no human effort to rise to God will succeed. God had to come to us and He did so for all humanity through Jesus!

The testimony of thousands of years of history, empirical data of countless lives, is that we can only be saved by grace; not by works! This gift must come from God. The Bible declares in Romans 3:23-24, "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

Righteousness, right standing with God, depends absolutely on you gaining Jesus Christ and being found in Him. When you stand before God on the Day of Judgment, what are you going to trust to bring you right standing with God? Are you going to stand before God and hope that your credits outweigh your debits (I’m a good enough person…)? Here is the bad news, even one sin tips the scales against you and you do not have right standing with God. Righteousness is only possible through the justification given to us by the shed blood of Jesus Christ! The Bible teaches in 2 Corinthians 5:20b-21 "We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

I implore you today, to put your trust in Jesus Christ, the Righteous One who took all of our sin onto Himself so that when you stand in front of God on the Day of Judgment, God will not look to your good deeds or even bad deeds, but He will see only one thing: righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only way to God; all the other roads lead to eternal separation!

"True Confidence!" Philippians 3:1-4a

"True Confidence!"

Captivated by Christ: An expository sermon series on Paul's Letter to the Church in Philippi (message #20)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

September 5, 2010

Philippians 3:1-4a (NIV), “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. ²Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. ³For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— ⁴though I myself have reasons for such confidence.”

Immediately in this passage, Paul points to the indestructible joy we have in Jesus Christ. He states in verse 1, ^"Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!" We have already seen this imperative multiple times in this letter and we will see it again. Paul is not grabbing at straw, nor is he calling us to glib emotionalism, rather he is calling us to anchor our emotions in the orthodox faith of God’s word—the Word of Life!

We see this written by the Psalmist in Psalm 32:11, "Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!" Throughout the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit teaches us the importance of finding our joy in the only true hope of humanity—in the Lord our God!

Who are the righteous? Who are the upright in heart that they may rejoice in the Lord? Paul says that we, the brethren (followers of Jesus Christ), should rejoice in the Lord! We are the righteous and we are the upright in heart; therefore, we have reason to rejoice!

Praise be to Jesus Christ who is the only reason we can be called the righteous. It is in Jesus Christ that we find ‘right standing with God’ (righteousness). We have been justified by faith because the One who has right standing before God, Jesus Christ-the Righteous One, took all of our unrighteousness onto Himself on the Cross. Paul is proclaiming that we have joy in the Lord because in Jesus Christ we can lose all our earthly possessions, we can lose all of the people we care about, we can even lose our livelihoods, our health, and our reputations, but we can never lose our right standing with God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ! Our righteousness is one that has been imputed upon us, not one that has been earned! We are saved by faith, not by works! This is the free gift of God!

We have true confidence because our joy is in the Lord and what He has done, not what we have done or think we can do! In this section of Scripture, Paul is jumping into a controversial situation so this command to rejoice in the Lord is very relevant. He wants the Church in Philippi (and through the Holy Spirit us today) to know where our true confidence is found. First, he makes it clear who or what our confidence should not be in. AS DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST, WE PLACE OUR CONFIDENCE NOT IN THE FLESH!

Paul very pointedly writes in Philippians 3:2, "Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh."

Paul is dealing with a controversy that has been nipping at the heals of his ministry like a pack of wild dogs desiring to devour the firm foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Who are these dogs, these men who do evil works, these men who proclaim a false circumcision (or as Paul literally writes here, ‘those who unlawfully mutilate the flesh’)?

In Acts 15:1-2a, Luke records of the Jerusalem Council, "Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: 'Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.' This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them."

These men are from a group of Jewish Christians, some believe from the sect of Pharisees, who believed on the name of Jesus Christ, but refused to see belief in Jesus Christ as anything more than a sect of the existing Jewish religious system. They felt that rather than Jesus Christ being the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and initiating a New Covenant, that he was to be added onto the Old Covenant. Therefore, these Judaizers, as they were later labeled, were following behind Paul on his missionary journeys to the Gentiles (people of non-Jewish origins) and preaching to the people that to truly be saved, they had to become Jewish first, which meant getting circumcised and following the Law.

Paul is discussing these Judaizers in his letter to Church in the region of Galatia (Galatians 5:12-15), stating, "As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! [Ouch!…Paul is clearly not happy with these guys!] You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature [sarx]; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."

In this passage, and we will see it again in the next verse of our Scripture lesson, Paul uses the Greek word sarx. This Greek word speaks of our flesh itself, but more so it sums up what we are, apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Sarx is the human being as yet unchanged by God’s regenerating and redeeming work! When we are self-reliant; when we place our confidence in the works of our flesh then we place our confidence and reliance upon the unregenerate man, the old man! Not the Spirit who actively indwells in us upon justification, the new man!

Paul is very clear to the Church in Galatia and is strongly warning the Church in Philippi to watch out for these dogs because they will cause you to put your confidence in your works of righteousness and as you start to place your faith in works rather than in God’s grace then you will become like the dogs themselves, and you will bite and devour each other. Your reliance and confidence in the flesh will be to your destruction!

Do not listen to these men because their teachings will rob you of your freedom in Jesus Christ, who came to set you free! These men who do evil works, these men who put stumbling blocks before the people so that they do not have the full security of their salvation, are not limited to the first century church. These dogs, in sheep’s clothing, are still amongst us today throughout the Church of Jesus Christ. In the words of Paul, anyone who detracts from the sole sufficiency of Jesus Christ must be watched out for. Whether by adding membership to a certain church, or brand of church, as an essential of salvation, or by teaching people that they must perform secret rites or gain extra-biblical spiritual revelations to be saved. Or by teaching people to entrust their souls to liturgical practices or sacramental experiences. Or for those who proclaim that you are not truly saved unless you add to the work of Jesus Christ some additional experience of the Holy Spirit as essential for full salvation. These dogs are still with us and when we listen to their teachings and their focus on putting our confidence in spiritual merit badges, then we are guaranteed to become like them and bite and devour each other. We lose our freedom when we trust in the flesh!

The only remedy to the sarx is putting no confidence in it! The old man is dead! We must place 100% confidence in Jesus Christ! Paul makes the teaching ever so clear in Ephesians 2:8, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast."

The only joy that will last is the indestructible joy that is based upon true confidence in Jesus Christ!

AS DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST, WE PLACE OUR CONFIDENCE IN JESUS CHRIST!

Paul continues in Philippians 3:3-4a, "For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh [sarx]—though I myself have reasons for such confidence."

“We are the true circumcision”! What does Paul mean by this? To understand this we must go back to the Old Covenant. In Genesis 17:10-11, Moses records of the ancient covenant first established between God and the chosen father of many nations, Abraham, "This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you." God covenants with these chosen people that He will be their God and they will be His people.

The physical act of circumcision was the sign of the chosen people of God who were in covenant relationship with God, heirs to the promises of God to Abraham. For Paul to write that we are the true circumcision means that we, Christians, are the covenant people of God, we are the heirs of the promise to Abraham.

How can this be if we do not practice the physical practice of circumcising our males on the 8^th day as a sign of the covenant as commanded by God? The Bible teaches us that God’s desire was not the circumcision of flesh, but of the heart!

In Deuteronomy 30:6, Moses writes, "The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live."

The true covenant people, the heirs of the promises of God, no longer have to mutilate their flesh as a sign of the covenant. As children of the new covenant, foreshadowed by the prophets of ancient days and fulfilled through Jesus Christ, God now circumcises our hearts as the sign of the covenant. Physical circumcision is not to be replaced with the sacramental work of baptism; rather, circumcision has been fulfilled through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ for all who have faith! It is by faith and not by works…Amen!

Paul teaches this in Romans 3:21-25a, "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood."

Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Law and usher in the Kingdom of God. And the Kingdom of God advances through the Spirit of God mobilizing the Church to put their true confidence in the work of Jesus Christ and not in the religious practices or works of the flesh. It is not by religious systems, but by relationship we are saved!

It is the Spirit of God who quickens and empowers us to offer true worship to the throne room of God. Jesus Christ stated in the Gospel of John 6:63, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh [sarx] counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life."

This is what it means to be the true circumcision: we place our true confidence in the Word of life, Jesus Christ, the One who has justified us through faith in His blood. The Bible declares that every promise of God has been answered Yes in Jesus Christ! He is our hope, our joy, and strength. Those who have been sealed for the day of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ have been quickened to life by the Spirit of God rebirthing that which was dead to sin. Our worship, which is the work of our everyday lives, is empowered by the Spirit of God.

Why in the world would you want to place your confidence in that which has no life apart from the Spirit of God? Don’t trust your flesh, trust the One who gives you life!

Words of the living truth from Titus 3:3-7, "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."

Those who put their true confidence in Jesus Christ are the heirs of God’s covenantal promises. Our circumcision is not visible on our bodies, but in our actions and attitudes. It is our hearts and minds, our very character and quality of life that are marked! Does your attitude and actions declare whose you are?

The dogs are marked by biting and devouring of one another. The world has seen, and we have experienced, enough of such behavior from the church. It is to our own destruction if we add anything to the assurances we have through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Who or what are you putting your confidence in? Even one of the greatest men to walk this planet, the Apostle Paul, said that he had reason to have confidence in his flesh, but he still choose to put his true confidence in Jesus Christ! It doesn’t matter your resume or your reputation, your bank account or any other worldly measure; there is no life apart from the life freely given through faith in Jesus Christ!

Today is the day to start your walk with God and enter into true discipleship. Declare your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Savior, the only worthy object of your praise. Confess that in your flesh dwells no good thing and that you fall short of the glory of God. Repent by turning toward the new life afforded to you through the Spirit of God, who has raised you from the dead to receive eternal life.

Prayer and Response Time