Sermon Brief
Date Written: November 22, 2013
Date Preached: November 24, 2013
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: Building a Foundation for a Thankful Life
Sermon Title: The 4th Piling – Our Perfection in Christ
Sermon Text: Philippians 3 [HCSB]
Essence of the Text: Paul stressed the need for believers to NOT focus on earthly things or put their trust in earthly institutions but glory in Christ and what He has done…
Essence of the Sermon: Paul’s words speak loud and clear to US today as we must NOT focus on the things or institutions of this world, we must not place our trust in anything other than Christ, but we must focus on Him and what He has done!
Objective of the Sermon: KNOWING what Christ has done brings us to a stark revelation! You see Christ has done what we could NEVER do… Christ has brought perfection to our lives…In Christ we know perfection before God!
Introduction:
The Scripture you heard this morning so far has said that troubles are GOING to come… we must brace for them and seek God’s help in making it thru them… We see how one of the most godly men in the history of the church also dealt with difficulty!
People we are going to see difficulty in this life… Just because you are a believer does not mean hardship or trial will NOT come your way!
So often we experience these hardships and we lose sight of the blessings we have IN Christ! Today I want to continue looking at the wonderful blessings we HAVE in Christ and what we have to be thankful for during this Thanksgiving holiday…and every day!
Now to this point in our series we have learned that we are called to be thankful… Paul calls us to come to God with all things, but to do so in a thankful manner…with a thankful attitude and heart! We see this in his letter to the Philippians (4:6-HCSB)
6Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
What we have learned is that for us to be able to have a thankful attitude and heart that FIRST we must understand WHAT we are thankful for…
Over the past 3 weeks we have looked the WONDERFUL foundation we have as Christians…it is a foundation that brings a truly thankful heart and attitude to our hearts…
This foundation of thankfulness is where we (as believers) stand…
This foundation of thankfulness is where we (as believers) live…
This foundation of thankfulness is where we (as believers) build up our walk in Christ…
This foundation of thankfulness is where we (as believers) grow and mature…
What we have learned over the past 3 weeks is that this foundation of thankfulness has several anchors or pilings in it that keep it stable and firm… and a trustworthy foundation for our lives in Christ!
The first anchor or piling in this foundation is God the Father… God is God and we can know that the Creator of the Universe cares for us and loves us with a love we cannot fully comprehend!
The 2nd anchor or piling in this foundation is Jesus the Son… Jesus is Savior! We can see the love of God revealed in His Son Jesus in that He came and was willing to humble Himself to even death on a cross to redeem us from our sin and provide eternal life for us…
The 3rd anchor or piling for this foundation is the Holy Spirit… He is the comforter and counselor God provides for those who accept Him as Savior… The HS is the guide for our steps, the convictor of our sins, the revealer of all truth, the empowerment for our service, the encourager for our walk with God…
Last week we learned that we were not left alone as orphans when Jesus ascended to the Father, but that we are in fellowship with God thru His Son Jesus indwelled by His Holy Spirit in this life…
We have these things that anchor our foundation, but this morning we are going to look at one more anchor!
The fourth anchor or piling for this thankful foundation upon which we live is found as a result of the 1st three… this 4th foundational piling is Our Perfection found in Christ!
The perfection I speak of is NOT perfection as the world sees it... perfection or to be without flaw is something only Christ has achieved and it is impossible for us in this world we live in today.
The perfection that Paul speaks of here is a ‘wholeness’ or ‘completeness’ that believers can realize in Christ! We were 'incomplete' without Him, but made complete in Him!
Without the love of God revealed from God the Father…we are hopeless!
Without the humble, servant heart of Jesus the Son and His sacrifice for us…we are helpless!
Without the empowering, encouraging and comforting presence of the God’s Holy Spirit…we are lost and confused!
Without these three foundational elements in our lives, we would NEVER know this perfection that I am speaking about!
God’s love sent Jesus to be Savior and the HS is God’s plan to lead/guide/direct those who receive Him as Savior… and this morning we are going to see how we are PERFECT before God when we are in Christ!
Now in chapter 3 of his letter to the Philippian church Paul expresses just how AWESOME of a blessing it is to have Christ as Savior!
And when we read this Scripture it teaches that when we come to know Christ as Savior that we are 'In Christ'... we become part of Christ... part of the body of Christ... part of the Kingdom of Heaven... part of the inheritance of the Father! We become ‘perfect’ in our standing before God!
Now when I say ‘perfect’ here I am NOT saying that when we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus that we NEVER sin again or that we do NOT have sin in our lives… As long as we live in this sin-filled world we will battle with sin and our human nature!
The perfection I speak of is NOT being without error, but it is a wholeness or completeness that we find IN Christ… where we fall short and lack the ability to know God in our sin, IN CHRIST we can know God and be delivered and redeemed
HOWEVER, we MUST be thankful what God has delivered into our lives... We must be thankful for this perfection that we have been given ‘In Christ’…
It is ONLY because of Jesus that God has delivered this PERFECTION to us... It is only because we are 'In Christ' that we are made 'whole/perfect' before Him.
So this morning I want to look at the nature of that perfection that Jesus brings into our lives… what does that perfection or ‘wholeness’ we have in Christ look like?
Well the 1st thing I can see is that we are made perfect… we have been made whole ‘In Christ’ thru…
A perfect relationship – v3-9 – We are made ‘complete’ in Christ
3For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh— 4although I once also had confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; 6regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless. 7But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. 8More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.
Let’s face it… it is a spiritual LAW… a spiritual FACT… humanity IS lost without Jesus! Without His sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary we would NEVER know salvation!
Here Paul stresses that we are in a new standing now… we are the circumcision… what Paul means here in v3 is that we have been ‘cut away’ from the world and we are now in a relationship with God through Christ! That relationship is a perfect union that brings us out of darkness and into the light of God’s redemption!
Outside of Christ we would never be able to achieve a whole status before God… In Gen 3 we read where humanity lost fellowship with God and that the curse of sin was initiated and ALL humans after that point were cursed with that curse…
Jesus came to remove that curse and restore humanities lost connection with their Creator… Jesus came to restore humanities relationship with God!
I want us to look at what happens to humanity when Christ enters the picture and redeems our soul… we receive the righteousness of Christ: -- v9 tells us, “…not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith [in Christ]…”
We receive a righteousness thru Christ that restores our relationship with our Creator… a restoration that we would NEVER know on our own!
In John 3:16 – 16 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus tells us that in that restored and perfect relationship that we receive eternal life with God
In 1 John 3:16 - 1 Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children. And we are!
Here we see God’s love revealed in us becoming part of His family… once cast out and cursed, the relationship has been restored… and restored PERFECTLY in Christ!
In Christ we find forgiveness of sin
In Christ we find mercy from judgment
In Christ we find grace from wrath
In Christ we find redemption and salvation…
In Christ we find a perfect relationship with God!
Now I want us to do something just a little different this morning… we are going to take communion RIGHT now in the middle of this sermon so that we can celebrate this restored and perfect relationship we have in Christ!
As Jason comes to begin playing softly I want to ask our Deacons and Staff who are serving to come forward… Before we start this I want us to read a passage of Scripture where Paul issues a stern warning to those who take this celebration lightly… after the Scripture we will pray! 1 Cor 11:27-32 (HCSB)
27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 So a man should examine himself; in this way he should eat the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep. 31 If we were properly evaluating ourselves, we would not be judged, 32 but when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, so that we may not be condemned with the world.
Let’s pray… Father God you are so loving, kind and merciful to us… In Your blessed mercy and grace we find salvation through Your Son Jesus! Lord today we thank you for that salvation… but Lord I pray that we NEVER take for granted the perfect relationship we have in Christ!
Let us NEVER take for granted our salvation by living as WE please, but let us ALWAYS seek to live out YOUR Word in our lives! Lord let us be YOUR witnesses… Your TRUE and FAITHFUL witnesses here in this world! In Jesus name… Amen!
[at this time allow the servers to pass out the bread]
23…On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
[at this time allow the servers to pass out the juice/cup]
25In the same way, after supper He also took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Prayer
Jesus THANK you for what You did at Calvary… not only did you pay for my sin, but you restored me to my Creator… Because of YOU Jesus I can know perfection in my relationship with God!
Now that we have had a time of COMMUNION we have looked back at what Jesus HAS done and where we have seen the perfection in our relationship because of Jesus, I want us to also look at where Paul shares we can also experience:
2. A perfect progress - v.10-16 – Growth and maturity is founded in Christ
This is also a time of Confirmation that allows us to realize NOT just what Jesus HAS done, but also that we realize/recognize what Jesus IS now doing in our lives...
10My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead. 12Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. 15Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. 16In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.
People here was Paul, possibly the most successful and greatest missionary that has EVER lived… A man who was faithful and obedient to God… A man who’s words and works have endured for centuries because they were driven by the Holy Spirit in his life and he followed God in all things!
Here was a GODLY man, but yet look what He says in v12…
12Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus.
Paul understood that he still had maturing to do as a believer…
Paul understood that he was NOT there yet…
But the important thing we need to see here is that Paul also understood that he COULD mature in Christ and although he would never fully reach maturity in Christ here in this world… he would press ever toward that goal…
And why was this such a priority for Paul? v12 also answers that question… because He had been taken hold of by Christ!
People when we come to a saving knowledge of Christ I want us to understand something… we RECEIVE Christ into our hearts, but it is Christ that takes hold of us and should be the driving force of our lives!
When we allow Christ to sit in the driver’s seat of our lives we experience a perfect progress in Him… A progress that pleases God and moves toward God’s purpose and plan!
In Christ we experience a perfect progress… we cannot grow closer to God on our own… we cannot mature in our faith based on our own wisdom, but IN Christ we have perfect progress and our maturity will be what God desires!
In Christ we have a perfectly restored relationship… but we also have perfect progress in maturing in our faith… In Christ we become what HE desires us to become…
We have seen that thru the perfect relationship Christ brings we can experience Communion with God. We have also seen that thru the perfect progress we can find IN CHRIST… a progress led and guided by the Holy Spirit that we can experience a maturity in our walk with Christ!
However, my 3rd point this morning is that when believers are ‘In Christ’ we also experience…
3. A perfect completion - v20-21 - In Christ we will truly be perfect one day
When a believer accepts Jesus and is placed ‘In Christ’ by the Holy Spirit… it is a time of rejoicing, but it is also a time that points forward to a more perfect ending for us! Being ‘In Christ’ points toward that perfect COMPLETION we will all experience when we reach our heavenly home…
My brothers and sisters… this morning I want us to FULLY realize what lays ahead for us who are 'In Christ'! In v20-21 Paul says:
20but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.
People when we are ‘in Christ’ there is a ‘completion’ coming for our soul AND for our bodies! Our soul is stamped and sealed by the Holy Spirit and when Christ comes in… we can NEVER be taken away from Him! God’s promise tells us that when we know salvation in Christ… that it is a perfect salvation… that it will bring our soul to a perfect completion “In Christ”…
We are sealed by the HS… but we also have a perfect heaven to look forward to… Jesus has promised us a home with Him in Heaven and that He will prepare that place for us… Scripture tells us it is a place of perfect completion where there is no pain, grief, sadness or tears… where there is no sickness or death… and where there will NEVER be a dark day!
This promise of completion also tells us that we will have a NEW body… a PERFECT body… look what Paul says in v21
21He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.
As created and finite beings our bodies are NOT suited for eternity… in fact we are all dying and decaying here in this world, but IN Christ we know that we are made complete in Him… made complete in Spirit, but the promise is also that we are going to be made ‘complete’ – ‘whole’ – or ‘PERFECT’ in Christ!
What a wonderful promise from God… a perfect completion to a perfect redemption and perfect salvation…
Paul says we are to approach the throne of Grace with thanksgiving… This coming Thursday we celebrate the “Thanksgiving” holiday… where we think about what we have and what God has blessed us with…
Well this year I want you to focus on being thankful that…
God is God… and He loves you!
That, Jesus is Savior… and He died for you!
That, the Holy Spirit is given to lead, guide and direct your steps in Christ…
And finally this morning that you be thankful for the PERFECTION that Christ brings into your lives when you come to know Him as Savior…
A perfect relationship with God the Father, restored thru His Son Jesus Christ…
A perfect progress in spiritual growth as you are led and guided by the Holy Spirit sent from God the Father to guide you!
A perfect completion that lies ahead for all who know Christ as Savior… a completion that culminates in a new body in a heaven that God has prepared for YOU!
I call on us ALL to begin living out this thankful attitude and heart in all we do and say… when the world sees what we are thankful for… they are going to want to know about the Jesus we proclaim to serve!
As Bro Ken and Jason come to lead us in our time of commitment and invitation…I want to say…
Today you may be here and you MAY have a relationship with Jesus, but are you fully aware of what He has done? Open altar for believers to come and pray…
Today you may be here and you may NOT have a relationship with Jesus… today I want to tell YOU that Jesus is standing with His arms open wide, inviting you to come and receive HIM as Savior… and when you receive Him as Savior… you will enter into this perfection that I am speaking about today… Do you want to know God’s perfection? IF you do I invite you to step out and come! Open altar for non-believers to come and pray…
