Faith Forward Part 1

Faith is (Hebrews 11:1) “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.”

Who were the ancients? Guys like Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and so forth. Individuals we know of for the OT and read of in Hebrews 11. People who trusted God… whose CONFIDENCE was placed in God above everything else.

And what we read of accounts of ordinary people who experienced extraordinary things because of their faith… because of their confidence in God.

These people… moved forward because of their faith. Take Moses for a moment… what would have happened if Moses place his confidence in the grumblings of the people as they traveled out of Egypt. Many complained… many spoke up and wanted to go back to slavery because they at least had fish and leaks and cucumbers and onions and melons and garlic there! All of this complaining taking place as God was miraculously supplying manna on a daily basis! If Moses had placed his confidence in the grumblings then they would have completely missed the future miracle ahead! Here’s the deal… the way forward seemed uncertain… because their faith in God appeared to be unstable.

This morning we dive into a two-part message that will conclude our Good Faith series. The message is simply called Faith Forward. And today, we are going to talk about the dangers of misplaced confidence. Today we are going to talk about ridding ourselves of the number one obstacle to our faith which is confidence in the flesh.

Today, we talk about how Good Faith believers move forward in Faith. If God is in it… it is already done.

First, I want us to understand that God is not a stationary or motionless God. God is not in a holding pattern or in a time out. GOD IS ON THE MOVE. From Genesis to Revelation, we know this to be true! We know that we are in the last days… and we know that God is moving in these last days! We know that in these last days, God has given His church a mission and His Spirit to carry out His mission - and with any mission comes the implication of movement. NO MISSION IS ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT MOTION unless, of course, the mission is a do-nothing mission. Ever heard of the pirates who don’t do anything?

Let me say it this way: God is an ACTIVE God! He is not passive, but active. His plan is active and in motion.

God has a plan… God has a mission… and He has a church to carry out His mission. And this mission is to be carried out until Jesus returns to this earth. And like the amazing stories we read of in the OT, this mission WILL REQUIRE steadfast faith in God… an unwavering confidence in the One who is able!

A moment ago I spoke of what might hinder such faith and confidence in our lives… and that is where we place our focus today.

This is not a downer message, but it is important that we work to remove any and all obstacles that might keep us from moving as God has called us to move.

Do you desire to move forward in your faith with God… no matter what?

Do you desire to see this church move forward in our faith with God… no matter what?

Then we must make sure that we identify the potential obstacles and get them dealt with accordingly. Paul speaks of what I believe is the most damaging obstacle of all in Philippians 3. In this passage, Paul gives a very clear warning against placing our confidence in the flesh.

In context, this warning is given regarding the topic of our redemption and righteousness… and rightfully so.

Consider again the great miracles of the OT… Now consider the amazing miracle of our salvation, of our reconciliation, of our justification… consider the amazing miracle of our forgiveness of sin. For me, there is no greater miracle.

And yes… like the afore mentioned miracles, misplaced confidence in the flesh can mess up our faith in this area as well. That is why, before we talk about where God is leading us to go, we must remember that NONE OF THIS IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE HELP OF OUR GOD. NOT EVEN OUR SALVATION. Confidence in our flesh must go out the door… as we move forward by faith.

Let’s see what Paul has to say on the matter and remember… He is writing this in prison and… as part of the purpose of this book, Paul is assuring the Philippians that God’s purposes were being worked out through his imprisonment.

We start reading in Philippians 3:4, “If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul gives some important pointers in this passage that encourages readers why we cannot misplace our faith in the flesh.

From Loss to Gain

First off, let’s remember who Paul was for just a moment.

Before becoming a Christian, Paul, then known as Saul, was first introduced when Stephen was stoned for his faith. Saul watched and “approved” of the crowd killing Stephen (Acts 8:1). This would indicate that Saul’s opinion mattered in the moment. Saul would then begin to persecute the church in terrible ways.

Saul’s mission in motion was fueled by a misplaced confidence in what he thought he knew… a misplaced confidence in himself. He thought he was on the right track but his faith was misplaced. No one could convince him otherwise! After all, he was a “Hebrew of Hebrews” with unmatched zeal.

After coming to know the Lord, Saul, now Paul, moved from persecuting the church to preaching the gospel message he previously tried to stop. He remained a person of influence… but his message had drastically changed. Paul was well educated, well known, and was very influential. Paul was an achiever… he was passionate and he strived to do good by God.

Yet… as great a man as he seemed on paper, Paul made a point NOT to boast in himself. Paul made a point NOT to place confidence in his flesh.

His description of himself in verse 4 is quite amusing. Basically he is telling the reader, “You think you’ve done great things? I’ve done even better.” In fact, Paul states that his ability to live according to the law was… faultless! That’s quite the claim! But then reality hit… when He met Jesus. Paul transitions in Philippians 3 with a “that was then and this is now” statement.

Look again at verse 7. “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”

Paul realized something very important here. By losing himself, he gained Jesus. His faith in Christ came alive as his confidence in self was released.

Why did Paul make this move? Because when He met Jesus… when he encountered Christ on the road to Damascus… he realized that his good works… his fleshly achievements… were but as garbage compared to the awesome presence and power of Christ.

This was an “aha” moment for Paul. Christ had done something in his life that he could not do on his own. Again, all that Paul considered as gain in his life he now considered a loss “because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” as Lord and Savior!

Knowing Jesus is the key to understanding this point.

There is only so much a person can do in their own power. There is a certain level that our “self” is capable of. Yes, we have seen some people do some pretty amazing things… but no one has come close to what God is able to do. This is what Paul realized when He met Jesus. When it came to his transformation… when it came to his redemption and salvation… Paul realized NONE OF THIS WAS POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE HELP OF OUR GOD! Paul’s eyes were opened to this truth.

Try as we might… we will never be good enough. We will never have all that it takes. We will never be holy enough, righteous enough, pure enough, or faultless in what we do. We will never have resource enough, ability enough, or wisdom enough. Such is why the work Christ did on the cross is so important. As we talked about last week, His grace is complete… His grace is sufficient. His grace covers all sin.

Jesus did for us what we could NEVER do for ourselves. Jesus brought victory over that which was impossible for us to overcome. and that victory, the ability to move from “that was then to this is now” is now a possibility.

Consider your own experience in Jesus for a moment. Consider the “that was then” reality that use to be. I can remember that period of my life very clearly. It was exhausting. It was depressing. It was a season of misplaced confidence.

What kind of things were you stuck in? What kind of thoughts did you have? What kind of hurdles were you trying to make it over… only to continually get tripped up on and fall down? Or perhaps… what kind of things ARE you stuck in? What kind of thoughts ARE you having? What kind of hurdles ARE before you today that you ARE struggling to make it over?

THE STRUGGLES ARE REAL. But in order to move forward, our confidence must be shifted from flesh… to faith. In order to gain… first we must lose.

From Powerless to Powerful

Paul experienced this transformation first hand. Paul fully understood what it meant to lose in order to gain and what it was like to move from having no power to being powerful.

Let’s review verse 10 for a moment. “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul desired to know Christ and the to experience the power of His resurrection… but Paul understood that before there could be a resurrection, there must first be… a death.

He spoke of participating in the sufferings of Jesus… becoming like him in His death - What does this mean? It means that our old self, as we talked about last week, must be nailed to the cross with Jesus. And as the old self is now gone, the new can now come.

In Acts 9, Paul was going about his business, Paul, then Saul, had it all figured out, until the very One he was persecuting met him on the road.

Imagine for a moment the shock. Paul had a face to face encounter with the One he was trying to silence. It was an amazing moment for sure! And after this happened, Paul was blind, unable to see, and was laid up in a house for three days.

Why did Jesus leave Paul in this condition? I believe it was to show Paul just how blind he was due to his misplaced confidence. I believe it was to show Paul just how powerless he was before our Lord and Savior.

Paul had the “authority” to persecute the church… but before Christ, that authority was meaningless.

And as Paul was ministered to by Ananias, he realized the power that was available through the resurrection of Jesus.

Ananias was sent that Paul’s sight would be restored… and that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit. Scripture says he was baptized meaning he fully accepted Christ Jesus as Lord.

Paul thought he was everything, until he was humbled by Christ. And think of this for a moment… as Saul, he was doing a lot for the cause he believed in, but as Paul, as a servant of Jesus, he did far more than he could have ever dreamed of or imagined!

His new found faith in Jesus propelled him forward in the cause of spreading the gospel to all that would hear. Paul wrote most of the New Testament, led several missionary journeys, founded many churches, and suffered greatly because of it… Remember… Philippians 3 was written inside a jail cell!

Yet even in times of hardship, Paul knew that so long as his confidence, his FAITH, was placed in Jesus… FORWARD WAS THE DIRECTION HE WOULD GO. NONE OF WHAT PAUL DID WAS POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE HELP OF JESUS.

The power of the resurrection was realized in his life and he desired for the world to experience this same power… to die to self and come alive in Jesus!

Time to Transform

Faith Forward Part 1 closes here… with this call. We come to a point of application… a time of choice. Faith that moves us forward must be faith placed firmly in Jesus.

How much can misplaced confidence in our flesh get in the way of our faith? We all know too well… Confidence in the flesh keeps us limited to the natural… but when our faith is placed in God, we now have access to the supernatural… access to God for whom nothing is impossible!

Next week, we are going to talk about where I believe God is moving us as a church. But before we talk about where He is leading us to go… we need to cut off the obstacles that might keep us from getting there. I’m talking about misplaced confidence.

Here’s what I want us to understand… If God is in it… the work is already done. The only thing that would stop it from coming to fruition is misplaced confidence or lack of faith.

In these last days, God IS pouring out His Spirit… God IS doing a new work. It is a redeeming work… a work that we must understand is IMPOSSIBLE TO DO WITHOUT THE HELP OF OUR GOD!

Good Faith Christians must understand that none of this, not even our salvation, is possible without the help of our God. Good Faith believers move forward in Faith. If God is in it… it is already done. But in order for good faith to exist, we must let go of our limitations in the flesh.

Let’s get personal for a moment… we understand there is no amount of work we can do to obtain the level of righteousness we receive in Jesus.

There is only ONE way in which our sins are COMPLETELY forgiven… that is the way of the cross. It is only by His blood that we are saved.

ALL HAVE SINNED. YOU CANNOT OVERCOME SIN ON YOUR OWN. YOU NEED A SAVIOR AND HIS NAME IS JESUS CHRIST! Do you know Him today? If not… would you like to know Him today as Paul desired to know Him? Would you like to come alive through His resurrection? If Yes… then we must give up that old self.

PRAYER - SALVATION

Secondly, is there anyone here that would admit that maybe from time to time… your flesh gets in the way of faith?

Maybe it comes in the form of doubt, or fear. Maybe it comes in the form of inconvenience or discomfort. Maybe it comes in the form of tradition or routine. Whatever the form… you recognize it as fleshly.

God is asking this church to make some big steps this year… but before we can do that, our flesh needs to be put in its place. We must place our faith in Christ. We must choose to be governed by the Holy Spirit. We must be commited to moving forward by faith. Are you ready to make that commitment today?