Confidence in Christ
Series: Philippians
February 14, 2021
Frank Foreman
What gives us confidence? Is it when we are thoroughly prepared for what we face? Is it when we feel our God-given talent gives us the ability to do whatever we are called to do? According to the Apostle Paul, confidence in Christ leads to potential suffering. His message to the Philippian Christians was clear that the stuff of this life--good or bad--pales in comparison to what is to come in eternity. That's why we can have such confidence in Christ! Frank shares the truths of this passage in Philippians 3 this week.
Episode Notes
Pause to consider: Where might Christians mistakenly place their confidence?
Philippians 3:1-11
BIG IDEA: Confidence in Christ prepares us for suffering.
Job 42:5, I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.
Acts 7:55, But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into Heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
1st Peter 4:14, If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
1. Paul’s preparation to suffer.
Pause to consider: What did you value most before becoming a Christian?
Matthew 6:19-21, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
2. Paul’s experience of suffering.
2nd Corinthians 11:24-28, Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
3. Paul’s purpose in suffering.
John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease.
NEXT STEP: When called upon to choose between anything in this world and Jesus... Choose Jesus.
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