Crystal Sparks' Podcast

190. [Philippians Study] Holy Fear and Trembling

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The tender balance between God's work in us and our active response to Him forms the heart of Paul's message in Philippians 2:12-18. Diving deep into this rich passage, we explore what it truly means to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" while recognizing that "it is God who works in you."

What does it look like to handle your spiritual calling with reverence? The Greek words Paul uses paint a vivid picture—phobos (fear) describes carrying something precious with extreme care, while tromos (trembling) acknowledges our dependence on divine guidance for tasks beyond our natural abilities. This isn't about being terrified of God, but about approaching our responsibilities with holy awareness.

Have you noticed how easily we slip into complaining? Paul, writing from a Roman prison cell, challenges us to do everything "without complaining or disputing." In our contemporary culture, where ranting attracts attention and validation, Christians are called to stand apart through grateful attitudes and loving responses. Early church father John Chrysostom even compared complaining to blasphemy—it implicitly questions God's goodness and provision.

Whether you're leading a ministry team, managing household responsibilities, or navigating workplace challenges, this message reminds us to approach every task with reverence and gratitude. The deeper our relationship with God grows, the more naturally our actions align with His purposes—not to gain approval from others, but because His will has genuinely become our own.

My hope is that this podcast helps grow your faith and equips you to accomplish your dreams and goals!

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to another part of my Philippian study that I have been doing with our staff at Staff Chapel. If you haven't listened to the other parts, you might want to go back deeper into my podcast, check out those episodes and catch yourself up to join where we're at today. Okay, well, we're going to continue our Philippians study and I feel like today will be really good. I don't know that I'm going to get through it all, but we'll just. We'll get through what we can get through. My goal is to get through Philippians 2,. 12 through 18 is kind of where we left off last time, and so, just to recap from before, we have the whole Bible summed up. We've got God's law, which is the first five books of the Bible, and then we have God's people. We have God's wisdom, which is the poetry books, and we have God's prophets, which is God calling back his people. We have God's son, then we have God's church and then God coming back, and so we're in Philippians, chapter two, verses 12 through 18. And it says this therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing that you may become blameless and faultless in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain, yes, and if I'm being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me. So in this text I want you to think about as you're reading, pay attention to when the tone changes. So think about the verses previous to this. It was very theological in nature. He's talking about let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ, who's being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be co-equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men and being founded in appearance of a man. So he's very theological. But then notice as soon as the therefore, so he lays out the theology. So keep in mind everything we've been through so far. We have the greeting, we have his thanksgiving for the church, and then he kind of moves into talking about where he's at, what's going on, like a little update on himself, and then he goes into theology and then he goes with all of this now, therefore. So, therefore, is always going to be a transitional statement. So a lot of times, if you're new and learning to identify the tone of the text, when you see, therefore, know the tone is changing, just know that, like it's, it's signaling to you that we're now moving into another idea, another realm of thought. And he says therefore um, my beloved, so um, in this Paul, like, as we just read through this, notice that he uses groupings, um, so when you're reading the text, like for me, I was noticing that there is twos, so he's using twos a lot.

Speaker 1:

You'll see, I believe it's Mark. Whenever he talks, it's always going to be in threes. He loves groupings of three, and so it's never going to be one thing or two things. He's always going to have three and so he just loves the number three and it's going to be consistent. But you think of Mark, it's Peter, he's a preacher, three point preacher, like it's going to be threes and so um, but here Paul is writing and he's got a theme of twos, so he's got obey in my presence, obey in my absence.

Speaker 1:

He talks about fear. He also talks right on the heels of that trembling. He talks about God's will, then God's works. He says do everything without grumbling or questioning, like grumbling or complaining is another. We'll talk about the Greek word here in just a minute. He talks about being light bearers, but he also talks about holding fast. He talks about running in vain, but he also talks about laboring in vain. He talks about I rejoice, you rejoice. So it's these two ideas that he's got, that one is backed by the other. And I think a lot of times in some of this that we're going to talk about, we can go like all this column and we can forget about this column. So we can talk about God's will but forget about God's work. We can talk about that we're lightbearers, but then we neglect to hold fast, and so he's talking about God's work. We can talk about that we're lightbearers, but then we neglect to hold fast, and so he's talking about these two things. It's like this balanced approach that he's bringing and how to live it out. But what I love is even in the way that he starts out.

Speaker 1:

This text Thessalonians is the only one that he's probably more endeared to in the language, but even in the way that he addresses them. Therefore, my beloved like, the tenderness and so even thinking about like for us as we're leading teams and we're doing what God's called us to do, like he's about to, like he's going to go into some things with them that's going to bring correction, right, but it's tender. It's so tender in his tone and I think whenever we're leading, it's really easy. I think we stop asking ourself how is what I'm saying coming across? Does that make sense? And sometimes we can be like, well, I'm just speaking the truth or I'm just busy, yeah, but you just like cut somebody's head off to get done what you're getting done. And Paul addresses them as my beloved like, and that comes out of a place of loving people like Christ, which we talked about weeks before that his heart and Christ's heart were so united. And I think for all of us it's just being tender, right, like staying tender to the people we're leading, that we don't get crass.

Speaker 1:

And this, um, this part in verse 12 is theologically what they would call cooperative grace. Cooperative grace, it's basically where there is a part that is God's but then there's also the part that is ours. And so he says work out your own salvation. He says here that we're to work out our own salvation. Now what this isn't saying is that you're saved by works. It doesn't mean that you aren't saved. It doesn't mean you have to work on becoming saved, but he's saying to work out your salvation. It's literally what james talks about is that to show you my faith, I'll show you my works and I think with the grace message it leaned too high on the one column without the other.

Speaker 1:

And for us to know that, yes, we're saved by faith, but we're also called to work out that salvation, that there should be what is happening internally, there should be an external manifestation of that that happens. And he says to do it with fear and with trembling. The word fear here in the Greek is the word phobos and it means a deep and reverential sense of accountability to God or Christ. So we think about fear and sometimes I think well, when you hear the fear of the Lord talked about, it's like in a negative connotation. But I want you to think about whenever you're moving.

Speaker 1:

Your house might be like my house, and maybe it's not, and that's great and I love that for you, but at my house, brian's like a bull in a china cabinet and so when he decides he's going to move something, it's like hell, we're going to move it today and it's going to get thrown on that U-Haul and he doesn't care if it's marked on the box like super precious, super fragile, it's going to be thrown like it's nothing. Because his brain is thinking one thing only my job is to move my family right now. So my job is to go through the house and I curate boxes that are special, that have like china from his grandmother. Don't want that broken, like things that are special. And I put all those things in a box that I put in my car Because it's with fear that I'm carrying them, because I know that, left into the hands of just anyone, it's going to get messed up Like it's going to, it's going to get broken.

Speaker 1:

I don't trust everybody else because they're going to be busy doing whatever Right. So it's this carrying of what I know that I've been entrusted with is so holy and I'm not going to let anything happen to it. Does this make sense? And that's what he's talking about, with fear and with trembling. That phobos word is literally. It's like the picture is. It's like you're carrying like a piece of China in your hands, carefully through a crowd as to not break it, and do you carry the call of God like that? Are you just so reckless getting to like man, I'm trying to get done what I'm getting done, like let's get in this building at all costs. Yeah, but we need to do it still with fear, like holding the call, holding what God's called us to do, holding what we've been entrusted to. With Phobos.

Speaker 1:

The next word is Tromos trembling with fear and trembling Tromos. Tromos is literally quaking. It's this quaking because it's you feel incapable to do it by yourself. So tromos this word is also used whenever they see Jesus walking on the water. They tromos. It's like this fear, this quaking, this trembling of they're watching him do something that they know they're incapable of doing. It's tromos.

Speaker 1:

And so when you think about this, it's like if someone asks you if you're like up in the sky and you're, you're on a flight, and all of a sudden the pilot's like he passes out and they're like we need somebody to do it and they go and grab kk and they're like we need somebody to do it. And they go and grab KK and they're like you're the pilot, but there's this guy and he says, hey, I can help you land the plane, but I can't use my hands. But I'm going to direct you. You would tromos, right, you would be trembling because you know you're doing something you're incapable of doing. But every word that pilot would be directing to you, you would be doing it like carefully, because you know what I'm doing.

Speaker 1:

Do you still Tromos with the call of God on your life? Like, is there this keen awareness that unless God shows up and speaks, you can't do this? And I think sometimes, if we're not careful, we start flying on our gift, we stop Tromos and I think we need to have Phobos and Tromos in our Christian walk of this fear of. Like God, what you would entrusted me with is so holy, like I'm not just over hospitality, I'm not just over kids, I'm not just over filling the plate, it's not just my community group, no, it's Phobos. Like it's so holy unto the Lord. And when I'm doing it, I'm Tromos. I need to hear your word because I can't do this without you. And I'll just say, like, the bigger we grow, the more I'm like you just can't fly on your gift, like you just can't do this, you can't, no matter what. It is my kids.

Speaker 1:

All the time I'm like don't you dare show up on a Sunday without praying in the Holy Ghost and spending time in scripture. You can't put your shoulder to the arc on your own ability and it's, it's a traumas, it's like a holy trembling. Like God, unless you're here, I can't do this, whether I'm hosting a service or I'm turning on lights, like I'm going to traumas, this thing. And so he's saying guys, what you're doing, work out your salvation. But it's with fear and trembling. And I think a lot of times what we do is we get into this false sense of like, preparedness and equipedness the longer we go and we're like oh, it's another Sunday, I've done this. Like it's another community group I've done this. Oh, I'm just, I'm just giving a little hurrah huddle, no, it's FOMOS and TROMOS. Like I'm fear and trembling, like this is so holy, what God's given me.

Speaker 1:

And so Paul's telling them this. So he says in verse 12, it's basically he's like work it out and figure it out. And he's like it's going to be overwhelming to do it because, just like if you were asked to land a plane, you'd be a lot overwhelmed. He's like you're going to have to do what God's called you to do, but sometimes it's going to feel a little overwhelming to do it. But then he says it's the work that is happening in it. So he transitions from 12.

Speaker 1:

He's talking about us, but he says this for it is God who works in you, both to will and to do for his good pleasure. So I love this because we work it out Like we're doing our part because God is working in. I'm Phobos and Tromos, because God's working in all along, and the more I allow God to work in, the deeper my Phobos and Tromos becomes. Does this make sense? And it's like the more I open my heart to the Holy Spirit, the more I open my heart for God's good work, then the more that Phobos and Tromos. So he says because God's working in to will infinitive, not a noun but a verb. So his will a verb. To work, not a noun but a verb. So like both of these are like working action type things, but in it too are like working action type things, but in it too I want you to think about.

Speaker 1:

Like as I read on this, spurgeon's writings were really interesting to me when he was breaking this down, because he talked about how God's will is what he ultimately, like, wants to do in the earth. But God's work is how we accomplish his will. So there's like God's will and there's God's work. So God's will is what God wants to do and what God is making happen, and God's work is what he's doing out of his will. So the work, the things that we're doing, it's aligned with what God's will is.

Speaker 1:

Again, our Phobos, our Tromos, is aligned to allowing the Holy Spirit in God, in his will, to become our will, and the deeper that becomes, the more we carry it with Phobos and Tromos. So God's will is everyone will be saved Like that's God's will. I really do believe that. I think God's will is that every single person will call upon the name of the Lord. That's God's will. But God's work is the church. Like that's how he accomplishes the will.

Speaker 1:

God's will is that to see your friends come to Jesus, but God's work is me inviting them. So there's both of them are like things that God's desiring but his will. And then the more I allow the phobos traumas to compel me, the deeper his will becomes in me, the more those things are worked out through me. And so God's will is to disciple people. God's work is to study, to show myself approved, right. So I like just saying, like god. God wants us to create disciples, yeah, but if you're not a disciple, are you going to create what you're not like? I have to be knowledgeable of the word. I have to be a person. Does that make sense? And so god's will.

Speaker 1:

But the work is me doing my part too. God's will is the church be debt-free. God's work practically is stewardship of my finances to partner with what God wants to do. So it's God's will, but God's work. So when I start to see God's will and then I see the work, then I'm handling my finances with Phobos and Tromos. I'm handling my family with Phobos and Tromos. I'm handling my family with Phobos and Tromos. Does this make sense? Like it's like all of it Paul's like talking about. So it's not just work out your salvation, it's not a workspace salvation, but it's literally like the deeper my life gets, the more I begin to align my works, begin to align with what God's will is.

Speaker 1:

Chris Awesome says this at the time you seem to be doing everything for the sake of honoring and respecting me, but now no longer. If, then, it proves that you now continue, it is proved then that you did it not for my sake but for God's. And I love this, because what Paul Christosom's writing off of these verses that we just studied, and what Christ Awesome is saying is like, guys, when we get to a point in our Christian walk that what we're doing is not motivated because Pastor Jimmy likes it, or Pastor Brian likes it, or Pastor Denver likes it, or it's what Pastor Tylan does in his quiet time but it's literally God's will in me, and I'm not doing it for anybody else. But it's because my will now is becoming God's will in me, and I'm not doing it for anybody else. But it's because my will now is becoming God's will, and it's I'm desiring it, not to get approval from somebody or to get their mark of recognition, but it's because I'm doing it as unto the Lord, and Christos is making this observation out of the text. He's like he's literally bringing the church at Philippi to a different level of maturity, to the point that they are now doing everything. They're working as unto the Lord according to God's will, not just Paul's. Because if KK has to legislate what devotion time looks like to her team every day, then their faith is built on KK, not on the Lord. Then their faith is built on KK, not on the Lord. And at a certain point and all of us like we have to start doing this because God wants us to do it. Does that make sense? Like there's no anointing on me to do it. There's an anointing on the Lord to do it.

Speaker 1:

Psalm 37, verse four. We know the scripture. It says delight yourself in the Lord and he'll give you the desires of your heart. That is a bold declaration, and I had a person one time. They were a drug addict and they were like well, don't you think that scripture? Don't you think it means that God would allow me, because that's the desire of my heart and I'm like, but God isn't obligated to fill your unredeemed desires of your heart. And as I studied this verse, I'm like man. I'd love to go back to that person now and talk to them about this verse. And it's God's will becoming my will that changes the works that I do. And if that's if you're, it's the longer I pursue God I love.

Speaker 1:

Landon McDonald says we pray until something changes or God changes our mind. And the more we pray, god begins. Somewhere in the journey he begins to change our mind about what we're praying for. And sometimes what you start in prayer about and what you end in prayer about aren't the same, because God's will becomes your will and all of a sudden now the work of that begins to change. And so Christosom again says if you have the will, then he works the willing. I love that so much. If you have the will, he works the willing. So it's like, hey, I'm going to get my heart aligned. He gives me the desires of my heart. I'm going to get my heart aligned with what God's heart is, and then he's going to work through the willing. And so I'm willing, god, whatever you want to do, there's no bounds to it.

Speaker 1:

So verse 14, he says do all things without complaining and disputing which. This is so great, because you think about what we're coming out of. We're coming out of, you're going to have to do some things with Phobos and Tromos. You're going to have to do some things with Phobos and Tromos. You're going to have to do things. So go back to what we're saying You're going to have to build the church because God desires to reach the lost. You're going to have to invite your lost friends and family because God desires to see them come to Jesus. You're going to have to be a good steward of your finances because God's will is for the church to be debt free. You're going to have to study to show yourself approved because God's calling you. But when you're doing the works for the will of what God's asked you to do, do it without grumbling and complaining.

Speaker 1:

How easy it is to begin to complain about what we're called to complain about. We got to set up tables because more people signed up for a fast track. Like, oh, we got to do five services here in Caddo and four in Sulphur. Like, do you see what I'm saying? And it's easy. And he's like, hey, all of this part of the phobos and tromos is that you do it without complaining. Like the, that outflow of it is that I'm doing it without complaining. So, um, in this I'm going back to my notes here Um, I love, I love.

Speaker 1:

In here he talks about complaining and the word there for complaining in the Greek. He uses it. Another time Paul does, and he uses it to describe Israel grumbling in the desert in Numbers. It's that same word for complaining. And I just thought about, like, as I was studying this, I'm like man, how many times is God's will stopped because of the grumbling? And it actually I can be doing the works. Because they were doing the works they were sacrificing, they were doing all the works they were sacrificing, they were doing all the stuff. They were doing all the outward stuff that made them look religious. But if we start complaining oh, pastor Brian just changed the whole set list. Oh, kids, so full, it's like I have like a pet peeve. There's no such thing as bad kids in our kids department. I'm like there's misunderstood kids and it's easy to start complaining.

Speaker 1:

The kids that God gave you for Phobos and Tromos, and you're not Phobos and Tromos-ing them if you're complaining about them. So do the spreadsheet unto the Lord Like do whatever it is. Love your family unto the Lord. Do your laundry at your houses unto the Lord. It's phobos, tromos. Cook the meal with phobos and tromos. Do the grocery shopping with phobos and tromos.

Speaker 1:

He's like hey guys, all the things I'm desiring to do, yeah, do them, but don't shortchange it by complaining and the word with complaining and disputing this word disputing in the Greek it literally means an inward deliberation or questioning. We may not dispute outwardly, but how many of us dispute inwardly? And Paul's like hey guys, like, it's like my whole thing with this entire journey has been Lord, I really don't want to like lose the like what you have in this journey that we've been on and it's been really easy to complain and dispute like so many times and I'm like, lord, bridle my tongue. Even last night, brian was like I want to leave a like a no star review on this company. I was like, yeah, and I was like but you know what it's like, at the end of the day, the Lord's the one that vindicates and he and I both have said that he was just having a moment of like. It's okay to emote, like it's okay to like express what you feel, but it's like what do I do Once I express what I feel? Now, what right?

Speaker 1:

When John Calvin was told that Luther, martin Luther, had spoken ill of him, he said let Luther call me the devil if he pleases. I will never say of him but that he is a most dear and valiant servant of the Lord Dang. And I always say what Susie says about Sally, says more about Susie than it does about Sally. And let us be a house that doesn't do that, like you know what I mean. And just like side note, the Bible says if you have ought against your brother, go to him. Don't go to Salem, don't go to Ashley. It's easy to talk to Ashley, but that's just complaining and disputing, but instead go to each other and talk about it. That was just free. I don't know where that came from, but maybe it blessed you, maybe they blessed you.

Speaker 1:

So think of Paul. Paul is in prison when he's writing this. He's in Mamertine prison. He's got one little pothole that they lowered him down through to be able to see light and he's writing about God's work and God's will and he's never one time praying that he would be released and he's saying do it, guys, do what you're called to do, without complaining and disputing.

Speaker 1:

Who is the most justified in complaining and disputing? Paul, like, honestly, I'm like. He's there because he was wrongfully accused. He's there because he's doing what God's called him to do. Well, yes, jesus, we can always throw the Jesus card, jesus do. Well, yes, jesus, we can always throw the Jesus card. Jesus, but definitely Jesus, but for sure. Paul too. I would say he's number two. But I would say all of us. None of us have been whipped for preaching the gospel, none of us have been shipwrecked three times, none of us have been through any of that and none of us have been imprisoned for doing what setting out coffee and for doing a roster. And if he can do it without complaining and disputing which disputing is an inward questioning Like God, if you really love me, why am I here? God, if you're really faithful, why did this happen to me? God, if you really asked me to do it, then why aren't things working out? If Paul can do it, dude, we can do it, amen.

Speaker 1:

So I think today and I'll just end right here but today, people, I think in the 90s, they always said that sex sells. They're like sex sells and it did. But I think now sex doesn't sell. Complaining. Does People love to hear people rant like so hard, like it's like these people that just want to rant so hard and it gets attention. And so it's almost like complaining is like celebrated. People are like yeah, like do it, say what you feel, go for it. I'm like what? Like no, no.

Speaker 1:

And as Christians, we're called to actually live the opposite, like we're not called to, like gather crowds by complaining but actually gather crowds by our love, and that we're doing the opposite of what the world would do is retaliate, clap back in the comments Even though I want to clap back in the comments many times. Um, chris Austin says this many times. Chris Austin says this ungrumbling is terrible, it is akin to blasphemy. So think about that. He's saying when you complain, it's the same as saying God doesn't exist and that if that doesn't convict you, are you even saved? So keep complaining about the car, keep complaining about the team member, keep complaining about the spouse, but when you do, you're saying like God, you're not even real. I don't believe you can do what you say you're going to do. And I'll say even further that you're just like the children of Israel out in the wilderness being fed by God, all of your needs provided for, seeing God's supernatural provision and complaining every step along the way.

Speaker 1:

Gratitude is a choice. And Paul here is literally walking. I have goosebumps from my head to my toes Every day as I us looking around. There's always something to be thankful for. There's always something God's doing so for us. We always got to keep our eyes to the Lord and say, ok, god, show me what you are doing in my spouse, show me what you are doing in that team member, show me what you are doing on the roster, show me what you are doing in this house, because I want to be more attentive to that.

Speaker 1:

So then, that way, I'm Phobos and Tromos, the people that you've entrusted to me, the people in my own house that you've entrusted to me, because sometimes those are the easiest to neglect and we stop carrying them with Phobos and Tromos.

Speaker 1:

So, father, we just thank you so much for who you are. Lord, I thank you, lord, thank you for your word that it always, lord, is so rich, it's full of everything that we need, and so, father, I just thank you that, as we go through the rest of our day today, lord, let us carry it with phobos and tromos. Lord, let us see our kids as holy, our spouse as holy, the things that you've entrusted to us. They're so holy and, lord, let us not take it for granted. Father, we just thank you for all that you're doing in Jesus' name. And every person who believed it said Amen, amen.

Speaker 1:

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