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There's something deep within us that wants to live a life of significance. To live for something more. Like that's that's just in us. And I don't know whether you believe that or not, but think about a few things this morning. Lo at people who are trying to accomplish uh great things. Like that happens all over the place all the time, right? You've got these athletes, these sports people who are trying to accomplish the best things that they can do and make a name for themselves in their sport. Be the best in the world. You've got uh people out there who are, you know, uh the best, you know, pop stars or actors, and you've got people out there who want to get into the Guinness World Records, right? They're usually the really crazy ones. Uh they're the ones who are trying to, you know, make a name and and and say, this is what I exist for. People are looking for significance. People try to attain great power or influence or success. We find people out there trying to champion a cause. So we have people out there who are uh are trying to really you know stop sex trafficking or uh drill water wells or find a cure for AIDS, those are all really good things. But typically we try and define our lives in certain ways by finding significance and meaning, looking for that. And while I believe that to be true about us as humans, I also believe that there's there's something going on in our world, and we all have a thing inside of us which knows that the world in which we live and we exist is messed up, that this world is actually a pretty dark place right now, and that it possibly is getting darker by the things that are going on in the world and in our environment. It seems like the depravity of humankind's is increasing. Uh you look to like social spheres, the things that are normal and acceptable, and the things that are going on in the social sphere are just sometimes disturbing. You look to the political sphere, and there's a whole bunch just going on there right now, especially here in America, but across the globe. You look to the environmental sphere, and you know, uh from the reefs that are dying in Australia to the jungles that are getting chopped down in the Amazon through to you know climate change, all these conversations, it seems like things are messed up. And so if you couple these things together, if you couple this idea and this yearning for significance with this idea of uh of this world that in which we live where the world is messed up and and and not doing well, it's this volatile concoction of ideas that I really feel like can help us to lose hope, to lose uh a desire for meaning or even finding purpose. But I want to tell you that there's good news this morning. I want to tell you that there is hope and that there is light. I think that's a good way of describing hope as light. And this light is not just something that we can grasp onto and maybe get some hope. But the good news this morning that I hope you see in the text as we go into it this morning is we can not just grasp this hope, but actually be carriers of this hope. That this light and this hope can emanate from our own lives. And I find that that thought, that idea very encouraging. I don't know if you guys have ever had the opportunity to look at the stars, and I don't mean like just going out into your backyard in in here in Austin, you know, going out into the backyard and being like, oh yeah, there's one or two stars. No, I mean like really looking at stars. You guys know what I'm talking about? Where you like drive out into like the middle of nowhere, miles and miles from the nearest lights, nearest towns, so there's no more light pollution, and you get out there away from everything, right? And you turn off the lights and you let your eyes become accustomed to the darkness and then look up at the stars. Have you guys ever done that? When you look up at the stars, it's incredible, right? Because all of a sudden there's colors in the sky, and there's like swirls and patterns and all this beauty in these stars. And I want to tell you that that brief thought and that illustration this morning, because as I thought about that, as I was thinking about what we've already discussed, there's a beautiful analogy in there, in that as the darkness increases, so do the stars. As you get away from the light, as you get away into the darkness, what happens is those lights are more beautiful. And I think that's true of our lives. We may be in a dark time of history, we may be in a in a hard time in which the world is going through, but the beauty of that is we have an opportunity to really shine the light of Jesus in the places that he puts us. We're presented with a great opportunity in that. And so I want to encourage you this morning and say that we are called to shine and we are called to live for more. That's what we're talking about here in this series. We've been talking about living for more. And we've journeyed through the book of Philippians by doing that. Now, if you want to talk about a dark time in history, Philippians was written at a pretty dark time in history. Christians were like killed all the time. Like that was normal at this time in history. And here we find Paul, we've already talked about this, but just want to remind you, Paul is there writing from prison, he's an older gentleman at this point, to his friends in this church that he helped plant. But we've already mentioned this, and I want to just make sure we're clear on this. That when when we look at this letter of the Bible, when we look at this book of the Bible, we've got to understand that God was behind the writing of this text. That this isn't just an obscure letter from Paul to this obscure church in Philippi. No, this is God's word written to us as Christians. And so this morning, as we read it, I want you to view it as such. I also want to remind you of the things that we've covered so far in the book of Philippians. We're only up to chapter two, but we've already talked about the good news, the gospel. We've talked about living lives worthy of the gospel. We've talked about community, and most importantly, we've talked about Jesus. Last week was like this soapbox on Jesus, because there were these awesome verses that talked all about who Jesus is and what he's done. And so if you didn't get a chance to listen to the message from last week, I'd really encourage you to get online and look at the podcast for that. Because it was just a great time just reflecting on who Jesus is. And what we've seen in this series so far, not just last week, but throughout this series, is that Jesus inspires and enables us to live for more. That's your first fill in the blank this morning if you're taking notes. And I would encourage you to do that. Jesus inspires and enables us to live for more. And I hope that you're going to see that. I believe you're going to see that as we continue on in the text this morning. So let's turn to Philippians chapter 2 and jump straight into it this morning. Philippians chapter 2. As you're turning there, feel free to grab a Bible in front of you. We have some new Bibles. If they say HCSB on them, that's the version that I'm reading from, okay? So Philippians chapter 2. If you don't own a Bible, by the way, feel free to take one of those. We'd love for you to have your own Bible if you don't already own one. Philippians chapter 2. We finished verse 11 last week, and we're going to pick up right off in uh in verse, did I say chapter 11? Verse 11, and we're going to go to verse 12. It starts with so then. Let's read it together. So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God, who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world. Hold firmly to the message of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn't run or labor for nothing. But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. In the same way, you should also be glad and rejoice with me. So Paul starts out by saying something interesting. He says, So then. Why does Paul say so then? Well, he says so then because he's basically saying, in light of all the things I just told you, if you go back and look at the last six verses, like I told you, it's like Paul's on a soapbox just preaching Jesus. And it's an awesome passage. Go back to verse 5 with me. Look at what it says. He says, before he gets into talking about Jesus, he says, make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus. And then he goes on and talks about Jesus. And he just it brings it. He basically says, Jesus was fully God and fully man. And then he goes on to say, but he didn't seek to just lord his godness over us, but humbled himself to become a man. And he didn't just humble himself to becoming man, he humbled himself to death on a cross, and because of that, God raised him to be the most powerful being in the universe, so that at his name every knee should bow, every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, and he's just getting after it. And then he says, so then. So that's interesting. Think about that. Basically, what he's saying, he's saying, because of the awesomeness of God, so then. If I could paraphrase what Paul is saying for us here, I would basically uh put it like this. He is saying, uh, you guys need to understand that because of God and his grace and what he's done for us, that that there should be implications lived out in your life. There should be things that you do and live in a certain way. And so he goes on and tells us in verse 12 that we need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. That's an interesting thought. What does that mean? Well, I can tell you what it doesn't mean. It doesn't mean that you need to go and earn your salvation. He's not saying, hey, go work out your salvation. You go figure that out, guys. Come on. Go sort that out. No, that's not what he's saying at all. We know that Paul and the scriptures at large tell us that salvation is a gift. Listen to one of my favorites on this, Ephesians 2, verse 8. We'll put it on the screen. For you were saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is God's gift, not from works, so that no one can boast. So, what do we see here in this first part of the text? What we see is that we are not saved by good works, we are saved for good works. Now that's a small difference, but it's huge, right? It doesn't sound like a lot, but that difference of by and for makes a huge difference. What Paul is saying is, and again, if I could paraphrase him, I would say he's saying, you are saved. Now work out the implications of what that means in your life, and do so with fear and trembling, with a sense of awe and wonder, with a holy fear. Figure out what it means that you have been saved by grace. Now, in case we have any doubts about what Paul's really saying, he goes on in verse 13 to say a verse that I really like in this passage. I want you to reread it with me. So he says, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Verse 13, for it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out his good purpose. I love this because if we in case we have any doubts about what working out our salvation means, Paul's making it explicitly clear and saying it's God who's working in you to help you even desire him. And not only that, he's not just helping you to desire him, to also work out his good purpose. Basically, he's saying it's by God's grace that you even want to have a relationship with God, and it's by his grace that he's going to enable you to grow in your relationship with God. There's an old hymn that I really, really like. Uh, it's one of my favorites. It's called Tis So Sweet. And in that in that hymn, the end of the chorus, well, the chorus goes like this. Let me tell you what it says. It says, Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him, how I've proved him over and over. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Now hear this. Oh, for grace to trust him more. That line gets me every time, and the reason it gets me is because there's a few things implied by that. It means that it's only by his grace that I trust him, and it also means that it's only by his grace that I will trust him more. And that's exactly what we're being told here in Philippians 2.13. It's by God's grace that we trust him, and it's by his grace that we're gonna trust him more, that we're gonna be able to work out his good purpose. So, what is God's good purpose? God's good purpose is for us to live lives that reflect the light of the gospel. How do I know that? I've read further on in the text. You have too. Verse 14, let's go there. Verse 14. Do everything without grumbling. I mean, I wish it I wish it wasn't everything. It would be nice if it was some things or a few things. But there it is. Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world. As a Christian, it is normal for us to be different. Think about that. As Christians, it's normal for us to be different. That's a part of our calling to be different. We're called to be light in the places that God puts us. We're called to shine like stars. Now, I want to think about that for a second. We're called to be light in the places that God puts us. What does that mean? I'll tell you something that it doesn't mean. It doesn't mean that we're called to be an obnoxious light. I feel like some Christians read passages like this and they're like, well, I'm going to be the light of truth in my workplace. And you know, all that comes out of them is this moralism and all this like, you know, hey, well, that's not right, that's not true. And you know, they're talking to people who don't even believe the same thing as them. That's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about light that carries both truth, yes, but also grace. That's the type of light that we're called to be. In the places that God puts us, whether that's in our workplace, in our neighborhood, uh, with our family or with our friends, God's calling us to be vessels of light that carry both grace and truth. So, what does this look like? I want to get down to like talking real specific here. Let's imagine that you are at a party, and you're at a party with a whole bunch of people who are not Christians. So maybe it's your co-workers, your neighbors, some of your family members, friends, I don't know. But you're there at a party and you're off at the in the corner of the party. You know how in parties people kind of mingle around and then there's like little circles that form? You're in a little circle having a conversation with some of these people. And as you're there having this conversation, all of a sudden, the conversation turns to politics. Doom dum doom, you know, like that's not good, right? Politics has come up, and then all of a sudden, people are just, you know, talking about how upset, how frustrated they are about candidates or a political party, and you know, the conversation digresses very quickly. And what you begin to notice in that conversation is that your friends seem hopeless. They seem really worried and anxious and concerned about what's going on because it seems like nothing's good and it's outside of their power. And what your friends start to notice in that conversation is that you look really peaceful and different. Because in that conversation, you're not worried about a political party because you realize your savior is not a politician, it's not a political party, it is Jesus. And you realize that God is sovereign over the kingdoms of this world, that's what the scriptures tell us, and he gives them to whoever he chooses, and so you'd be realizing that you're not worried about what political party is in power. And yes, you engage in the conversation, but what emanates from your life in that moment is light, is hope, is the gospel. That's what we're talking about here. And that just doesn't go to politics. That's one very specific example. I want to, I would go on to say that this is meant to happen in every sphere of our lives, in the plethora of areas in our lives, from our parenting to our relationships to our finances to our employment. Your neighbors should look, should see light emanating from the way that you interact with your wife, or the way that you interact with your kids. Our lives can and should be different as we emanate the light of the gospel. Listen to the way that Jesus put it in Matthew 5. He said, You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works. There's that word again, works. There is effort, there is energy that we do bring to the table in this thing. That you may see, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Notice that Jesus says, no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. And so I want to ask you, I want to ask myself this morning, are we putting our light under the basket or are we shining like stars? We are not to hide, we are called to shine the light of the gospel. That's your next fill-in-the-blank. We're not to hide, we're called to shine the light of the gospel. Our faith should be illuminating Jesus to those who were placed around in whatever context we find ourselves. Now, I kind of gave you a cool analogy of, you know, how you could be in a conversation, everybody looks to you, and you've got peace in the middle of it, you know, and that sounds really cool, and you're like, oh yeah, that'd be nice if I could live like that. But it's not easy living out the gospel in front of people. It's not easy being the person that Christ has called us to be. It's not easy always reflecting his light and his glory and his goodness. And I think that's why Paul's very next word, after saying, you know, that we should shine like stars, he goes on in the start of verse 16 to just say, hold firmly to the message of life. Paul realizes that this isn't easy. First Timothy 6. I'm reminded of it. Verse 12 says, Fight the good fight for the faith. Take hold of eternal life that you were called to. Living this life isn't easy. I'm not talking about something that's just a stroll in the park. But what I am talking about is something that's worth doing. And we see that as we continue to read on. The next few verses are interesting. I'm going to start back up halfway through 16. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn't run or labor for nothing. But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. In the same way, you should also be glad and rejoice with me. Paul's using some interesting language here to remind us of his example. Now, theologians kind of debate what's been said here and what the deeper meaning is in this imagery of sacrifice. But I will say that as Paul's writing to his audience here, when he says he's poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice, like they all understand what that means. Whether they were like a Jew or a Gentile, people were used to sacrifices. So when you say drink offering, they're like, oh yeah, the wine that was poured on the altar with the sacrifice. Like they're like, okay, yeah, I get that. But for us, it's kind of interesting imagery. And basically what Paul is saying is that he is finding joy. This is interesting. This almost sounds backwards. He's finding joy in being poured out for the purposes of God, and that he is setting an example for his friends. We've got to realize this morning, Paul's not the ultimate example of this. Paul is a an example, a an uh sorry, an example, but he's not the ultimate example. He's copying someone else's example. He's copying that of Jesus. Jesus was the one who ultimately poured out his life, and by doing that found life, not just for himself, but for all of us. There's a beautiful picture that's painted here in these last verses, because what we find is as we pour out our lives, as we give ourselves fully out, that that's when we truly find life. There's an incredible truth in that. Life, meaning, and significance can be found in giving our lives completely to God. Listen to how Jesus put it. Matthew 10, verse 39. Anyone losing his life because of me will find it. He expands on this idea in Matthew 16. Matthew 16, 25 and 26. Whoever loses his life because of me will find it. What will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? And so as we look to this last part of the text, what we see, and I know we're moving quickly through all of this text, but what we see here is that we are not to hoard life, we're actually called to give it away. It kind of sounds like backwards universe, you know, where up is down and in is out. Like giving our lives away is how we find life. Life, meaning purpose and joy, are found in giving life away. So let's go back and see what we've covered so far. Because what I think you've we've we've covered so far is kind of interesting. We've seen in this text, like it's like Paul's just in this text raising the temperature on us a little bit as you go. Through this. The first thing that we've seen is Paul saying, hey, you've got to realize that salvation is a gift of grace. Yes, you need to work out the implications of it, but you are saved by grace through faith. Like you've got to understand that it's God who's putting the desire in you to even desire Him and then to work out His good purposes. And so it's like the temperature's just turned up a little bit when Paul does that. But then he goes on to say, hey, you've got to live these lives in front of people where we're pure and God's righteousness and holiness is coming out of our lives so that we shine like stars in front of whoever God's placed us around. That's when the temperature starts to get turned up more, right? You're like, ooh, okay, that's a that's a big call. Okay, okay. And then it's like it gets cranked all the way up when Paul finally is basically saying, hey, I'm being poured out as a gent joy uh uh a drink offering and I'm finding joy in that, you guys should do the same. That's when he's like cranks it all the way up because he's basically saying, I'm laying it all on the line, and by doing that, I'm finding meaning and significance and purpose in this. And as I read that, as I think about that, I'm really challenged. I want to take you back to think about this central metaphor of light that we've been talking about so far. And there's a story that's very well written by a man named J.R. Tolkien. It's called The Lord of the Rings. I'm sure you are all familiar with it because of the movie series. Uh, but he actually wrote a book too. Uh, and then it was adapted into a movie. But there's this beautiful picture that's kind of in the middle of what's going on towards the end of the series, and it makes it to actually both the the movie from the book, and so you find it in both places. But this picture is really cool because the world is hanging by a thread, it's gripped by an incredible darkness, and this darkness is just coming in and suppressing the good guys, right? And it seems like all hope is lost. There's maybe just a thread of hope that's left holding on. And in this desperate time, in this desperate moment, something really cool happens because the good guys who are trapped, who are about to get demolished by the enemy, the guys in the kingdom of Gondor, okay? They're about to go down, but what happens is they light this flame, this beacon of Gondor is what it's called, and they go up onto this hill and light this bonfire. And what happens next is really cool because as they light that bonfire, the guys on the ridge, guarding the next bonfire down, way, way, way in the distance, see the fire and they light their fire. And then those guys, as they've lit their fire, the guys on the ridge, on the next ridge over, they see their fire and they light their fire. And then this fire gets passed on from ridge to ridge until it finally gets the message to their friends in the kingdom of Rohan. We need help. We need you to come and to rescue and to save us. And it's like one of those moments you're like, yeah, you know, like that's really cool. But as I look at that and as I think about that this morning, I think that's a beautiful picture of what the gospel can and should do in our lives. Let me explain what I mean. As God's love and grace is exposed to our hearts and to our lives, and we accept that as our owners, we become Christ followers. Our lives are set ablaze, much like one of those bonfires. But the cool thing is, as we then live out the implications of that life in the context that God's put us in, wherever that is, and that then in turn helps other people to become lit. Where they understand the gospel, they understand who Christ is from the things that you are saying and the way that you are living, they're lit on fire for Christ, and then them that they go on to light other fires, and and this is how the generations of believers are moved to understand, and this is how the darkness is beaten, guys. Like that is a picture of the gospel and what can and should be happening in our lives. And so I just want you to consider this light this morning. Are you light? Is light emanating from your life? There's a few questions I want to ask you guys this morning as we get ready to close. Uh, I know I say get ready to close, and everybody, you know, starts shuffling their books usually and putting up their pens, but stay with me. I have a few thoughts to run by you this morning, a few questions that I want to ask you about this morning. I want to ask you to consider do you understand the gospel? None of this makes sense without understanding who Jesus is and what he's done. Remember that so then? I want I want to be very explicitly clear this morning because I want all of you to understand that salvation is a gift of grace. This text makes that clear. Again, there's many texts that do. But it makes it clear that salvation is a gift. It's not like we die and we go to heaven and stand before God and he looks at our life and he's like, Yeah, I don't think so. Or he looks at our life and he's like, ooh, just you can go into heaven. Like, that's not how this works. That's not the gospel, that's not the Christian faith. The Christian faith and message is that we die and he looks at our lives and sees Jesus and we're in. That's how it works. And I gotta be explicitly clear on this this morning because I want to share with you guys um some stuff that's going on in my own life. Um I'm not very good at expressing emotion, and I will just I just need to front what I'm about to say by saying that. I either am pretty stone cold or I'm a complete mess, okay? So you you're gonna get either or, I don't know which. Um so just that was a warning in front of before I say what I'm about to say. Um but this week uh I've just been so reminded of the need for salvation, and that's because I got some really terrible news this week in that my sister has passed away. And um I don't share that without first thinking about the implications of what I'm saying. Um but my sister was only a few years older than me, uh, and and she's passed away. I'm getting ready to get on a plane tonight to go and to be with my family, and um would appreciate your prayers with that as I go and support them and go through the process of grieving and all of that. But I say that because we say we're a family as a church, and you got I want you to know what's going on. But I say that too because I just want you to know how important this salvation thing is. I've just been really, really reminded of that with my sister. My sister was an incredibly beautiful and intelligent woman, uh, much smarter than I was. She had a like multiple degrees, a doctorate, all this stuff, but she also struggled with alcoholism and addiction and um and depression throughout her life. And so it's been a really back and forth journey throughout her life. And um as I've got to kind of be on the sidelines and watch and and be a part of her life, it's been kind of sad to watch some of that. And and initially, when I got the four phone call from my brother, my initial reaction was to think, man, what a waste! My sister's life. Like she could have lived for so much more. And again, sorry, I I know I haven't given you details. We don't know details yet as to why she's passed. I I do know that um she was she had just struggled with a bout of um alcoholism, and she had just gone through a detox program and actually was on an upswing. Like my parents had some really good interaction with her just last weekend. They went to the chapel at the hospital with her, and she wrote out a prayer to God and had some really good interaction. She was really positive. Um, that even the day she passed, she was having some positive interaction with her neighbors. So, right now, all we we know is it could have been a complication from her medication and some of the stuff that she was on and just even the implications of the way that she'd abused her body for a long time. But she was in a good space, she passed. Um, but yeah, initially reaction was man, what a waste. But as I got to thinking and processing and had some really good conversations with uh some of the people in my life, um, like my beautiful wife and even Nick, um, was just reminded of the times of hope in her life. And I was reminded of the multiple times I can think of, I can, in my memory, I can remember multiple times where she genuinely reached out to God. I got to see, I remember her baptism and the joy that she had in the moment that she was baptized when she was 17 years old. I remember um multiple times praying with her and seeing some great interactions between her and God. And so as I think about that, I believe that she is in a right place with God today. And I the joy, the thing that I have to rest in is not the fact that, yeah, she's gone and it was too early, and my parents shouldn't have to bury her. What I rest in today is the fact that she is whole and complete, and that she doesn't have to deal with addiction anymore. She doesn't have to deal with like uh her woundedness or any of that stuff. And guys, we can have that hope. You can have that hope. And so I don't, I don't, I'm not trying to pull on emotional strings today. I really am not. But I just want you guys to make sure that you're in the right place with God because you don't know how long you have. Life is a gift. And so I say all of that. Just really, really mindful of that this morning. Make sure that you are in a right place with God today. Please do not walk out the door with it, making sure that you and God have made uh have come to a point at some point where you've said, God, I need you. And without you, I have nothing. Having faith, having salvation is not complicated. We're told in God's word that we we just have to believe in our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, that God raised him from the dead, and we will be saved. It's not more complicated than that. So this morning, I just really plead with you, make sure that you are in the right place with God. And and I mean, all the other stuff going on in your life, that's secondary to that, right? It really is. So just wherever, whatever space you're in today, if you're not sure what it means to be in a right relationship with God, come and talk to myself. I might be a mess. Maybe talk to Nick. Uh but but talk to somebody this morning, maybe even the person that brought you. Make sure you exist in a right space with God today. Salvation is so key. But remember the text also. It says, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. That means that salvation leads to implications, and I want you to think about those today too. Because I know the majority of you guys in the room already have come to a moment where you've put you're at peace with God. But what does that mean for your life? Are you okay with looking different from those around you? Are you okay with shining like a star in the context that God has put you in? My prayer, my hope is that I would be, that I wouldn't be embarrassed of who I am in Christ, but rather that would emanate from my life. The final question I want to ask you guys is are you willing to pour out your life for Christ? Remember, Paul said, I'm being poured out like a drink offering. Could we have the same attitude of Paul and even the same attitude of Christ, where we're okay with giving our lives completely away, understanding that by doing that we will find our lives. Understand that we will find ourselves living for more in that moment. That's exactly what we're talking about here in this series. So, really, I mean, I don't want to overcomplicate this this morning, but guys, let's really think about our salvation this morning and be like, where do I stand with God? And yes, if I am in a good space with God, what's the implications of that? What does that mean for me? Am I living like a light in front of the people that he's put me around? Am I pouring myself fully out? Am I fully surrendered to him and saying, God, whatever you want, I want to be used for your glory. Let me pray for us this morning.