- Good morning everyone, great to be with you as we open up God's word together. We are studying through the Book of Philippians. Our series is entitled Choose to Rejoice and today we choose to rejoice despite the weather conditions outside. We are also rejoicing because it's Mother's Day, so happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. Thanks for investing in our lives. I want to ask that you please have the notes in front of you that hopefully you've already downloaded and you've got a pen in hand and then I want you to take your Bibles out and I want you to go to Philippians chapter two, verse 12. Philippians chapter two, verse 12. That's where we're gonna begin. But I also want to ask that you turn to one other passage which we'll get to eventually. It's First John chapter five verse one. First John chapter five verse one. Well, let me pray for us as we begin together. Father, we ask that you would give us eyes that see your truth today and hearts that are willing to obey. It's in Christ's name that we pray, amen. Well, I don't know if you've heard the phrase the quarantine 15, it actually is a joke that's going around about the average weight gain of 15 pounds that people are experiencing in the midst of COVID 19. Well, what do you do when you want to stay healthy and not gain weight? You work out physically. We've got a lot of people in our neighborhood that are outside and they're walking, they're trying to stay healthy physically. What are they trying to do? Well, they're tapping into the God given resource of what he has given to them so that they can stay healthy. Well today Paul is going to talk to us about tapping in to the God given resource of God himself inside of us so that we can stay healthy spiritually. Now I want to ask a question right up front here which is based on the next step that I gave you last week, so kids, it's important to understand this. I can see through the camera lens into your home. I am gonna watch whether or not you're participating with me, okay, so here is the question. And I want hands to go up, how many of you actually served someone this past week? How many of you actually did it? Whether it was small or big, you actually served someone, some act of service to help them out. Well, let me share my story. Many of you know that we've had a wonderful event in our life, my wonderful daughter and wonderful son in law had their first child, it's our first grandchild, our grandson, Brayden and they've needed some help, I should say, they've needed some help this past week and so we borrowed a tiller from a very good friend of ours and we went down there to serve them. Now I didn't do it just be I wanted a story this morning. I did it because we really wanted to help them and so we really threw a bunch of manure and compost all over the two garden plots that they have and I began to do the work of tilling it into the ground. Now why did I do that? So that when they get ready to plant their crops, they will look forward to a harvest to come and really that image is behind what Paul is telling us today. He is saying that we need to be about living the Christian life from the inside out, why? Because it's God that's done a great work inside of us and it is joining him to work on the outside what he has already worked in on the inside and when we do we find great joy. Now Paul is under house arrest in Rome. He's convinced based on what we've read in chapter one that he's gonna keep on living but he's going to keep on encouraging this wonderful group of believers up in this Roman colony in Philippi and today he's gonna encourage them to continue to live out the Christian life. You look down at verse 12, he says, "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 maybe 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 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," then he says in verse 17, "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." Now Paul is convinced he's gonna keep on living, but even if he is to give his life in the midst of what he's gone through, the verdict hasn't come yet regarding his trial, he's convinced he's gonna keep on living and serving, but even if he is to give his life, he's gonna rejoice because he served them. Now Paul here is describing the Christian life and it is a great passage for us to really talk about what it means to know and to grow and to go, to really live out this new life that we have been given if you've trusted Christ as savior and Lord. Here's how we talk about this at our church at Rockpoint, you may go to another church, but here's what we do here at Rockpoint and it's this big mission statement, it's not unique with us, there are other churches that use words that are similar and the reason is is because we all want to focus on what Jesus told us to do so here's the words that we have chosen that keep our eye on the big picture of why we do what we do. Our mission statement is multiplying disciples in a healthy church, there's a couple components here. First, I want you to look at the word disciple, that means learner, follower of Jesus, somebody who's learning to follow Jesus Christ as the Lord of their life and the best way to grow disciples, the best way to live out this new Christian life and to grow spiritually is in a healthy church and that's why we seek to be a healthy church, we're not a perfect church but we seek to be a healthy church. And just so you know, it's not just so you can grow in a healthy church, we want you to share your life with others, and that's why we have the word multiplying. Now in many ways, that describes what Paul is talking about here. He starts with this word, if you look down at verse 12, therefore, anytime you come to the word therefore, you have to ask the question, what is it therefore, Paul is referring back to what he's talked about in chapter one, he says that it is his goal to live as Christ and then he charges us and he charged the church initially but God through Paul is charging us in verse 27 to live a life worthy of the gospel and the good news. In other words, to live a life that is befitting of the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ and in chapter two, Paul said, hey, you need to put others first and then he gave the wonderful example of Jesus Christ who humbled himself, walked in obedience and served by going to the cross, dying, rising from the grave and ascending to the father and it's a wonderful picture and example of what it means to serve and to walk in obedience and so Paul is now saying, therefore, based on that, I'm asking you to live out this new Christian life, to walk in obedience as Jesus did. Now he gives us this phrase in verse 12, where he says I want you to work out your own salvation. Now it's important to understand, Paul is not talking about earning salvation, he's saying work out the salvation that is already there, he's writing to believers. And he is saying I want you to work out what God has already worked in. This phrase work out your salvation was used in the first century to describe actually bringing to full completion, so in other words it means to grow and bring to completion this wonderful work of salvation that God has begun by saving you and now he's transforming you. In chapter one verse six, Paul said, "he who began a good work in you is gonna be faithful "to complete it," now he's saying you gotta join him and so work it out, bring it to completion, partner with God so that you can begin to live out this Christian life. Now also in the first century, this phrase work out your salvation or the word actually work out described how miners would go into a mine and they would really mine out the precious metal that is found there. It also can describe how you bring about a harvest. Must like me tilling the ground, putting plants in the ground so that a harvest will come out, you do the hard work of tilling to bring about a harvest and that's the idea of what Paul is saying here and since God has done the work in you, he's challenging them to work obediently. Here's a great verse that Paul actually gives us in another book, the book of Ephesians chapter two verse 10 he says "For we are his workmanship," he saved us, "created in Christ Jesus for good works," he created us to do something, "which God prepared "beforehand that we should walk in them." Paul is in essence saying live the Christian life so what does that look like? Well, it begins with this first word know. To live the Christian life from the inside out based on what God has done, we first have to know Jesus. It's trusting Jesus because of his grace. He gave his life for us and so Paul wants to talk to us about trusting in Jesus because of his grace and knowing that you are saved so that you can start living out the life. Now Paul is convinced that the believers here know Christ as savior and Lord. My question to you right up front is this. Do you know him? Do you know Jesus Christ as savior and Lord? Paul says, "I want you to work out the salvation "that's already there," he's convinced that these believers know Jesus as savior 'cause they've partnered with him. They've got the marks of a true believer. My question to you is do you know him? Now I'm gonna give you a chance to confirm that decision at the end of our time together, but it starts with some understanding. Understanding that you're a sinner and you need a savior. The Bible says we've all sinned, we've all missed the mark of God's perfection. Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death, what we earn because we have sinned is separation from God. We earn physical death, we earn spiritual death. That's the bad news, however, the gospel means good news and it means turning to Jesus, it means that Jesus came and did a remarkable thing, something we could never do, he gave his life for us, he died on the cross for our sin and he arose from the grave and if we turn from our sin and ourself and we trust in Jesus Christ alone as the one who paid the price for our sin, asking him to save us and telling him that we want to follow him as the Lord of our life, then we are saved. We can be transformed. Now the other question that oftentimes come up when we really want to find out whether we're saved is this one, are you sure? Now you need to know him as savior but then you need to be sure that you're saved. Well, how does that happen? Well, this verse is really important for us. Romans chapter eight verse 16 says, "The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit "that we are children of God." It's actually the Holy Spirit inside of us that convinces us that we're followers of Jesus Christ. Now that happens when we begin to understand really some wonderful principles that are found in God's word that the Holy Spirit uses to convince us that we are his and I want to give you a couple of them and that's why I wanted you to go to First John chapter five so go over there with me and I want you to look down at verse one, First John chapter five verse one. "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ "has been born of God," if you want to know for sure that you're a follower of Jesus Christ, and you want to make sure that God's spirit is convincing you that you are a follower of Christ, the first mark is this one. You will believe in Jesus and confess him as Lord. You're gonna believe in Jesus and confess him as the Lord of your life. Now he says here, "Everyone who believes that Jesus "is the Christ has been born of God." The verse I want you to see here is one that Paul gave in Romans chapter 10 verse nine. He says "because if you confess with your mouth "that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart "that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." He's telling you two things here. He's saying, do you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sin and rose from the grave? Remember, in order to know him, that was the first question of trusting and following Jesus. Do I know him? I mentioned you have to turn and trust Christ that he paid the price for your sin and rose from the grave and then we confess him as Lord, not just God, but he's Lord, I'm turning to him now to follow him so the first mark of a follower of Jesus Christ that John, 'cause John is the John that followed Jesus as one of his disciples that he tells us is that you have to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one, the Lord, the second way you know for sure that you're a follower of Jesus is you'll love God and love other believers. He says here "And everyone who loves the father," continuing on in verse one, "loves whoever has been "born of him," so you love God and you love other believers. The second mark is this. You will obey God's commands. Now if you look at verse two of First John chapter five, he says, "By this we know," so how do we know that we love God and we love others? Well, he tells us, "By this we know that we love "the children of God "when we love God and obey his commandments, "for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments "and his commandments are not burdensome." I love that, you know why? Because you have become a new creature in Jesus Christ if you've put your faith and trust in him. You have been given new desires and now it's not a want to or a have to life, it's a want to life. It's a life that says, well, I want to follow Jesus. I want to be a part of this new life with him and John is simply telling us as Paul would say in Philippians two, you're living out the Christian life and you will have the mark of obeying his commands. Now John is not suggesting that you don't sin. If you go to First John chapter three verse six, he says "No one who abides him keeps on sinning," he's talking about habitually sinning and not being convicted of that sin. If we sin, First John one, chapter nine says, "If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just "to forgive us our sins "and cleanse us from all unrighteousness," and then in verse 10 if we say we have not sinned, "we make him a liar and his word is not in us," of course we sin, and of course we continue to sin. The idea, though, is that we walk in obedience and then we begin to see the marks of his life transforming us so that we begin to sin less and when we do sin, we start feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our life. That's why I love Ephesians chapter four verse 30. "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit," do you realize that the Holy Spirit that lives inside each and every believer is grieved when we sin? "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God "by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." And if he's grieving, we're grieving, there's conviction in our life, so the mark is we walk in obedience and when we do sin again 'cause nobody's perfect, we're convicted and we turn and we ask for his forgiveness again so that our fellowship with God is restored. And the final mark to really look at, to answer the question am I a follower of Jesus Christ is this, you'll see evidence of growth in your life. You're walking in obedience. You believe and confess him as Lord, you love God, and love other believers. You're obeying his commands and now you're seeing evidence of growth and that's why he says, if you look down at verse four, again, First John chapter five, he says "For everyone who has been born of God "overcomes the world," that means growing in your spiritual life, "and this is the victory "that has overcome the world, our faith. "Who is it that overcomes the world, "except the one who believes?" A true believer that Jesus is the son of God. Well, once we know it's important now to take a look at what it means to grow. We want you to trust and follow Jesus Christ but we want you to grow and that means growing in Jesus's word and truth and so now jump back to Philippians chapter two and again, I want you to look at what Paul is telling us. He is saying I want you to work out this salvation. Now salvation is a gift from God but spiritual growth does take some effort, however, what Paul is suggesting here is that we partner with God and we partner with him by surrendering to him and allowing him to work out this new life inside of us, to transform us, to be like Jesus Christ. But he doesn't want to underestimate the fact that it does take some effort, not to get saved but effort to continue to partner with God as he works his life in and through us. I want to quote a mentor of mine, Dr. Howard Hendricks. He told us while we were at Dallas Seminary, the Christian life is not just hard, it's impossible. It's absolutely impossible and that's why I want to encourage you to partner with God so that he can work his work in and through you, now he says, to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, what does that mean? With fear and trembling, well, he simply means get serious about your Christian life, for a follower of Jesus Christ, the word fear is not running around thinking that God is gonna strike me with a lightning bolt. It actually means respect and awe. I respect God as the creator of the universe, the judge of the universe and now I want to with a spirit of humility begin to follow him so it talks about accountability but it also talks about humility and so when he says with fear and trembling, he's actually saying, look, I fear God, I want to follow him, I want to submit to his ways, I want to live out this new life that's found in me, he says in verse 13, "for or because it is God who works in you, "both to will and to work for his good pleasure." It's his work in you already. Now in Colossians chapter one verse 29, Paul says it this way, he says, "For this I toil, struggling with all," notice, "his energy that he powerfully works within me." The energy of God that's working within me, that energy is the same energy that Paul is talking about here in Philippians chapter two, as a matter of fact, it's the exact same word, it's translated energy here in Colossians, it's translated work over in Philippians chapter two and then he goes on in verse 14, he starts to describe various characteristics of what it means to follow, don't grumble, don't be quarrelsome because they were struggling with it, be children of God without blemish, he's simply saying that as you step out in faith as many of you try to serve someone this past week, you're partnering with God and it's his work and through you so let's begin there, though, because if it's his energy, let's understand what he has actually done in your life. And there's a couple of things that we find in verse 13. First, he changes your desires. He says "For it's God who did the work of saving you, "both to will," so he's talking about changing your will, he changes your desires, you're a new creature in Christ and so now the I have to do something right has turned into I want to, I want to follow him. The second thing that God does for us, he transforms our attitudes and actions 'cause he says he transforms your will and your work, the things that you're doing in you, it's all his work in you, he's transformed your desire and now he wants to transform your attitudes and actions. I love Romans chapter 12 verse one and two. He says this, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, "by the mercies of God, to present your bodies "as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, "which is your spiritual worship," based on the fact that you've been saved and transformed, now we give our lives in worship by serving others and walking in obedience. And then in verse two he says, "Do not be conformed "to this world but be transformed by the renewal "of your mind that by testing you may discern "what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable "and perfect," Paul is saying here in these verses that it is by the renewal of God's word in our minds that is transferred to our lives so that we begin to live out and understand how to live the Christian life both with attitudes and actions and then number three, he gives you a new purpose, he says, "It is God," asking you to live this Christian life, "because God is working in you both to will "to change your desires and to work to bring about "his work as he changes your attitudes and actions, "for his good pleasure or purpose." Again, I want to go back to verse two of Romans chapter 12. "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed," how are we transformed, "by the renewal of your mind, "understanding the word of God and that by testing," that means applying it, "you may discern "what is the will of God." This gets to purpose and living our lives to please God so that you may be able to discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. As we understand the world, life is filtered through it, we begin to understand our purpose, our calling, and therefore now once we pursue him, once we get to know him, once we begin to surrender to his power inside of us, we're partnering with him so that he can live out this new life in you, well, then how do I respond? Well, I'm gonna give you some very specific handles here on how we begin to grow and experience the abundance of the Christian life. The first one is this. Consistently read and apply the Bible. You've got to find time to read this book. There's no growth apart from reading the word of God. I love Joshua 1:8, it says this. "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, "but you shall meditate on it day and night "so that you may be careful "to do according to all that is written in it. "For then you will make your way prosperous "and then you will have good success." What's he saying here, it's an Old Testament verse that's found back in the Old Testament, Joshua chapter one verse eight and as he charges Joshua to lead the nation, he says I want you to go to God's word. I want you to go back to what I've revealed and meditate on it day and night. Well, what does that look like? Well, I've given you a series of questions that are in your notes and I'm gonna fly through these because I've already given it to you but here are the questions, just a few of the questions you should ask yourself as you read and study God's word. What does it say about God? Is there anything in there that tells me something new about God, what does it say about us as individuals, and is there a command that I need to obey? Is there a promise that I need to claim? Is there a principle that I need to believe and follow? Is there a sin that is revealed that I need to confess in my life and get out of the way so that I can continue to live the Christian life and ultimately how do I respond to the truth that is found there. The second thing you need to have as a part of your life to grow spiritually, so if you say how do I respond, well, consistently read and apply the Bible by asking these questions, you could put 'em in the front of your Bible so every time you open it up and read it, you can ask yourself those questions and understand what God is saying to you through his Holy Spirit, you also need to pray every day. Find a time to pray, First Thessalonians 5:17 says "Pray without ceasing." In other words, find time during the day where you are continuing, having an atmosphere of praying and then don't forget to pray throughout the day. That's kind of the idea. Find a time to go before God, but it doesn't just stay there, you need to be praying through the day as needs come up, now just three words, pray without ceasing, you can memorize that and remember it. And the reason is this because the third step is to memorize God's word. You want to be able to hide it in your heart so that you can avoid sin and start living the life that God's called you to live. Psalm 119:11 is one of those verse that kids that are involved here in Rockpoint and are in a lot of ministry have memorized and it says "I have stored up your word in my heart "that I might not sin against you," so that you'll know how to live your life and then next, you want to be able to join other followers of Christ as you are reading the word and praying and memorizing it, you want to join in community, this is why we encourage you to get in a life group so that together in community you can begin to follow Jesus and then finally you need to serve and share about Jesus with other people. And if you're trying to figure out how you begin to share this new life that Jesus Christ has given to you, would you please contact us? We will help you begin the process of connecting with maybe one other person so that they can begin to help you grow as a follower of Jesus Christ and begin to share your story with other people. It might be one individual. You might be a couple right now and you're struggling with living the Christian life in your marriage and COVID 19 has done nothing more than surface the tension that is found there. Please let us know, you can click on our website, you can go right to a specific section that talks about marriage mentors, we have trained couples within Rockpoint that are willing to rock alongside of you and give you the help that you need to really help you understand what it means to live out the Christian life in your marriage. Please let us know, they're ready and willing to walk with you. We want to link you up so that you can begin as Paul says, if you do all of this without grumbling in verse 14 and disputing and living this new life, you're living in a very dark world and I'm living in a dark world right now. It's difficult not just because of COVID 19 but because we do live in a sin soaked world just like they did back in the first century and it is an opportunity for us to live out this new Christian life and as we do, Paul has already said, there's gonna be times of suffering but as we seek to live as Christ, he tells us we need to hold fast in verse 16, the word of life, why is that the case? Because we are commanded to go, we are commanded to go and help others do the same and what that means here is we're light in this dark world, that's why Paul said at the end of verse 15. You're living in a crooked, twisted generation. And that's us today and he says, I want you to be light in your world, I want you to go into your world and continue to live out this new Christian life. Now Paul didn't invent that, Jesus did and so in Matthew chapter 28 verse 19 and 20, Jesus gave us really the foundational verses that tell us what to do and this is why I referenced this when I was giving you our mission statement of multiplying disciples in a healthy church. We want you to go, why, 'cause Jesus said, "Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, "baptizing them in the name of the father and the Son "and the Holy Spirit, teaching them," this is the multiplying disciples, "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." Why, because you're growing and now you're helping others do the same, "and behold, I am with you always "to the end of the age." Now if you need help trying to figure out how to live the Christian life, as I said, please let us know. We want to help you. As you look at a passage like this, as you look at all the other passages in the New Testament, as you look at the difficulty of living life right now in the midst of this crisis, you might be feeling overwhelmed, not only by the tension and the stress, you're feeling overwhelmed about the suffering, perhaps, about losing a job, how do I really live this out? Man, I really want to do this but I'm not perfect. Well, nobody is, Paul is not asking us to be perfect. But he's asking us to simply step out in faith, partner with God, trust him, let him do his work already begun in us and then as we step out and work it out and partner with him, it's actually his strength in him through us. But as we seek to do this, I don't want you to be overwhelmed and so I want you to keep three things in mind as you live out this Christian life and you're gonna have to write these things down. I've given you everything but these three steps today, here they are, first. Pace and balance, as you seek to live out this Christian life, remember that phrase, pace and balance. You don't have to do everything all at once. Just select one thing that you can do, just one thing, that's all, just one step you can take this week, maybe it's praying, maybe it's reading God's word more, maybe it's serving someone, just one and remember, it's pace and balance, you don't have to do everything all at once. The second thing I want you to think about is this. Think longterm, not short term. So pace and balance can help if you're feeling overwhelmed. Number two, thing long term, not short term. You don't have to do it all at once. You're looking at the end of the game. You're looking at the overall general direction of your life, there's still gonna be moments where you struggle with sin, there's still gonna be points where you're trying to figure out how do I live this Christian life? Well, again, think longterm, think heaven and think all I need to do is take one step at a time and the goal is I want to keep walking with Jesus and yes you might take two steps back if you've taken three steps forward, but that's where you need to be in community with one another so we can help you grow and then finally follow the voice of God through the word of God in your life. Follow the voice of God through the word of God in your life I'll say it one more time, follow the voice of God through the word of God in your life. Pace and balance, I want you to think longterm, not short term, and then I want you to follow the voice of God through the word of God in your life. As you read the Bible, you'll know what you need to remove from your life as you seek to follow Jesus that doesn't look like Jesus and you'll know what you need to add into your life that does look like Jesus and then share that with your accountability group, share that with your life group, share that with your spouse, so that you can begin to grow in this Christian life. Well, I promised you that I would give you an opportunity to put your faith in Jesus Christ if you've never done that and you can do that right now. If you are reading this with us, if you're studying the Book of Philippians with us but you're not sure, we went through those four character qualities that describe a follower of Jesus Christ and you didn't get one of 'em at all, well the reason is because you don't know Christ as savior and Lord, I don't know all of you listening today but some of you may be listening and you're feeling convicted of your sin and you're not sure if you're a follower of Christ. Why don't you make sure right now? It happens right now in the quietness of your heart when in so many words you say, "God, I've sinned "and I've done a lot of stuff in my life, "and so now I'm coming to you and I'm confessing my sin "and I want your forgiveness, and so Jesus, "I believe you died for me and you rose from the grave, "and I am now placing my trust in you as my savior "and my Lord, help me to follow you all the days "of my life," if you pray that prayer, if you say, "God, I believe I'm a sinner, "I believe I deserve to be punished, I am turning to you, "Jesus, I believe you died for me and rose from the grave "and so I'm asking you to forgive me, I'm asking you "to be my savior and I'm asking that you would help me "follow you all the days of my life," if you pray a prayer like that, God has entered your life, you know him, you're trusting him, you're following him and now we want to help you begin to grow. Please let us know so we can help you. It starts by just choosing to read God's word. Taking one of the steps here today. Maybe that's what you need to do, maybe you need to choose to pray more every day. Maybe you need to choose to talk with somebody about helping you share your story so that others can find Jesus Christ as you seek to live this Christian life with great joy. Let me pray, Father, thank you for our time together. We ask that as we now seek to live out these truths in our life, that you would help us to be transformed only by your power so that we can reflect Jesus Christ as lights in our world, it's in Christ's name that we pray, amen.