DISCOVER WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE SAVED (Outline)
March 16, 2008 –
PALM SUNDAY (Lent 6) -
Philippians 2:12-18
INTRO: Different events in the life of Jesus command our attention. Even those outside of the church take note of different events in Jesus’ life. Jesus’ birth, Christmas, is observed on a worldwide level. Jesus’ resurrection, Easter, has a certain amount of significance for people everywhere. As believers there are also other significant events in Jesus’ life that are important. We might think of Jesus’ baptism. This event clearly reveals Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the triune God. There is the transfiguration. Jesus’ reveals his glory. Good Friday reminds us of the sacrifice Jesus made for all mankind.
Palm Sunday is also another very significant event in the life of Jesus. Without Palm Sunday there would be no Good Friday (Jesus’ death) and no Easter Sunday (Jesus’ resurrection). On Palm Sunday the crowds shout praises. On Good Friday the crowd shouts crucify. Willingly Jesus enters Jerusalem as the humble King on Palm Sunday. On Good Friday Jesus is carried out and placed in a tomb. "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted"(ISAIAH 53:4). All of this Jesus did for us. By Jesus’ sacrifice we are saved. Our verses follow the second lesson today (PHIP. 2:5-11).
Today’s verses are from the Contemporary English Version (CEV). From there we have our theme and parts.
DISCOVER WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE SAVED.
It means: I. God is working in you.
Believers react: II. Try to shine as lights.
I. GOD IS WORKING IN YOU
A. God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey him (13). God worked in these believers.
1. God gave these believers faith. God made these early believers willing and able to obey.
2. God’s grace is God’s power to change hearts, minds, and lives of unbelievers into believers.
B. …friends, you always obeyed when I was with you. Now that I am away, you should obey even more.
1. God’s power would lead these believers to listen to God’s word even when Paul was gone.
2. So work with fear and trembling to discover what it really means to be saved (12b).
a. They were saved completely, totally, absolutely by God’s power alone – grace!
b. They stand with fear and trembling as unworthy sinners freely saved by God’s grace.
C. Then you will be the pure and innocent children of God (15a). Jesus’ blood cleansed them.
1. Paul encourages faithful living. Do everything without grumbling or arguing (14).
2. God’s power will help them. (H)old firmly to the message that gives life (16a).
D. Time and time again we need to hear that God is working in us. God is working in us so that we can be heirs of eternal life. God is working in us to save us. Simply put, we cannot save ourselves. We cannot live good enough lives to earn salvation. We cannot even begin to pay for one single sin. Left on our own we would be lost on our own, forever. What it really means to be saved is that God is working in us.
"’I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy"(ROMANS 9:15,16).
E. People like to take credit for their own accomplishments. At times this attitude can creep into our spiritual thinking. Can man really decide to believe on his own? Hardly. Adam and Eve made the wrong choice in a perfect world. Truthfully that only thing that we can take credit for is evil, wickedness, and sin. "The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time"(GENESIS 6:5). Thankfully, God is working in us.
F. The Lord God Almighty created the heavens and the earth and everything in them by his powerful word. Let there be and there was – everything. This same almighty God with the same powerful word continues creating still today. "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh"(EZEKIEL 11:19). Our stone-cold hearts of sin have been divinely changed. God has changed them into warm beating hearts of flesh now filled with faith. God does all this with no merit or worthiness in us. This is God working in us.
DISCOVER WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE SAVED.
God is alive and well and working in us. We are dead in transgression and sin and we cannot save ourselves. We react to God’s amazing grace.
II. TRY TO SHINE AS LIGHTS
A. In verses 2:5-11 the humble sacrifice and exaltation of Jesus is described. All this he did for others.
1. Try to shine as lights among the people of this world…(15d). Believers react to Jesus’ love.
2. The world desperately needed God’s light. You live among people who are crooked and evil.
3. (B)ut you must not do anything that they can say is wrong. (15c). Innocent actions needed.
B. For now the wicked need to see God’s light shining. The time will come and the Lord will return.
1. Then on the day when Christ returns, I can take pride in you. I can also know that my work and
efforts were not useless.(16). Paul is looking forward to the Last Day and the perfect reunion.
2. Then Paul will see the power of God’s word that was working and shining in these faithful.
C. Your faith in the Lord and your service are like a sacrifice offered to him (17a). A sacrifice of light.
1. And my own blood may have to be poured out with the sacrifice (17b). Paul is in prison.
2. His life may end in prison. His lifeblood may be poured out as an offering with their sacrifice.
a. If this happens, I will be glad and rejoice with you (17c). No sadness at his sacrifice.
b. In the same way, you should be glad and rejoice with me (18). Joy in serving, offering.
D. The world is growing darker with each passing day. The love of most will grow cold. The world is truly crooked and evil. Where is the light? We are the light. We are the world’s final hope. Without light there is complete and utter darkness. Without believers there will no longer be any hope. "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord"(EPHESIANS 5:8-10). God’s grace has changed our lives. God’s children are to shine like stars in the midst of darkness. We do this always and whenever we find out what pleases the Lord – not the world or even ourselves.
E. Light is hard to hide. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. God has made his light shine in our hearts. We truly are learning what it means to be saved. There are still thoughtless thousands sitting in the dark. Sadly, they may not even care about the darkness in which they dwell. In response to God’s awesome, amazing grace we will try to shine as lights. "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever"(DANIEL 12:3).
F. Try to shine as lights. This phrase means more than a one-time attempt. We keep on trying. Our lives are our time of grace to reflect the great love that God has showered on us. We think of the sacrifices the people offered over and over again to point ahead to the coming of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We think of the sacrifice of Jesus, our Savior. Today we are reminded that our sacrifice is much easier. "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name"(HEBREWS 13:15). Lips that confess produce lives that try to shine as lights.
CONC.: Each day we can prayerfully begin by asking God to help us discover what it really means to be saved. We all like new discoveries. Learning and relearning the familiar truths of Scripture will send us on a new journey of discovery. We discover over and over how God is working in us. By grace through faith we are saved. In response to God’s awesome, amazing grace we will continually try to shine as lights. "Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ (= God is working in you) and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness’ (= try to shine as lights) "(2 TIMOTHY 2:19). Be excited and joyful as you DISCOVER WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO BE SAVED. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
SERVICES:
SAT – 1:00pm @ NCF Min.,
+ SUN – 12:00pm @ NCF Medium /
9:30am @ Redeemer
Sunday radio broadcast @ 9:05am on KQNK 106.7FM or 1530AM + www.kqnk.com
LENT 6 readings:
ZECHARIAH 9:9,10;
PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11;
MATTHEW 21:1-11;
(PSALM 24)
