Latest / Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons / Living Worthy of the Kingdom pt 4

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Living Worthy of the Kingdom pt 4 · Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons

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Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
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designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
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walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
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the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
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right in. Hallelujah. If what you think is making
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you right with God is your works, then you will
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not understand the joy that is in the Lord. Which
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is from the law but that which is through faith
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in Christ. The righteousness which is from God
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by faith. And I may know him and the power of
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his resurrection that in the fellowship of his
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sufferings being conformed to his death. If by
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any means I may attain to the resurrection from
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the death. Not that I have already attained or
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I'm already perfected. But I praise him that
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I may lay hold of that of which Christ Jesus
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has also laid. uphold for me. Hallelujah. And
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we sang a song about a man that is blessed. And
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that is the reality of every single man that
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has believed in Jesus Christ. You are a blessed
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man. You are a blessed woman. You are a blessed
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man. You are a blessed woman. Tell your neighbor,
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say, I'm a blessed man. I'm a blessed man. I'm
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a blessed man. And that should be the reason
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for rejoicing. Amen? We are rejoicing because
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we are blessed in Christ. The psalmist said that
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blessed is that man to whom God does not what?
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Does not impute to your account iniquities. And
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pastor made us to read in Romans. Hallelujah.
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In Romans chapter 4. It's amazing. Let's go back
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to read and see. In Romans chapter 4. He read
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from verse 1. And then he was giving us a context
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of Abraham. Remember the person that wrote this
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was. Paul, right? He says, what then shall we
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say that Abraham, our father, has found according
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to the flesh? That means the blessedness or the
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blessings of Abraham wasn't according to the
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flesh. The flesh here refers to works. Hallelujah.
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For if Abraham was justified by works, he has
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something to boast about. Amen? If his justification
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was because he did something right, Or he did
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something good. Then he will have something to
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hold on to. To boast. To be proudful of. But
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not before God. Verse 3. For what does the scripture
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say? Abraham believed God. And what? And it was
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counted to him for what? For righteousness. So
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Abraham believed in God. And he was made righteous
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by God. Now to him who works. The wages. Are
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not counted as grace but death. So all of us
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are partakers of this grace. For we believe as
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Abraham believed. We are partakers of the blessedness
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of Abraham. Because Abraham believed and it was
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according to him as righteousness. Verse 5. But
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to him who doesn't walk. Believes on him who
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justifies the ungodly. Amen. This is where we
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are. God justifies us. We were ungodly. We were
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not worthy of coming to him. We were not accepted.
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The pastors say that we were cursed. It means
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that we were cut off. We were disengaged from
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the family of God. But then we see in Christ
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we are blessed. We are united in him. But to
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him who does not walk. but believes on him who
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justifies the ungodly. His faith is accounted
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for righteousness. Just as David also described
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the blessedness of the man, say the blessedness
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of I, put your name, the blessedness of Fred,
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if you are blessed, you put your name there.
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Just as David also described the blessedness
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of that man, and that man, I am that man. To
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whom God imputes righteousness apart from works.
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Imagine that you have to work for righteousness.
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I'm telling you, you'll be living with a lot
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of burden that you cannot bear. Hallelujah. Blessed
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are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven. And
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I'm that man. And whose sins are covered. Blessed
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is a man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.
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And that is the reality of the believer. So,
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with this context in mind, in Philippians chapter
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3, we see Paul will tell the Philippian church,
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do what? Rejoice in the Lord. For me to tell
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you this thing over and over and over again is
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for your safety. For me to tell you to keep rejoicing
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is for your safety. It's for your preservation.
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It's for your protection. It's to your advantage.
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Hallelujah. That is the reason for rejoicing.
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That we are blessed. That is the reason for rejoicing.
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That we are blessed men. Now one of the most
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important virtues of the kingdom of God is joy
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in the Holy Ghost. Amen. It's what? It's joy
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in the Holy Ghost. And let's look at Romans.
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Romans 14, verse 17. Romans 14, verse 17. Romans
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14, verse 17. It says, for the kingdom of God
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is not what? It's not eating and drinking, but
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it's righteousness. And this righteousness is
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not out of the works you do, but it's the righteousness
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that is imputed to our account. And what? And
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peace. And then we see what? We see joy in the
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Holy Spirit. And when we're asking ourselves
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to rejoice, I see some people standing. And I
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can assure you that if you're not rejoicing,
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it's only a reflection of your knowledge of what
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we're talking about. Amen. It's a litmus test
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to your understanding of what Christ has done.
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Because as Pastor said, they were on their way
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to Emmaus and then suddenly there's a revelation.
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Their journey changed. They came back rejoicing.
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Hallelujah. That should be what will happen to
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us daily as we come across the revelation of
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Christ. Our mentality about living and about
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life changes totally. We have joy in us. Joy
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is not something that will come from somewhere
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else as a believer. You already have joy in you.
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Galatians 5 verse 22. Give me an amplified. Galatians
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5 verse 22. Galatians 5 verse 22. It says, but
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the fruit of the spirit that is a result of his
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presence within us. If you are born again, you
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have the spirit in you. He lives in you. When
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he became born again. So the fruit or the result
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of his presence within us is what? Is love. Unselfish
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concern for others. And we see joy. This joy
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is inner joy, inner peace. Patience, not ability
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to wait, but how we act while waiting. Kindness,
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godliness, goodness, faithfulness. Let's look
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at this text in the TPT, the Passion Translation.
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It says, but the fruit produced. By the Holy
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Spirit within you is what? Is divine love. And
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this is how love expresses itself. In all its
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various expression, joy that overflows. Hallelujah.
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So when you are a believer, you have the Spirit
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of God in you. And what we see in the Spirit
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of God that is within you is an expression of
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joy. Always we see the expression of joy. Regardless
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of situations, we see joy. The varied expression,
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joy that overflows. Not just being happy. Amen?
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You know, you can be happy because of a moment.
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You can be happy because of something that has
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happened momentarily. But this joy is an eternal
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joy. It's an inner joy that is within us, that
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is imputed in us. It's a work of the Holy Spirit.
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So we see Paul kept emphasizing to the church.
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About rejoicing or joy in this letter in Philippians.
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For example, in Philippians 1 verse 4. We see
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enumerated in a text. Chapter 1 verse 4. Let
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me read from verse 3. It says, I thank my God
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upon every remembrance of you. Always in every
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prayer of mine. Making requests for you all with
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joy. It's his lifestyle. And his prayer is full
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of joy. Alright? Verse 18. Even when people were
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saying bad things about him. Even when people
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were criticizing him. Even when people were preaching
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the gospel in order to haunt him. Let's see what
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it says. What then? Only that in every way, whether
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in pretense or in truth, Christ is what? Is preached.
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So even when they are blackmailing him, Even
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when what they were preaching was meant to do
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what? To hurt him. He says, and in this I what?
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I rejoice. Yes. And I will what? I will rejoice.
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And his rejoicing is because of his position
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in Christ. Because of his eternal reality. Because
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of his eternal what? Blessings that he has in
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Christ Jesus. Chapter 2, verse 2. He says, fulfill
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my joy by being like -minded, having the same
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love, being of one accord, of one mind. We see
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also in verse 17. It says, yes, and if I am being
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poured out as a dream offering on the sacrifice
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and service of your faith, I'm glad and rejoice
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with you all. For the same reason, you also be
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glad and rejoice with me. Chapter 3, verse 1
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that we read, of course. And later on, we'll
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go to chapter 4. We'll see him making emphasis
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again. Chapter 4, verse 1. It says, therefore,
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my beloved and longed for brethren, my joy and
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crown. So stand fast in the beloved. Verse 4.
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It says, rejoice in the Lord. Always again, I
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will say what? Rejoice. Always I say rejoice.
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Why the emphasis on rejoicing? Joy is not a result
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of an external situation. Either good or bad.
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Hallelujah. We rejoice not because our week has
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been good. We rejoice not because our enemies,
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you know some people, what makes them happy is
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to see others. When they see others failing,
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that's a sign of witchcraft. What gives you joy
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is to see the downfall of others. Listen, even
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if the failure of your enemy makes you happy,
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makes you joyful, and there's a problem, it's
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a question mark on where your heart is. Hallelujah.
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So what does it mean to rejoice? What does it
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mean to rejoice? That word rejoice in chapter
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3, verse 2, verse 1 rather, is a verb, is a word,
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kairo, a verb which means to be glad. It means
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to express joy. Let me spell it, it's C -H -A
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-I -R -O in the Greek. It means what? To be glad,
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to express joy is something that is not just
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a feeling inside, but is an expression. It's
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an expression, and we do rejoice, and we rejoice.
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We express joy from outside. And we see in the
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Bible also, Jesus Christ himself rejoiced. Amen?
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Luke chapter 10, verse 17. Luke chapter 10, verse
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17, briefly. We see Jesus himself rejoicing.
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Luke chapter 10. Verse 17. Very important that
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we open our Bibles. We participate. Then the
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servant returned with joy. And this joy is a
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noun, right? It's a noun. They returned with
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joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject
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to us in your name. Verse 18, quickly. And he
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said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning
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from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority
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to trample upon serpents and scorpions and over
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all the power of the enemy and nothing shall
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by any means hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice
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in this. Do not rejoice in what? Do not rejoice
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in the downfall of the demonic forces. Do not
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so much be filled with... What should motivate
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you is not the demons and what has happened to
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them. Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits
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are subject to you, but rather rejoice because
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of your heavenly reality. Amen? What should prompt
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joy from us is what? Is that our names are written
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in heaven. And in verse 20, We see Jesus himself
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rejoicing. He says in that very hour, verse 21,
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in that hour, Jesus rejoiced in the spirit and
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said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and
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earth, that you have hidden these things from
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them, wise and prudent, and revealed them to
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babes. See, revelation, right, will birth rejoicing.
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Amen? Revelation. In what God has done for us.
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We give back through rejoicing. Even so father.
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So it is seem good in your sight. So Jesus asked
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his disciples. To rejoice not because of the
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miracles. But rather because of their heavenly
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reality. And this should be the reason we rejoice
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always. Not for anything but else. Our spiritual
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reality. That we are forgiven of our sins. Hallelujah.
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That in our account is not sin imputed. That
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we are members of God's household. We are members
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of God's family. That we are sons in the kingdom.
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We rejoice because God is our inheritance. God
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is our heritage. God doesn't just give us an
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inheritance. But he becomes our inheritance.
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And we lack no good thing. We rejoice because
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we are eternally united with him. We are not
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cursed, but we are what? We are blessed. We are
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united with God, and this unity is an eternal
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unity. Nothing shall separate us from the love
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of God. Not even sin has the ability to separate
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the believer from the love of God because Christ
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has died. Hallelujah. Because Jesus has died
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for us. Because Jesus has died for you. So we
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what? So we rejoice. We rejoice always. Of course,
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the word here that Jesus, we see another word
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for rejoicing, agaleo, which means to rejoice
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greatly. It means to leap for joy. To exalt,
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to leap for joy. So we rejoice always in what?
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In the Lord. In the Lord simply means in the
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understanding of what he has done for us. And
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the second part of Philippians 3 verse 1. It
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says, for to write the same thing to you is not
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tedious. But for you it is saved. It is saved.
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Probably in his meeting with them he always tells
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them to rejoice. Been telling them the same thing.
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Their reality, what God has done for them in
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Christ Jesus. And his emphasis always for them
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is to express joy. He says, for me to write the
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same things to you is not tedious. It's not burdensome
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for me. But it's for your own safety. So even
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for us as a church, to keep emphasizing a certain
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truth is for our safety. To write the same thing
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is repetition. So when Paul was in Philippi,
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He has disclosed many of the same points as he
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has subsequently recorded in his letters to them.
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We see the consistency of his communication,
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revealing to the believer, even when we read
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in Romans, to the church, the Roman church, we
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saw him emphasizing what? The blessedness that
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we have received, which is a function of faith
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and not of works. Repetition is very important
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in mastery of biblical truth. And applying them
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in our lives. You know, one popular theologian,
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a preacher, Charles Swindon, said something,
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and I caught it. He says, I preach the grace
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message every week because my people forget it
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every week. That's the reason for the emphasis.
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And sometimes you hear him saying something over
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and over and over again throughout the year.
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Listen, there is no message apart from the message
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that we've preached. There is no new message.
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And then a pastor says something. He says, when
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I first began to preach, I was so afraid to repeat
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myself. Now I am afraid I won't. He says he's
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afraid that he wouldn't repeat himself. How much
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of a message do people understand? How much do
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they retain? Will they recognize if they heard
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it in a slightly different form? So the emphasis
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of the truth concerning the grace of God can
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never be overemphasized to the believer. And
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when we are filled with this understanding, it
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changes the way we live daily. It seems as though
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we walk through the week and we forget that we
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are saved by grace. And we want to manipulate
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our way to pleasing God. And when we come back
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to church, if we are not reminded that we are
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saved by grace, we will maintain our stability
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there. And that takes away our joy. That takes
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away the blessings that we have. That takes away
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the enjoyment, the flow of what God has done
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in us. It limits us from enjoying the blessedness
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that we have in Christ Jesus. So I say we have
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no new truth, but one truth. No new message,
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but the same message. No fresh revelation, but
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the revelation that is in the scriptures. We
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only have a better understanding of what has
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been taught in the scriptures. To some, it may
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be boring. But that's where our safety lies.
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Hallelujah. It's told them rejoice. To repeat
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the same thing to you again is not tedious for
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me. But it is to your advantage. And we see Paul
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enter another admonition in verse 2. He warns
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the church about a certain group of people. He
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warns the church about a certain group of people.
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He says, beware of dogs. This is popular. I don't
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know. How do they write it in Turkish? Here,
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you see houses? They put decat, right? Copec,
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var. Caution. That's beware of dogs. And when
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I saw this word in the scripture, I went on to
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make research, and I discovered, actually, that
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this sentence, beware of dogs, came into prominence
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in the first century. During the Roman Empire.
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So since from then they used to write beware
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of dogs in their houses up to today. People still
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write beware of dogs. He went on to say beware
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of dogs. Beware of what? Of evil walkers. Beware
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of the mutilation. These are heavy words. These
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are heavy words. Who are these dogs? Or what
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does it mean to be? Is it literal ducks? That
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he doesn't want them to be bitten by a duck?
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Here, a duck is a metaphor for people. I read
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together. Duck is a metaphor for people. The
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ducks in the first part of this verse are similar
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to evil workers. He's talking about the same
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set of people. Ducks are not different from evil
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workers. The ducks are the evil workers. The
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evil workers are what? Are the mutilation. Or
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I would say the mutilators. These three categories
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are all the same people. So what does it mean
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ducks, evil workers, and mutilation? Now mutilation
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is in reference to circumcision. Amen? Mutilation
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is in reference to circumcision. And when we
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talk about circumcision, we are talking about
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works. We are talking about, you know, the establishment.
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Of the law. In the Jewish nation. The word mutilation
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comes from two words. To cut and down. It means
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to cut off. Of course we know what circumcision
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is. This probably means the removal of the foreskin.
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Now Paul was using this phrase. contemptuously
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for the Jewish circumcision in contrast to what?
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To spiritual circumstance of their heart. In
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verse 3, he will say, for we are the circumcision
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who worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ
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Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. So,
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these dogs, this mutilation or these evildoers
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are those who Put their trust in works of the
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law for their justification. Those who put their
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trust in efforts of men to make themselves right
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with God. So Paul is warning them after saying
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rejoice in the Lord. Be careful because these
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dogs are capable of taking away your joy. These
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evil doers are capable of cutting away your joy.
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This mutilation is capable of taking away your
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joy. Beware. And we see Paul explain circumcision
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in the Bible and subsequent scriptures. Paul
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would stress that true circumcision is a spiritual
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thing, is an inward thing, an act of the heart
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by the spirit, not merely an external ritual.
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Of course, there was instruction for circumcision.
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And what was given in the Old Testament was a
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foreshadowing, right? We've talked this several
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times in church. Of what will happen in Christ.
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Was a mode of communicating what God will do
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in Christ. Circumcision itself is not what make
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a man right with God. Because Abraham, who we
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saw around on Passover Galatians 3, he was made
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right with God even before circumcision. Hallelujah.
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Even before the instruction for circumcision,
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Abraham was declared righteous before God. So
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what makes a man righteous is not anything physical
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and ceremonial. So we see Paul explaining in
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scriptures about circumcision. That is something
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spiritual, not merely an external ritual. Romans
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2, verse 28 and 29, quickly. Romans 2, 28. Romans
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2, 28. Talking about who a Jew is. It says, for
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he is not a Jew who is one outwardly. So being
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a Jew is not about physical appearance, nor a
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circumcision, that which is outward in the flesh.
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Verse 29. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly.
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And circumcision is that of what? of the heart,
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in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise
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is not from men, but from God. So there are two
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types of circumcision. There's a physical circumcision,
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which is of the law, which is physical, which
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is outward, and there's a circumcision that is
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of the heart, which is spiritual, which is of
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God. Now, that which is of men is a foreshadowing
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of what is spiritual. It's Moses' mode of communication.
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Give me this same text in NLT. Romans 2, 28,
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29 in NLT. It says, no. It says, for you are
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not a true Jew just because you were born of
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Jewish parents or because you have gone through
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the ceremony of circumcision. No. A true Jew
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is one whose heart is right with God. He was
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communicating to the Jewish people. Because some
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of them were bragging of their identity. They
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were bragging of their nationality. They were
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bragging of their inclusion in the plan of God.
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And what are they bragging about? Their ceremonial
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activities that they do that makes them right
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in their own eyes. And true circumcision is not
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merely obeying the letter of the law. Rather,
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it is a change of heart. Now, this is what is
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circumcision. It's a change of heart. Produced
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by God's spirit. So circumcision is a separation
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of man from what? From works. From dead works.
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By the spirit of God. Through faith. And a person
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with a changed heart seeks praise from God. Not
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from people. Hallelujah. Paul argues that physical
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circumcision has no value in Christ. What matters
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is faith expressed itself through love. Galatians
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chapter 5 verse 6. Galatians 5 verse 6. NLT,
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Galatians 5 verse 6. For when we place our faith
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in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being
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circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important
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is faith expressed itself in love. John chapter
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6 verse 11 to 15. Galatians 6, 11. Yes. To 15.
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He says, notice that large letters I use as I
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write these words in my own handwriting. Those
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who are trying to force you to be circumcised
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want to look good to others. They don't want
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to be persecuted for teaching that the cross
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of Christ alone can save. So they tell them you
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can believe but be circumcised. That's what makes
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God accept you. Adding some little works here
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and there. Verse 18. And even those who advocate
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circumcision don't keep the whole law themselves.
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They only want you to be circumcised so they
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can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.
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As for me, may I never boast about anything except
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what? Except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Because of that cross, my interest in this world
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has been crucified. And the world's interest
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in me has also died. Verse 15. It doesn't matter
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whether we have been circumcised or not. What
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counts is whether we have been transformed. What?
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Into a new creation. Hallelujah. It's a transformation.
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Of the heart is the circumcision of the spirit.
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And that happens when a man believes. When a
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man believes. 2 Colossians 6. Colossians 2 verse
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6. Colossians 2 verse 6. And now just as you
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accepted Christ as your Lord. You must continue
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to follow him. Because in Galatians chapter 5,
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the apostle read and he was saying, oh foolish
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Galatians, who bewitched you? Who cast a spell?
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Who did you do on your mind? But after you've
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studied in faith, you've believed God, you trust
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God, you trust the finished work of God on the
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cross, of Christ on the cross, then you drift
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into ceremonies, activities to make yourself
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accepted. Are you not foolish? Are you not? I
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am not dumb. And now, just as you have accepted
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Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue
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to follow him. Quickly, please. Verse 7. Let
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your roots grow down into him and let your lives
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be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong
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in the truth you were taught. And what were you
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taught? You were taught about faith. And you
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will overflow with what? With thankfulness. That
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is rejoicing there. You overflow with thankfulness.
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Verse 8. Don't let anyone capture you with empty
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philosophies and high sounding nonsense that
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comes from human thinking and from spiritual
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powers of this world rather than from Christ.
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For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in
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a human body. So you also. Are complete. How
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are you complete? You are complete through your
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union with Christ. Who is a head over every ruler
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and authority. When you came to Christ. You were
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circumcised. Hallelujah. When you came to Christ.
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What happened to you? You were circumcised. But
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not by fiscal procedure. Christ performed a spiritual
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circumcision. This is a spiritual circumcision.
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The cutting away of your sinful nature. The separation
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of man from sin is circumcision. It's a separation
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of the flesh. It's a picture of what Christ has
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done in a man that believes through the works
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of the Spirit. Verse 12. For you were buried
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with Christ when you were baptized and with him
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you were raised to new life because you trusted
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the mighty power of God who raised Christ from
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the dead. You were dead because of your sins
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and because your sinful nature was not yet cut
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away. Then God made you alive with Christ for
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he forgave all our sins. Verse 14. He canceled
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the record of the charges against us and took
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it away. That is circumcision. Took away by nailing
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it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed spiritual
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rulers. Amen. Authorities. He shamed them publicly.
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By his victory over them, where? In your works,
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in your fasting and prayers, on the cross. Hallelujah.
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So the dogs in Philippians 3 verse 2 were religious
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workers. They were those who believe in the flesh.
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They believe in upholding rituals for righteousness
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rather than faith. Their religion involves deceitful
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works. It is deceitful because it distorts the
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true gospel and the Christian life. That is why
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it is called evil works. It's called evil works
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because it distorts the true gospel which is
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focused on what Christ has done. So, if you are
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a believer, And you are believing in something
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other than what Christ has done. You are in evil
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works. You are doing evil works. If any preacher
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who comes to give you a formula to pleasing God,
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A, B, C, D, on how to be accepted, on how to
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make heaven rather than faith, it's evil works.
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It's an attack, just like the way a dog attacks
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a man. It's an attack on the truth of the gospel.
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That is why he used the metaphor of a duck. He
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used and described that as what? As evil works.
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Those who believe in the mutilation. Paul again
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calls religious works, deceptive works, 2 Corinthians
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11, 13. And later on, yes, he says, these people
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are what? They are false apostles. They are deceitful
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workers. who disguise themselves as apostles
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of Christ. And we'll see later, he will call
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them, he will name them enemies of the cross.
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Chapter 3, Philippians 3, verse 17 and 19. You
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see later, he will call them what? Enemies of
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the cross. Philippians 3, 17 to 19. It says,
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dear brothers and sisters, pattern your life
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after mine and learn from those who follow our
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example. For I have told you often before and
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I say again with tears in my eyes that there
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are many whose conduct shows they are really
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enemies of the cross of Christ. How are they
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enemies of the cross of Christ? Because they
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believe in something else than the finished work
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of Christ. They are enemies of the cross. Verse
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3. It says, for we are the circumcision who worship
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God in spirit. Rejoice in Christ Jesus and have
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no confidence in the flesh. For we who worship
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by the spirit of God are the ones who are truly
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circumcised. Are we truly circumcised? Are we
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truly circumcised? Circumcised from what? From
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sin. Hallelujah. We are disconnected from sin.
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We rely on what? What Christ Jesus has done for
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us. We put no confidence in the flesh. The flesh
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here means human efforts. Any efforts you put
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your confidence in is evil works. It's anti the
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cross. It's against the gospel, the message of
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the gospel. We rely on what Christ Jesus has
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done for us. So in contrast to verse 2, Paul
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mentions four fundamental things about the believer,
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about our reality. He says we are the circumcision.
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Hallelujah. We are the cut off from sin. Paul
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accepted circumcision, but only a certain kind.
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It was a circumcision of the heart. It was spiritual
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rather than physical. But the Judaizers believed
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in the physical ritual. They made a virtue of
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the rituals. Their religious practices was physical
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act of circumcision. And he makes another emphasis
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in verse 2. Verse 3 rather. He says we worship
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God in the spirit. So worship is not something
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physical. Worship is what? It's spiritual because
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we are spirits. We are spirituals. We are spiritual.
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Jesus will mention in John chapter 4 verse 24.
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He says God is spirit and those who worship him.
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Must worship him in spirit and truth. Spirit
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which is truth. Spirit which is the right way
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of worship. And he says we rejoice in Christ
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Jesus. So our rejoicing has its focal point on
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Christ. In him. Not in our ability to live up
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to God's expectations. But we rejoice in what?
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In what God has done. In what Christ has done.
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Hallelujah. Is this not relieving? Is this not
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relieving in the heart? Is this not taking away
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your burden? Is this not a good news? Is this
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not the good news? Our bursting is not in ourselves.
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It is in Jesus Christ and his works. We do not
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brag about ourselves. We brag about Jesus Christ.
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See. We don't brag about knowledge. You see,
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there's a temptation to feel that you are so
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important because you know how to interpret Greek
39:37
and Hebrew. It's possible for you to brag and
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you look at your prayer life and you look at
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how you've been consistent. Just one week of
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consistency. Just one week of consistency that
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we've been... trying and trusting God to help
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you, just did one week of consistency, you see
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every other person has a sinner. It's very possible
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because you just made an attempt to go out for
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evangelism, and you spoke to one person in three
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months, in four months, in five months, then
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you see everybody is not doing the work of ministry.
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Everybody is not passionate for souls. And you
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quit God's goodness. In your life because of
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your good conducts. Because you've been in order.
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You've been doing what is right. God is happy
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with you. Oh you know. My life I've not. I've
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not seen. So that's why I'm. I'm enjoying the
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blessings of God. We do not glory in ourselves.
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We glory in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah. He says
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we have no confidence in the flesh. We have no
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confidence in human effort. We have no confidence
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in the good news. Translation would say external
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ceremonies, activities. Activities. Your blessing
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shouldn't be that you're always in church every
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week. You don't miss activities every, you know,
41:13
you attend church here, you go online, there
41:16
are meetings you attend from your country, everywhere,
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you are all over. And that's where your bursting
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is. Those things are good. Alright? We're not
41:28
condemning any of those things. But we are saying
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that you are a product of God's grace. Hallelujah.
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We are all a product of God's grace. And our
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bursting must be in Christ. Amen? Those who live
41:45
by grace not have one ounce, one true plate.
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Of confidence in the flesh. Paul was not persuaded.
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That the flesh could earn any credit. In God's
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eyes. But both his salvation. And his Christian
42:00
walk. Were dependent upon the grace of God. Hallelujah.
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You came in by faith. And you live by faith.
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You cannot start by faith. And continue in works.
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So every day you wake up. From bed. You must
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remind yourself that I'm a blessed person. I'm
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a blessed child of God because God has blessed
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me. I'm a blessed child of God because I enjoy
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the blessings of God. So later on, we'll see
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in verse 4 to 6, we'll look at that subsequently.
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Paul showcases his credentials in the flesh.
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What those people are busting about, he shows
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his credentials. And then in verse 7 to 11, we'll
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see Paul will count all that he had in the flesh
42:44
as rubbish for the sake. of God's way of righteousness,
42:49
which is by faith. So what are you rejoicing
42:52
in? Are you holding to evil works? Or holding
42:56
on to the finished work of Christ? Paul showcases
42:59
his credentials in the flesh. What those people
43:03
are bossing about, he shows his credentials.
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And then in verse 7 to 11, we see Paul will count
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all that he had in the flesh as rubbish for the
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sake of God's way of righteousness, which is
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by faith. So what are you rejoicing in? Are you
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holding to evil works or holding on to the finished
43:28
work of Christ? Hallelujah. I just want to close
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our eyes and just thank God. We appreciate you
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being here today. We hope you carry this word
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with you throughout your week. Don't forget to
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check the show notes for additional insights.
43:49
Stay connected with us through our website or
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follow us on social media. If you are encouraged,
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share this message with someone you care about.
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Until next time, stay blessed.