Text: Philippians 3:1-11

Date: 12.6.16

Title: Ring of confidence

Place: Rhema

File: MFFL#8Rhema

Preacher: Stephen Taylor

Slide 1

Confidence. It’s a great quality to have isn’t it? To know that you are prepared, ready to take on anything the world throws at us. When I was growing up, Colgate toothpaste had a series of ads on tv claiming that if you brushed with Colgate you would have a ring of confidence. One of the ads showed a girl in front seat of a rally car. She slams the door and goes over to her friend and says, “He says I’ve got bad breathe!” “I know how you feel here, try my Colgate Flouriguard!” The ad ends withthe girl brushing with colgate, getting the bloke and winning the race. Now why didn’t she brush with Colgate earlier?

Slide 2

Well brushing with Colgate may make all the difference here on earth, but I doubt it will make any difference when we come to God. When we meet him face to face. When he asks you why should I let you into my heaven? One glimpse of those pearly white teeth will not get you through any pearly white gates. But what will? What can possibly give you confidence when we are due to meet up with God?

Slide 3

Paul in chapter 3 of his letter to the Philippians tells us that our confidence must be in Christ, not in circumcision or circumstances or connections. Our confidence must be in Him as our redeemer not in our race, religion, rules or reputation. Let’s see what he means.

Slide 4

Philippians 3 starts with Paul's urge for the Philippian Christians to"rejoicein the Lord!" To find theirjoyin knowingtheLordJesus. It's a theme that runs through the whole book. But then our passage takes a sudden turn. It is as if Paul seems to change tack. He goes fromurgingthe Philippians torejoice, tourgingthem to beonthelookout. Tokeepwatch.

Slide 5

“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 evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh”. I'm sure you've all seen those signs on the side of the road that say "Children Crossing". They're always bright yellow and youcan'tmiss them. But these signs arethereas a warning to watch out for children. Tobeonthelookout. Paul'swarning here is the same. Be on the lookout. Keep watch. There are some who will place their confidence in circumcision.

Slide 6

Confidence in Circumcision.There are some who believe in Jesus, yes Jesus is the

way to heaven, the only way to heaven. But once you have trusted in Jesus you will need to be circumcised. You will also need to take on the Jewish laws from the OT.

Slide 7

Someone once said to me, if you add anything to Christ, you are actually subtracting things from Christ. If you add circumcision to Christ, then you are saying that Christ is not enough. You are bringing in religion, bringing in actions, bringing in works by the back door. And this has begun to happen in Philippi and Paul will have none of it. Look what he says.

Slide 8

2“Watch out for those dogs”. Now he is not saying these guys are cute andcuddly like the sort of dogs we have today. No dogs in those days were not pets, they roamed the streets and were essentially wild scavengers. They were filthy animals. And interestingly the Jews used to call the Gentiles, the non Jews, dogs. Yet here Paul turns the tables and calls these Judaisers, these guys that want to add the Jewish rituals to Christ, he calls them dogs. They are the ones who are evildoers. For when you add something to Christ, you end up subtracting from his power and hurting those who put their confidence in your message.

Now Paul is using strong language here, very strong language. In fact some would say he is not even using Christian language. How often do you call someone a dog? When was the last time you called someone an evildoer or a mutilator? But Paul is justified in using these words because people’s salvation is at stake. He doesn’t want his baby Christians to be led astray. Watch out, he says! Keep on the lookout! 3For it is we who are the circumcision,we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesusand who put no confidence in the flesh.

Slide 9

Yes circumcision was a sign of the people of God in the OT. God gave Abraham a covenant in the book of Genesis and the sign that you were a part of the covenant people was circumcision. But it was just a sign. An outward symbol that pointed to an inward reality. And the prophets looked forward to the day when God would not just circumcise the foreskin of every male believer but circumcise the hearts of every believer.

Paul is saying this prophecy has now been fulfilled. We are the circumcision. Jesus has cut out the sin in our heart. He has taken our sin on the cross. He has removed it as far as east is from west. And he has replaced the old heart of stone, a heart that didn’t look to God with a new heart of flesh, one that can now have a relationship with God through Jesus.

He continues, We serve God by his Spirit. We now have the real worship that the OT worship just pointed to. We don’t need sacrifices anymore because the sacrifice of the lamb of God is sufficient. We don’t need a high priest to do something on our behalf Jesus is now our high priest. And we no longer put any confidence in the flesh.

We don’t put our confidence in our teeth or our smile, our religion or our good works, our background or our zeal. We put our confidence in Christ. In Christ alone. Not Christ plus circumcision. Not Christ plus service. Not Christ plusour works.

Slide 10

Now you and I are unlikely to run into a group of Jewish Judaizers today who say we should add circumcision to our salvation. But there are some JW's who say you need Christ but you must also door-knock to be saved. There are some in the Mormons who say you need Jesus plus be part of their sect to be right with God. There are some Pentecostals who say you need Christ plus the baptism of the Holy Spirit, its Jesus plus speaking in tongues. There are some in the Catholic Church who believe you need Christ plus you need to have regularly received all the sacraments to be saved. There are some in the Presbyterian Church who believe you need to have Christ + living a good life to be saved.

And Paul would say be on the lookout. Watch out. Have nothing to do with these evildoers. Yes evil doers. But wait a second the Mormons I know are so clean cut and have such good family values. Those Pentecostals have a real zeal for God. Those Catholics are in church every Sunday. Those Presbyterians have been the pillars of the Church and done so many good things for others. But if it is Christ plus baptism, Christ plus church attendance, Christ plus tongues, Christ plus sacraments, they are evil doers because they are taking you away from Christ.And Paul says I should know because at one time I was one of them.

Slide 11

Confidence in CircumstancesI had all the right connections. Verse 4. If someone else

thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:5circumcisedon the eighth day. Pauls says, I was part of God’s covenant family right from the very beginning. I was circumcised on the eighth day, I am of the people of Israel,of the tribe of Benjamin.

Slide 12

I trace my heritage way back toAbraham, in fact I am from one of the two tribes that has remained loyal to God throughout all of its history, the tribe where the first Israelite King Saul came from, the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew of Hebrews. I was born to Hebrew parents and brought up from infancy with the Hebrew language and the Hebrew traditions.

Slide 13

But it doesn’t end there, Paul says, I have more to brag aboutin regard to the law, a Pharisee;6as for zeal,persecuting the church;as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. This was to the Jew the ultimate in religious experience. If anybody was going to heaven it was the Pharisees. They were regarded as being extremely righteous.They were very strict in obeying the law of God, as they saw it. And Paul states that he was not just any Pharisee, but a Pharisee with zeal. He was determined to crush anything that went against God’s law.

If religious status and human effort hadanypart to play in how God saw people, Paul would be top of the class. He’d be first in line to get a pat on the back from God. But do you notice that Paul’s confidence in his rituals, his race, his religion, his rules and his reputation did not lead him to embrace the gospel of God’s grace but instead to persecute those who did. It did not draw him closer to God, it actually took him away from God. He was placing his confidence in something that would not deliver.

Slide 14

That’s what happened back in 1997. BRE-X Minerals rose from nowhere to become the most lucrative shares in history. This company had dug a mine in Indonesia and hit the jackpot. Their geologist reported gold content that made it the richest gold mine ever discovered. The companies’ share price soared from $2 a share to well over $280 a share almost overnight. But soon after, it was discovered that the mine was a money making scam. The geologist had placed the gold in the core samples to taint the results and in reality the mine had no gold at all. Upon this discovery, the stock value plummeted to zero almost immediately. There was never anything of value so all those who put their confidence in it lost everything, absolutely everything.

Slide 15

Paul says that if we put our confidence in our circumcision or in our religious or social connections we are putting our confidence in something that has no value and we too will lose everything. Our confidence must be in Christ and Christ alone.

And yet today we do meet people who tell us that they are from a Christian family. They were baptised in the church, went to Sunday School, even taught Sunday School. They have given sacrificially to the Church, been part of the Ladies Guild or painted the church and they think because of what they have done because of the connections to the Church in the past that they will get to heaven. And they are wrong, eternally wrong. For they need to

Slide 16

Have their Confidence in Christ.

7But whatever were gains to me I now consider lossfor the sake of Christ.8What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowingChrist Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage that I may gain Christ.

Paul now turns to an accounting illustration. What he thought was in the profit column is actually in the loss column. What he thought was an asset is actually a liability. What seemed like a gain was actually a loss. Now it is not a complete loss. He is not saying that being raised in a Jewish family was a terrible thing. Elsewhere he will go onto say that circumcision does connect the person to the promises of God, it does make real the demands of the law. But if you think that these things will get you to heaven. You are going to be disappointed, very disappointed.

Because only Christ can do that. And if you put anything in the way of Christ, no matter how good it seems, it will lead to your downfall. If you add anything to Christ. It will only add to your misery on the last day. So Paul says being a Jew, being raised in a Hebrew family, being a Pharisee, even his zeal he considers them as nothing, rubbish, garbage compared to Christ.

And we should think likewise. Are you from a Christian family? Do you know your Bible back to front? Do you know your hymn book back to front? Compared to knowing Jesus they are nothing, they are rubbish. In fact the word rubbish is even stronger than that. They are excrement! They stink. If they take you away from Jesus Christ.

Slide 17

“I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,but that which is through faith inChrist—the righteousnessthat comes from God on the basis of faith”.It is not on the basis of your ritual, your race, your religion, your rule or your reputation that you are made righteous. It is in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Slide 18

So Paul wants to know Jesus. He wants to have Jesus righteousness within him. He wants to have faith in Jesus Christ. Paul continues…10I want to knowChrist—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings,becoming like him in his death,11and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrectionfrom the dead.He wants to know Christ.

The power of the resurrection and the pain of his death on the cross. He wants to experience the highs of eternal life and feel the lows of the sufferings of Jesus. For if he can have Jesus, then he can handle anything this life throws at him. For that will mean the best life now as well as the promise of being raised to life in the next life as well.

I wonder if we feel that same way. God I don’t care what happens to me in this life as long as I have Christ. I am willing for you to send me the good, the bad and the ugly. I will be equally happy with blessings or pain as long as you are with me. As long as Christ is with me.

Slide 21

Thomas a’ Kempis in his book IMITATION OF CHRIST wrote, “Jesus hath many lovers of his kingdom, but few bearers of his cross. All are disposed to rejoice with him, but few to suffer sorrow for his sake. Many follow him to the breaking of the bread, but few to the drinking of his bitter cup.” But today Paul is calling us to be different. To have our confidence in Christ. And to be willing to travel anywhere with him.

Slide 22

So where does our confidence rest? Where does your confidence rest? It is pretty easy to say it rests in Christ and Christ alone but personally I think that suffering tests that. And sometimes it reveals what you really are placing your confidence in.

As I tried to find my place in life I quickly realised I was not the smartestperson around me. I was never going to be the best at sport, at art, at music. But I did have a strong work ethic, a very strong work ethic. So at school and at uni I could do well by working harder than anyone else. On the sporting field what I lacked in skill I made up in determination. So when I became a Christian I did trust in Christ but I was proud of all the hard work I put in. Hard work to read my bible and pray every day. Hard work to do those theological courses. Hard work to serve people. Hard work you see shaped my identity and I remember when I became a minister I would add up the hours I worked to prove to myself that I was doing a good job.

But then God sent me Chronic Fatigue. And for 18 months all I could do was lie in bed. I couldn’t do anything. I was no good to anyone. I lost my work ethic. And God showed me that he still loved me despite the fact I could do nothing for him in return. In fact those times drew me closer to him. I got to know him better in my sufferings. And at the end of my illness I heard myself pray “Lord, I haven’t enjoyed this but if I needed to go through this again to get to know you better, I would be happy for you to make me sick again”.

Slide 23

For God had to break my dependence upon hard work. It isn’t Christ plus hard work. It is not Christ plus a successful family. It is not Christ plus your Bible knowledge. It is not Christ plus attendance at church. It is Christ alone that your confidence should rest upon.

Slide 24

Friends ditch your confidence in yourself. It is like shares in a gold company that has no gold. And put it in Christ. For that is a gilt edged investment that will never fail.