WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.679 My name is Pastor Rajiv. 00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:03.919 I'm the new senior pastor here at Belvedere Church. 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:06.160 We I came in this past November. 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:15.919 Uh, it's been a blessing to be here and to serve at this church and to see what God has begun and what he's going to do in the coming months and years ahead. 00:00:16.559 --> 00:00:20.320 Uh I want to ask you guys a question. 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:23.920 Have you ever thought, well, let me ask it this way. 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:31.920 When it comes to following God, have any of you ever thought that, you know, I'm trying, you know, I really am. 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:37.200 I'm I'm trying as hard as I can, but I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this. 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:42.560 You know, maybe it shows up on a Sunday morning, maybe on the car right over here this morning. 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:44.560 Maybe it shows up at 2 a.m. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:46.240 when you can't sleep. 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:52.719 Maybe it shows up every time you fall at the same sin again and you think, what the heck is wrong with me? 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:54.640 Why can't I get this right? 00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:59.359 Now that voice is more common than you think. 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:06.319 And it's not just for new believers, it's for people who have been following Jesus for five, 10, 20 years. 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:11.359 People who serve, give, show up, and still feel like they're losing the fight. 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:16.159 And here's what that voice always believes underneath everything else. 00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:22.719 Yeah, God saved me, God saved me, but the rest of this, well, that's on me. 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:33.280 So we end up living like salvation was grace, but sanctification, our ongoing Christian life, is somehow self-powered. 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:36.560 So we're going to talk about that this morning. 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:42.959 We have been in the book of Philippians now for maybe, I think, five or six weeks, something like that. 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:45.920 I want to give you a quick reminder of what this letter is about. 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:49.920 The apostle Paul, he is sitting in a Roman prison. 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:52.640 He is facing possible death. 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:56.560 And he's writing to a church that he planted in the city of Philippi. 00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:02.640 And the whole letter is about unity, humility, and joy. 00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:06.400 Joy while he's in prison. 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:07.120 Right? 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:11.039 It's not the kind of joy that depends on how your week went. 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:13.680 It's the kind of joy that holds. 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:15.599 It's a relentless joy. 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:17.759 It's joy that survives chains. 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:22.800 It's joy that is anchored in a risen Christ, not in your circumstance. 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:27.520 And today we're going to see something that might surprise you. 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:35.919 Real, daily, costly obedience to God is not the enemy of joy. 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:38.319 It's actually where joy lives. 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:47.039 Because he is working in you, he is shining through you, and he is receiving what you pour out. 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:49.280 So that's the sermon this morning. 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:50.960 So we're going to get into it. 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:54.400 I'm going to read from Philippians chapter 2, verse 12. 00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:56.479 If you have Bibles, you can open up your Bibles. 00:02:56.560 --> 00:03:00.000 There's Bibles in the pews, or you can follow along on the screen. 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:04.560 Philippians chapter 2, verse 12. 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:20.719 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:27.039 Okay, before I go further, I'm going to pause here for a minute. 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:33.680 Because if I don't, some of you are going to hear those words and you're going to feel the weight of them in the wrong way. 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:37.759 Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:45.199 And look, something in you is going to start to tighten up because it sounds like, well, that's more to do, more to carry, more to get right. 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:47.840 And frankly, many of you are tired. 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:52.000 And even the fear, the fear and trembling, this isn't a fear of rejection. 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:52.479 Okay? 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:57.599 This isn't the fear of a person standing before a judge who might condemn them. 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:07.759 It's the weight of standing before a holy God who is already for you and taking seriously what he's doing in you. 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:16.399 So before we go further, I want to make something very clear that ought to change the way you hear everything else this morning. 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:16.959 Okay? 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:18.959 Bacham said it this way. 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:25.279 The gospel requires repentance and faith. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:27.360 Nothing else. 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:35.439 The gospel requires repentance and faith, nothing else. 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:41.839 The gospel does not require obedience from you. 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:46.639 I see some shuffling in the seats. 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:50.480 The gospel does not require obedience from you. 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:54.399 The gospel produces obedience in you. 00:04:55.199 --> 00:05:04.639 If the gospel required obedience, that would mean you could be obedient apart from Jesus, apart from what Jesus has already done. 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:08.160 And if that were true, well then Jesus died for nothing. 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:12.399 The gospel says, repent and believe. 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:14.399 That's what it requires. 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:26.160 What it produces, what it grows out of your genuine faith, is obedience, joyful obedience from a changed heart, not a religious checklist. 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:33.759 And I want you to understand, when you get those things mixed up, the good news, no longer good news. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:35.759 It becomes a burden. 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:40.720 And I suspect a lot of you are carrying that burden right now. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:47.279 See, before Paul gives you any command, he points you back to Jesus. 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:52.240 Jesus obeyed perfectly, where every one of us has failed. 00:05:52.480 --> 00:06:03.040 He went to a cross carrying everything you've done wrong, every failure, every sin, every time you fell at the same thing again and again, he died for it. 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:07.120 So that's the foundation. 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:15.839 And because that foundation is already in place, Paul is not telling you to obey in order to keep your salvation. 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:20.319 He's telling you to live out what God has already done in you. 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:25.519 Work it out, bring it to the surface, let it show up in your actual life. 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:28.959 That is what work out your salvation means. 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:34.800 Not earn it, not maintain it, express it, bring it all the way through. 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:39.759 See, this, and let me say this: this isn't just about avoiding sin. 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:43.439 God is calling you to something. 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:54.399 He's calling you to a life of obedience, a life that is being made holy, set apart, a life that is different, that is shaped by him from the inside out. 00:06:55.040 --> 00:06:58.560 That is what working it out actually looks like. 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:01.120 Think of it like a surgery. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:03.839 The healing's already begun. 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:07.759 But you go to the physical therapist, and what does the physical therapist say? 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:10.160 Well, now you gotta now you gotta work. 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:14.399 See, the work isn't producing the healing, the healing is already there. 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:16.879 The work is bringing it out. 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:18.800 That's the Christian life. 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:21.120 God's already done the surgery. 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:23.199 The new life is in you. 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:25.600 The work brings it out. 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:29.759 And the reason that's true, I want you to understand something. 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:34.879 God didn't just give you a new start, He didn't just save you and then say, hey, good luck with the rest. 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:36.079 No, he didn't do that. 00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:38.399 He raised Jesus from the dead. 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:45.759 And the power that pulled a dead man out of the grave is working in each of you right now. 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:51.360 That is the foundation, that is the ground of your obedience. 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:54.079 It's in the resurrection of Christ. 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:59.920 But I also want to say this it's real work. 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:03.519 Paul doesn't pretend otherwise. 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:05.360 This costs something. 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:11.600 Contrary to belief, following Jesus is not a passive experience. 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:17.920 It requires effort, showing up, fighting sin, obeying when it's hard. 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:20.879 And look, some of you need to hear this directly. 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:24.160 Some of you aren't tired from trying. 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:26.879 You're comfortable not trying. 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:31.519 Some of you have been treating the Christian life like it requires nothing from you. 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:34.159 Like grace means ghost. 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:39.279 Like because God loves me, nothing actually is required of me. 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:44.240 No fight, no change, no struggle, just comfort. 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:48.879 Friends, not that's that's not what this text is saying. 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:51.519 That's not what the gospel says. 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:56.399 Grace is not permission to drift. 00:08:57.200 --> 00:09:00.960 Grace is power to obey. 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:06.240 But if we miss that, we're gonna end up in one of two ditches. 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:14.080 We're gonna grind through obedience in our own strength or coasting without any obedience at all. 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:18.320 Either way, we're doing the Christian life on our own. 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:23.759 And that's why this text can get painfully personal. 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:29.279 Let me ask you a few reflective questions for you to start thinking about. 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:34.399 What sin keeps taking you down? 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:36.320 The same one. 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:38.399 Over and over again. 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:40.159 What's that sin? 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:45.360 And are you starting to wonder if God is just tired of watching you fail? 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:52.879 What has God told you to do that you haven't done? 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:55.039 You know what it is. 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:57.279 You've known for a while. 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:01.759 Or how about this? 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:08.080 What are you trying to do for God right now that is draining the life out of you? 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:12.720 You're exhausted, and you're not even sure if it's working. 00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:19.519 See, most of us are in at least one of those three places right now. 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:20.879 Maybe all three. 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:23.759 And look, if you're in all three, let me tell you, welcome. 00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:24.799 Join the club. 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:27.679 You you're you're in the right room this morning. 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:33.759 But let me tell you, those three places, they all have one thing in common. 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:37.440 You've been acting like you're on your own in this. 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:41.519 And here's what Paul says in verse 13. 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:49.200 For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:51.440 Did you catch that? 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:53.039 Did you catch that word? 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:53.679 For? 00:10:54.559 --> 00:10:55.840 For it is God. 00:10:56.879 --> 00:11:00.000 See, that one word is doing everything. 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:04.000 The reason you can work it out is that God is already working in you. 00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:05.759 He's not watching from a distance. 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:08.879 He's not waiting for you to get all cleaned up and be perfect yet. 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:11.039 No, he's working right now. 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:13.759 Friends, I want you to understand something. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:17.679 You are not the engine of the Christian life. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:19.519 You're the evidence. 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:24.399 You are not the engine of the Christian life. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:26.240 You are the evidence. 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:29.279 I mean, remember Philippians 1, 6. 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:34.240 The one who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:41.919 God started something in you when you came to faith, and he doesn't leave you alone to just figure out the rest. 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:45.120 He's actively working in you. 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:49.440 And you are actively working it out. 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:52.240 Both are true at the same time. 00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:56.799 And here's what I need you to understand. 00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:01.200 I need you to understand about how deep that working actually goes. 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:09.360 See, God's not trying to just change what you do, He's after what you want. 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:13.279 That's deeper than behavior. 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:14.720 It's desire. 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:18.159 It's the stuff underneath the stuff. 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:24.000 You know, the person who says, you know, I know I should want to read my Bible, but but I just don't. 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:24.799 Right? 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:29.679 Or I know I should want to forgive them, but I honestly don't feel it. 00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:32.159 That's where God's working. 00:12:32.399 --> 00:12:35.440 Not at the surface, underneath it. 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:40.000 He's going after the root, not the fruit. 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:43.519 The fruit comes later. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:45.039 And look, let me say this. 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:48.799 He's not asking you to manufacture desire that you don't have. 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:50.320 He's the one that produces it. 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:52.480 He's the one that produces it in you. 00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:59.840 See, before God works on your actions, he first works on your appetite. 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:04.320 So I suspect many of you, myself included, I've been victim to this too. 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:06.480 We've been praying the wrong thing. 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:10.240 I think many of you have been praying the wrong thing. 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:12.960 Stop praying for willpower. 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:16.080 Pray for changed desires. 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:21.440 Pray, God, make me want what you want. 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:24.559 Make me want what you want. 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:28.080 See, he's the one producing the want. 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:31.919 Desire first, obedience follows. 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:37.519 And look, so if you don't if you don't want to change right now, pray that. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:43.039 Tell him, God, I don't even know if I don't even know if I want this yet. 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:45.759 Would you change what I want? 00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:49.919 Now that's not a faithless prayer. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:53.919 That's one of the most honest prayers you could pray. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:56.879 And God is gonna work on that. 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:04.559 See, God's not a coach who who handed you the playbook, playbook, and just decided to go home. 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:07.039 He's on the field with you. 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:11.279 Every struggle, every moment you get back up, he's working in you. 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:13.919 And I want to tell you something. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:16.960 He's with you. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:22.320 He's with you in those struggling moments, even when it doesn't feel like it. 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:26.080 Let me tell you about someone I know. 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:32.080 I'm not gonna name names or anything like that, but but I think some of you will recognize yourself in this. 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:36.320 This person was trying. 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:39.600 I mean, they were they were really trying. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:46.480 They were doing everything right, reading their Bible, showing up, serving, doing everything right. 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:51.759 From the outside, it looked like someone who had their faith altogether. 00:14:52.399 --> 00:15:01.200 But on the inside, it felt like a job, an obligation, a set of things they were doing because they were supposed to. 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:07.039 And somewhere in the middle of all of that doing, they stopped feeling God in any of it. 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:15.519 See, they were doing all the right things, but the doing had become disconnected from dependence. 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:19.519 And they told me, look, I don't even know if I want to do this anymore. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:26.240 Not because I don't believe, not because I I've stopped believing in Jesus, but it feels like I'm doing it all alone. 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:34.399 And that's exactly the person Paul is writing to in verse 12, and exactly the person verse 13 is for. 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:48.159 I think we've settled that. 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:56.080 But here's the thing there's a behavior that comes up that says the opposite. 00:15:56.720 --> 00:16:03.360 A behavior that declares with your mouth every single day that you don't actually believe God is with you in this. 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:05.120 Paul names it. 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:09.919 And I give you a quick warning, he may step on some toes this morning. 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:11.440 Verse 14. 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:16.960 He says, Do everything without grumbling or arguing. 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:22.080 Do everything without grumbling or arguing. 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:25.039 Everything. 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:28.320 Not most things, not the easy things. 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:30.480 He says everything. 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:34.799 Look, grumbling is more than a bad mood. 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:40.639 It's what comes out of you when you don't believe God is actually present in your situation. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:46.480 It's the sound of a person who thinks they're carrying their entire life all by themselves, all alone. 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:52.799 It's only seeing what's missing and never seeing all that God has given you. 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:57.360 Grumbling is the soundtrack of unbelief. 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:00.799 It reveals what we actually believe about God. 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:04.160 And it sounds something like this: you know, he's not here. 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:06.640 He's not working, he doesn't see me. 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:09.519 What he's given me, that's not enough. 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:14.160 I need more familiar with anyone. 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:18.240 Now let me clarify something. 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:20.960 Scripture talks about lamenting. 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:26.799 Lamenting says, Lord, this hurts. 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:29.359 What I'm going through, it hurts. 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:31.519 Help me to trust you. 00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:37.039 Grumbling, on the other hand, says, Lord, this hurts. 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:39.440 I'm pulling away from you. 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:41.519 That's the difference. 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:43.440 And let me tell you something, friends. 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:48.319 You cannot trust God and grumble about him at the same time. 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:52.480 You don't get to complain about a God you don't trust. 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:56.079 Those two things cannot occupy the same heart. 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:00.799 In fact, Paul is pulling this from one of the oldest stories in the room. 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:04.559 God rescues an entire nation from slavery. 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:06.480 He parts the sea. 00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:10.079 He drops bread from the sky every morning. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:12.240 He leads them through a desert. 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:15.279 He is with them every single moment. 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:17.440 And he's providing everything. 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:18.880 And what do they do? 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:20.480 They complain. 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:23.839 Every single day. 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:27.279 Oh Moses, why'd you bring us out here? 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.920 We had better food back in slavery. 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:32.559 This is this is way too hard. 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:34.400 It's silly. 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:41.200 They were complaining about the God who parted the sea for them and just rescued them from slavery. 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:44.319 Paul is saying, don't be that people. 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:47.920 Grumbling is wilderness thinking. 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:52.240 It's looking at God's provision and deciding it's not enough. 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:56.640 It's obeying God with one hand and resenting Him with the other. 00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:01.599 And it shows up differently for different people in the room. 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:07.839 For the person who's been fighting hard for change and your family still doesn't trust you. 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:10.079 Nothing seems to be shifting. 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:12.160 And that exhaustion, it's real. 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:12.720 I get it. 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:14.160 I hear you. 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:20.640 But watch what happens when that exhaustion turns into something else. 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:23.119 When it becomes, you know what? 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:24.160 I'm done. 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:26.079 God's clearly not working here. 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:28.720 I'm gonna just figure this out on my own. 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:32.559 That's when it tips into grumbling. 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:35.839 And that thought, it's a lie. 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:38.559 God is working. 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:40.960 You just can't see it yet. 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:55.200 For the person who's tithing, praying, showing up, and still behind on rent, if that pain stays as a cry toward God, Lord, I don't understand this, but help me trust you in this. 00:19:55.279 --> 00:19:56.319 That's the lament. 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:58.799 That's honest, that's real, that's right. 00:19:59.359 --> 00:20:08.000 But the moment it turns into, I am done trusting God with my finances, I'll handle my money my way from now on. 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:10.160 That's grumbling. 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:14.240 And if that's you, I want you to know he sees you. 00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:18.640 He hasn't missed a single act of your faithfulness. 00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:28.319 Or maybe for the business professional who's worked hard to build something of substance and knows how to figure things out. 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:33.680 And right now, God is asking you to trust him with something you can't control. 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:36.000 And you're not complaining about it. 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:37.599 No, you're not complaining about it. 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:43.920 Instead, you're strategizing around it because, hey, that's what you do, that's how you got to where you are. 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:49.200 But underneath the strategy, it's the same declaration. 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:51.519 I don't trust God with this. 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:53.599 I'll handle it myself. 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:55.839 That's grumbling. 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:57.920 It just wears a suit. 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:02.400 And quite frankly, I'm preaching that one to myself right now. 00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:05.359 That's that's my struggle. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:12.720 You see, Paul names it one time, but then he moves on very quickly to verse 15. 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:26.079 So that do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:30.160 Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:31.759 Stars. 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:39.359 You don't know what my weeks look like. 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:45.839 Paul does not say you will shine someday. 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:54.559 He doesn't say you'll shine someday when you when you get everything you know together, when you got your whole life together and everything is picture perfect. 00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:59.680 No, he says, as you do this, as you obey without grumbling, as you take hold. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:02.559 Of the word of life, you shine. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:10.559 And Paul doesn't let you forget what kind of world we're living in and what kind of world you are shining in. 00:22:10.799 --> 00:22:13.599 It is a warped and crooked generation. 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:15.519 That's his description. 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:18.319 It's not just a difficult world. 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:20.960 It's not just a challenging culture. 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:22.559 It's warped. 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:24.720 It's bent away from God. 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:26.079 It's crooked. 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:31.200 It's a crooked world where evil is called good and good is called evil. 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:33.519 Friends, look around. 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:35.279 That's West Palm Beach. 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:38.000 That's the neighborhood you drive home to. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:40.880 The workplace you walk into on a Monday morning. 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:45.440 The dinner table where your faith feels a little out of place within the rest of the group. 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:50.319 It's the friend group where you're the only one trying to live for Jesus. 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:53.680 That's the world. 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:59.039 In fact, the darker the night, the more visible the star. 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:02.319 And God is saying, you are a star. 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:04.319 So shine. 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:08.559 You want to know what a star looks like in West Palm Beach? 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:18.079 It's the person that's that's been fighting a battle for two months, three months, four months, a battle that nobody knows about. 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:20.160 And they're still in it. 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:22.240 They're still in the fight. 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:23.839 That's a star. 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:32.559 It's the person behind on rent who still brought an offering today because they decide to trust God with what little they have. 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:34.400 That's a star. 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:43.279 It's the person who decides at work to live differently so that their coworker finally asks, What is it about you? 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:46.079 What is it that makes you so different? 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:48.640 And that person has an answer. 00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:50.400 That's a star. 00:23:51.759 --> 00:24:01.039 It's the young person who has watched their friend group slowly drift away because they chose to live differently. 00:24:01.359 --> 00:24:03.119 And they're still standing. 00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:08.799 They're still choosing it, even when it costs them everything socially. 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:10.799 That's a star. 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:22.559 It's the person who had a conversation this week about Jesus, maybe with a neighbor, maybe with a family member, a loved one, and it was uncomfortable, but they did it anyway. 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:24.319 That's a star. 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:28.480 See, you don't have to be spectacular. 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:30.640 You just have to be obedient. 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:35.119 And you have to hold firmly to the word of life. 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:37.359 And don't take that lightly. 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:38.960 That's not a small thing. 00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:44.400 You see, the light stays on when the gospel stays central. 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:45.519 Right? 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:49.279 You shine because you hold the word of life. 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:52.160 Opening your Bible when you don't feel like it. 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:56.559 Showing up here on Sunday, not out of habit, but as a declaration. 00:24:57.119 --> 00:25:03.200 Speaking in truth to the person next to you who maybe has forgotten how God sees them. 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:13.839 See, the moment the church lets go of the gospel, when that drift starts to happen, the light dims. 00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:16.880 So hold it. 00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:19.119 That's obedience. 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:22.480 It's what keeps you shining like stars. 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:26.720 And here's something else I want you to know about stars. 00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:32.720 A star can't see its own light, it just burns. 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:34.559 That's you. 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:39.279 See, you may not see all that God is doing in you. 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:41.279 But the people around you do. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:47.359 The ones who are watching you choose honesty when lying would have been easier. 00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:50.480 The ones who are watching you get back up. 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:57.359 The ones watching you show up for someone else when your own life is hard, they see it. 00:25:58.480 --> 00:26:01.039 You may feel like you're barely holding on. 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:06.000 But to a world sitting in darkness, you're shining. 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:11.039 And that shining, that is joy working. 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:16.319 Yes, you feel the struggle, but they see the light. 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:18.559 Both are real. 00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:26.000 They think joy feels like happiness. 00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:27.039 It doesn't. 00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:28.400 Not always. 00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:36.319 Sometimes joy feels like peace when you have every reason to fall apart. 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:42.160 Sometimes it feels like getting back up and you don't even know where you got the strength to do it. 00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:51.279 Sometimes it feels like showing up for someone else when you're running on empty, and somehow you had just enough to be there for that person. 00:26:52.960 --> 00:27:00.720 That quiet enough, that unexplained strength, that peace that really makes no sense given your circumstances. 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:02.880 That's the joy. 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:07.599 That's the joy that comes from knowing God is present. 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:09.839 He's working in you. 00:27:10.160 --> 00:27:14.799 And nothing you offer him in faith is ever lost. 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:21.359 Look, you felt it, but maybe you just didn't know what to call it. 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:23.359 It's joy. 00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:32.480 So stop narrating the struggle and start living from the truth that God is shining through you. 00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:37.839 Because the grumbling, it costs you something you can't afford to lose. 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:40.880 It dims the light of Jesus in your life. 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:44.400 It dims the light of Jesus to the world. 00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:48.000 So stop grumbling and start shining. 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:53.680 God is shining through you right now, and he's calling you to let it show. 00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:58.880 Which brings me to my last point this morning. 00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:05.920 Paul has shown us what obedience looks like in the middle of ordinary life. 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:17.759 He has shown us in the past couple of uh chapters in the letter what it looks like to model humility as a church, to think of others more than ourselves. 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:22.799 Now he shows us what it looks like under pressure. 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:31.200 One person, himself, in chains, facing death and still calling it joy. 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:33.519 Verse 17 and 18. 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:45.119 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:48.720 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. 00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:53.599 I want you to understand what Paul's describing here. 00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:59.119