A Great Reminder

We're reading in Philippians chapter 3.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

So our time we're going to look at the first three verses here in this chapter.

Philippians chapter 3, again we read at verse 1.

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.

To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers,

look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

For we are the real circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God

and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.

Are you someone who is easily distracted in these times when there's so much going on around us

and our television screens are full of what's happening around our land?

We can maybe think to ourselves, well just before I go and sit and read my Bible,

go and have my own quiet time, just for a few moments switch on the telly

and just see what's happening now.

Only an hour later, an hour and a half later, you're still sitting there watching what's happening.

It can happen so easily in our lives, not just when there's some major incident going on,

some major event, but day after day we can easily be distracted

from the main thing that we should be doing.

And as we read in the book of Philippians,

we read Paul writing to a people and to a congregation of God's people

who were often in danger of being distracted by the things that were going on around them.

And what he's doing is he's writing in a real pastoral way,

just bringing them back to what they are meant to be doing

and where their focus is meant to be.

That they are to be a people who rejoice in the Lord.

It's a recurring theme throughout this letter,

the joy of the Lord and the fact that we are to rejoice in the Lord.

So you find him saying again and again, this is what we are to be doing.

Now as you look at the beginning of chapter 3 here,

we're in the middle, very center point of the letter.

It's halfway through the letter in terms of the chapters as they are laid out before us.

But you see, Paul begins chapter 3 by saying,

finally, my brothers.

It's maybe like a bit like a minister saying in conclusion,

and you think to yourself, well, he's going to be finished early tonight.

But then he goes on and repeats everything that he said before.

And he goes on for about the same amount of time again.

Is that what Paul is doing here?

Is he just saying finally, but then just going on to repeat himself

with actually no real gain, nothing to be gained or no purpose in it?

Well, it's not at all.

Although he covers the points again,

he does so in a way where he's giving even more insight

to what the people are to be doing,

even more insight into the Lord that they are worshiping,

even more insight into the glory that there is in Christ

and the way that they are to live.

It's not just a finally in terms of we're nearly there.

It's like a finally in sense of it's just pause for a moment

and reflect on what we've heard already

before we go on and look at it again in even more depth.

There is repetition in the points he's made,

but they're profitable.

And it's no great, as he says here,

it's no trouble to me to say the same things to you

because it's of benefit to you.

It's good for you to hear these things again and again.

Let us, he's saying, focus and prepare ourselves

to go into the world in which we live,

to face up to the challenges that are around us,

to be aware of the distractions that will easily come our way

and to be focused on what we are doing, rejoicing in the Lord.

And so in these days when we can be so easily distracted,

let us always bear heed to what Paul is saying,

what the scriptures are saying to us,

that our first and main purpose is to be a people who worship God.

How many times do you have to hear something

before you understand it?

If you're like me, there's some things that almost doesn't seem to matter

how many times you hear it,

you still can't just grasp it properly.

It's like learning algebra in school.

The teacher's repeating it again and again,

telling you how to do it.

It's just not sinking in.

It's just not registering.

No matter how many times you're hearing it,

there's certain things that it really doesn't matter

how often we hear it.

It's just not sinking in.

Now maybe in our own lives,

think about how many sermons you heard

and it just wasn't registering.

The word of God wasn't penetrating.

You were hearing the word again and again,

whether it was in church, in Sunday school,

from other people around you.

You're hearing the word, but it's not penetrating.

How often do you have to hear it to understand it?

Well, the gospel is different in that sense.

It's only by God's grace and by his spirit

in opening our hearts that we begin to receive

and to understand.

But as Paul is writing to the church at Philippi,

as well as many of the other churches he wrote through

in the New Testament,

what you find is repeating the same things

again and again, prayerfully,

that that word would penetrate

and work in people's hearts.

And so we keep hearing,

we keep coming to hear,

yes, it can sound the same thing again and again,

but all the time it's working away in us

and building us up in the faith,

reminding us of who we worship.

And as we go on,

we're strengthened in our faith.

John Flavel once said,

there was a time when 3,000 souls

were born to Christ at one sermon.

Again, about the day of Pentecost.

And as Peter preached the word,

3,000 souls were saved.

But he went on to say,

it may now be 3,000 sermons may be preached

and not one soul converted.

But does that mean we lose hope?

Does that mean we lose heart?

Because every time we come under the word of God

or gather together around God's word,

that it seems to be doing little

or having no effect?

No.

Paul, as he says here,

he's just reminding them again and again

to go on in faith,

to go on in the strength of the Lord,

always rejoicing in the Lord

and always make sure that in your own heart,

your priority is first and foremost

to worship God,

not to be distracted,

not to be distracted by the devil

and the way he'll try to discourage you,

not to be distracted by things

that are going on around us.

First and foremost,

to always rejoice in the Lord.

If you put on a fire and leave it,

it's going to burn out.

If you keep feeding that fire,

it's going to keep burning.

And that's what Paul is saying here to the people.

Keep feeding your souls.

Keep coming to the Lord

and being strengthened in your faith.

Yes, you come to faith,

but unless you continue to refuel your faith

and come to the source of your faith,

it's going to burn out.

We are to be a people who again and again

approach God in worship.

And that's why there's wisdom

in gathering in the middle of the week.

Perhaps we're doing so in the midst

of a busy week.

And in a busy week,

all we're doing is giving out all the time,

giving out of our strength,

giving out of our time,

giving out in our work.

We're giving to others

as we serve in different ways.

All the time giving out.

But then there's a time when we come

to take in,

to take in what God is saying to us,

to recharge our batteries,

to refresh our souls,

to refresh ourselves among one another

and around God's word

and in singing his praise,

to delight and to worship God at all times.

Psalm 42 speaks about that

and its sense of thirsting for God.

It says that's the kind of people

that we are to be

and longing to meet with God.

I knew the psalmist says

we should long to come together

and worship God.

We should be thirsting for our God.

We all need to recharge

and to come to the source of our faith,

the Lord,

and to refresh ourselves in him.

That's what Paul was constantly doing,

no matter where he was,

whether he was on his missionary journeys,

whether he was writing from a prison cell.

He was able to rejoice in the Lord

and find his strength in him.

So here in these first three verses

of chapter three,

Paul pauses to reflect here

and he takes us back to the heart of worship

with encouragement and warnings as well.

And these we're going to look at

just for a few moments.

He's taking us back to Christ.

It's all about him.

It's not about what we do

or what we are.

It's about who he is

and what he has done.

So there's three things

I want us to take from these verses,

each verse individually.

Verse one, first of all,

tells us that we are to remember.

To remember.

They're all reminders to us

of what worship is.

First thing is to remember.

Finally, my brothers,

rejoice in the Lord.

To write the same things to you

is no trouble to me

and is safe for you.

He's just reminding the people

this is what it's about.

This is what our lives

are to be focused on.

This is where we are to look to

at all times.

Rejoice in the Lord.

It's like a command.

A command to continue

in this way.

To go forward in this way.

Otherwise,

you're going to go off track.

You're going to lose your way.

If you start getting distracted

by what's going on around you,

what other people are doing,

or what gods they are worshipping,

or how they are living their lives,

you're going to get off track.

But he's saying,

brothers,

rejoice in the Lord.

And it's no trouble

for me to say this to you.

And it's safe for you.

This is where you are to find

your salvation and your safety.

It is always in the Lord.

That is the great recurring theme

in this letter.

And what he constantly wants

the people to remember.

And what he repeats here.

And what he repeats again,

as you see in chapter 4,

where he says in verse 4

of that chapter,

rejoice in the Lord always.

Again, I will say,

rejoice.

Repeating it again

and again and again.

But it's for the people's good.

And it's for our good

to hear it as well.

That we are to be a people

rejoicing in the Lord always.

He knows it for himself.

He knows the blessing

that there is in this.

In the midst of all his distractions,

his own distractions,

he finds his strength

in rejoicing in the Lord.

And so what does that mean

for ourselves tonight?

Well, again,

it's just this reminder.

Whatever circumstances

we find ourselves in,

whether it's internationally,

nationally, locally,

or just personal to ourselves,

whatever is going on

in our hearts,

whatever our troubles,

whatever our joys,

whatever our fears and worries,

we bring them to the Lord.

We bring them to him

and we rejoice in him.

That he is a God who hears.

That we are coming to a living Savior.

That we are coming

through the Holy Spirit,

as he says here,

that we worship

by the Spirit of God

and glory in Christ Jesus.

This is our great privilege

as a people of worship.

That we come to a living God.

And so we come

and we come again

and again

and again.

We come together.

We come in our own time.

We come and approach

the living God

who is able

to refresh our souls

and to bless us.

And if we don't,

what happens?

We are in danger

of falling.

We are in danger

of just slipping back

bit by bit.

We are in danger

of just our hearts

being on fire

but being quenched

little by little.

It is always the danger

that we have,

the warning we have

throughout Scripture,

do not forget the Lord.

You go back to Deuteronomy

and it's a recurring warning

in that book.

Your people,

Moses' people,

God's people

are going into

the promised land

with this warning

ringing in their ears.

Do not get distracted.

Do not lose your focus.

Do not forget the Lord.

Remember,

first and foremost,

we worship God.

What is it

to worship God?

You were asked

that question.

How would you

answer that?

What does it mean

for you to worship God?

Well,

some people have

put it down

in different ways.

But a man called

William Temple,

who was once

Archbishop of Canterbury,

he said this,

defining worship

in this way,

as quickening

the conscience

by the holiness

of God,

feeding the mind

with the truth

of God,

purging the imagination

by the beauty

of God,

opening the heart

to the love

of God,

and devoting

the will

to the purpose

of God.

There's much

in that quote,

so much in it,

but what is worship?

It's about God,

all about him,

our conscience

being crooked

by the holiness

of God,

feeding the mind

through the truth

of God,

purging the imagination

by the beauty

of God.

He becomes

more precious

to us,

opening the heart

to the love

of God

and devoting

the will

to the purpose

of God.

It affects

change in us,

not just

by sitting

and taking it in,

but by going

away with it

and putting it out.

We come in,

we refuel

so we can

put out again.

We come

to remember

the Lord

as we worship him.

Second thing

we see here

is in verse 2.

And here's just

a warning,

don't be distracted

by what's going

on around you.

Refuse to get drawn

into these things.

Look out for the dogs,

look out for the evildoers,

look out for those

who mutilate

the flesh.

What is he saying here?

Well,

he's reminding them here

that there are many

who will seek

to take them away

from what they are

meant to be doing

in worshipping God.

And in particular,

he's talking here

about those

who are saying

you have to be

circumcised.

Without circumcision,

there's no way

you can approach God.

This is almost

what's at the heart

of worship

for so many people

around in Paul's day.

Without this,

there's no way

you can approach God.

But Paul is reminding them,

refuse to be drawn

into this.

Don't be distracted

by this.

Worship isn't about

what you do,

but what I do

and what I have done

for you.

That's what he goes on

to expand on

in verse 3.

We are the real

circumcision

who worship

by the spirit

of God

and glory

in Christ Jesus.

No confidence

in the flesh.

So the warning

is there.

Don't be distracted

by those around you

who will seek

to lead you away

in another direction.

And again,

it's such a warning

to ourselves

today as well

when there are

so many things

that will distract us,

so many things

that people will tell us

are important

and how we're to live,

even how we're to worship.

What we worship

is the living God,

not man.

And so we listen

to what the word

of God says to us.

The Judea,

the Jews around

at this time

were trying to force

people to follow

the law.

the law was a big thing

for them.

And if you didn't keep

the law,

you weren't right

with God.

There was no way

you could come near

to God

and yet the law

could never be upheld.

You could never

keep it perfectly.

You were enslaved

in this way

to trying to keep

the law,

something that was

impossible to do.

But what Paul

is saying,

refuse to get

pulled into this.

you come

and worship

God freely,

not burdened

by the law,

but free in Christ

who has fulfilled

the law for you.

What we could not do,

he has done

for us.

And so we have

this freedom

to approach

God in this way.

But are we?

Or are we still

trying in our own way

to satisfy God

and to fulfill

God's law

and make sure

that we are doing

everything right

ourselves?

Human effort

plays a big part

in so many people's

religion today.

It's about

what we do.

If you try

your best,

as somebody

once said,

even though

you aren't perfect,

God will say,

I let you

into heaven

because you

tried so hard.

is that

the answer

to life's

troubles today?

Is that

the way

to heaven?

Well,

the person

went on

to say,

if that is

what the Bible

teaches,

then it is so.

But if it is

contrary

to what the Bible

teaches,

then trying

your best

to get into

heaven

is like

trying your

best

to jump

across

the Grand

Canyon.

You're not

going to make

it.

No matter

how hard

you try,

it's impossible.

We cannot

do it.

And if we

are thinking

the way

to heaven

is to try

our best,

to do

our best,

we will

not make

it.

The only

way is

through faith

in the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

And we

say,

yes,

my faith

is in

Christ.

But yet

there are

times when

we can

still be

pulled back

into a

way of

thinking,

but I've

got to

do this.

I'm

letting

the Lord

down

because I've

done this

or I haven't

done this

and feeling

this burden

of guilt.

But on the

cross he

said,

it is

finished.

It is

done.

And you

put your

trust in

me.

Let us

not be

distracted

by others

who will

say,

you have

to do

this,

that,

or the

next thing.

You need

faith in

the Lord

Jesus.

And your

faith will

lead to

works.

Not works

that will

save you,

but works

that will

fulfill you

as you

do all

to the

glory of

God.

Not adding

anything to

your salvation,

but just

doing all

for him

who gave

his all

for you.

So why

do we

do what

we do?

If someone

was going to

ask you

tonight as

you leave

the church,

what were

you doing

in there?

What

response

would you

give to

them?

we

were

worshipping

God.

We

were

together

singing

God's

praise.

We

were

hearing

God's

word.

Would

that

answer

their

questions?

You

may have

to go

a little

further,

but remember

the scripture

says you

always have a

reason for

the hope

that you

have within.

To say,

I was

coming to

worship the

Lord who

died for

my sins.

I

believe in

him,

that I

might have

life through

him.

Something as

simple as

that, but

you're giving

a response.

If you

leave here

tonight and

someone asks

you, what

were you

doing?

Well, I

was just

doing what

I do

every week.

I don't

know what

I was

doing in

there.

I don't

know why

I was

doing it.

That's

not explaining

it.

We have

to have

an answer

to give

to people.

There's a

little story

told about

a church

in Denmark.

And every

time the

worshipers

would enter

the church,

they would

turn to

the right

and they

would bow

to the

wall.

And someone

was visiting

the church

this day.

And he

was seeing

the people

coming in,

looking to

the right

and bowing

to the

wall and

then going

to their

seats.

And he

was just

so curious

as to why

they were

doing this.

He was a

visitor.

He didn't

know what

they were

doing,

but everyone

who came

in who

was local,

they'd went

through this

motion.

At the

end of

the service,

he went

to ask

some of

the people.

He said,

why were

you bowing

to the

wall as

you came

in?

He said,

the only

answer I

got was,

we've

always done

it this

way.

It's a

common

answer we

have to

things today.

We've

always done

it this

way.

We don't

actually

understand

why we're

doing it.

So the

man wasn't

going to

leave it

at that.

He decided

to go

away and

do a

little bit

of research.

And what

he found

out was

that the

church used

to be a

Catholic

church before

the time

of the

Reformation.

And in the

church on the

right-hand

wall was a

picture of

Mary, a

painting of

Mary.

Not a

painting that

we'd hang,

but just

actually on

the wall.

people would

come in.

So as people

would come in

in the days of

the Catholic

church, they

would bow to

Mary as they

were going in

and then go and

take their seats.

And for years

after the

Reformation, even

though the

painting had

been painted

over, the

ritual continued.

And over

time, people,

generations

passed, and

yet still the

people, the

only answer

they had was,

it's the way

we've always

done it.

But it was

no part of

worship.

It was just

a ritual.

And Paul is

saying here,

don't let your

worship become

just a ritual.

Don't let

anyone come to

you and ask,

what were you

doing?

And you say,

well, just

doing what we

always done.

It's the way

we've always

done it.

Our worship

is living and

active, day

after day, week

after week.

We're not just

doing it out of

habit, we're

doing it out of

love, out of

love for our

Savior.

And that is

where our

focus is to

be, to

worship the

Lord and

no other, not

to be distracted

by anything

else.

Look out, he

says, for the

dogs, look out

for the

evildoers, look

out for those

who mutilate the

flesh.

Be on your

guard against

being led

away from

anything that

isn't

worshiping God

in spirit and

in truth.

And the

third and

final thing we

see here is in

verse 3.

And again, it's

just a reminder

to us of

what we are

as a people

of worship.

We are the

real circumcision

who worship

by the

spirit of

God and

glory in

Christ Jesus

and put no

confidence in

the flesh.

Our faith

relies on

Christ Jesus

as Lord.

Not confidence

in ourselves,

not confidence

in anything that

we've done, not

confidence in the

flesh.

We are the

real circumcision.

He says,

our hearts are

circumcised.

Our hearts are

melted by the

glory of God

in the person

of Christ.

Otherwise, we're

relying on

something that

cannot save us,

ourselves.

Robert Murray

McShane, I

think I quoted

him a couple of

weeks ago, a

famous minister

in Dundee.

He died before

he was 30 and

yet he had such

a powerful

ministry in

that city.

And it was

him that wrote

the hymn

Jehovah's

and Kenyu.

And if you

hear the

words of

that hymn,

it reminds

you of what

he was and

what he became

and how it

all changed.

He was a

stranger to

grace and

to God.

Then one

day it all

changed.

And he

says in the

hymn,

when free

grace awoke

me by

light from

on high,

then legal

fear shook

me, I

trembled to

die.

No refuge,

no safety,

in self could

I see.

Jehovah's and

Kenyu my

savior must

be.

He saw

nothing in

this world

that could

save him.

He knew

only Jehovah's

and Kenyu

my savior must

be.

And he saw

everything that

he had placed

his confidence

in was just

empty.

He must have

Christ as his

hope.

And that's

what he

found.

My

terrors all

vanished before

the sweet

name.

My guilty

fears banished

with boldness

I came to

drink at the

fountain,

life giving

and free.

Jehovah's and

Kenyu is all

things to

me.

His life was

transformed by

meeting Christ,

by coming to

that living

water, to

drink at the

fountain, life

giving and

free.

that is

where he

found what

worship was.

It was to

love Christ

Jesus with

all his

heart.

Nothing else

could save

him.

What the

Lord has

done for

us, as we

look to the

cross, as we

see what he

has done for

us, it

deserves our

worship.

It

deserves our

all, all

other forms,

glory in

the flesh,

but through

worship

exalts

Christ.

It

honors God

and worship

flows from

a heart that

is redeemed

by him.

So we

come to

him.

We come

to worship

him, as he

says here,

as the real

circumcision,

who worshiped

by the spirit

of God and

glory in

Christ Jesus,

putting no

confidence in

the flesh.

Is that how

we come to

worship?

Tonight,

tomorrow,

the day

after, this

Lord's Day?

Are we

coming

distracted,

or are we

coming focused

on the one

we come to

worship, and

what he has

done for

us?

Let us not

be distracted.

let us not

lose our

focus, but

day after

day, worship

him, not

losing heart,

but living

for him, and

letting the

love of

Christ shine

in our

hearts, and

going out and

showing that

love for

others.

The more we

come and

refuel ourselves

in him, the

more we have

to go and

give out to

others.

So as the

psalmist

says,

O come,

and let

us worship

him.

May we go

on in that

way, day

after day.

Amen.

May God

bless these

thoughts.

Amen.