Series “Are We There Yet?” – Sermon #8 “Winning”

Sermon: Are We There Yet — “Winning!”
Apr. 3rd, 2022
Impact Church London

Recap: Are We There Yet? Where? 

Habakkuk 2:14
For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea.

Through the Church! 

Ephesians 3:10-11
 “…to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord…” 

God is at work in the church so that he might be at work through the church!

The Tabernacle of David is a big part of the role that we at Impact Church are going to play. Vital to understand what Ps. Karl shared about it last week.

Amos 9:11-13
“On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old; That they may possess the remnant of Edom,  And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” Says the Lord who does this thing. “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it.

Jesus and his grace, not the law, nor legalism are going to get the job done.

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Galatians 5:6
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

Fear will corrupt love and turn it into self-interest.

1 John 4:17-19
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.

Sermon: Winning

Acts 9:15-16
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

Jews: 

Acts 17:1-2
17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

Galatians 2:14
14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?

Gentiles.

Ephesians 3:8
To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

Romans 15:18-19
For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient— 19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

Kings. 

Acts 25:24-32
“…When he had said these things, the king stood up, as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them; 31 and when they had gone aside, they talked among themselves, saying, “This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.” 32 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

2 Timothy 4:7
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day…

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

So what does winning look like? What can we learn from Paul about getting to our destination? Couple points from Paul’s and his own winning approach, taken from his personal playbook in Philippians 3:7-14. 

1. Reorganize & Re-prioritize 

Philippians 3:7-9
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him

He came to prioritize his relationship with Jesus above all things, and it was out of that relationship that he was able to function. 

John 17:3
Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

2. Embrace Grace!

Philippians 3:9
“…and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in  Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” 

You can waste a life, squander opportunity, and never step into what God has for you if you give in to shame and guilt.  Likewise you can waste a lifetime trying to get right wth God, please him, and earn something that he has already given you.

Hebrews 9:14
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Romans 5:17
17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

3. Embrace his Life and Death 

Philippians 3:10-11
“that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Don’t get weird and try to put yourself to death. You died with Christ already. There is no religious merit to trying to die daily to your flesh, to sin, to self.

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Paul is saying is he wants to know Jesus by sharing his life experience, to live out his priorities This means knowing him in his exaltation and in his suffering. This is an invitation we all have!

Philippians 1:29
For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 

2 Timothy 2:8-10
Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Jesus told him at his call, I will show you what you must suffer… not to be holy, get saved, earn power, but to get the job done!

Acts 9:16
For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

2 Corinthians 11:24-29
24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

Describing what this type of life was like Paul said:

2 Corinthians 4:8-12
“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.

What looked like defeat was greatest victory. We too must be willing suffer for and at the hands of those he loves… his methods haven’t changed. Winning looks different in God’s purposes. 

Colossians 2:14-15 (NLT)
14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

4. Keeping Moving Forward (No matter what!) 

Philippians 3:13-14
“ Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Keep moving, don’t stay stagnant, and don’t rest on your laurels and believe you have arrived, you can always learn.  Don’t let what’s behind you grab you and keep you from going forward. 

Genesis 19:26
26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Salt is a preserving agent. If you look back you will get stuck, preserved in your status quo, never moving on. The only thing that can stop you is you. 

Luke 9:62
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

5. Confidence 

Philippians 3:15
15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.

He lays out his heart for a winning life, and then wraps it up all up with “if you don’t get it, you will.  I am confident God will make you get it.”

Philippians 1:6
“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”

1 Thessalonians 5:24
He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

Summary:

Are We There Yet?: Yes and No! 

In Jesus we have fully arrived, and now in partnership with him, we are on a journey. But, we can be confident that no matter what, he will lead us in victory. 

2 Corinthians 2:14
Now Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place

AMEN! 

Sermon Notes – Winning pdf