"A Biblical Response in a Broken Age"
Philippians 2:12-13
Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. 17 Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. 18 For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.
Introduction: Andy Patterson: "America is walking the Romans road to ruin! Romans 1:18-32" Oklahoma State Association of FWB's: "Remember that we are not the first believers called to proclaim the Gospel to a godless culture. God's truth is not diminished by any government's actions not is our responsibility to proclaim those truths diminished. May God give us wisdom and courage as we strive to obey God rather than man." First:
I. We should place our hope in the truth
a. Our salvation was consumated by the Savior's obedience
In verses 1-8 Paul declares that Jesus was glorified as a result of his obedience and humiliation. It was his obedience to the word and will of his Father that produced this glorification.
b. Our salvation is contingent on our obedience
In the middle of verse 12 he refers to their obedience in his presence and states that now that they are separated their obedience is even more critical. "...how much more in my absence..." Friend, have you obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Are you continuing to obey the gospel?
c. Our salvation is completed by our obedience
Our salvation is an ongoing work. Paul says to "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling..." Does this mean that we can work for our salvation? Absolutely not! Read what he has to say in verse 13.
Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Both the "willing" and the "working" come from God who does the energizing, Robertsons Word Pictures but make no mistake friend we must make sure that we are saved and that we know it. It's never been more important that it is today!
Have you been saved? Do you see yourself as a sinner? Have you confessed your sins? Have you repented (turned away from) your sins and turned to God? Have you asked God to forgive you and cleanse you and change? Have you surrendered yourself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside. "That laundry is not very clean; she doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."
Her husband looks on, remaining silent. Every time her neighbor hangs her wash to dry, the young woman makes the same comments. A month later, the woman is surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and says to her husband: "Look, she's finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this? "
The husband replies, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows." And so it is with life... What we see when watching others depends on the clarity of the window through which we look.
AMEN!!!
www.Rubyschallenge.com/watch -- with Jennifer Thompson.
II. We should hold to the truth
Robert Morgan: "How much better to obey a God who is wrapped in light rather than men who are clad in black."
How do we hold the truth? We do it by the way that we live. Let me be honest with you and state an "inconvenient truth" (remember Al Gore?) The reason we are where we are today in this culture is primarily the result of profession Christians who talk about the truth, sing about the truth, write about the truth, FB, Twitter, Instagram the truth but do not live the truth of the Gospel of Christ. What does Paul say about living the truth?
a. He talks about our mouth
Several translations of verse 14 read: "Do everything without complaining or arguing,"
b. He talks about our manner
The first four words of verse 15 translate "...that ye may become..." and then he mentions 2 things about our manner: First, we are to be blameless (in ourselves) and harmless (to others.) Second, we are to be "...the sons of God, without rebuke..." which means our conduct should demonstrate that we are God's children, that we have been born of God. The last part means that we live in such a way that no charge can be laid against us.
c. He talks about our mission
"...in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world..." He tells these believers that if they really live the truth that they will be "luminaries," they will be "incandescent," that they will shine like a "candle in the dark!"
Matthew 5:16 Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
III. We should herald the truth
Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.
Matthew 10:27 What I tell you in the darkness, speak ye in the light; and what ye hear in the ear, proclaim upon the house-tops.
a. The virtue
Jesus is the light of the world and we are to be light-bearers, reflecting His light.
b. The value
Notice that Paul speaks of sacrifice and service. No matter what happens we are to keep on serving God and doing whatever he calls us to do, even to the point of sacrifice if need be!
c. The Victor
We close this section with Paul's statement about rejoicing "...in the day of Christ..." What is this day? There is only one answer to this question. It is the day when Jesus will come as the righteous judge. It is the day when those who have made their calling and election sure will rejoice. It is a day when all those who have rebelled against God and His word will meet Him in judgment.
Conclusion: Let me close our study this morning by reminding us all of what Paul wrote just before the section of text that we studied today. God back to Philippians 2:9 and read with me:
Philippians 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
I want to close with a quote from a statement from Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: "In one sense, everything has changed. And yet, nothing has changed. The cultural and legal landscape has changed, as we believe this will lead to very real harm to our neighbors. But our Christian responsibility has not changed. We are charged to uphold marriage as the union of a man and a woman and to speak the truth in love. We are also commanded to uphold the truth about marriage in our own lives, in our own marriages, in our own families, and in our own churches. We are called to be the people of the truth, even when the truth is not popular and even when the truth is denied by the culture around us. Christians have found themselves in this position before, and we will again. God's truth has not changed. The Holy Scriptures have not changed. The gospel of Jesus Christ has not changed. The church's mission has not changed. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever."
PRAYER WORKS
George Muller was born in Prussia on September 27, 1805. His father was a collector of taxes and George seemed to inherit his father's ability with figures.
When Muller was converted to Christ he was impressed by the many recurring statements of Jesus for us "to ask." At this point in Muller's life he and his wife launched into a daring experiment. First, they gave away all of their household goods. The next step was even more daring, he refused all regular salary from the small mission he had been serving. He then set out to establish an orphan home to care for the homeless children of England.
The first home was dedicated in a rented building on April 21, 1836. Within a matter of days, 43 orphans were being cared for. Muller and his co-workers decided their experiment would be set up with the following guidelines:
1- No funds would ever be solicited.
2- No debts were ever to be incurred.
3- No money contributed for a specific purpose would ever be used for any other purpose.
4- All accounts would be audited annually.
5- No ego-pandering by the publication of donor's names.
6- No "names" of prominent people would be sought for the board or to advertise the institution.
7- The success of the orphanage would be measured not by the numbers served or by the amount of money taken in, but by God's blessing on the work, which Muller expected to be in direct proportion to the time spent in prayer.
When the first building was constructed, Muller and his friends remained true to their convictions. The public was amazed when a second building was opened six months after the first. They kept concentrating on prayer and eventually there were five new buildings, 110 workers, and 2,050 orphans being cared for.
George Muller not only counted on God to provide, but he believed that God would provide abundantly. For over 60 years Muller recorded every specific prayer request and the results. Muller was responsible for the care of 9,500 orphans during his life. These children never went without a meal. Muller never asked for help from anyone but God. $7,500,000 came to him over the course of his life and he vows it was all in answer to believing prayer.
SOURCE: Steve Shepherd. Citation: Boyce Mouton, Carl Junction Christian Church Newsletter, January 30, 1980.
