What Happens When Surrender Becomes Strength

What if obedience isn’t the grind of trying harder, but the grace of being transformed from the inside out? We open Philippians 2 and trace a clear path from the humility of Christ to the hope of a Spirit-shaped life, where “work out your own salvation” meets “for it is God who works in you.” Along the way, we dig into the Lordship of Jesus, ask what it means to call him “Lord” without hedging, and consider how unity, lowliness, and love become practical habits rather than lofty slogans.

We read through Philippians 2:1–13 and linger on the pattern of Christ: equality with God, self-emptying, servant form, obedience unto death, and exaltation above every name. That story reframes our own—obedience is not payment, it’s participation. We talk about fear and trembling as a posture of reverent honesty: not cringing terror, but a sober awareness that we cannot engineer holiness. That honesty opens us to the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who writes God’s will on our hearts and shifts obedience from external pressure to inward desire.

From there, we connect Luke 6:46 and Matthew 28:20 to paint a full picture of discipleship: teaching, observing, and living what Jesus commands by the power of the Spirit. We contrast works-righteousness with grace: salvation is a gift received by faith, and “working out” means developing what grace has already planted. Practical steps emerge—meditate on Scripture like Psalm 1, esteem others above yourself, seek unity of love and mind, and turn inadequacy into prayer rather than pretense. As desires change, obedience becomes a joy, and our daily choices start to echo God’s good pleasure.

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Transcript

Reading Philippians 2:1–11

The Lordship Of Jesus

Work Out Your Salvation

Fear, Trembling, And Our Inadequacy

God Working In Us By The Spirit

Law Written On Our Hearts

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Good evening, brothers and sisters. It's a blessing that we're able to come together and Bible study. God is good to us. We give him the praise for all of his benefits. He's a beneficial God. And he helps us and takes care of us. He assists us in every situation. And he guides us. Praise the Lord for his guidance. Tonight, we want to talk to you about God working in us unto obedience. Obedience is necessary. God wants each of us to be obedient to his will. He says, Why call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say. Lordship of Jesus is very important. We want to talk about the Lordship of Jesus from Philippians. Philippians is the second chapter. The lesson will be verses 12 to 13. We want to start this passage at the beginning of chapter 2. We want to read down to verses 12 and 13. The gist of the passage, what the apostle is trying to help us to understand about the spiritual walker. We have to walk by faith, not by sight. Faith is very important. God has given to us. So when we understand it, we allow God to write in our hearts his will. Don't try at yourself, you can't make it. Couldn't find one righteous. So he took care of it himself. He loved us. The Bible teaches us that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Oh we this praise his name for what he has done. So in Philippians chapter two, let's reading at verse one, let us listen and follow along. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any vows and mercies, fulfill ye my joy, and ye be like minded, and having the same love being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife and vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, that each esteem others better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought did not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as the man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every knee, every tongue, pardon me, every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The Bible teaches in the twelfth verse, wherefore, my beloved, as ye 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 which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Praise God for the reading of the scripture. This passage of war let us go back and meditate upon the words of this scripture. I want you to know this carefully and think about it. God, it's God who works in you and me, and He does it through the Holy Spirit. That's why we proclaim the Holy Spirit as Jesus did. He's a comforter, he's our teacher, and praise God that uh God has given us the Holy Spirit. It's the Holy Spirit, it's the age of the Holy Spirit, not the age of law that's past. It's the age of the Holy Spirit. We live by the Spirit, we walk in the Spirit, the Bible teaches us. Walk in the Spirit. Let us meditate. Psalms 1 teaches us to meditate, meditate upon God's word day and night. It should be a source of comfort to us to know God's will, to learn God's will, and to abide in God's will. Let's call, when we are willing to do that, it is called obedience. It's very important that we obey. We have a song, trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. Obedience is very important in walking by faith. It means that God is helping us all the way. We have been considering in our studies from various perspectives the great truth that God wants us to grow in obedience to his will. The lordship of Jesus makes obedience, pardon me. The lordship of Christ makes disobedience unacceptable. Jesus said, But why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I serve? This is found in Luke 6 46. Also the Lord taught his early disciples to be instructing all future disciples concerning obedience. The Bible says in Matthew twenty eight and verse twenty, after baptism into Christ, after water baptism, he commands, teaching them to observe all things what I have commanded you. The commands of Christ are very important to follow the living. Our present passage offers profound insight on this matter by describing God working in us unto obedience. It is God who works in you both to will and to do of his great pleasure. This subject is introduced by a call to work out your own salvation. We have to really think about this passage. Work out your own salvation. Note this carefully. Salvation is a gift of God's grace. Praise God, thank you, Jesus. Freely received by faith. The judge shall live by faith, or by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2 verses 8 through 9. Still, this gift of salvation that God has placed within us by His grace is to be worked out. That means developed outwardly unto an obedient light, a light that fulfills His good pleasure. Meditate. The calling is to be approached, listen carefully, with fear and trembling. Initially, our temptation may be to approach this request with self-confidence. Eventually, we begin to understand that we must respond in fear. Fear here is a rever reverential awe for God. Fear, not a cringing fear, not a fear of being afraid, but it's a fear of recognizing who God is, that God through Christ is Lord. It's to be worked out with fear and trembling. Trembling is a profound sense of inadequacy. We know we cannot do God's will on our own accord. We try, try, try. On our own, we can't do it. We tremble. We are inadequate. The next phrase explains why we are to engage this responsibility with such an unusual attitude. The Bible teaches. Listen, for it is God who works in you. If the salvation that God has placed in our inner man is to ever become a visible walk that pleases him, it will always be a result of us allowing him to do an ongoing work deep within us. The Bible teaches, I will put my law in their minds and write it upon their hearts. Praise God. Not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that it is of the heart. Jeremiah thirty one, thirty three, read the prophet. Second Corinthians three and verse three. Read, meditate. This is the wonder of true Christian living. It is based upon God working within our hearts. Praise God. I wish and I pray that every believer would understand the scriptures. Praise God. Dear Lord, we praise you for the precious gift of salvation. You have poured into our hearts. We earnestly desire that this gift be worked outwardly unto a light that is pleasing to you. Lord, please touch and shape the depth of our hearts, that we may obey you in all things. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Now unto him that is able, to keep you from falling and to present you awfulness before his presence with exceeding joy. To the only wise God our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion, and power. Now and forever, let us all say. Amen.