Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Rejoice in the Lord

If you would, look over at Philippians, Chapter 3, a real familiar passage to us that we want to read through tonight, take another look at, and have the Lord refresh our hearts in it and renew our minds. Be in prayer, if you would, as the missions team is getting ready to leave on Monday evening about 6:45. We just want to cover them with our prayers as they go, for safety traveling and while they're there, and for the Lord to move by His Spirit.

Philippians, Chapter 3, the apostle Paul starts off and says, "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision." He's speaking there and says, "To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is [what?] safe." You will always fall into trouble in your Christian walk if you try to find things that are new or different or exciting. How many of you know what the Christian life is all about? The Christian life is about waking up in the morning, denying yourself, crucifying the flesh, and seeking God with all of your heart. And when you wake up tomorrow, guess what you're going to do? Deny yourself, crucify the flesh, and seek the Lord with all of your heart. And when you wake up Friday, guess what you're going to do. We like to romanticize or glamorize things, and we want things to be spectacular. That's a fleshly appetite that we have, so we try to seek out things that are new or things that are a little different. Paul said, "No, the minister of God is going to repeat to you the same things over and over again because it's a straight and narrow path and there are a few basic principles that will enable you to finish the race. Don't veer off the course. Don't get distracted. Don't get dazzled or enticed by new or different doctrines or a different emphasis. Emphasize what the scriptures emphasize--and live it. If you do, you'll finish the race."

He says, "[It's not grievous to me to write the same things to you], but for you it is safe." He starts off by saying [what?], "Rejoice in the Lord." If you read through the book of Philippians, it's interesting to count how many times the word or subject "rejoice" is used. The one central theme in this book is to rejoice. I was sharing with your kids one day what rejoice means. It's got that "re" in the front of the word. It means to do it over and over again, to redo, to remake, to "re" whatever you're doing. It's going to happen again, so when he says to rejoice, he's saying to find your joy in the Lord and find your joy in the Lord over and over again. We're going to have to find our joy in the Lord over and over again because things keep trying to distract us away from finding our joy in the Lord. Today, you might have found your joy in the Lord, but tomorrow, lo and behold, there's something that's very attractive that tries to seduce you or entice you away from finding your joy in the Lord. Tomorrow, guess what you're going to have to do. You're going to have to re-joy in the Lord and find your joy in Him once again, and bring your attention and the focus of your heart back on Him and Him only.

This rejoicing is something that's very, very important. It's a very deep principle, if I can call it that, in Philippians, and in the Bible in its entirety. Paul was not the contemporary "Dr. Phil" of Bible times who just wants everybody to be happy and feel good. This rejoice has a much deeper spiritual significance. When you rejoice in the Lord, it's saying that you find your purpose in living, your worth in living, you find your joy, your peace, your security, your life, your strength in the Lord. The Lord is your life. He's the source of your life, and outside of Him there is no life for you. The apostle Paul said, "For to me to live is [what?] Christ" (Philippians 1:21). Is that true for you tonight? Have you been rejoicing? When you find your heart starting to wander away from the Lord, do you bring it back again and re-joy in the Lord, finding your joy once again? It's something that you're going to do over and over again every day of your life.

Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord." If you look over at Chapter 4 for a moment--again, we commented on how many times this word "rejoice" is used in Philippians. We see it here again in Chapter 4, verse 4, where he says, "Rejoice in the Lord alway: [and just in case you've already forgotten] and again, I say [what?] Rejoice." This is something very important to the apostle Paul. This is what keeps your path straight as you pursue the Lord. This is what keeps your heart on track. If you're not rejoicing in the Lord, your heart will be seduced away. There's no question about it. If you don't rejoice in the Lord, your heart will be seduced away. "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand." That word "moderation" is a big word here. Literally, it means that which is seemly, that which is suitable, that which is appropriate. It's saying here that the Christian, the child of God who rejoices in the Lord, always conducts himself appropriately, in a seeming fashion. He's someone who is fair, someone who is mild, and someone who is gentle. What is really being said here is that he is someone that is not controlled by circumstances. He's someone that's not controlled by emotions. He's someone that's not controlled by fleshly desires. He's someone that always acts and conducts himself appropriately. "Let your moderation be known unto all men. [Why?] The Lord is at hand."

The Lord is ready to come back. How many of you thought today could be the day? How many of you thought yesterday could be the day? Are you looking for Him on a daily basis? The Lord is at hand. Are you ready to meet Him? One big question you have to answer to know if you're ready to meet him is, are you moderate? Are you living a moderate lifestyle? If your lifestyle is controlled by circumstances, emotions, fleshly desires, this world's enticements, you are not moderate and you're not ready for the Lord to come back. He's saying the Lord is at hand and He's coming back for those that are controlled by the Spirit of God. He's coming back for those who find their life in the Lord. He's coming back for those who find the sole source of their joy and peace and strength and fulfillment in Him and Him alone. Those are who He's coming back for. "Let your moderation be known unto all men." It has to be known. It has to be a lifestyle. It has to be something that's observable. There has to be fruit there. Are there consequences that are controlling your conduct? It's interesting. When He is not the sole joy and peace of your life, everything else in your life is off center. Everything else in your life is out of proper perspective. It's amazing how it affects every area of your life when He's not the sole desire of your soul.

When I was working on the Finish the Race calendar, there is one picture there of Pastor and Greer. He's holding his helmet, the dragsters are in the background and Greer is to his side. I deliberately distorted that picture, that certain photo, and when I did, there are certain parameters and settings that you have to be careful with and I really wasn't as careful as I should have been. I was doing it in a hurry. Pastor was flipping through it and I didn't catch the distortion, but he said, "You're going to fix that picture, right?" He picks up everything in detail. There's nothing that passes his attention when it comes to details like that. I looked at the picture and I honestly couldn't see the distortion. I've worked with him long enough to know not to say anything because he's probably right if he's noticing something like that. I was looking at the color and the clarity and I thought, "I can't see anything wrong with this picture. What's wrong with the picture?" He said, "Look at the proportions." When I looked at the photo, everything looked right, but when I really studied it, things like his arm and the helmet were three times bigger than his head. It was really funny when you saw it because that helmet would have spun on his head like a pole because it was just so much bigger. When he pointed that out, I thought, "Wow!" so I went back and fixed it.

It's scary to think that that's what a lot of our perception in life is like. We think we have the picture, and to a certain degree, we do have the picture, and to a certain degree, there is a lot of truth to what we're seeing. But our perception is so far out of whack that, even though what we're seeing might be true, we're in error because we don't realize how far out our perception is. Everybody in this room has distortions in their perception. That's not one of us in here that can see clearly. That's why we need one another. Every one of us has distortions in our perception. Do you know why I know that? Because every one of us is not fully rejoicing in the Lord day by day. We're striving. That's what we want. We want Him to be our total life and all that there is to our life. But how many of you would agree that we're not there yet? We're striving. That's the mark and that's what the apostle Paul is writing about in this chapter. What ends up happening is that you end up having inordinate affections or areas of inordinateness in your life and you're not moderate anymore. When I use the word "inordinate"--it's a word that the scriptures use--it just simply means "that which exceeds the proper boundaries."

All of us have things and areas in our life that exceed the proper boundaries. One of the clearest examples, I think, is what Pastor has been addressing lately, when the society we live in begins to idolize children. Sadly enough, the parents just don't see it. What happens is that the parent starts to live vicariously through their child. The parent no longer--or maybe has never--finds their joy, their life, their fulfillment, their worth in the Lord, but now they're finding it in this child, living vicariously through this child. What begins to happen now? They don't see it. They think that they have a clear picture. They think they see that helmet. They think they see Pastor's arm, and they do, but they just don't see how distorted their perspective is. They think they love their child, and there is truth to that, they really do love that child, at least emotionally, at least selfishly. They really do love that child, but they don't see that their love has become inordinate and that it now exceeds the proper boundaries. They say, "Well, what you're saying doesn't make any sense." You try to help them and you say, "No, that's not right." "I know what I'm feeling and I know what I see." Yes, you do. That helmet is in that picture, but you don't see that it's three times bigger than it should be. You don't see that your love for this child has now passed the proper boundaries and it's now become inordinate. That child has now actually replaced the Lord in your heart and you're finding your worth and your value in that child instead of the Lord. So what begins to happen? That just begins to create one disaster after another. Now, every time that child does something wrong, you take it personally. It's a personal insult. It's a mark against your record. You react personally and emotionally and what happens is now you overreact. You end up condemning the child or becoming very critical, breaking their spirit, not just their will. Your child now has to live with the scars of your words and what you've put them through, all because your personal ego was offended, when your personal ego shouldn't have been there in the first place. You should have been rejoicing in the Lord and finding your strength and your peace and your happiness in Him.

When you find your strength and your peace and your happiness in the Lord, and your kid blows it, it's not a personal offense. You don't react personally. You realize that this is a child that's growing up, that's learning, that's going to do stupid things and make wrong choices, and this is all part of the growth process. I don't have to overreact. I don't have to take it personally. I don't have to lash out emotionally, because my joy is not in this child; my joy is in the Lord. It works that way, and it works the other way when your child does well and you end up being puffed up with pride. That child becomes your little trophy that you like to take around and show off. I don't know which is worse, condemning the kid or making a trophy out of the kid. Either way, the kid grows up to hate and despise it. That is just an example where, when your kid fails, is it wrong to be disappointed? No, of course not. When you kid does well, is it wrong to be proud of them? No, of course not. But that pride and that disappointment can cross proper, appropriate boundaries, to where now you're no longer moderate and now it's become inordinate. What happens is, whatever you focus your affections on to try and draw your worth and your joy and your peace out of that rather than the Lord, then that alternative source for your life now becomes your idol, and you start to serve it instead of the Lord. If you're really not willing to die to yourself, you can't hear it from anybody else. You insist that you can see clearly. It's right there in the picture and, "Why can't you see it?" The problem is that your perception is so out of proportion. Yes, you're seeing what you're seeing, and there's truth to what you're seeing, but it's so distorted that you are in error now and you can't see it.

It's a scary thing when our hope and our joy and our peace are no longer centered on the Lord. It affects everything we do, everything we say, how we perceive life itself, and it is amazing and scary at the same time to think, "How distorted is my view? How warped is my thinking?" The only thing that brings us back to the center is when we come to that place of finding our total life in Him. Paul's going to go on to talk about knowing the Lord, and that is our goal. That phrase, "that I might know Him" is really synonymous with abiding in Him. When I'm abiding in communication with Him, in communion with Him, and because of that communion, His life is flowing through me and expressing itself through me. This is what he's saying here when he says to "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice." As you rejoice and find your joy and peace in Him alone, then you become this moderate person that's not controlled by this world and not controlled by circumstances. You're someone that is moderate, steady, and seemly. You're stable, you're consistent.

Then he goes on to say, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." What he's saying here is that your prayer life is the vehicle by which you keep your heart centered on God. This prayer life is the tool that you use; every time your heart starts to sway, you're going to bring it back to re-joy in the Lord. That's through prayer and communion. "In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving [bring your heart back to being centered and focused upon Him and Him alone as the source for your life]. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall [do what?] keep [and guard] your hearts and minds [from being seduced, from swaying off center, from getting that distorted perception, but it's only as you re-joice over and over again in the Lord]."

Turn back to Chapter 3 again, verse 2. Paul goes on and he says, "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision." We know that he's talking about those Judaizers that would come and try to bring attention and trust in the flesh. "To be right with God, you have to do this, this and this. To be spiritual, you have to do this, this and this." Instead of wholly relying upon the Lord and rejoicing in Him as your life, you now think that there's something you do to generate or produce this life. He says in verse 3, "For we are the circumcision..." The way he's speaking of circumcision here speaks to a couple of different things. Number one, those that were circumcised were the children of God. That circumcision was the mark of God that said these are God's people. The uncircumcised are not. It was a sign under the old covenant. It was sign of who God's people were. He comes down and he says in verse 3, "[Who are God's people? Who are the ones that are circumcised? Those] which worship God in the spirit, [what's the next one?] and rejoice in Christ Jesus." There it is again. You are not God's people if you don't rejoice in Him. You're not God's child if He is not the only source of peace, and joy, and satisfaction, and fulfillment. If you don't find your total life in Him, He's not your Father and you're not His child. That's all there is to it.

We are the circumcision. This is the sign that I am a child of God: if I rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. I have no confidence in the flesh because I continue day by day, hour by hour, to [do what?] re-joy in the Lord, therefore taking no joy in the flesh. I don't find any comfort in the flesh. I don't find any security in the flesh. I don't find any fulfillment in the flesh. I don't find any gratification in the flesh. Why? Because all of my joy is in the Lord, and because I am continually re-joying in Him, bringing my heart and affections back to Him and Him only.

Paul goes on to say, "I have to press in to do this." This is a part of the daily crucifying of the flesh, the daily seeking Him with the whole heart. This is something that we do by choice; it doesn't happen by accident. If you want this to happen in your life, you're going to have to pursue it. You're going to have to strive to enter in. He says, "...we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus." Another interesting thing that I believe he's getting at--we can take a quick look at it. Keep your finger here, but look over at Colossians, Chapter 2, verse 11, for a moment. He talks about this circumcision in context with New Testament principles and this is how we need to see this tonight. He says, "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ..." What is he saying? Just as that foreskin is cut off, now that sinful nature is cut off. Circumcision is no longer outward in the flesh, but circumcision is now in the heart. The sin nature is now rendered powerless and is cut off and this is what gives us the ability to re-joy in the Lord instead of finding any joy in the flesh. Finding joy in the flesh has now been cut off, and the circumcision of heart, the rebirth of the heart, now finds all of its joy in the Lord and in the Lord alone.

There is a true supernatural work that begins to take place in this circumcision. Look back at Chapter 3 of Philippians when he says, "For we are the circumcision..." He's saying the sign of the covenant is on us. We are the children of God. We have the seal, the sign of circumcision, because we no longer find any pleasure, any security in the flesh but our hope is in God and God alone. Then he goes on in verses 4 and 5 of Chapter 3 and he says, "Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more. Circumcised the eighth day...an Hebrew of the Hebrews; [I was a Pharisee, and he goes on and on.] Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless." Those are the things that Paul trusted in. What we need to ask tonight is what are we trusting in? What am I trusting in? If it's anything other than God and God alone, then it's of the flesh and needs to be crucified.

Some of us find our worth or find our strength or trust in who we are. We just think that we're special. How many of you know that "that ain't so"? You're not special. Next time you see your Mom, slap her for telling you so all those years. You may have been special to her, but you're not special. You know how the old saying goes: There's always somebody better than you. Let's get real for a minute. There are a million people better than you. Have you all found that out yet? How many of you feel like there are times where you are down at the bottom of the barrel? There's nothing special about you. Is that hard to hear? There's nothing special about your family. There's nothing special about me or my family. We're all the same.

Have you ever noticed in Hebrews, where it talks about the priests being taken from among men so that they can sympathize with the people because they're surrounded with the same faults and the same failures as the people? There's nothing special here. What are you trusting in? Are you trusting in some skill or ability that you have? Or some special talent that you think you have? Take that talent or skill or whatever it is and compare it to God and His ability and see truly how nothing you are. What is it that you want to trust in tonight? We can go through point by point and shoot it all down. Where is your trust? What validates your life in your thinking? What causes you to be worth something? There's only one thing in this life that gives you worth. Do you want to know what that is? If you find your worth and your value and your meaning in life in anything else other than this, you are in gross error and your soul is in danger of damnation. The only thing that gives you any life, any meaning, any worth, is the fact that God the Father sent His Son to die for you. Other than that, you are worthless, nothing but refuse, nothing but a stink in the nostrils of God. The only thing that gives you worth has nothing to do with you, but it has everything to do with His choice to love you.

As you're sitting here tonight, what is it that you're trusting in? What do you think makes you you? What gives you the right to sit here tonight in God's presence? What gives you the right to call yourself a child of God? What gives you the right to expect to go to heaven and not hell? There's only one thing, and that's the fact that Father chose to send His Son to die for you. He loves you that much. If we could ever really believe that and let that be the bottom line of our existence, all of the struggling and striving and confusion and fear-- Do you know how much time we spend in fear every day that we don't measure up, that we'll be rejected, that nobody loves us, that we're worthless? When the fact that God loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die for you becomes a reality in your heart, then that becomes the anchor of your soul. You will become immovable. There will be no insecurity or fear or low self-esteem that will move you off the rock of God's love for you.

What are you trusting in tonight? Paul said that there are all of these things that I could trust in. All of these things validate my existence. All of these things give me meaning and worth. What are you trusting in tonight? You need to identify what you're trusting in. Is it the Lord? Is it His love for you? Is your sole reason for living tonight the fact that God loved you enough to send His Son? If you're living for anything else, then you're not rejoicing in the Lord, you're not ready. The Lord is at hand and you're not ready for His return. He says here in verse 7, "What things were gain to me, those I [did what?] counted loss for Christ." That word "counted" has the same meaning that you find throughout the New Testament when Paul says those that are of the spirit mind the things of the spirit. Or when he says in Romans 6 to reckon yourself to be dead to sin. Reckoning, minding, counting--this is an exercise of the mind, or probably more accurately, this is an exercise of your will. This is what I choose to believe. This is what I choose to do. When he says here, "I counted [all things but] loss," he's saying I'm going to go through and identify those things that I'm trusting in other than the Lord, and, in my mind, I'm going to die to those things.

How do you find those things? He made it quite obvious when he said in Chapter 4, verse 5, "Let your moderation..." Where in your heart and life is there is a lack of moderation? What areas of your life are inordinate? What areas of your life have passed the proper boundaries? Those are the areas that you need to start with. When you can identify and say, "This area of my heart and life is not proper in the sight of God. I have passed a boundary that I shouldn't have passed." You need to ask why. What is this inordinate whatever it is in my life fulfilling that I'm not allowing God to fulfill? I'm not rejoicing in the Lord as I should in this area of my life so, therefore, something has become distorted and, in fact, perverted in the true sense of the word. What is it in my heart that I really need that cleansing from God to where my total life and peace and joy is found once again in Him?

Watch what he says here. "I counted [all things] loss," and then he says in the next sentence, "I have suffered the loss." Counting the loss is something you do through self-examination, before God, in prayer before His Word. I'm examining my heart. Through self-examination, I find that I'm lacking these areas, and the Lord is not the total source in these areas like He should be. Through self-examination, I'm identifying these areas that are not right, where the Lord needs to become the sole source. I'm counting these alternative sources as dead and I'm going to trust God and God alone in this area of my life. You start taking your heart back for the Lord area by area, day by day, hour by hour. Then he says, "I have suffered the loss." Counting the loss is something that you do through self-examination. Suffering the loss is something that the Lord does through His chastening. Now, through self-examination, you've counted the loss and you've taken the first step and you've surrendered your will, you've surrendered your heart, and now the Lord, in His faithfulness, will come along to chasten you to where you actually suffer the loss. The loss of what? Things? No, you'll suffer the loss of trusting in whatever it is you're trusting in other than the Lord.

You go through life and you always thought you were some hot shot and something really special. You thought you had this special gift or talent or whatever it is, and then suddenly you come upon a trial in your life where that gift or talent is either taken away or it's no longer enough or someone comes along that's better than you. It shakes your trust, doesn't it? You mean, I'm not as good as I thought I was? Well, if you're not rejoicing in the Lord, that will shatter your life. What do you mean? What I was trusting in all of this time is just now taken away? What I was finding my worth in, what I was finding my joy and my peace and my security, what I was deriving my self-worth from is now gone in just a moment and my world crumbles? Guess what? This is where you were inordinate and your love and the affections of your heart passed the proper boundaries and the Lord was no longer the Lord of your life. Whatever was taken away, that idol that God removed in His chastening, was where you were looking for your joy and the peace. As you begin to count things loss in your life, get ready, because you're going to start suffering the loss. When you start counting those things as loss and surrendering these things in your heart to the Lord, He'll be faithful to come along and remove them. In His chastening, He will put to test your counting to see if you really meant it; to see if what you counted as loss, once it's removed, will you continue to joy in the Lord. When that thing is removed, does your life crumble or do you still have peace and joy?

This is really the main theme of this book. Look over at Philippians, Chapter 4, and keep your finger here. Remember when we talked about this passage a few weeks ago. He says in verse 10, "But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly." Read through the book of Philippians sometime and see how many times that word "rejoice" is used. Verse 11, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have [what?] learned.." Where did you learn this, Paul? I learned this in God's school, in God's chastening, in God's training. Because I surrendered my heart in counting these things loss, God, in His love for me, came along and had me suffer the loss so that, by experience, my faith and trust in God can be perfected. Your faith and trust in God is not perfected without experience. If you're willing to count them loss, be ready, because pretty soon you're going to suffer the loss. Something is going to happen. The circumstances are going to change. God will shake your world to see if, when you counted them as loss, it was really genuine. Through the suffering, through the trial, through the chastisement, your counting of those things as loss will be perfected and will become a reality to you. I really don't need this to make me happy. My hope and trust is in the Lord. My quality of life didn't suffer one bit--not that this really matters in anything--I was just as happy, just as at peace, just as secure, without this thing just as I was with it, whatever it is.

He says here in Chapter 4, "I have learned, in [God's school, in God's chastening] whatsoever state I am, therewith to be [what?] content." Why? Because I am moderate, and because circumstances and personal gratification do not rule my life. Every thing that brings me pleasure from this life can be stripped away and I can still be content. Paul says here, "I have learned. Not only did I surrender my heart in counting these things as loss, but my experience through God's chastening and through the trials, I've now learned to be content. By experience I have suffered the loss and, by experience, I know that only in the Lord is my hope and peace and life and joy."

The Lord is faithful to take us through that purification process where He does become the anchor of our soul and we need nothing else. "For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Paul suffered the loss. What have you suffered lately? What's been ripped out of your life? "I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ" verse 8, Chapter 3. If we don't count them as loss and experience the suffering of the loss, we will never be able to win Christ. He is a jealous God and He doesn't share His throne with anybody or anything. He will tear down, violently if necessary, anything that attempts to dethrone Him in your heart. If you will to keep whatever it is on that throne, then you will be destroyed in the process as well. The best thing is to surrender and let Him do the work that He needs to do. The only way that you win Christ is through this process of counting all things loss, and then suffering the loss, and having the affections of your heart purified to where He and He alone is the source of your joy and peace. "I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. And be found [where? Verse 9] in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. [Verse 10] That I may [what?] know Him."

Knowing Him has got to become the center, the sole source of your life. "That I may know him." All things that pertain unto life and godliness are given to us through the knowledge of Him. That communion with God becomes a living conduit. Your communion with God is how His life is expressed through you and in you. That is the umbilical cord to where you're connected now to the heart of your Father and His life is flowing through you. His presence is flowing through you. His Spirit is flowing through you. That's what it means to abide in Him, to where that life flow is continual. Paul says, "I want to be found in Him. I don't want my life to be made up of all of these little idols from which I derive my gratification and my peace and my security. All of that has to be ripped away and destroyed. The idols have to be torn down and I have to finally come to that place to where He and He alone is my life." "For to me to live is Christ...That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto His death." Have you learned by now that nobody likes to be made conformed to His death? Nobody likes dying. We don't have the power to die. We don't have the power to surrender our own hearts. That is a supernatural work of His grace, and the power to desire the fellowship of His suffering, the power to be made conformable to His death, only comes from knowing Him to where, like Moses, you see Him who is invisible and now you walk away from all of the wealth and pleasures of Egypt because you've seen the love of your heart. You see the Anchor of your soul. You see the One that gives you true joy and true peace. All of the riches of Egypt do become as dung when you finally taste and see that the Lord is good.

We come to a place of knowing Him, knowing the power of His resurrection, knowing the fellowship of His sufferings. "If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." That is the end goal that's always before us as we're trying to finish this race. I want to be found pleasing in His sight on that day so that I can be raised in His likeness, receiving that glorified body. "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." What am I apprehended for? I'm apprehended to be a child of God. I'm apprehended to be to be in the image of God. I'm apprehended to be a son walking in this life as Jesus walked. That's what I'm apprehended for. I'm apprehended to walk in the spirit and not walk after the flesh.

I'm striving toward these things and he says in verse 13, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and [ doing what?] reaching forth unto those things which are before." Look over at Hebrews 12 for a moment and keep your place there in verse 13. This becomes a very important principle. It actually becomes another lesson in what moderation is or what can become inordinate. "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things that are before." As we're reaching forth unto those things which are before, Hebrews 12 says that we're running this race that is set before us, verse 2, looking unto [whom?] Jesus. Looking unto Jesus. Looking unto Jesus. Back in Philippians, when I'm forgetting those things that are behind, what am I forgetting? One thing I'm forgetting is past accomplishments, past successes. I need the Spirit and life of God flowing fresh through me this moment. I can't live on what He did through me yesterday. I need a fresh supply of His Spirit right now, this very moment, therefore, I press on to know Him so that I can receive that fresh supply of His Spirit. I can't live off of what He did yesterday. I can't live off of what He did an hour ago. I can't live off of what God did five minutes ago. This moment I need a fresh supply of His Spirit. Again, talking about moderate versus inordinate, are we to remember and think on the things that God has done? Absolutely; the Psalms are full of it. As we meditate and celebrate and rejoice in what God has done in the past, even that can become inordinate to where we begin to trust in the past, and trust in past victories, and trust in past successes. We're not believing and trusting God for a fresh supply this very instant.

The same thing also holds true for your failures. You will never be where God wants you today if you're remembering the failures of yesterday. Those things have to be put away. Psalm 51, "My sin is ever before me." Is that Scripture, or not? Is it true? Absolutely! In our consciousness, there always needs to be an awareness of our weaknesses, of our failures, the fact that our righteousness is as filthy rags. That needs to be continually in our awareness, but if you're going to finish this race, the failures of yesterday have got to be forgotten. As your sin is ever before you, that can't become inordinate, because if all you do is dwell on the failures of yesterday, they will make you impotent for today. If you want to finish this race, you can't concentrate on what you can't do; you have to concentrate on what God can do through you. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Paul here is giving the flip side or the balance to some of these principles which are very true. "My sins are ever before me." There is a godly sorrow. There is a repentance that brings a carefulness, that brings a true brokenness and contrition but, at the same time, I'm very aware and very thankful that finishing this race doesn't depend upon me, because I've shown enough times what "me" can do. If I'm going to finish this race, I forget those things that are behind, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith. If I finish this race, it's not going to be because of anything I did or didn't do. If I finish this race, it's not because of my successes or my failures. If I finish this race, it's because of the Author and Finisher of my faith and what He can do through me. That's where my trust is. That's where my reliance is and that's what I continually re-joy in, over and over again every day.

Paul says, "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, [looking unto Jesus. Verse 14] I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." I press. Once again, as we said earlier, this doesn't happen by accident. It doesn't fall off a shelf and hit you in the head. This is going to have to become a target, a purpose, a choice that you make that every day you will rise up to crucify and put to death anything that you're finding your worth, your joy, your peace in other than God. Those idols will be torn down. I will rejoice in one thing alone: that my Father loved me enough to send His Son to die for me. That's the only thing that gives me any worth or value. That's the only thing that gives me reason for living. I can finally give up and lay down all of the striving, confusion, doubt and fear and I can just rest confidently today in the fact that God loves me. I know that He loves me because I've known Him, and He's told me how much He loves me. When He reveals that to your heart, then it becomes the anchor of your soul. Let's stop there for this evening.

Father, as we close for tonight, we thank You once again for the truth of Your Word and how that truth just cuts through all darkness, and how that truth is a light that brings such illumination to our hearts, such joy to our soul. Father, we pray tonight that we would once again understand that the only meaning, the only purpose, to our life is the fact that You loved us and died for us and set us free so that we can now live for You. Lord, there is no other meaning in life other than worshipping You. We ask that anything other than worshipping You would become as dung in our eyes. Let us see it for what it really is and, Father, we'll give You the praise and the glory. Come tonight and purify our hearts. Purify our faith. Purify our affections. Help us once again to set our affections on things above, not on things of the earth. Oh, how we need Your help! Lord, we need Your help. We give You praise and honor.

Let's stand and sing this as Gary leads us. "Show Me Your Face." Make it your prayer tonight. That's what we need, Father. We do tonight. What a holy place! Your presence makes this holy. We need to see Your light tonight. Lord, pierce our hearts with Your glory. Show me Your face. He's faithful. He'll do it. His glory will wipe away all of the tears and the sorrow. Just surrender to Him. Let Him do the work and you will make it. Sing it once more. How we need to see You tonight, Father! We do in worship. We want to praise You and give You all the glory. Your presence joys our hearts. With great delight, Father. And I will make it to the end.

Father, we do rejoice in You tonight. An hour from now, Father, we will re-joy in You again. Before we lay down our head upon the pillow, we will re-joy again. When we wake up in the morning, we will re-joy in You again. Setting our affections on things above. Finding You as the only source of life and peace and joy. We leave tonight comforted, fully assured of Your love because You sent Your Son to die in our place. No greater love can any man have than this. What a great peace and security we leave with tonight! Thank You for Your love, in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you.

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