WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:01.199 Good morning, Church. 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:04.160 It's good to be back with you all. 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:10.320 I missed you all last Sunday, but I was grateful to have a little time off with my wife and my friends. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:17.519 So we took a little road trip to the Great Lakes and we camped a couple of nights and got back just last like this morning, actually. 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:18.239 What was it? 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:19.199 Two in the morning? 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:19.679 Yeah. 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:22.000 So I'm a little tired this morning, but worrying out. 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:23.600 I'm extra caffeinated. 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:25.039 So I should be okay. 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:30.239 Now, the only problem that you may have with me this morning is that I may be speaking too fast. 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:34.079 So if I am, just like just blink for help if I'm talking too fast. 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:35.679 Because, but here we go. 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:39.840 Last week, Michael, you know, fell in the pulpit and it was wonderful. 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:41.759 I was able to catch the sermon on the road. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:42.960 He did an awesome job. 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:49.679 And he walked us through one of my favorite passages of all scripture, the hymn of Christ in Philippians 2. 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:51.200 It just is just wonderful. 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:59.039 And this passage is incredibly important because, in many ways, this is what the whole book of Philippians revolves around. 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:08.879 So if you were to take a look at the book of Philippians and you look at the hymn of Christ, which is the kenosis, and we'll talk about that for a moment in a moment, everything in the book of Philippians revolves around it. 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:18.239 From the beginning to the end, the beginning points forward to it, the back, the middle of it is that, and the back end of the book of Philippians points to the center. 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:20.159 So we're going to read it again today. 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:24.799 So if you were to imagine, like I said, the Philippians as a circle, that's what it will look like. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:29.680 And Paul keeps bringing us back to the same reality as he does that. 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:41.680 To look at Christ, look at his humility, look at his obedience, look at his sacrifice, look at his glory, and then let the reality of who Christ is shape the way that we live. 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:48.319 Now, today we're going to read the verses that immediately follow that incredibly pass, incredible passage. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:51.680 But before we do that, let's go to the Lord in prayer. 00:01:53.040 --> 00:02:01.280 Father God, you are holy and good and gracious and kind, and you alone deserve all the glory, honor, and power. 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:10.719 Lord, thank you for giving us another Sunday where we can gather as your people, up in your word, and have the privilege of knowing you more and more. 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:15.759 Lord, I pray that the words that I'm about to speak would bring you, would bring glory to your name. 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:20.000 And may I speak what you would have me speak, Lord, not simply what I want to say. 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:34.639 I pray that your word would pierce our hearts and that it would be etched upon them, and that we would leave here, not just knowing more about you, Lord, but loving you more and walking more faithfully with you. 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:37.039 We pray all these things in Jesus' name. 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:37.919 Amen. 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:40.960 Okay, now turn your Bibles to the book of Philippians. 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:42.719 I'll give you guys a second to get there. 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:48.479 And our text this morning is Philippians 2, verses 12 through 18. 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:51.360 Philippians 2, verses 12 through 18. 00:02:51.840 --> 00:03:02.560 But before we read that passage, I think it would be good for us to hear verses 5 through 11 again, because like I said, the book of Philippians revolves around this one portion of scripture. 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:09.840 What Paul is about to tell us makes very little sense if we disconnect it from what he just told us about Jesus. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:11.120 And we're gonna get to that. 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:14.000 So let's begin actually in verse five. 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:17.199 Chapter 2, verse 5. 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:47.039 Have this mind among you, among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:04:07.439 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that the name of Jesus, so at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:08.879 So that's five through eleven. 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:14.319 Now listen carefully to what comes next in verses twelve through eighteen. 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:36.240 Therefore, that's the hinge point, therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence, but 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 work for his good pleasure. 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:57.920 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be poured. 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:04.240 In the day of Christ, I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:14.720 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering for of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:18.959 Likewise, you should also be glad and rejoice with me. 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:22.480 That is our text for this morning. 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:25.439 And I can't I can't get enough of it, guys. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:35.759 There is something so incredibly beautiful about what Paul says in verses 12 through 18 that when you read it in light of what he had just said from verses 5 to 11. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:41.439 Because first, Paul tells us to look at Christ, and what do we see? 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:44.560 What do we see when we read verses 5 through 11? 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:52.560 We see the eternal Son of God willingly humble himself lower and lower and lower. 00:05:52.720 --> 00:06:06.079 He takes the form of a servant, he's born in the likeness of man, he humbles himself, he becomes obedient, obedient even to death, and not just death, but death on a cross. 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:09.600 And then comes his glorious exaltation. 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:13.120 God highly exalts him, the text says. 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:36.000 They demand our attention, church. 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:38.399 They demand our worship. 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:42.879 The eternal Son stepped down into his own creation. 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:59.040 The one through whom all things were made, took upon himself human flesh, he lived among us, he suffered at the hands of those he created, and ultimately he died to redeem those he created. 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:06.079 Theologians have referred to this passage here as the kenosis. 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:08.319 The kenosis simply means the emptying. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:13.439 It comes from the language in verse 7 where it says Christ emptied himself. 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:18.319 But we need to be very clear and very precise about the meaning of that. 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:21.519 Because Jesus didn't empty himself of his deity. 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:30.480 He didn't simply become a man, he did not stop being God, he did not set his divine nature aside and become just a guy. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:37.279 Jesus was and is truly God and truly man. 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:50.399 And I've heard even famous pastors just kind of minimize this passage to the point of the humiliation of Christ and argue that Jesus was essentially just a man in right standing with God. 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:59.279 And therefore, we can simply we can simply look at that and do everything that Jesus did if we learn to live the same in the same kind of relationship with God. 00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:02.079 That is not what the text is saying. 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:05.279 That couldn't be further from the truth. 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:06.240 Don't fall for that. 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:16.399 The miracle of the incarnation isn't that God stopped being God, the miracle is that God became men without ceasing to be God. 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:21.600 The incarnation is the greatest miracle. 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:27.680 The God of the universe, the creator of it all, writes himself into the story of humanity. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:31.839 The creator entered his creation. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:39.120 The author wrote himself into the story, not merely just to become another chapter in human history, but to redeem the whole thing. 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:44.159 And that is the wonder of the incarnation. 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:48.159 And the humility of Jesus does not make his glory smaller. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:50.399 It actually makes it stand greater. 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:53.120 It makes us stand in greater awe of it. 00:08:53.600 --> 00:09:00.399 But you may be wondering, why are we spending so much time talking about verses 5 to 11 when we're supposed to be starting in verse 12? 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:06.480 Well, because there's there's this one little word at the beginning of verse 12 that we cannot afford to miss. 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:08.639 Paul says, therefore. 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:09.759 Therefore. 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:17.279 And whenever we see a therefore in scripture, we need to ask what the therefore is, well, therefore. 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:24.080 Paul has just given us his enormous this enormous theological picture of Jesus Christ. 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:25.919 And now he says, therefore. 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:45.919 In other words, he says, because this is who Jesus is, because this is what Jesus has done, because Christ humbled himself, because Christ became obedient even unto death, because Christ, because God has highly exalted him, because Jesus Christ is Lord, therefore, this is how his people should live. 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:52.559 Christianity is not simply believing the right things about Jesus. 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:54.480 That's the easy part. 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:58.639 You can learn the right things about Jesus and recite them verbatim. 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:05.440 We absolutely must believe the right things about Jesus. 00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:12.960 Doctrine matters, theology matters, truth matters, but biblical theology never ends with us simply knowing more information. 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:19.840 Theology should lead to worship, and worship should lead to obedience. 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:27.120 What we believe about Christ should transform the way that we live for Christ. 00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:32.320 Paul just said that about himself before. 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:49.360 I think we should meditate on it. 00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:57.519 He gives us this glorious, glorious picture of Christ and then immediately turns to the church and says, Now live in the light of that. 00:10:57.759 --> 00:10:59.039 Here's a picture of Christ. 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:00.559 Now live in the light of that. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:05.600 And what we see in verses 12 to 18, then that's what we see in verses uh 12 to 18. 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:15.440 These verses show us that what happens when the truth of Christ begins to take root in the life of people, is that we want to do those things. 00:11:15.679 --> 00:11:21.679 You see the glory of God and you're immediately driven to like, man, I want to live for Christ. 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:22.320 I want that. 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:33.759 I want to live for Christ so that one day when I die, if I die, if it's today, tomorrow, or in 40 years or 30 years, or whenever it is, that that is all gain. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:37.919 That I get to gaze upon the face of my Redeemer. 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:46.000 So we're gonna go through this passage, and there's three rhythms that occur through this, through this short section of scripture. 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:49.440 And we can we're gonna use those three rhythms, the rhythms as our three points. 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:50.399 Okay, ready? 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:54.240 First point, work out what God is working in. 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:56.000 Work out what God is working in. 00:11:56.240 --> 00:12:00.159 Second point, live out what God is working in. 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:02.639 Live out what God is working in. 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:09.519 And finally, point number three, rejoice in what God is working through. 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:12.960 Rejoice in what God is working through. 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:16.799 And all three of those things begin with the same reality. 00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:18.240 And that is simple. 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:20.159 God is at work. 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:31.440 God is at work, and that is important because Paul is not about to give us three steps to live our best life now or make ourselves better Christians. 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:36.000 He's not saying Jesus did his part and now you need to do yours. 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:39.039 That's actually an incredibly damaging message. 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:40.960 The Christian life begins with grace. 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:42.399 You've heard me say this before, church. 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:49.440 The Christian life begins with grace, continues with grace, it's sustained by grace, and it's ultimately completed by grace. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:51.440 We never move on from it. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:53.759 We're in desperately, desperate need of grace. 00:12:53.919 --> 00:13:01.440 We need the gospel every day of our lives, whether you believe it and you're a long-standing Christian or you're just now finding it. 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:03.759 We never graduate from it. 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:09.039 But grace does not make us passive. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:11.919 The grace of God gets to work. 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:17.919 And because God is working in us, Paul says that there's something for us to work out. 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:22.000 So look again with me at verse at verse 12. 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:39.679 And it reads, Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence, but as much as it is in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:43.360 And that brings us to the first rhythm this morning. 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:47.279 Number one, work out what God is working in. 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:56.559 Work out your own salvation. 00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:58.559 Work out your own salvation. 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:00.480 What does Paul mean by that? 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:05.440 Because if we're not careful, we could read that sentence and come away thinking, wait, hold on. 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:08.639 Paul is saying something that would contradict the gospel on itself. 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:14.799 And perhaps this is one of those instances when you hear people saying, like, well, the Bible contradicts itself all the time. 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:22.240 Well, there's uh there's three rules of good biblical hermeneutics and good biblical studying when you're reading a text. 00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:26.320 And the three rules are context, context, and context. 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:31.919 Don't get away from it or you're gonna you're gonna miss it or start believing something that is actually isn't there. 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:36.639 Paul, uh, is Paul saying that Jesus has done most of the work and that now we have to finish it? 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:38.159 No, he's not saying that. 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:45.200 Is he saying that Christ gets us started and ultimately it's up to us to make sure that we get our salvation across the finish line? 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:46.720 No, he's not saying that. 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:48.399 You shouldn't believe that. 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:51.279 Absolutely, he's not saying that. 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:54.639 Paul does not say work for your salvation. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:59.519 He says work out your salvation, work out your salvation. 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:02.399 And there's a massive difference between those two things. 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:08.399 You cannot work for something that Christ has already purchased for you. 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:13.600 You cannot work for something that Christ has already purchased for you. 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:16.879 You cannot earn what God gives freely. 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:24.399 You cannot add something to the finished work of Jesus as though the cross was 90% of it. 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:30.720 Even if we if we had 10 10% depending on us, we we could not do it. 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:36.399 And I've heard it said before the an analogy is like, you know what? 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:41.440 Jesus unlocks your prison door, and all you have to do is step out. 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:44.159 No. 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:48.559 He opens the door, he pulls you out, he walks with you the rest of the way. 00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:55.200 When that when Jesus said it is finished, he meant it. 00:15:56.559 --> 00:16:05.360 Our justification, that simply means the right standing before God is entirely the work of Christ received through faith. 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:12.159 But Paul isn't talking here about earning our justification or right standing with God. 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:18.080 He's talking about the life that flows from it, he's talking about sanctification. 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:20.799 And we've talked about sanctification before. 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:31.120 Sanctification is simply God's gracious work of making his people more and more like his son, more and more like Jesus. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:39.120 So Paul is saying, work out, work so that God, I'm sorry, Paul is not saying that you should work so that God can save you. 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:47.200 He's saying, because God has saved you, let that salvation work its way out into every corner of your life. 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:54.639 Because God has saved you, let that salvation work itself out into every area of your life. 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:57.440 Work it out. 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:03.759 Let the reality of what God has done in you begin to become visible through you. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:04.960 And notice something else. 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:17.119 Paul doesn't simply say, work out your salvation and leave us there, because in verse 12, if verse 12 is all we had, we might walk away saying, Okay, I guess, I guess I better try harder. 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:24.240 Maybe if I work hard enough, maybe I can turn myself into the kind of Christian that God wants me to be. 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:26.400 But then comes verse 13. 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:27.759 Remember what I said before? 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:30.559 Context, context, context. 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:35.519 Verse 13, for it is God who works in you. 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:38.079 For it is God who works in you. 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:39.279 Don't miss that. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:43.599 You're working because God is already at work. 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:47.519 And that is the general rhythm of Christian life. 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:50.079 God works in, we work out. 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:53.039 God works in, we work out. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:58.880 And even the working out is dependent upon his working in. 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:03.359 This is why sanctification is neither passive nor self-powered. 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:08.880 Christianity is not God does everything, so I'll just sit here and wait until he makes me holy. 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:11.279 It's not that. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:18.640 So now I become becoming holy, and becoming holy is entirely up to me. 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:20.400 It's also not that. 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:25.119 It's neither let go and let God or try harder and fix yourself. 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:28.880 Paul gives us something far more beautiful. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:34.160 Work out your own salvation, for it is God who is working in you. 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:38.880 Work out your own salvation, for it is God who is working in you. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:43.039 God's grace doesn't eliminate effort. 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:46.640 God's grace produces the effort. 00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:49.359 God's grace does not eliminate the effort. 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:51.200 God's grace produces the effort. 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:56.480 And this is the proverbial hammer that hits the nail in the coffin of our perceived goodness. 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:03.759 No, you don't have to work for your salvation because you don't even possess the ability to do that. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:09.279 It's all the work of grace, the inner working of the spirit producing the outer working of the flesh. 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:13.440 It's the inner working of the spirit producing the outer working of the flesh. 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:15.599 And Paul goes even further. 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:18.079 Look at what God is working in us. 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:22.960 He says, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:25.039 Do you see what he's saying? 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:30.000 That God is not just changing what we do, he's changing what we want. 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:32.480 He's changing what we want. 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:36.319 He says, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:42.559 He works in us to will and he works in us to work. 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:48.480 He changes our desires and then he empowers us to be obedient. 00:19:50.319 --> 00:20:00.720 That means that one of the evidences of God's sanctifying work in the life of a believer is that you begin to not like the things that you liked once. 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:04.240 You begin to hate the sin that you once excused. 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:07.759 You begin to grieve over things that once didn't bother you. 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:12.880 You begin to desire holiness where you decide where you once desired comfort. 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:15.039 You begin to want his word. 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:17.039 You begin to want to pray. 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:18.880 You begin to want to forgive. 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:26.079 You begin to want Christ more than you used to. 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:29.599 Now, does that happen perfectly? 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:31.680 No, it doesn't. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:34.400 It doesn't happen overnight either. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:40.160 And sometimes it happens so slowly that you don't even recognize it while it's happening. 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:45.759 And there are days when you might look at yourself and think, God, are you actually doing anything in me? 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:49.119 I I feel a little still. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:21:05.680 Because you still struggle, because you still sin, you still have desires that you wish weren't there, you still lose your patience, you still find yourself fighting the same battles you thought you would have con you would have conquered by now. 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:13.279 But church, sometimes the fact that there's a fight is evidence that God is working. 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:17.920 The fact that there's a fight is evidence that God is working. 00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:22.000 There was once a time that sin didn't bother you. 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:25.039 You could just sin or be entertained by sin. 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:28.240 And you were like, Yeah, it's just fine, I guess. 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:30.160 And now you're fighting it. 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:33.759 Now there's something in you going like, you know what, I think that was sinful. 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:40.400 There was once a time when you could wander from God and be perfectly comfortable. 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:45.920 Now something within you longs to come home. 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:50.079 You know something's wrong, and you know what it is. 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:59.359 There was once a time when you wanted nothing to do with holiness, and now even when you fail, there's something within you saying, I want to be. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.559 More like Christ, and I am frustrated and annoyed that I'm stumbling. 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:11.279 And that fight, that desire is an evidence of the inner working. 00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:13.759 Don't ignore that. 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:17.359 God is at work in you. 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:29.200 And I think some of us need to hear that this morning because we can become so consumed with how far we still have to go that we forget to thank God for how far He's already brought us. 00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:37.920 But by the grace of God, if you belong to Christ, you are not what you once were either. 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:42.319 By the grace of God, you're not who you once were. 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:45.119 God is working. 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:49.759 And because God is working, Paul says, work it out. 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:52.319 Participate in what God is doing in you. 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:53.359 Put sin to death. 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:54.319 Pursue holiness. 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:55.039 Open the word. 00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:58.720 Pray, repent, forgive, serve, obey. 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:06.799 Like the famous Puritan John Owen once said, be killing sin, or sin will be killing you. 00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:15.279 Be proactive about these things because God, the God who saved you, says, I am at work in you, transforming you. 00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:22.400 And when you feel like you can't, just remember who's the one doing the work in you. 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:24.000 Lean on that. 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:35.920 This is where those words, fear and trembling, begin to make sense because Paul isn't telling Christians to live in constant terror that God might throw them away. 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:37.599 He's reassuring them. 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:39.680 It's like, no, God saved you. 00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:42.559 You don't have to be in constant terror or fear. 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:46.640 But he's recognizing the incredible weight of what's happening within us. 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:49.599 Yes, you're safe, but don't forget who God is. 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:53.599 The living God is at work in his people. 00:23:53.680 --> 00:24:06.559 The God we just read about in verses 5 through 11 during the hymn of Christ, the God before whom every knee will bow one day, the God whom every tongue will confess that he is Lord. 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:09.440 That God is working in you. 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:13.119 And notice the final words of verse 13 for his good pleasure. 00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:18.000 Ultimately, this isn't about a better version of yourselves. 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:22.640 God isn't running a divine self-improvement, self-improvement program. 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:32.960 He is making people who increasingly reflect his son for his glory and according to his good pleasure. 00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:37.359 So what is God doing in me? 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:39.200 That's the question. 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:41.920 What is God doing in me? 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:49.680 He's changing what I desire, he's changing how I live, he's changing me more and more and more into the image of his son. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:53.119 And because God is working in me, I'm called to work that out. 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:56.880 And I'm called to work out what he's working in me. 00:24:57.039 --> 00:25:03.200 Sooner or later, what God is working in us begins to show up in the way that we actually live. 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:10.559 And apparently, according to Paul, one of the first places it shows up is something remarkably ordinary. 00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:16.160 In the way that we talk about one another, he says. 00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:18.640 In the way that we talk about one another. 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:20.079 Look at verse 14. 00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:23.839 He says, Do all things without grumbling or disputing. 00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:27.920 Verse 14, do all things without grumbling or disputing. 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:31.119 Christians should not crumble. 00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:33.119 We shouldn't be argumentative. 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:34.880 We shouldn't be difficult people. 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:38.079 And that brings me to the second point. 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:41.759 Second point, living out what God is working in. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:43.680 Living out what God is working in. 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:45.839 So God is working in us. 00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:47.440 He's changing our desires. 00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:48.720 He's changing our actions. 00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:54.079 And now Paul gets incredibly practical. 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:55.680 Look at verse 14. 00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:58.400 He says, Do all things without grumbling or disputing. 00:25:58.480 --> 00:25:59.519 And that's it. 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:01.599 That's Paul's next sentence. 00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:03.599 That's his great application. 00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:06.960 Do all things without grumbling or disputing. 00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:13.599 And I have to admit, church, it's almost comical and a little bit disappointing at first glance if you don't dig deeper. 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:17.519 We just came from the incarnation of Christ, the greatest miracle ever. 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:18.640 And he says, you know what? 00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:25.279 But because of that, you guys, you guys should not grumble or dispute. 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:34.640 Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, humbles himself, takes on flesh, becomes obedient to the point of death, and even death on the cross. 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:36.400 God highly exalts him. 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:40.319 Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:48.319 Then Paul tells us that the Almighty God is at work inside of us, changing our desires, producing obedience for his good pleasure. 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:51.920 And Paul's big application is stop complaining. 00:26:53.440 --> 00:26:54.880 Stop complaining. 00:26:56.160 --> 00:26:57.599 That's where we're going. 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:02.880 But I think that is actually exactly the point. 00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:10.400 Because it is really easy to talk about sanctification in the abstract and say, like, yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:27:10.480 --> 00:27:14.319 Like God is the lifelong process of becoming more and more like Jesus. 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:16.480 It's easy to say, I want to become more like Jesus. 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:17.839 I want to grow in holiness. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:19.839 I want to grow to transform my life. 00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:21.599 I want God to transform my life. 00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:22.079 Okay. 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:26.079 What does that look like on a Monday morning? 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:30.240 What does sanctification look like when someone irritates you? 00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:33.440 What does it look like when things don't go your way? 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:37.359 What does it look like when somebody at church disagrees with you? 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:39.599 What does it look like when your plans change? 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:42.880 What does it look like when you don't get what you think you deserve? 00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:45.599 What does it look like when someone hurts you? 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:48.240 When somebody that you love even hurts you. 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:52.559 And Paul says, do all things without grumbling or disputing. 00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:55.440 Do all things without grumbling and disputing. 00:27:55.599 --> 00:28:00.960 And unfortunately, he puts all the he puts the word all in there. 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:02.240 All things. 00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:04.640 And I checked again. 00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:06.079 So I was like, did he say all? 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:07.359 He does say all. 00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:12.640 All things, not most things, not just the things we enjoy. 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:19.519 Not do all things without grumbling, unless you have a really, really good reason to grumble, and then in which case you should grumble. 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:20.559 He doesn't say that. 00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:23.279 And remember where Paul is writing this from, right? 00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:24.799 Remember the context. 00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:29.599 Paul is not sitting somewhere comfortable writing to people whose lives is going wonderful. 00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:31.279 And his life is going wonderful. 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:32.640 He is in prison. 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:38.000 And he and yet one of the dominant words through this entire letter is joy. 00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:40.559 He's writing this whole thing from prison. 00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:45.440 And he's telling people, you know what, guys, you should don't grumble and complain. 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:53.440 And if you're and if you're somebody sitting at the church of Philippi reading this letter, you're feeling some kind of way. 00:28:54.000 --> 00:29:04.160 Because Paul, knowing where he is, knowing what he's going through, he's encouraging people like, hey, like, yeah, look at what I'm going through, and it's terrible, and it stinks, but you shouldn't complain about this. 00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:06.640 We'll get to that in a moment. 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:08.640 Because that should tell us something. 00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:14.240 Christian joy cannot depend entirely upon Christian circumstances. 00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:19.680 Christian joy cannot depend entirely upon Christian circumstances. 00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:22.000 It reigns supreme. 00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:28.480 God tells us to be joyful, to have joy. 00:29:28.799 --> 00:29:32.960 Not just when things are going right, not just when we're getting what we want. 00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:37.599 In every circumstance, especially when things are hard. 00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:48.079 Because if our joy only exists when life is going the way that we want it to go, then our joy is going to disappear the moment that those circumstances change. 00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:52.079 And they will change. 00:29:53.440 --> 00:29:57.680 But Paul's concern here goes even deeper than complaining. 00:29:57.759 --> 00:30:05.200 He says, without grumbling or disputing, grumbling is what happens when discontent begins bubbling underneath the surface. 00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:11.920 Disputing is what happens when discontent begins to spill out towards one another. 00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:16.400 And if we aren't careful, those things can become normal. 00:30:17.359 --> 00:30:18.319 Let me repeat that. 00:30:18.559 --> 00:30:24.160 Grumbling is what happens when discontent begins to bubble, begins bubbling underneath the surface. 00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:28.720 And disputing is what happens when discontent begins to spill out of one another. 00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:32.640 And if we're not careful, those things can become normal. 00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:35.920 And once they're normal, they're hard to stop. 00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:47.200 We complain about our jobs, we complain about our families, we complain about our circumstances, we complain about the government, we complain about the weather, we complain about the church, we complain, complain, complain, complain. 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:51.839 We are remarkably talented at complaining. 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:54.319 It's one of the things that human beings do best. 00:30:55.680 --> 00:31:01.599 I was just on vacation and I complained on vacation. 00:31:02.400 --> 00:31:08.960 But Paul says that if God is truly working in us, then his work should begin becoming visible through us. 00:31:09.119 --> 00:31:09.440 Why? 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:11.200 Well, look at verse 15. 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:23.599 That you may be blameless and innocent, children of God, without blemish, in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world. 00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:26.079 There it is. 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:29.200 This isn't just about becoming nicer people. 00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:31.519 Paul has a witness in mind. 00:31:31.920 --> 00:31:36.640 He says that you're living in the middle of a crooked and twisted generation. 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:39.920 You're living in the middle of a crooked and twisted generation. 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:44.079 And there's an actual, there's actually an old Old Testament echo here, right? 00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:49.200 In Deuteronomy 32, Moses described the rebellious Israelites as crooked and twisted generation. 00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:51.519 You guys are a twist, crooked and twisted generation. 00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:59.039 Israel had experienced the faithfulness of God, and they responded with rebellion and grumbling. 00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:01.440 That's right. 00:32:02.720 --> 00:32:06.799 You experience the faithfulness and the grace and goodness of God. 00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:12.079 And like the Israelites, they respond with rebellion and grumbleness. 00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:17.440 I said ouch when I wrote it. 00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:27.119 And if you know the story of Israel in the wilderness, you know that grumbling shows up over and over and over again. 00:32:27.279 --> 00:32:29.359 God delivers them from Egypt, they grumble. 00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:31.200 God provides for them, they grumble. 00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:32.799 God leads them, they grumble. 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:37.279 They see his faithfulness, and somehow they still find something to complain about. 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:42.000 And now Paul uses the same language and tells the church, don't be like that. 00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:43.440 Don't do that. 00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:45.839 You are the children of God. 00:32:45.920 --> 00:32:51.599