Happiness Through Being an Example
Jeffery Anselmi / General
Be Happy / Happiness; Joy; Obedience and Disobedience / Philippians 2:12–18
Live the kind of life that will make others want to follow Jesus.
INTRODUCTION
• One of the things we search for in life is happiness. There are so many things out there that can make finding happiness difficult.
• We tend to link our happiness to the circumstances surrounding us.
• If our circumstances are good, we are happy; if they are not, we struggle with being happy.
• When we think of the link we make between happiness and circumstances, we see that the Apostle Paul does not seem to have this link.
• Paul had been through so many trying circumstances since the day he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.
• In America, we tend to imply that coming to Jesus makes life easy, and if it doesn't, you must have done something wrong.
• How can Paul, who had faced and was in the midst of some trying circumstances, able to maintain joy and happiness despite the circumstances he found himself?
• Sometimes, I'm not too fond of Paul, if I am not careful, I can also easily allow myself not to be happy, and I have not been through a fraction of what Paul faced in his life as a disciple of Jesus.
• As we seek to find the key to being able to be happy, even when the circumstances would not seem to allow it, in our passage today, Paul offers us the keys to being happy, even when it looks like we cannot.
• In the text today, we will see that Paul understands something essential concerning life; life is not all about me.
• When we start to grasp the concept that life is not all about me, I have a deeper purpose for my life than just satisfying me and my rights, wants, and desires, it changes something within our soul.
• In Philippians 2:12-18, we will see three areas that we are called to be an example to those around us.
• We need to realize that God has called us to be like everyone else; we are not to be like those who have not given their lives to Jesus.
• When things are falling apart around us, we need people who are faithfully following God to be examples of how following Jesus is not only about entering heaven but following Jesus will bring blessings in this life.
• People need to see that we are different and that we are different because Jesus makes a difference in our lives.
› The Big Idea of the Message is simple: Live the kind of life that will make others want to follow Jesus.
• Let’s turn to Philippians 2:12-18, we will begin with verses 12-13.
Philippians 2:12–13 CSB
12 Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.
SERMON
Finding happiness through
I. Endeavoring to be an example of faithful obedience.
• Verse 12 begins with, THEREFORE. Therefore denotes that what Paul shares with us ties back to the example of Jesus back in verses 6-11 in this chapter.
• Verses 12 offers an exhortation, while verse 13 gives incentives to obey exhortation in verse 12.
• When you read verse 12, one can sense the love that Paul has for the people.
• One of the great things about being a leader in God’s church is loving the people. Look at the encouraging way he opens this verse.
Philippians 2:12 CSB
12 Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
• The word OBEY means to obey as a result of hearing.
• The Philippians were following God and keeping His commands found in the Gospel!
• These folks were genuinely obedient to God. They were not on special behavior if Paul was around. They were obedient when he was not around.
• The blessing in this thought tells you these folks were faithful to God, not to Paul.
• Do you act differently from a faith standpoint when certain people are around you? I don't know, like Grandma?
• If you find yourself doing that, maybe your faith is in the wrong place, or perhaps you are trying to impress the wrong people? Do you think that God knows you are different around different people?
• With that said, we have certain people we are around where we want to be on our best behavior; however, since God is always with us, shouldn't we strive to be our best all of the time?
• I would imagine it felt good for the people to hear that Paul feels like they are obeying God all of the time.
• I have found that when people are not doing well, you have to encourage them, not tear them apart.
• Now we come to the interesting part of the verse. The end of verse 12 should cause us to step back and pause.
• The end of verse 12 should make us think about the effort we are putting into our faith.
• The end of verse 12 says:
• Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
• This phrase is the exhortation of verse 12.
• There is so much in this part of the verse that we could spend all day in this, but I will condense the phrase for time's sake.
• What does it mean to WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION?
• I thought salvation was a free gift, and some would teach we do nothing to receive that gift. (Which is not true; we have to respond to God's call to faith, repentance, confession, and baptism.)
• This verse is not a proof-text for one striving to EARN their salvation, but rather the admonition is for us to apply our salvation to our life.
• The phrase WORK OUT denotes one who is continually called to work on applying it to life.
• The word WORK means to bring to completion, to a full and complete conclusion.
• Paul tells them they are doing this already, but he needs them to keep doing it.
• Each person is responsible for applying their salvation to their OWN life.
• Sometimes we spend WAY too much time worrying about the way everyone around us applies their own salvation to their lives, that we neglect or excuse our own lack of effort.
• In the previous verses we covered last week, one of the ways we WORK OUT our own salvation is by being of the same love, the same mind, and in humility, serving one another.
• Working out one’s salvation is all about being FAITHFUL to God!
• To work out one's salvation is to comply with the conditions on which God has promised to save. To so live in accordance with God's word that he will be fitted to be saved.
• The thing for man to do is to fit himself for salvation, then God will save him. He can be fitted for salvation only by complying with the law God has given to discipline and fit him. (Gospel Advocate Commentary)
› How are you working out your salvation today?
• Then we are told to work out our salvation with fear and trembling?
• This statement seems odd in the context of a loving God?
• Fear is a wholesome dread of offending God and trembling is the anxiety to obey God all of the time.
• What this part of the verse does not mean is that we are to go around terrified of God.
• The passage paints a graphic picture that tells us that the loving God we serve, deserves to be respected because He is God.
• I think there are times we forget who we are dealing with.
• We think our God is such a God of love that He is a push over and that we can disrespect Him as much as we want without any consequences.
• God is a God of love, but He is still God and deserves our RESPECT!
• Verse 13 gives us the motivation for doing what is in verse 12!
• God is working in you!
Philippians 2:13 CSB
13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.
• The emphasis is on GOD in this verse.
• When Paul writes that God is working in you both to will and to work, what this means is that God prompts our hearts through the Holy Spirit to bring a desire in us to do God’s will. We have to allow ourselves to follow that prompting.
• That desire then will lead us to work for His purposes!
• God will give us the help and energy to do what He has called us to do!
• The world needs to see examples of faithful obedience!
• We can find happiness in life when we understand that we are called to be that example.
• If we handle life like everyone else in the world, what do we have to offer lost people?
• Let’s turn to verse 14-16.
Philippians 2:14–16 CSB
14 Do everything without grumbling and arguing,
15 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,
16 by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing.
Finding happiness through
II. Endeavoring to be an example of positive obedience.
• Here is a fun one for us.
• The world already thinks that serving God is dumb, boring, and pointless.
• How do you handle doing things you do not like to do?
• Do you drag your feet? Do you do the slow walk? EXAMPLE OF CHILDREN.
• Do you grumble and argue?
• Paul tells us we need to be a positive example to the world by doing EVERYTHING (THAT STUPID WORD AGAIN!) without grumbling or arguing!
• This ties into the thought of verse 13 when it speaks of working out your salvation.
• We MUST be a positive example of what that looks like.
• Jonah is someone who should have thought about this.
• God gave him a job to do, he did not want to do it because he did not want God to forgive the people of Nineveh because Jonah hated them.
• After a short detour in the ocean, Jonah did do what God called hIm to do, but he hated it and he pouted because of the fact the people were responding to his preaching.
• In this section, Paul lays out three reasons he wants them to be positive examples of being obedient to God.
1. He desired to Philippians to be blameless and pure!
• Unsaved people are not blameless and pure and Christians do not easily get there either.
• Blameless means to be above reproach whereas pure means to be innocent.
• Blameless deals with our external actions whereas pure deals with our internal motives.
• Thus these Philippian Christians were to be outwardly and inwardly correct that they might be no hindrance nor scandal to the name of Jesus Christ; and inwardly correct because no mere outward correctness can long be maintained without inward correctness.
• These traits are distinguishing marks of the children of God, and they should be cultivated and honored. If the followers of Christ would only see to it that their lives are all blameless and harmless, the cause of Christ would make greater progress. (Gospel Advocate Commentary)
• The second reason for displaying positive obedience is Paul wants to them to be of the greatest service to others!
• This is what the the latter part of verse 15 implies.
• We are called to be lights to the world, however, if we are not serving with joy, we are setting a bad example and as a result our ability to reach others is hindered.
• We have to hold firm to the Word of Life if we are going to have an impact for Jesus.
• The third reason is that Paul wants to be proud of them as seen in the latter part of verse 16.
• Paul wants these folks to have a major impact for the good for the kingdom of God!
• Listen, it is hard enough to influence others for Jesus. We have to make sure we do not shipwreck our call by our words and deeds.
• Let’s conclude with verses 16-17.
Philippians 2:17–18 CSB
17 But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.
18 In the same way you should also be glad and rejoice with me.
Finding happiness through
III. Endeavoring to be an example of joyful obedience.
• Paul knows his days are numbered.
• He speaks of being poured out as a drink offering.
• A drink offering would accompany a sacrifice, being poured atop it or at the foot of the altar (cf. 2 Kings 16:13; Jer 7:18; Hos 9:4).
• So whatever Paul endured for their sake completed their faith, as the drink completed the sacrifice.
• “Sacrifice and service” compliments the readers.
• Paul skillfully urged them to greater holiness by alternating compliment and command.
• “You are good, but you must be better.”
• A drink offering was not significant if made alone, and Paul’s work for them would lose its purpose if they did not continue to grow in obedience.
• The term for “poured out” is found as well in 2 Tim 4:6, where Paul contemplated his death.
2 Timothy 4:6 CSB
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close.
• Paul was willing to face death to further the cause of the maturity of the faith of the Philippian church.
• For Paul, whatever was to happen was worth it for the furthering of the Gospel!
CONCLUSION
• Our application point is important to grasp.
• We all must live out the light of Jesus in our daily lives.
• We are serving the one and only God.
• Do we realize that? What a privilege to have the opportunity.
• I have always dreamed of serving in the White House one day, much like my dreams of playing Major League Baseball, I will most likely never see that day.
• My desire to do so has been my fascination and love for my country and its history. I have been in the White House when I was 12 years old.
• I will never forget that experience. To walk the same place as some of the greatest Presidents that ever lived.
• Even as a 12-year-old, I knew I had to be different, even just walking into that place, being in the presence of such history.
• Folks, the world is watching because the world is looking for answers.
• Let them see what Jesus does for us so we can get them to the point where they will want Him to do that for them!
