Phil. series - No matter what happens

 No Matter What Happens

Philippians 2:12-18

2020 is finally gone, but 2021 has now filled its place.

A new year and a new start. But just like 2020, a new year will hold the unexpected. Paul is telling the church that no matter what happens in this world, there are essentials that must always be obeyed. Let’s look at the text - “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. 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 you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.” (ESV) 

Paul, still behind prison bars as he writes this letter, emboldens the church to continue to obey God in everything, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence.” 

Paul, like a parent, reminds the church of the importance of obedience: in salvation through the work of Christ, in attitude, in holiness, in presenting God to the world, in holding fast to the word of life, and rejoicing as we the day of Christ Jesus nearing. Obedience is what every parent expects and desires out of their children. Paul as a spiritual father was no exception, for that matter, neither is God the Father. 

Application - As a parent, my face always shined when I heard compliments about my children’s obedience. It is even more important that our heavenly father, and spiritual parents (mentors) hear and see that we are obeying the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and those who have invested their lives in us. Let’s start the year just as Paul wrote to the church, “as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence.” When we are away, we should not go astray from God’s presence, nor can we. His eyes are always on his children. “The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the LORD turns his face against those who do evil.” 1 Pet. 3:12

One of the most memorized scripture and the most misunderstood is Paul’s word of encouragement to the church in Philippi. “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.” Paul is not advocating that salvation is a matter of works, that we can earn our own salvation by fearing and trembling, acts of flagellating (beating ourselves out of religious duty). Paul has told the church in other letters, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Eph.2:8-9 and “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7)  

Application - We are not to misuse the verse to instill fear into our lives, that we are going to lose our salvation because we live in fear (anxiety) or trembling (weakness or incapacity) because of our humanity. We “Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.” Ps.2:11 We work out our salvation by going to the very source of our salvation—the Word of God—wherein we renew our hearts and minds (Romans 12:1-2), coming into His presence with a spirit of reverence and awe, true fear and trembling.

The word fear in our text refers to reverence not anxiety, and trembling refers to humility. We are told to esteem our salvation with reverence and humility. God has saved us through the work of Jesus on the cross. In fact, the text says “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” We are to be humbled that God is working in us through obedience to Him, that He too will fulfill His purpose and plan for our lives. Paul told us to keep “pressing on” toward the goal of Christlikeness (Philippians 3:13-14) which we will study later.

Next, Paul encouraged the church to keep a godly attitude. “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 you shine as lights in the world” If there was ever a good admonishment for the church, it would be “do all things without grumbling and disputing”. It did not take long for the Church in Philippi to reach an attitude adjustment. They went from encouraging, comforting, loving with tenderness and compassion for each other, to grumbling over tasks and duties. They were possibly into disputing over the act of serving God, or possibly arguing over the teaching of God’s word. Paul's warning came to remind them they are the bride of Christ, the Church. They are not to be like the world, a crooked and twisted generation. They were to be blameless and innocent, without blemishes upon their attitudes towards one another.

Jesus asked the disciples a silly question that had serious implications. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matt. 5:14-16 

We are the light to the world, a shining star. Paul alludes to Jesus’ teaching so that they would understand the importance of being blameless, innocent, and without blemish before the world and before God. 

Application - What is our attitude? What have we done with the light? The Word of God is trying to teach us the great value of a godly attitude. It has taught us the value of encouraging, comforting, and loving with tenderness and compassion towards each other, and to live in the same humility as Christ. This is the attitude and light that will draw others to Christ. Let the words of Jesus speak in our lives and through our lives, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Paul continues to encourage the church to “hold fast to the word of life”. Paul knew the value of holding fast to God’s Word. It was his calling to proclaim the Good News to the gentiles (Rom. 15:16 “I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.” He knew the importance of God’s word in fighting against the evil of the world and heavenlies. 2 Cor. 10:4 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” Paul's desire was to equip the believers in Philippi for the work of God, and the only way that they could be victorious and overcome the enemies' schemes was to hold fast to the Word of Life.

Application - I truly believe that to live victoriously in this world, we must hold fast to the Word of Life. If we ignore the Word of God, be only hearers and not partakers (doers) we will fall in our lives to the enemy of our soul. The Word of God is our anchor, we are to trust God’s word. It is infallible. Holding fast literally means to hold your position, or fix your gaze and not lose sight of it. Therefore our actions are fixed on the God of the Word and God’s word. It is the light to our life's path (Ps.119:105) and to the understanding of God’s plan and purpose for our lives.(Rom.12:2)

Last, rejoicing in the Lord is Paul’s encouragement to the Church. “so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.” (ESV) 

Paul knew that his life was in God’s hands, and that the day of Christ’s coming was also in God’s hands. The only thing Paul had to worry about was obeying God. He desired to run the race of faith to the end. He also wanted all those who heard the gospel to run the race as well. Paul didn’t see the work of God as a waste of his time, it was literally life and everything to him. The church was his family, his brothers and sisters, his children. He gave his life sacrificially to the Church in Philippi. Paul saw the Day of Christ as a monumental moment to which he would see all those who believed the message of the Gospel in God’s kingdom as well. They were his crown of joy (Phil. 4:1) “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I receive for my work.”

Application - Can you imagine all those that you have shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with in heaven? Paul could and did and he rejoiced. I have heard sermons on the crowns of Heaven. Some seemed to be aggrandizement of the work done on earth, but truly the honor of a crown in heaven is not for our pleasure but for the acknowledgement of the work of Christ for the sake of mankind. In Revelation, those who have crowns will lay them at the feet of Jesus. Rev. 4:10-11 “the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Despite all that the elders have done on the earth to earn crowns, they laid them at His feet.. In the presence of Jesus, He is the only one who is truly worthy of glory and honor. In the presence of the Lord Jesus Himself, all good deeds we have done will pale in comparison. A crown will seem but an insignificant gift to present to the One who gave His life for us.

I hope that one day, each of us will receive a crown (the people who we shared the Gospel with and who are in heaven with us). Like Paul, we will rejoice with all the saints at the throne of Jesus, and sing the songs of the Heaven. 

“You are worthy, our Lord and God,

    to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

    and by your will they were created

    and have their being.”

No matter what happens, let’s begin the new year by telling others the Good News, living our lives in a Christ-like attitude, sharing our testimonies, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Again here is the ABC’s of Salvation. Please share this with someone, God said “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” Isa. 55:11

 

A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Until next week, God bless you all.

In His Service, Mike Davis