Phil 3 Finally! Rejoice in the Lord
Philippians 3:1-9 ESV - Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith
Finally!! lol most importantly!!
Rejoice in the Lord!!!
Matthew Henry, "The joy of the Lord is a divine armor against the assaults of our spiritual enemies and puts our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks . . . the taste of joy in our mouths makes the tempter's offerings seem bland by comparison." Psalm 34:5, 'They looked unto Him and were radiant.' 'Emerson came into our house this morning with a sunbeam in his face.' Peter described it as joy unspeakable and full of glory.
To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not irksome, but for you it is safe.' Apparently, he was constantly exhorting them to Christian joy.
To Maintain Joy Your Must Be Aware
Beware of dogs. Barkers and complainers.
Beware of evil workers.' FB Meyer fanatical, unbalanced, and unable to distinguish between essentials and non-essential beliefs, magnifying some microscopical point in Christianity until it blinds the eye to the symmetry, proportion, and beauty of Heaven's glorious scheme. These people are the ' Cranks ' of our Churches; they exaggerate trifles ; they catch up every new theory and vagary, and follow it to the detriment of truth and love. It is impossible to exaggerate the harm that these people do, or the desirability of keeping clear of them, they are the pests of every Christian community they enter. Exaggerating a truth can be as bad as denying a truth.
Beware of the false circumcision (NASB) mutilation.
The Apostle's life was embittered by the antagonism of the Judaising teachers who dogged his steps. They did not deny that Jesus was the Messiah, or that His Gospel was the power of God unto salvation, but they insisted that the Gentile converts could only come to the fulness of Gospel privilege through the Law of Moses; they urged that Gentiles must become Jews before they could be Christians; they asserted that if the new converts were not circumcised after the manner of Moses, they could not be saved (Acts 15:1). Throughout his whole career, the Apostle offered the most strenuous opposition to these men and their teaching. He went so far as to say that they were traitors. As in every generation so also in ours we must beware of those who say that we must pass through certain outward rites before they can be saved. In addition to faith in our Lord, there must be certain acts of obedience to the institutions of the Church. They demand baptism, baptizing of all children in the family, attendance at the confessional, strict obedience to fasts, acts of self-denial, as conditions of salvation. Against all these we must be steadfastly on our guard, because they obscure and belittle the Gospel, and divert men's thoughts from Him who is the only way to the Father. It is specially difficult to be on our guard against these false teachers, because they approach us under the guise of being earnest Christians. They show sympathy to the church, and have religious feelings. It is not so difficult to watch against the outwardly profane and rebellious, but even the most careful can be caught up by those who seem more religious or more spiritual. And the super spiritual are not adverse to lying about others to achieve power in the church. It was therefore that the Apostle feared that “as the serpent beguiled Eve with his subtlety, so the minds of his converts should be corrupted from the simplicity which is in Christ (2 Cor.10:3). It is when Satan comes to us as an angel of light that he is most to be dreaded. We should examine ourselves first to keep our hearts close to the Lord.
To Maintain Joy Your Must Be Self-Aware
Do we worship God in the spirit ?
Do we glory (exult) in Christ Jesus? Is He our boast and pride ? Is following Him our highest ideal? Is the pursuit of His 'Well-done' our loftiest endeavour? Are we amongst those who put no confidence in the flesh ?
1 No more, my God, I boast no more
Of all the duties I have done;
I quit the hopes I held before,
To trust the merits of thy Son.
2 Now, for the love I bear his name,
What was my gain I count my loss;
My former pride I call my shame,
And nail my glory to his cross.
3 Yes, and I must and will esteem
All things but loss for Jesus’ sake;
O may my soul be found in him,
And of his righteousness partake!
4 The best obedience of my hands
Dares not appear before thy throne;
But faith can answer thy demands,
By pleading what my Lord has done.
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan
“Thus I went on for the space of two years, crying out against men's sins, and their fearful state because of them. After which, the Lord came in upon my own soul, with some staid peace and comfort through Christ; for He did give me many sweet discoveries of His blessed grace through Him; wherefore now I altered in my preaching (for still I preached what I saw and felt); now therefore I did much labour to hold forth Jesus Christ in all His offices, relations, and benefits unto the world. For I have been in my preaching, especially when I have been engaged in the doctrine of life by Christ, without works, as if an angel of God had stood by at my back to encourage me: Oh! it hath been with such power and heavenly evidence upon my own soul, while I have been labouring to unfold it, to demonstrate it, and to fasten it upon the conscience of others;”
Hold Thou Thy cross Before my closing eyes
Shine through the gloom and Point me to the skies
Heaven’s morning breaks And earth’s vain shadows flee
In life in death O Lord Abide with me
In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan explains his experience of grace in a profound couplet:
He that is down need fear no fall, he that is low no pride,
He that is humble ever shall have God to be his guide.
Bunyan I never cared to meddle with things that were controverted, and in dispute among the saints, especially things of the lowest nature; yet it pleased me much to contend with great earnestness for the word of faith, and the remission of sins by the death and sufferings of Jesus: but I say, as to other things, I should let them alone, because I saw they engendered strife; and because that they neither in doing, nor in leaving undone, did commend us to God to be His:
Do we put no confidence in the flesh? In one of His most exquisite parables, our Saviour depicted a man leaving his house in the morning with a heavy bag of gold, and making his way to the market-place, where pearl-sellers displayed the precious ocean gems. He was seeking good pearls, and passed from stall to stall with the eye and touch of the connoisseur; but from each stall he turned away dissatisfied. At last he approached one of the sellers, and saw before him on the tray the most exquisite, perfect, and transparent pearl that his eyes had ever lit on. Asking the price, he discovered that it would take all the pearls he had bought, and all the gold in his pouch, to procure it. When he learnt that to win that he must sell everything else; and so he does. He counts the rest a loss and the pearl far better. He counted all things else but loss.
You see, now, because of the sacrifice of Christ and His finished work on our behalf, salvation comes through faith in Christ alone. No physical mark, no symbol, no act, no ritual, no ceremony can ever change the heart or transform the heart anyway – they all pointed to Christ's sacrifice. If it isn't Jesus alone, it is Jesus plus something.
Phl 3:4-6. Jesus plus baptism. Jesus plus church membership Jesus plus Sabbath worship Jesus plus tithing Jesus plus pilgrimages Jesus plus prayers Then . . . maybe . . . God will be satisfied with you – which implies God the Father isn't satisfied with His Son. Your baptism doesn't save. No one is saved by an act you might do, whether its religious ritual, race, religion, rules or reputation. My orthodoxy won't save me My activity won't save me My sincerity won't save me My ability won't save me. We are those who trust in ourselves least. We put no confidence in the flesh.
Nothing in my hands I bring Simply to Thy cross I cling.
Foul I to the fountain (of His blood) fly Wash me Saviour or I die.
Just as I am without one plea But that Thy Blood was shed for me And that Thou bidst me come to Thee , O Lamb of God I come I come.
3:7,8 Nothing either great or small— Nothing, sinner, no; Jesus did it, did it all, Long, long ago. "It is finished!" yes, indeed, Finished every jot: Sinner, this is all you need— Tell me, is it not?When He, from His lofty throne, Stooped to do and die, Everything was fully done; Hearken to His cry: Weary, working, burdened one, Wherefore toil you so? Cease your doing; all was done Long, long ago. Till to Jesus' work you cling By a simple faith, "Doing" is a deadly thing— "Doing" ends in death. Cast your deadly "doing" down— Down at Jesus' feet; Stand in Him, in Him alone, Gloriously complete.
There is a point of decision to be made here:
Matt 13. Pearl of great price
He was seeking good pearls, and passed from stall to stall with the eye and touch of the connoisseur; but from each stall he turned away dissatisfied. At last he approached one of the sellers, and saw before him on the tray the most exquisite, perfect, and transparent pearl that his eyes had ever lit on. Asking the price, he discovered that it would take all the pearls he had bought, and all the gold in his pouch, to procure it. When he learnt that to win that he must sell everything else; and so he does. He counts the rest a loss and the pearl far better. He counted all things else but loss.
Have you done this ?
Cease your doing; all was done Long, long ago. Till to Jesus' work you cling By a simple faith, "Doing" is a deadly thing— "Doing" ends in death. Cast your deadly "doing" down— Down at Jesus' feet; Stand in Him, in Him alone, Gloriously complete.
1. Don’t put your confidence in a ritual. Baptism won't save you.
2. Don’t put your confidence in your race or ethnic heritage. Being Dutch don't make you much! You can't ride to heaven on your parents religion.
3. Don’t put your confidence in your rank. Being an elder or a deacon doesn’t make you saved.
4. Don’t put your confidence in your tradition. 5. Don’t put your confidence in your rule keeping.
6. Don’t put your confidence in your religious zeal.
7. Don’t put your confidence in your obedience to the law.
Transfer all your confidence to Christ alone.
See His cross as the sufficient sacrifice for all your sin.
Cease trying and start trusting.
Cast yourself on Him alone!
