Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
right in. Hallelujah. If what you think is making
you right with God is your works, then you will
not understand the joy that is in the Lord. Which
is from the law but that which is through faith
in Christ. The righteousness which is from God
by faith. And I may know him and the power of
his resurrection that in the fellowship of his
sufferings being conformed to his death. If by
any means I may attain to the resurrection from
the death. Not that I have already attained or
I'm already perfected. But I praise him that
I may lay hold of that of which Christ Jesus
has also laid. uphold for me. Hallelujah. And
we sang a song about a man that is blessed. And
that is the reality of every single man that
has believed in Jesus Christ. You are a blessed
man. You are a blessed woman. You are a blessed
man. You are a blessed woman. Tell your neighbor,
say, I'm a blessed man. I'm a blessed man. I'm
a blessed man. And that should be the reason
for rejoicing. Amen? We are rejoicing because
we are blessed in Christ. The psalmist said that
blessed is that man to whom God does not what?
Does not impute to your account iniquities. And
pastor made us to read in Romans. Hallelujah.
In Romans chapter 4. It's amazing. Let's go back
to read and see. In Romans chapter 4. He read
from verse 1. And then he was giving us a context
of Abraham. Remember the person that wrote this
was. Paul, right? He says, what then shall we
say that Abraham, our father, has found according
to the flesh? That means the blessedness or the
blessings of Abraham wasn't according to the
flesh. The flesh here refers to works. Hallelujah.
For if Abraham was justified by works, he has
something to boast about. Amen? If his justification
was because he did something right, Or he did
something good. Then he will have something to
hold on to. To boast. To be proudful of. But
not before God. Verse 3. For what does the scripture
say? Abraham believed God. And what? And it was
counted to him for what? For righteousness. So
Abraham believed in God. And he was made righteous
by God. Now to him who works. The wages. Are
not counted as grace but death. So all of us
are partakers of this grace. For we believe as
Abraham believed. We are partakers of the blessedness
of Abraham. Because Abraham believed and it was
according to him as righteousness. Verse 5. But
to him who doesn't walk. Believes on him who
justifies the ungodly. Amen. This is where we
are. God justifies us. We were ungodly. We were
not worthy of coming to him. We were not accepted.
The pastors say that we were cursed. It means
that we were cut off. We were disengaged from
the family of God. But then we see in Christ
we are blessed. We are united in him. But to
him who does not walk. but believes on him who
justifies the ungodly. His faith is accounted
for righteousness. Just as David also described
the blessedness of the man, say the blessedness
of I, put your name, the blessedness of Fred,
if you are blessed, you put your name there.
Just as David also described the blessedness
of that man, and that man, I am that man. To
whom God imputes righteousness apart from works.
Imagine that you have to work for righteousness.
I'm telling you, you'll be living with a lot
of burden that you cannot bear. Hallelujah. Blessed
are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven. And
I'm that man. And whose sins are covered. Blessed
is a man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.
And that is the reality of the believer. So,
with this context in mind, in Philippians chapter
3, we see Paul will tell the Philippian church,
do what? Rejoice in the Lord. For me to tell
you this thing over and over and over again is
for your safety. For me to tell you to keep rejoicing
is for your safety. It's for your preservation.
It's for your protection. It's to your advantage.
Hallelujah. That is the reason for rejoicing.
That we are blessed. That is the reason for rejoicing.
That we are blessed men. Now one of the most
important virtues of the kingdom of God is joy
in the Holy Ghost. Amen. It's what? It's joy
in the Holy Ghost. And let's look at Romans.
Romans 14, verse 17. Romans 14, verse 17. Romans
14, verse 17. It says, for the kingdom of God
is not what? It's not eating and drinking, but
it's righteousness. And this righteousness is
not out of the works you do, but it's the righteousness
that is imputed to our account. And what? And
peace. And then we see what? We see joy in the
Holy Spirit. And when we're asking ourselves
to rejoice, I see some people standing. And I
can assure you that if you're not rejoicing,
it's only a reflection of your knowledge of what
we're talking about. Amen. It's a litmus test
to your understanding of what Christ has done.
Because as Pastor said, they were on their way
to Emmaus and then suddenly there's a revelation.
Their journey changed. They came back rejoicing.
Hallelujah. That should be what will happen to
us daily as we come across the revelation of
Christ. Our mentality about living and about
life changes totally. We have joy in us. Joy
is not something that will come from somewhere
else as a believer. You already have joy in you.
Galatians 5 verse 22. Give me an amplified. Galatians
5 verse 22. Galatians 5 verse 22. It says, but
the fruit of the spirit that is a result of his
presence within us. If you are born again, you
have the spirit in you. He lives in you. When
he became born again. So the fruit or the result
of his presence within us is what? Is love. Unselfish
concern for others. And we see joy. This joy
is inner joy, inner peace. Patience, not ability
to wait, but how we act while waiting. Kindness,
godliness, goodness, faithfulness. Let's look
at this text in the TPT, the Passion Translation.
It says, but the fruit produced. By the Holy
Spirit within you is what? Is divine love. And
this is how love expresses itself. In all its
various expression, joy that overflows. Hallelujah.
So when you are a believer, you have the Spirit
of God in you. And what we see in the Spirit
of God that is within you is an expression of
joy. Always we see the expression of joy. Regardless
of situations, we see joy. The varied expression,
joy that overflows. Not just being happy. Amen?
You know, you can be happy because of a moment.
You can be happy because of something that has
happened momentarily. But this joy is an eternal
joy. It's an inner joy that is within us, that
is imputed in us. It's a work of the Holy Spirit.
So we see Paul kept emphasizing to the church.
About rejoicing or joy in this letter in Philippians.
For example, in Philippians 1 verse 4. We see
enumerated in a text. Chapter 1 verse 4. Let
me read from verse 3. It says, I thank my God
upon every remembrance of you. Always in every
prayer of mine. Making requests for you all with
joy. It's his lifestyle. And his prayer is full
of joy. Alright? Verse 18. Even when people were
saying bad things about him. Even when people
were criticizing him. Even when people were preaching
the gospel in order to haunt him. Let's see what
it says. What then? Only that in every way, whether
in pretense or in truth, Christ is what? Is preached.
So even when they are blackmailing him, Even
when what they were preaching was meant to do
what? To hurt him. He says, and in this I what?
I rejoice. Yes. And I will what? I will rejoice.
And his rejoicing is because of his position
in Christ. Because of his eternal reality. Because
of his eternal what? Blessings that he has in
Christ Jesus. Chapter 2, verse 2. He says, fulfill
my joy by being like -minded, having the same
love, being of one accord, of one mind. We see
also in verse 17. It says, yes, and if I am being
poured out as a dream offering on the sacrifice
and service of your faith, I'm glad and rejoice
with you all. For the same reason, you also be
glad and rejoice with me. Chapter 3, verse 1
that we read, of course. And later on, we'll
go to chapter 4. We'll see him making emphasis
again. Chapter 4, verse 1. It says, therefore,
my beloved and longed for brethren, my joy and
crown. So stand fast in the beloved. Verse 4.
It says, rejoice in the Lord. Always again, I
will say what? Rejoice. Always I say rejoice.
Why the emphasis on rejoicing? Joy is not a result
of an external situation. Either good or bad.
Hallelujah. We rejoice not because our week has
been good. We rejoice not because our enemies,
you know some people, what makes them happy is
to see others. When they see others failing,
that's a sign of witchcraft. What gives you joy
is to see the downfall of others. Listen, even
if the failure of your enemy makes you happy,
makes you joyful, and there's a problem, it's
a question mark on where your heart is. Hallelujah.
So what does it mean to rejoice? What does it
mean to rejoice? That word rejoice in chapter
3, verse 2, verse 1 rather, is a verb, is a word,
kairo, a verb which means to be glad. It means
to express joy. Let me spell it, it's C -H -A
-I -R -O in the Greek. It means what? To be glad,
to express joy is something that is not just
a feeling inside, but is an expression. It's
an expression, and we do rejoice, and we rejoice.
We express joy from outside. And we see in the
Bible also, Jesus Christ himself rejoiced. Amen?
Luke chapter 10, verse 17. Luke chapter 10, verse
17, briefly. We see Jesus himself rejoicing.
Luke chapter 10. Verse 17. Very important that
we open our Bibles. We participate. Then the
servant returned with joy. And this joy is a
noun, right? It's a noun. They returned with
joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject
to us in your name. Verse 18, quickly. And he
said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning
from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority
to trample upon serpents and scorpions and over
all the power of the enemy and nothing shall
by any means hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice
in this. Do not rejoice in what? Do not rejoice
in the downfall of the demonic forces. Do not
so much be filled with... What should motivate
you is not the demons and what has happened to
them. Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits
are subject to you, but rather rejoice because
of your heavenly reality. Amen? What should prompt
joy from us is what? Is that our names are written
in heaven. And in verse 20, We see Jesus himself
rejoicing. He says in that very hour, verse 21,
in that hour, Jesus rejoiced in the spirit and
said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, that you have hidden these things from
them, wise and prudent, and revealed them to
babes. See, revelation, right, will birth rejoicing.
Amen? Revelation. In what God has done for us.
We give back through rejoicing. Even so father.
So it is seem good in your sight. So Jesus asked
his disciples. To rejoice not because of the
miracles. But rather because of their heavenly
reality. And this should be the reason we rejoice
always. Not for anything but else. Our spiritual
reality. That we are forgiven of our sins. Hallelujah.
That in our account is not sin imputed. That
we are members of God's household. We are members
of God's family. That we are sons in the kingdom.
We rejoice because God is our inheritance. God
is our heritage. God doesn't just give us an
inheritance. But he becomes our inheritance.
And we lack no good thing. We rejoice because
we are eternally united with him. We are not
cursed, but we are what? We are blessed. We are
united with God, and this unity is an eternal
unity. Nothing shall separate us from the love
of God. Not even sin has the ability to separate
the believer from the love of God because Christ
has died. Hallelujah. Because Jesus has died
for us. Because Jesus has died for you. So we
what? So we rejoice. We rejoice always. Of course,
the word here that Jesus, we see another word
for rejoicing, agaleo, which means to rejoice
greatly. It means to leap for joy. To exalt,
to leap for joy. So we rejoice always in what?
In the Lord. In the Lord simply means in the
understanding of what he has done for us. And
the second part of Philippians 3 verse 1. It
says, for to write the same thing to you is not
tedious. But for you it is saved. It is saved.
Probably in his meeting with them he always tells
them to rejoice. Been telling them the same thing.
Their reality, what God has done for them in
Christ Jesus. And his emphasis always for them
is to express joy. He says, for me to write the
same things to you is not tedious. It's not burdensome
for me. But it's for your own safety. So even
for us as a church, to keep emphasizing a certain
truth is for our safety. To write the same thing
is repetition. So when Paul was in Philippi,
He has disclosed many of the same points as he
has subsequently recorded in his letters to them.
We see the consistency of his communication,
revealing to the believer, even when we read
in Romans, to the church, the Roman church, we
saw him emphasizing what? The blessedness that
we have received, which is a function of faith
and not of works. Repetition is very important
in mastery of biblical truth. And applying them
in our lives. You know, one popular theologian,
a preacher, Charles Swindon, said something,
and I caught it. He says, I preach the grace
message every week because my people forget it
every week. That's the reason for the emphasis.
And sometimes you hear him saying something over
and over and over again throughout the year.
Listen, there is no message apart from the message
that we've preached. There is no new message.
And then a pastor says something. He says, when
I first began to preach, I was so afraid to repeat
myself. Now I am afraid I won't. He says he's
afraid that he wouldn't repeat himself. How much
of a message do people understand? How much do
they retain? Will they recognize if they heard
it in a slightly different form? So the emphasis
of the truth concerning the grace of God can
never be overemphasized to the believer. And
when we are filled with this understanding, it
changes the way we live daily. It seems as though
we walk through the week and we forget that we
are saved by grace. And we want to manipulate
our way to pleasing God. And when we come back
to church, if we are not reminded that we are
saved by grace, we will maintain our stability
there. And that takes away our joy. That takes
away the blessings that we have. That takes away
the enjoyment, the flow of what God has done
in us. It limits us from enjoying the blessedness
that we have in Christ Jesus. So I say we have
no new truth, but one truth. No new message,
but the same message. No fresh revelation, but
the revelation that is in the scriptures. We
only have a better understanding of what has
been taught in the scriptures. To some, it may
be boring. But that's where our safety lies.
Hallelujah. It's told them rejoice. To repeat
the same thing to you again is not tedious for
me. But it is to your advantage. And we see Paul
enter another admonition in verse 2. He warns
the church about a certain group of people. He
warns the church about a certain group of people.
He says, beware of dogs. This is popular. I don't
know. How do they write it in Turkish? Here,
you see houses? They put decat, right? Copec,
var. Caution. That's beware of dogs. And when
I saw this word in the scripture, I went on to
make research, and I discovered, actually, that
this sentence, beware of dogs, came into prominence
in the first century. During the Roman Empire.
So since from then they used to write beware
of dogs in their houses up to today. People still
write beware of dogs. He went on to say beware
of dogs. Beware of what? Of evil walkers. Beware
of the mutilation. These are heavy words. These
are heavy words. Who are these dogs? Or what
does it mean to be? Is it literal ducks? That
he doesn't want them to be bitten by a duck?
Here, a duck is a metaphor for people. I read
together. Duck is a metaphor for people. The
ducks in the first part of this verse are similar
to evil workers. He's talking about the same
set of people. Ducks are not different from evil
workers. The ducks are the evil workers. The
evil workers are what? Are the mutilation. Or
I would say the mutilators. These three categories
are all the same people. So what does it mean
ducks, evil workers, and mutilation? Now mutilation
is in reference to circumcision. Amen? Mutilation
is in reference to circumcision. And when we
talk about circumcision, we are talking about
works. We are talking about, you know, the establishment.
Of the law. In the Jewish nation. The word mutilation
comes from two words. To cut and down. It means
to cut off. Of course we know what circumcision
is. This probably means the removal of the foreskin.
Now Paul was using this phrase. contemptuously
for the Jewish circumcision in contrast to what?
To spiritual circumstance of their heart. In
verse 3, he will say, for we are the circumcision
who worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. So,
these dogs, this mutilation or these evildoers
are those who Put their trust in works of the
law for their justification. Those who put their
trust in efforts of men to make themselves right
with God. So Paul is warning them after saying
rejoice in the Lord. Be careful because these
dogs are capable of taking away your joy. These
evil doers are capable of cutting away your joy.
This mutilation is capable of taking away your
joy. Beware. And we see Paul explain circumcision
in the Bible and subsequent scriptures. Paul
would stress that true circumcision is a spiritual
thing, is an inward thing, an act of the heart
by the spirit, not merely an external ritual.
Of course, there was instruction for circumcision.
And what was given in the Old Testament was a
foreshadowing, right? We've talked this several
times in church. Of what will happen in Christ.
Was a mode of communicating what God will do
in Christ. Circumcision itself is not what make
a man right with God. Because Abraham, who we
saw around on Passover Galatians 3, he was made
right with God even before circumcision. Hallelujah.
Even before the instruction for circumcision,
Abraham was declared righteous before God. So
what makes a man righteous is not anything physical
and ceremonial. So we see Paul explaining in
scriptures about circumcision. That is something
spiritual, not merely an external ritual. Romans
2, verse 28 and 29, quickly. Romans 2, 28. Romans
2, 28. Talking about who a Jew is. It says, for
he is not a Jew who is one outwardly. So being
a Jew is not about physical appearance, nor a
circumcision, that which is outward in the flesh.
Verse 29. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly.
And circumcision is that of what? of the heart,
in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise
is not from men, but from God. So there are two
types of circumcision. There's a physical circumcision,
which is of the law, which is physical, which
is outward, and there's a circumcision that is
of the heart, which is spiritual, which is of
God. Now, that which is of men is a foreshadowing
of what is spiritual. It's Moses' mode of communication.
Give me this same text in NLT. Romans 2, 28,
29 in NLT. It says, no. It says, for you are
not a true Jew just because you were born of
Jewish parents or because you have gone through
the ceremony of circumcision. No. A true Jew
is one whose heart is right with God. He was
communicating to the Jewish people. Because some
of them were bragging of their identity. They
were bragging of their nationality. They were
bragging of their inclusion in the plan of God.
And what are they bragging about? Their ceremonial
activities that they do that makes them right
in their own eyes. And true circumcision is not
merely obeying the letter of the law. Rather,
it is a change of heart. Now, this is what is
circumcision. It's a change of heart. Produced
by God's spirit. So circumcision is a separation
of man from what? From works. From dead works.
By the spirit of God. Through faith. And a person
with a changed heart seeks praise from God. Not
from people. Hallelujah. Paul argues that physical
circumcision has no value in Christ. What matters
is faith expressed itself through love. Galatians
chapter 5 verse 6. Galatians 5 verse 6. NLT,
Galatians 5 verse 6. For when we place our faith
in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being
circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important
is faith expressed itself in love. John chapter
6 verse 11 to 15. Galatians 6, 11. Yes. To 15.
He says, notice that large letters I use as I
write these words in my own handwriting. Those
who are trying to force you to be circumcised
want to look good to others. They don't want
to be persecuted for teaching that the cross
of Christ alone can save. So they tell them you
can believe but be circumcised. That's what makes
God accept you. Adding some little works here
and there. Verse 18. And even those who advocate
circumcision don't keep the whole law themselves.
They only want you to be circumcised so they
can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.
As for me, may I never boast about anything except
what? Except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because of that cross, my interest in this world
has been crucified. And the world's interest
in me has also died. Verse 15. It doesn't matter
whether we have been circumcised or not. What
counts is whether we have been transformed. What?
Into a new creation. Hallelujah. It's a transformation.
Of the heart is the circumcision of the spirit.
And that happens when a man believes. When a
man believes. 2 Colossians 6. Colossians 2 verse
6. Colossians 2 verse 6. And now just as you
accepted Christ as your Lord. You must continue
to follow him. Because in Galatians chapter 5,
the apostle read and he was saying, oh foolish
Galatians, who bewitched you? Who cast a spell?
Who did you do on your mind? But after you've
studied in faith, you've believed God, you trust
God, you trust the finished work of God on the
cross, of Christ on the cross, then you drift
into ceremonies, activities to make yourself
accepted. Are you not foolish? Are you not? I
am not dumb. And now, just as you have accepted
Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue
to follow him. Quickly, please. Verse 7. Let
your roots grow down into him and let your lives
be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong
in the truth you were taught. And what were you
taught? You were taught about faith. And you
will overflow with what? With thankfulness. That
is rejoicing there. You overflow with thankfulness.
Verse 8. Don't let anyone capture you with empty
philosophies and high sounding nonsense that
comes from human thinking and from spiritual
powers of this world rather than from Christ.
For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in
a human body. So you also. Are complete. How
are you complete? You are complete through your
union with Christ. Who is a head over every ruler
and authority. When you came to Christ. You were
circumcised. Hallelujah. When you came to Christ.
What happened to you? You were circumcised. But
not by fiscal procedure. Christ performed a spiritual
circumcision. This is a spiritual circumcision.
The cutting away of your sinful nature. The separation
of man from sin is circumcision. It's a separation
of the flesh. It's a picture of what Christ has
done in a man that believes through the works
of the Spirit. Verse 12. For you were buried
with Christ when you were baptized and with him
you were raised to new life because you trusted
the mighty power of God who raised Christ from
the dead. You were dead because of your sins
and because your sinful nature was not yet cut
away. Then God made you alive with Christ for
he forgave all our sins. Verse 14. He canceled
the record of the charges against us and took
it away. That is circumcision. Took away by nailing
it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed spiritual
rulers. Amen. Authorities. He shamed them publicly.
By his victory over them, where? In your works,
in your fasting and prayers, on the cross. Hallelujah.
So the dogs in Philippians 3 verse 2 were religious
workers. They were those who believe in the flesh.
They believe in upholding rituals for righteousness
rather than faith. Their religion involves deceitful
works. It is deceitful because it distorts the
true gospel and the Christian life. That is why
it is called evil works. It's called evil works
because it distorts the true gospel which is
focused on what Christ has done. So, if you are
a believer, And you are believing in something
other than what Christ has done. You are in evil
works. You are doing evil works. If any preacher
who comes to give you a formula to pleasing God,
A, B, C, D, on how to be accepted, on how to
make heaven rather than faith, it's evil works.
It's an attack, just like the way a dog attacks
a man. It's an attack on the truth of the gospel.
That is why he used the metaphor of a duck. He
used and described that as what? As evil works.
Those who believe in the mutilation. Paul again
calls religious works, deceptive works, 2 Corinthians
11, 13. And later on, yes, he says, these people
are what? They are false apostles. They are deceitful
workers. who disguise themselves as apostles
of Christ. And we'll see later, he will call
them, he will name them enemies of the cross.
Chapter 3, Philippians 3, verse 17 and 19. You
see later, he will call them what? Enemies of
the cross. Philippians 3, 17 to 19. It says,
dear brothers and sisters, pattern your life
after mine and learn from those who follow our
example. For I have told you often before and
I say again with tears in my eyes that there
are many whose conduct shows they are really
enemies of the cross of Christ. How are they
enemies of the cross of Christ? Because they
believe in something else than the finished work
of Christ. They are enemies of the cross. Verse
3. It says, for we are the circumcision who worship
God in spirit. Rejoice in Christ Jesus and have
no confidence in the flesh. For we who worship
by the spirit of God are the ones who are truly
circumcised. Are we truly circumcised? Are we
truly circumcised? Circumcised from what? From
sin. Hallelujah. We are disconnected from sin.
We rely on what? What Christ Jesus has done for
us. We put no confidence in the flesh. The flesh
here means human efforts. Any efforts you put
your confidence in is evil works. It's anti the
cross. It's against the gospel, the message of
the gospel. We rely on what Christ Jesus has
done for us. So in contrast to verse 2, Paul
mentions four fundamental things about the believer,
about our reality. He says we are the circumcision.
Hallelujah. We are the cut off from sin. Paul
accepted circumcision, but only a certain kind.
It was a circumcision of the heart. It was spiritual
rather than physical. But the Judaizers believed
in the physical ritual. They made a virtue of
the rituals. Their religious practices was physical
act of circumcision. And he makes another emphasis
in verse 2. Verse 3 rather. He says we worship
God in the spirit. So worship is not something
physical. Worship is what? It's spiritual because
we are spirits. We are spirituals. We are spiritual.
Jesus will mention in John chapter 4 verse 24.
He says God is spirit and those who worship him.
Must worship him in spirit and truth. Spirit
which is truth. Spirit which is the right way
of worship. And he says we rejoice in Christ
Jesus. So our rejoicing has its focal point on
Christ. In him. Not in our ability to live up
to God's expectations. But we rejoice in what?
In what God has done. In what Christ has done.
Hallelujah. Is this not relieving? Is this not
relieving in the heart? Is this not taking away
your burden? Is this not a good news? Is this
not the good news? Our bursting is not in ourselves.
It is in Jesus Christ and his works. We do not
brag about ourselves. We brag about Jesus Christ.
See. We don't brag about knowledge. You see,
there's a temptation to feel that you are so
important because you know how to interpret Greek
and Hebrew. It's possible for you to brag and
you look at your prayer life and you look at
how you've been consistent. Just one week of
consistency. Just one week of consistency that
we've been... trying and trusting God to help
you, just did one week of consistency, you see
every other person has a sinner. It's very possible
because you just made an attempt to go out for
evangelism, and you spoke to one person in three
months, in four months, in five months, then
you see everybody is not doing the work of ministry.
Everybody is not passionate for souls. And you
quit God's goodness. In your life because of
your good conducts. Because you've been in order.
You've been doing what is right. God is happy
with you. Oh you know. My life I've not. I've
not seen. So that's why I'm. I'm enjoying the
blessings of God. We do not glory in ourselves.
We glory in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah. He says
we have no confidence in the flesh. We have no
confidence in human effort. We have no confidence
in the good news. Translation would say external
ceremonies, activities. Activities. Your blessing
shouldn't be that you're always in church every
week. You don't miss activities every, you know,
you attend church here, you go online, there
are meetings you attend from your country, everywhere,
you are all over. And that's where your bursting
is. Those things are good. Alright? We're not
condemning any of those things. But we are saying
that you are a product of God's grace. Hallelujah.
We are all a product of God's grace. And our
bursting must be in Christ. Amen? Those who live
by grace not have one ounce, one true plate.
Of confidence in the flesh. Paul was not persuaded.
That the flesh could earn any credit. In God's
eyes. But both his salvation. And his Christian
walk. Were dependent upon the grace of God. Hallelujah.
You came in by faith. And you live by faith.
You cannot start by faith. And continue in works.
So every day you wake up. From bed. You must
remind yourself that I'm a blessed person. I'm
a blessed child of God because God has blessed
me. I'm a blessed child of God because I enjoy
the blessings of God. So later on, we'll see
in verse 4 to 6, we'll look at that subsequently.
Paul showcases his credentials in the flesh.
What those people are busting about, he shows
his credentials. And then in verse 7 to 11, we'll
see Paul will count all that he had in the flesh
as rubbish for the sake. of God's way of righteousness,
which is by faith. So what are you rejoicing
in? Are you holding to evil works? Or holding
on to the finished work of Christ? Paul showcases
his credentials in the flesh. What those people
are bossing about, he shows his credentials.
And then in verse 7 to 11, we see Paul will count
all that he had in the flesh as rubbish for the
sake of God's way of righteousness, which is
by faith. So what are you rejoicing in? Are you
holding to evil works or holding on to the finished
work of Christ? Hallelujah. I just want to close
our eyes and just thank God. We appreciate you
being here today. We hope you carry this word
with you throughout your week. Don't forget to
check the show notes for additional insights.
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Until next time, stay blessed.