Rooted In Faith, Part 1.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] I’m going to have a seat. Welcome to Village Church. If this is your first time here, my [0:03] name is Steve. I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church. And as always, I’m thankful [0:07] and grateful to see each and every one of you because it would be weird if you were [0:11] not here and I was just up here talking. So I’m always glad someone’s out there. That [0:16] means I’m not crazy yet. We’re going to be in Philippians chapter 3. So if you have your [0:21] Bibles, go ahead and turn there. If you don’t, that’s okay. It’ll be on the screen behind

[0:26] me, I think, while I’m going through this. But before we get into that, I forgot during [0:31] the first service to announce this, but tonight we’re having a core meeting for our Chester [0:37] church plant. So in September, we’re going to be launching a village church in Chester, [0:42] which is, if you’re not familiar with the area, that’s kind of the southern part of [0:46] Chesterfield County. And we’re going to be launching that on September the 9th. So throughout [0:50] the summer, we’re going to be doing some meetings where we get together specifically with those

[0:55] people that are actually going to be going from here to there to help us plant that [0:59] church and some people that live down there that are going to be a part of that church. [1:04] We’re meeting a couple of times through the summer to have core meetings, to share information, [1:09] to talk through the Bible and what it has to say about church planting and church ministry [1:15] in general. But I want to kind of cast that invitation to everyone for a few reasons. [1:23] It’s going to be tonight at five. And even if you’re not interested in being a part of

[1:26] that church plant, I think it would be great for you to be here just so that, number one, [1:30] you know what’s going on in the life of your church. We desire to be a church planting [1:36] church. And so if you’re a part of our church, it’s important that you kind of hear that [1:41] vision and hear our desire and hear what we’re doing, where that is concerned, why we’re [1:46] allocating so many resources to plant other churches. And so you should be here for that. [1:50] But also, by coming to those meetings, you’re going to hear the why behind the what of what

[1:58] we do here. You’re going to be hearing about the life of village church and specifically [2:03] my part tonight. I’m going to be teaching out of Exodus 18. And so what we’re going [2:09] to be doing is kind of casting vision for what it means to be a part of a team and what [2:14] it means that we’re going to plant a church as a church together. And so I think it’s [2:18] going to be a great time to come and worship Jesus through talking about church planting. [2:24] And so that’s going to be tonight right here at five o’clock. And so if you’re available,

[2:28] be here. If you’re not available, cancel your plans and be here. I’m a big fan of [2:33] canceling plans and being here. I’m always going to advocate for that. And you’re like, [2:37] you don’t know what my plans are. And I say, I don’t care. Cancel them. All right. [2:43] So we’re going to be in Philippians three this morning. And this is going to be a pretty [2:49] important message. And so I want to kind of qualify some things before I get into it. [2:54] I want to qualify some things that I may say some things today that upset you. And I want

[2:59] you to understand that I’m I know. All right. Because I’m going to challenge some of the [3:06] ways that you might be thinking through your faith and specifically the actions that you [3:12] are taking in the faith. And so if you like sitting out there and you’re like, man, I [3:17] don’t like anything you say, and I’m so mad and it’s OK. I’m prepared. All right. I didn’t [3:22] show up not ready for that. So I’m ready if you don’t appreciate it. But here’s the key [3:27] that I want you to understand. If you will not just receive God’s word today, but instead

[3:33] you will apply it to your life and let the word of God begin to kind of dictate the life [3:38] of faith inside of you. I believe that what Paul has to say in Philippians three specifically [3:44] could bring so much freedom into your life that you are lacking. And here’s why. Jesus [3:51] had this interesting way of communicating through parables. He would tell us these stories. [3:55] Now, I’ve heard all sorts of stupid things about why people think he told parables because [3:58] they’re like, oh, it’s, you know, storytelling. It’s the best way of communication. No, that’s

[4:03] not why Jesus told parables. Jesus told parables because he literally didn’t want half the [4:09] If it was like this amazing, effective communication technique, why did so many people walk away [4:13] and be like, that sounded great. No clue what that guy was talking about. That was really [4:19] the response. And so Jesus, when he would tell these stories, he would walk away and [4:23] sometimes the disciples would come up to him afterwards and they would challenge him and [4:26] they would be like, Jesus, you’re not making any sense. I don’t understand what you’re

[4:30] saying. And he would say to you, it has been given to understand. And so then he would [4:37] challenge them. He said, look at what I’m saying through the lens of faith. And so [4:42] he’s literally saying, there’s no way for you to understand the things that I’m talking [4:47] about if you don’t have faith. And there’s so many things about what it is to be a Christian [4:53] and what it is to walk as a follower of Jesus Christ that are only understood through the [5:01] lens of faith. Jesus told this one story. I said, there were two men. So there was

[5:07] one guy who built his house on sand. And he said, there was this other man and he built [5:14] his house with the foundation of rocks. And he said, and they both endured the exact [5:22] same experience, but differently. He said, for this one man, the rain came, the storms [5:29] came, they battered his house. And the one who built his house on the sand, his house [5:34] fell. It was destroyed. There was nothing left. But then he said, the rains and the [5:41] storms, they came to the other man who had built his house on the rocks and his house

[5:47] withstood the storms. His house endured the rains and his house was immovable by the forces [5:56] of nature that came to the house. There’s a way of looking at faith in Jesus Christ. [6:03] That’s why many people, when they claim faith in Jesus, they give a version of yes to salvation [6:12] in Jesus. And they believe that salvation in Christ is going to prevent the storm.

[6:21] That if I trust Jesus, the storms will not come. He will hold them off. And so when the [6:27] storms do come, their faith is shaken because they had built their house on sand. They [6:36] weren’t prepared for life. The storms are coming. The rain is coming. We’ve got great [6:43] experience with that this week. It seemed like it wasn’t going to end. I saw the sun [6:47] earlier. It shocked me. But the storms will come. It’s inevitable. You will not, with [6:57] or without Christ, avoid the rains of life. You will not avoid the storms of life. You

[7:03] will not avoid the hard times of life. They are coming. And so the question that you’ve [7:09] got to deal with is have I built the house of my life, my faith in Christ, have I built [7:15] it on a firm foundation or not? Because so often in life what we do is we will see a [7:22] crack in the wall of our life. And we will run to buy some drywall, some patchwork, some [7:32] putty to smooth it out, some sandpaper. And then we’ll paint over it, only for the cracks [7:39] to reemerge. And that’s because the cracks are not the problem. The problem is the foundation.

[7:49] The problem is what the house was built upon. And sometimes you are tempted to go through [7:55] your life, even if you are a person who claims faith in Christ, you are tempted to patch [8:01] the holes. You are tempted to stare at the walls. And you think that the color on the [8:06] walls of your life is the problem. You think the crown molding or lack thereof is the [8:11] problem of your life. And what the gospel comes in and it does is it informs us that [8:17] the paint on the wall is not your problem. The refrigerator in your kitchen is not your

[8:22] great need. You need to get into the crawl space of your life and realize that the foundation [8:28] is shifting. And if you do not turn your attention to the foundation of am I living by faith [8:36] in Jesus, you will crumble. I’m tempted to say that for 85 to maybe even 90 percent [8:47] of you, much of what you are doing and calling the Christian life is just that you are running [8:52] around with duct tape and patch and you are patching walls. And it’s not helping, is it? [9:02] It’s not fixing the real issue. Because it’s only faith in Jesus Christ that’s going to

[9:07] fix anything. In chapter 2 of Philippians, he gives us so many things that we need to [9:14] do it can be overwhelming. I mean it begins by, he’s like, you need to be humble. You [9:19] need to throw off selfish ambition. Repent of that and lower yourself like Christ counting [9:26] the needs of others above your own needs. And then he goes in and he says, you need [9:31] to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. And then he goes on and he says, [9:36] you need to shine as lights in the middle of a twisted and crooked generation follower

[9:42] of Christ. And you get to the end of that and you’re like, I’ve got to do, I’ve got [9:46] to act, I’ve got to obey, I’ve got to do all of these things. And it’s tempting to kind [9:51] of take the reins of faith away from the work of Christ and think, I’ve got to kind of command [9:57] my own ship. I’ve got to make these things happen. I’ve got to be urgent. I’ve got to [10:00] work. I’ve got to go. And I love the writings of Paul because any time Paul spends a lot [10:07] of time talking about what we do and what we need to be about, he begins it and then

[10:13] follows it up with, but do not let your doing distract you from who you are in Christ. Because [10:19] that’s what your natural tendency is going to be. Your natural tendency is to be so overwhelmed [10:25] by what you need to do in Christ that you often forget who you are in Christ. And so [10:31] in chapter three, the apostle warns us of something. He warns us of a religious activity.

[10:40] And then we’re going to go through verse six this week and verse 11 next week and he’s [10:44] going to say, do not walk away from faith in Christ to do something that you think is [10:49] going to make faith in Christ better. Because when you do that, you just ruin the whole [10:54] thing. Note what Paul says in verse one. He says, finally, my brothers, and he’s not closing [11:01] the letter. The term there in the original language is not one that we normally use. [11:05] What he’s actually saying in the original language is we need to move on to another

[11:09] matter. He says, finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. That phrase is the catalytic [11:16] phrase for the entire chapter. Everything that he says in this chapter is about those [11:22] three words, or four words. I can’t count. Rejoice in the Lord. He’s saying, this needs [11:30] to be what you are rooted in. This needs to be what you are about. And you’re going to [11:36] be tempted to put your roots in on many, many, many other things, but don’t do it. He says, [11:43] rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for

[11:47] you. Whenever Paul says a thing like that, what he’s saying is I’m about to say something [11:50] that could offend you. He’s saying, I don’t get troubled by offending you. I’m going [11:54] to do it anyway. In verse two, look out for the dogs. Look out for the evildoers. Look [12:00] out for those who mutilate the flesh, for we are the circumcision who worship by the [12:06] Spirit of God in glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. Say, no confidence

[12:15] in the flesh. So why are you putting so much confidence in the flesh? Though I myself have [12:23] reason for confidence in the flesh also, if anyone thinks he has reason for confidence [12:27] in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel of [12:32] the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to Zeal, a persecutor [12:38] of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless. So Paul gives us his resume [12:47] to warn us about something. And it’s interesting the way that he writes these first six verses

[12:51] because he begins by telling us, rejoice in the Lord. Then he mocks a group of people [12:57] and then he says, if there was any hope to be found in what those people are trying to [13:00] tell you to do, I would be the expert because I am the man. He said, if you think you’ve [13:08] done something worth looking at, I’ve done better. If you think your pedigree is worth [13:14] bragging about, mine is better. If you think you’ve done something impressive in this life, [13:19] I’ve done more impressive things. If you think you’re worth something in this life, I’m worth

[13:24] more than you. If you think you’ve obeyed God and it’s noteworthy of your obedience, [13:31] you haven’t come anywhere near the obedience that I’ve taken myself to because under the [13:37] law, I’m blameless compared to you. And Paul’s point is, in every single thing I just said [13:46] is meaningless in Christ. There are so many things that will tempt you to become unsettled [13:54] in your faith in Jesus for all of the wrong reasons. You’ll have great intentions, you’ll [14:01] focus on techniques, you will focus on an activity that you need to be about, and you

[14:06] will think you are fixing your life when, matter of fact, you are only serving to wreck [14:11] your life. And number one this morning, and I want to preface number one with the fact [14:18] that I know you’re going to question whether or not this is true, but it is. You’re wrong [14:21] and I’m right. Faith in Jesus fixes everything. Faith in Jesus fixes everything. Everything? [14:31] Yes, everything. Wait a second, wait a second. Everything? Yes, everything. And so what’s [14:37] immediately going to happen in many of your minds right now is I know what’s happening

[14:40] is that you’re like, but this, that, this, that, faith in Jesus isn’t fixing that for [14:44] me right now. And I would challenge you to say yes it is, and yes it could. And the reason [14:50] that I would say faith in Jesus fixes everything is because some of the things that you’re [14:56] looking at in your life and you’re saying, but my faith isn’t fixing those things, and [15:00] I would say it’s because Jesus wants to break those things. You say, but my faith in Jesus, [15:07] I’m losing this, and faith in Jesus isn’t keeping it in my life. And I would say exactly,

[15:12] because it’s possible that Jesus wants to take that thing out of your life. Could it [15:20] be that many of the things that you are so focused on in your life to fix your life [15:26] are the very things that Jesus is saying are keeping you from the real solutions for your [15:32] life? Because many of the things that you are holding onto so tightly, many of the [15:38] things that you are so anxious about every night, many of the things that you are clinging [15:42] to, you are running to, you are working at, you are stressed about, those are the very

[15:47] things that faith would say, walk away. Because you will not know Jesus the way he wants [15:54] to be known until you walk away from it. So yes, faith in Jesus fixes everything. Because [16:03] many of the things that you want to fix are the very things that Jesus wants to break.

[16:09] Sometimes God needs to break some things in our lives to make us depend on him a little [16:16] bit more. Most of the issues in your life come from a standpoint that you don’t have [16:25] faith in Jesus for everything. Therefore to hear that faith in Jesus fixes everything [16:30] sounds so audacious. It sounds so unnatural. You got to understand the apostle Paul. He [16:39] believed in a grace that was too good to believe. He believed that God’s grace came [16:48] only through Jesus. He believed that Jesus had accomplished everything that ever needed

[16:54] to be accomplished and that ever needed to be done in order to both forgive you of your [16:59] sins past, present, and future. And on top of that, he believed that Jesus had also been [17:05] your substitute in obedience to God so that Jesus’ righteousness could be counted towards [17:12] you. And so the apostle actually believed that you are wholly forgiven and you are [17:20] wholly righteous in Christ. And so what that means is you can never lose God’s favor in [17:28] Christ and you can never gain any more of his favor in Christ. And so he believed that

[17:35] and so he’s saying in Christ you are whole. But everything? That’s the sticking point, [17:45] isn’t it? Paul mentions some people that he is obviously not fond of in this passage. [17:52] He calls them the dogs. And I was growing up calling somebody your dog meant that was [17:58] your friend. All right. And I’m dating myself a little bit here because some of the younger [18:02] people were like, that’s stupid. This is a 90s thing, all right? But Paul, there’s [18:08] actually in the original language there’s two different terms for dog even in that culture.

[18:13] There was one term for dog that was like the good term. It’s like a good dog. But there’s [18:18] another term for dog in the original language that expresses the kind of dog that runs around [18:23] eating garbage on the street, has manes, is frothing at the mouth, and is going to attack [18:29] anyone that would try to domesticate that dog. It’s the type of dog that if you found [18:34] that dog in your backyard you are going to shoot that dog because it’s chasing your children [18:39] and trying to give your children rabies. All right. That’s the word that Paul uses here.

[18:45] It’s not a term of endearment. It is a term that these are the lowest dregs of the world. [18:51] These are dogs. They are evildoers. They mutilate the flesh, he writes. And so Paul says, and [19:01] the group of people that he’s talking about, they were called in that era the Judaizers. [19:05] And so what they would do is, is Paul would plant a church. He would make some disciples. [19:09] He would appoint leadership and then he would go to plant another church. And about that [19:13] time these guys would come in and they would be like, oh, Paul was here and he told you

[19:17] about Jesus. Great. He gave you half of the good news. Here’s the other half of the good [19:22] news because most of these churches were filled with Gentiles. These were people who were [19:26] not raised as Hebrews. And so many of them weren’t circumcised. And so he said, okay, [19:33] first thing, adult men, that makes me uncomfortable. You need to be circumcised. Then you need [19:41] to submit to the whole law, the ceremonies of the Old Testament and then you can be [19:47] redeemed of your sins. And Paul calls them mutilators of the flesh because he’s giving

[19:53] the church at Philippi the understanding that these people are akin to the pagan idolaters [20:02] that would dance in front of false images and cut themselves as sacrifices to that [20:08] God. He says, when they tell you to be circumcised, they are not telling you a religious activity [20:13] that pleases God. They are giving you a pagan practice that will wreck your faith. He says, [20:21] don’t live like them. And then he gives his resume as a Hebrew, as a Jew. And he says, [20:28] none of that’s going to gain you any favor with God because when you add anything onto

[20:33] faith in Christ, you take away all of the faith in Christ and instead of rejoicing [20:39] in the Lord, you begin to rejoice in self. This is a false religion. But here’s the [20:46] trouble that I run into. Man, let me tell you, I can talk about circumcision all day.

[20:53] It’s an interesting topic. Throughout history it’s been interesting. But you know what? [20:57] It wouldn’t mean a thing for most of you. It would make some of you uncomfortable. [21:01] But we’re really comfortable in one sense, not the physical aspects, but the spiritual [21:05] aspects of circumcision. We’re like, that’s great. Let’s talk about that because none [21:09] of you are dealing with it. It has no bearing on our culture right now. So you can understand, [21:17] I don’t need to be circumcised in order to have God’s favor and it doesn’t really mean

[21:24] anything unless you are actually being tempted to look down and be like, favor of God.

[21:38] Y’all tripping. But the apostle is getting us to understand that it isn’t the act of [21:48] circumcision that’s the problem, it’s the motivation behind it that’s the problem. [21:51] And there are things in your life that you are dealing with that don’t have anything [21:56] to do with the physical act of circumcision, but it is the exact same motivation that [22:01] these people had in Philippi if they were being tempted towards that submission.

[22:08] And here’s what Paul says elsewhere. In Romans chapter 2, he says, circumcision is indeed [22:12] of value if you obey the whole law. But if you break the law your circumcision becomes [22:18] uncircumcision. So he’s saying, yeah, circumcision would be of value if you could live up to [22:24] God’s law, but here’s the problem, none of us can. None of us can please God. None of [22:28] us can obey God at every single point. Sure, you can measure up at some points and those [22:33] are the ones that you want everybody to be proud of you for and to applaud you for and

[22:37] think you’re great for, but there’s somewhere else that you’re not living up to what God [22:40] wants from you. Then in Colossians chapter 2, he says that the state that Jesus perfected [22:47] is something that our outward signs could never do. He says, in Christ you were circumcised [22:52] made without hands. Circumcision was never meant to be the hope. It was only meant to [22:59] be a sign of the hope that we have in Christ. And so in Christ, circumcision is not necessary [23:07] and if done for religious practice, it is to be rejected. And some of you all are like,

[23:16] that’s great because when we did it, it was just the pediatrician and we were like, [23:20] okie dokie. So it never had any bearing for you and that’s where our culture is. But [23:31] when many of you find a problem with your situation, and I mean any situation in your [23:37] life, I mean any circumstance that you face that’s not just a difficult circumstance, [23:42] but it’s a question of how can I grow in my faith? What you do is you don’t believe Jesus [23:49] is the answer, so you turn to yourself and you turn to a technique and you turn to a

[23:55] work and you turn to an action and you turn to anxiety and you turn to condemnation and [24:02] you turn to guilt and you turn to conviction, but what it really is, it’s baggage because [24:08] you don’t believe Jesus has actually forgiven you and you’re still, even though you say [24:13] you are in Christ, you are working yourself towards forgiveness. See you might not be [24:21] tempted by circumcision, but you are tempted with that. And that’s what the church at [24:27] Philippi was dealing with. It’s the difference between rejoicing in the Lord and rejoicing

[24:34] in what I can do. You don’t believe that Jesus is the ultimate answer and it’s shown [24:39] by the life that you live, but he is. There is nothing that your life is going to encounter [24:46] that rejoicing in the Lord is not the ultimate answer to, but there is plenty in your life [24:53] that if you stare too long at your discontentment over that issue will take you from rejoicing [25:00] in the Lord to trying to find a new way to rejoice in yourself by trying to fix yourself.

[25:14] How many of you are struggling because you’ve got issues that you can’t fix no matter how [25:19] hard you try? No matter what technique that just showed up under the sun and you’re working [25:26] that technique and you’re not feeling any better, things aren’t going any better, no [25:31] fixes in view. But you say, I’ve got to find the fix, I’ve got to do this, I’ve got to [25:36] make myself right, I’ve got to be right. Faith in Jesus fixes everything. It is only through [25:46] faith in Jesus that you can be made right. Do you know, number two this morning, what

[25:53] you believe is what you will become. What you believe is what you will become. See most [26:01] of what you think is the problem isn’t the problem. There’s a big difference between [26:07] going to the doctor and going on WebMD. There’s a big difference because most of the time [26:13] what I think is the problem isn’t the problem. I have had 32 terminal illnesses according [26:19] to WebMD. I have. I go on there and I’m like, that’s it, I’ve got like a month left. But [26:29] yet you go to a doctor and they don’t take it seriously. They say, no that’s not it.

[26:34] And I say, but WebMD. And they say, but medical school. Oftentimes what I think is the problem [26:44] isn’t the problem at all. And so for many of you the issue is any number of things [26:52] that you are running to in order to fix yourself rather than trusting that Jesus is enough. [26:57] And so you will identify a problem in your life. You will identify somewhere where you [27:04] feel like you or others are falling short of the ideal. Or a new thought process will [27:13] come to you from whatever is the best seller right now. And so you will run to that thing.

[27:19] You will run to this other thing. But everything that you are running to, what is the ultimate [27:24] solution? You doing something. You being the mechanic for your life. You focusing in on [27:34] the problems. It may be a person that you think is the problem. A career that you think [27:42] is the problem. A school or one that you need to go to that you may think is a problem. [27:46] A health plan. You may think that’s going to be the problem or the fix. And you are [27:51] like, yep that’s true. But here’s where I might ruffle some feathers. It may be a Bible

[27:56] study that you think is the problem or the solution. It may be a religious activity that [28:09] you think is going to solve all of your problems. And so you study, study, study. You work, [28:15] work, work. You do, do, do. And you can’t fix yourself can you? Because you are looking [28:24] at holes in the wall. You are putting tape here. You are putting tape here. You are putting