HIS LIKENESS…MY GOAL
Text: “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-13
Introduction:
So what comes first “The Chicken or The Egg,” worship or ministry? We cannot go horizontal in ministry effectively, until we have been vertical in worship affectionately. We cannot go out until we have been up. How can I be affectionate with someone I don’t spend time with? And why would God want to spend an eternity with someone who doesn’t want to spend time with Him here? Vance Havner once said, “It doesn’t matter how high you jump but rather how straight you walk when you come down.” Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Community Church in Southern California says, the most fundamental question you can ask yourself is: “Why am I here?” The first purpose of your life is this: We were planned (created) for God’s pleasure. The two words that best describe the Christian life are “Love Affair.” Our most important responsibility as a child of God is to “Love Him and Know Him.” Jack Hayford, Pastor of The Church On The Way, said, “I now confess I had a great deal more confidence in evangelism strategies and logic in preaching than I did in the miracle of worship. I viewed worship more as a part rather than as the point of the Church’s being. Don McMinn: “Milk is nothing more than pre-digested food. A mother eats solid food and then her body converts it into a liquid form, which can easily be received and digested by an infant. Most Christians rely on their pastor or other teachers to eat the spiritual meat of the Scriptures and then change it to a form, which they can assimilate without any effort.” My encouragement is, that as you listen to this message, you will not simply accept what I have shared as truth, but that you will be like the Jews from Berea in Acts 17:11, who Paul described like this, “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so.” This morning we are going to look at how we as children of God can best accomplish the GOAL of being found in HIS LIKENESS.
In our text, Paul said that we are to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.”
I. Work Out Your Salvation With Simplicity
A.Know God
1.Philippians 3:8-11 – “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
B.Know Your Spiritual Gift
1.Romans 12:6 – “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly.”
C.Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses
1.1 Thessalonians 5:23 – “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
II. Work Out Your Salvation With Excellence
A.Excellence Of Thought
1.Philippians 4:8 – “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
B.Excellence Of Speech
1.Colossians 4:6 – “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”
C.Excellence Of Deed
1.James 1:25 – “But the one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”
III. Work Out Your Salvation With Faith
A.Faith In God
1.Hebrews 11:6 – “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
B.Faith In Others
1.2 Timothy 2:2 – “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
C.Faith In Self
1.Romans 8:1-2 – “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
