In Christ Alone

In Christ Alone – March 3rd, 2019

Sunday March 3rd, Pastor Eric Tremblay shared a message encouraging all God’s people to put our trust in God. Reminding us that everything we need is found in Christ alone.

He explored three seasons in our lives where this principle can be of great value for all of us to apply:

1. Season of NEED
2. Season of TRIALS (Pain, Suffering, Testing)
3. Season of VICTORY

Video Transcription

My sermon this morning is a message to encourage us to find everything we need in Christ alone

Now, when we talk about “Christ Alone”, we often think of salvation.

Because we know, based on the Bible, the Word of God, that Salvation is found in nothing and no one else then Christ Alone.

Acts 4:12 ESV

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Revelation 20:14-15 ESV

This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

God so loved the world that He sent Jesus to die on a cross to pay the penalty of sin.

The only way to have your name in that book of life is by calling on His name.

So the Bible makes it clear that Salvation is found in nothing else

Or no one else then Christ Alone. But with the remainder  of our time, I want to take it farther.

So we find salvation through Christ alone and also:

-Our strength In Christ Alone

-Our joy  In Christ Alone

-Our peace In Christ Alone

-Our Greatest Satisfaction In Christ Alone

-Our Hope

-Our love

-Our rest

-Our energy

-The ability to keep going forward

-The grace to go through anything that comes our way

that we would be able to find everything we need to accomplish this journey that has been set before us in Christ alone.

Turn with me to

Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)

11… I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Although I believe we should aim and live by this in every season of our lives, I want to show you where this becomes even more real and more important.

There are 3 seasons in your life and in my life where this needs to become even more Reality to you

That Christ Alone would become sufficient in these 3 seasons of your life

And these seasons are as real as:

-spring,

-Summer,

-fall

-and winter

it will happen, it’s just a question of when?

1-Our Time of Need

The Apostle Paul learned how to find contentment in Christ not in things, he has experienced what it was to be hungry and in financial need.

He also experienced what it is to be full and have plenty, yet he was able regardless of what season he was in to find contentment in Christ Alone.

He says:

I have learned the secret…

Have you and I learned the secret?

I have learned the secret (what secret?) of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

This is saying that you could be hungry and still find contentment in Christ.

If you go to some of the poorest places in the world you will find Christians there that have a lot of needs we don’t even know of but their Joy in the Lord is so contagious because many of them learned the “secret”, the secret of being content in any and every situation.

You could be poor and have the joy in the Lord, you could be in need and shout for joy

It comes from Christ Alone

If My joy comes from my job  title, what am I going to do when I retire?

What am I going to do if I get laid off? Does my Joy stay there as well?

If I find great satisfaction notice the word great satisfaction because we can find satisfaction in many good things

what if I find great satisfaction in the fact that I have three boys living at my house

what am I going to do when these three boys are going to move on with their life get married and move out?

This is why we must come to a place where we discover the secret the source of our contentment needs to be

not in having all our needs met it needs to be in Christ alone.

Another season were we must find contentment In Christ Alone  

Is in our seasons of

2- Trials and pain

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation…

And that included our times of trials, pain, suffering and injustice.

Someone about 15 years ago  offered me a really good piece of advice.

He said :

sometimes in life it’s not so much what you know that matters but who you know.

If I run into an electrical problem for my house, I don’t know nothing about electricity other than if you stick your hand where you shouldn’t you are going to be in real trouble.

But if I run into an electrical problem in my house, I don’t need to start taking courses in learning everything there is to know about electricity.

What I need is an electrician. As long as I know an electrician, I’m good.

I call the electrician and he solves the electrical problem.

Application:

when you and I face incredible challenges in our journey, when you feel like your in the furnace or in the lion’s den, it’s not what know that will get you through it its who you know that will walk you through it.

Some of you are in a season of trials, you’re facing things you’ve never faced before, you’re dealing with things but never happen are you before.

And I’m praying for you  that God will help you in your trials, in a lot of cases I’m praying for those trials to go away.

But the biggest prayer  I can make for you in that season of your life is that you would find :

-joy

-peace

-satisfaction

-strength

and not in the fact that your trials have been removed but right in the middle of the action.

Because let’s face it, the Bible promises a lot of great things but the Bible also promises trials.

Trials and suffering are part of life. This is why our joy cannot be conditional to our circumstances and to what season we are in.

Don’t just take my word for it, look at Peter.

Ex: Look at Peter’s life

Acts 12:1-6,

It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. (he pulled a political stunt to please the jews who hated christians) This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.

I dont know if I am the only one who just heard this but Peter was sleeping!

James just died by the sword, this Herod guy is pulling as political stunt to please the Jews we know that tomorrow’s meeting will not go well. Is Peter Clueless? Is he naive? Is it just choosing to ignore the facts? Does he have a death wish? No, he found his Joy In Christ Alone.

He found true Rest In Christ Alone. Because if you could sleep while being chained up by four squads of four soldiers each, knowing that there’s a big chance that tomorrow they will do to you what they did to James, you have to conclude that this man found his source in Christ alone and not in this circumstances.

(you should read the rest of this story it’s pretty cool how the prison break took place afterwards)

That was example number one.

Example number two:

Paul & Silas

They were doing Mission work, they were preaching the Gospel and as they were busy doing the Lord’s work, there was a woman who was a slave. She had a demonic spirit of divination.

That demonic spirit gave her power to predict the future and she earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune telling and she kept following Paul and the rest of them shouting these

“men are Servants of the most high God who are telling you the way to be saved”

She did this for many days until Paul got fed up.

The word in the Bible is annoyed. She kept doing this until Paul got annoyed and turn around and said to the spirit

18b

“In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

You would think everybody would be like wow!

He fixed her, he helped her, he set her free from a Spirit of divination a demonic spirit.

But no, because when her owners realized that she lost ability to predict the future they thought this was going to be bad for business. So they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them in front of the authorities which later led them to jail.

And I want you to see this

Verse 9 says

9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

This was part of their Journey towards answering the vision of God to go put your gospel to Macedonia.

Now look at verse16

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.

Now, they’re going to a prayer meeting. I’m on the way to the prayer meeting this is where this all starts.

So Paul and Silas could have been in jail saying I don’t understand, we were being obedient to the vision we have received, we were doing Mission work, plus,  where  it really got intense was when we’re about to pray.

But no, that was not how Paul and Silas were behaving.

Acts 16:25

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Are you seeing this? At the darkest moment, at the Midnight Hour, where do you find Paul and Silas?

You find them in prison praying and singing hymns to God.

Don’t find contentment only in your present circumstances. You could discover the secret of being content in any and every circumstance, through your time of need and want who your time trials suffering and pain.

The moment when Paul tried out the god saying I got a torn in the flesh and he kept asking price to think that toilet flush away in Jesus says my grace is sufficient for you. These man Peter Silas Paul, all live lives that was able to be content in any and every circumstance.

Lastly, when is fine satisfaction in Christ alone in our times and in our seasons of:

3-Prosperity and Victories

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

This secret is also for those and I think this is where most of us would find ourselves.

This secret of finding contentment in Christ alone also applies to us who are well fed and with plenty.