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Sermon Notes: notes.cornerstonesj.org
Philippians 2
Good morning everybody. Good morning family. We're just about to start, okay.
Happy Independence Week. As I said in the first service that we were very fortunate to have two independents.
The first one was in our country. The second one is our salvation that we have and we get to do this today and celebrate it with communion.
So thank you so much for coming to Cornerstone Church. My name is Ivan Salera. I'm one of the elders here and I'm just going to be doing announcements and then
I'll be off the stage there. If you're not familiar, but there's a Church Center app that's a lot of the programming that we have here is in there.
But the big one that's really standing out for all of us right now is Vacation Bible School which starts
August 5th through the 9th of the Great Jungle Journey. You can register your child if you plan to do that through the application.
There's a big application registration on there and also tomorrow, well actually tonight, they'll have prayer meeting and then
Tuesday morning they'll have the women's ministry starting at 930.
Men's ministry has been on hiatus till September. We're just taking the summer off.
On Thursdays they have a men's Bible study, I mean a family Bible study here at the church through Drew and that's going through ACTS right now which is a great, great
Bible study by the way. And what else? Am I missing anything else? I don't think so.
Yeah, Marriage Matters. Marriage Matters is if Bill's there or Janice.
I don't know but Marriage Matters is coming out. I believe Janice may be giving out some flyers but, and I've done it, it's a lot of fun.
But it's limited to five couples, maybe six, but check with Janice and Bill Biddle.
It's a great, great ministry. It's a great time for fellowship and I would recommend that for anybody who really wants to get to know other people within the church and have a new rediscovery in their marriage there.
During this time though there's a lot of friction and upheaval that's going on, that's happening in the world, especially in our country right now.
And a verse came to mind that I wanted to just share with everybody. It's in Micah 7 .7 and if you know the book of Micah, Micah, one of the smaller books,
Prophets, was really reaching out to the leadership of the
Israelites during that time that were very, very corrupt and leading down the Israelites down a path of destruction and sin and lawlessness.
And he came with two messages, one of justice and conviction, the other one was of hope.
And in Micah 7 .7 he says, but as far as for me, he goes, I watch in hope for my
Lord, I wait for God, my Savior, my God will hear me.
And it's a great encouragement in that verse for just what's going on with us there as the world seems to be turning upside down.
We have a great hope and we have a sovereign God who knows all things, who does all things, who's over all things.
And his providence we see every single day. So let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this wonderful Sunday, Lord.
We thank you, Lord, for the message that Tim's going to be bringing today for Phil, who with the worship team, the wonderful songs that are coming out there.
I thank you, Lord, for this communion that we get to celebrate that, Lord. I pray that you be with each one of us, open our hearts and our minds,
Lord, to hear the message, the clear message from Philippians today, Lord. And I pray that you would just put your hand on us to honor you and everything we do and say in your blessed and holy name, amen.
Let's all stand. Psalm 106 says, who can utter all the mighty deeds of the
Lord and who can declare all his praises? Lord, your praises are too numerous,
Lord. We're so finite, so small to even comprehend everything that you've done, Lord.
All of your vast greatness, Lord. God, we will give you all the praise and all the glory,
Lord, for everything that we know that's been revealed to us. So, Lord God, we just pray that you would come and inhabit our praises this morning,
Lord. Let us sing as one voice before you, Lord, for all the praise and all the glory is yours. Who tells the sun to rise every morning?
Who colors the sky with the shades of his glory? Who weeps or swims to see and love what
Jesus does? Who holds the orphan and comforts the widow?
Who cries for justice and feels every sorrow? Who keeps the weak and his children
Jesus does? So we sing praise to the
Father who gave us the Son. Praise to the
Spirit who stayed in us when I was a sinner.
He saved me from who I was. That's what
Jesus does. Who understands the heart of sin, showers his grace over all our mistakes, and washes us clean in his blood?
Jesus does. Yes, he does. Who sings the song of sweet forgiveness?
Who holds the keys of heaven and the grave? Who has the power to save?
Jesus does. Yes, he does. So we sing praise to the
Jesus does. Oh what a friend.
Oh what a Savior. He's always been good. He's always been faithful.
He came to my rescue when I needed him most. He saved my soul.
Oh what a friend. Oh what a
Savior. He's always been good. He's always been faithful.
So we sing praise to the Father who gave us the
Son. Praise to the Spirit who's living in us when
I was a sinner. He saved me from who I was.
God, I know that's what Jesus does.
Amen. Praise you, Lord. Praise you, Lord. Jesus said,
I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live. Lord God, we just thank you for calling us.
You called us by name, Lord. I was buried beneath my shame.
Who could carry that kind of weight?
It was not till I met you.
I was breathing but not alive.
All my failures I tried to hide.
You called my name and I ran out of that grave.
Out of the darkness into your glorious day.
Lord, your mercy has saved my soul.
Now your freedom is all that I know.
The old made new. Jesus, when
I met you. When you called my name and I ran out of that grave.
I needed rescue. My sin was heavy. The chains break at the weight of your glory.
I needed shelter. I was an orphan. Now you call me a sinner, sin of heaven.
When I was broken, you were my healing. Now your love is the air that I'm breathing.
I have a future. My eyes are open. When you called my name and I ran out of that grave.
Out of the darkness into your glorious day. Micah 719 says he will tread over our iniquities.
All of our iniquities he will tread underfoot. He will cast all of our sins into the depths of the sea.
God, we just pray, take our sins as far as from the East is to the West. God, that's how far they need to be for us.
So that we can walk in your holiness, that we can stand in your presence around your throne. Lord, because no sin can ever abide in your presence.
Lord God, so we thank you and we believe through faith that you've taken that.
You bore it upon yourself, Lord God. We give you all the praise for that,
Lord God. Thank you. What love could remember, no wrongs we have done.
Commission all knowing, he counts not their sum.
Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore.
For sins they are many, his mercy is more.
Praise the Lord. His mercy is more.
Stronger than darkness, new and remore.
What nations would wait as we constantly roam.
What Father so tender is calling us home.
He welcomes the weakest of our list of poor.
What riches of kindness he lavished on us.
His blood was the payment, his life was the cost.
We stood near the dead, we could never afford.
Alleluia. Alleluia.
Alleluia. For the Lord God Almighty reigns. Alleluia. Alleluia.
For the Lord God Almighty reigns. Alleluia. Holy, holy.
Are you Lord God Almighty.
Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the
Lamb. You are holy, holy.
Lamb. Amen. Alleluia.
Alleluia. Alleluia. For the
Lord God Almighty reigns. Alleluia.
Alleluia. For the Lord God Almighty reigns.
Alleluia. Holy, holy.
Are you Lord God Almighty. Worthy is the
Lamb, worthy is the Lamb. You are holy, holy.
Lamb, worthy is the Lamb. Amen.
That's all these. In Luke 22 15,
Jesus said to them, I have eagerly desired to share this Passover with you before I suffer.
And that final Passover was eagerly desired and divinely planned from before time began.
Every Passover before looked ahead to Christ's death on the cross and every
Lord's table since looks back to remember his sacrifice. So I'd like to share two essential principles of the
Passover this morning. But before I do, I need to review the circumstances of the first Passover.
So the descendants of Jacob, all of Israel had been in slavery for 400 years in Egypt.
Exodus 2 23 says their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.
And when the time God set forth was right, God sent Moses and 10 plagues.
And the 10th and final plague upon Egypt was the death of every firstborn of both mankind and cattle.
So in this act, God manifest his judgment against the land of Egypt.
All of Egypt faced God's judgment, just like each of us. Every man and woman today face
God's judgment for our sin. So the first principle about the first Passover is this
God's satisfaction for judgment requires a death. Ezekiel 18 20 says the soul that sins shall die and Romans 6 23 says the wages of sin is death.
But listen to Exodus 12 30. It says and there was a great cry in Egypt for there was not a house where someone was not dead.
So God's just God's justice requires death. But that death can be the death of an innocent substitute.
So this is the second principle of the Passover. God delivers through the death of an innocent substitute.
The death of the Passover lamb in the place of one for whom death was deserved.
This is salvation. Simply being a
Hebrew didn't cause the angel of death to pass through. But it was by the death of the lamb and applying the blood to the doorposts.
And as the angel of death passed through, he would see the blood and pass by. The sacrificial animal itself was never satisfactory to God and following that first Passover.
Men and women were delivered from God's judgment by faith alone in the death of the innocent substitute.
The same as we are saved today. At the final
Passover where Jesus sat with his disciples, God chose his Passover lamb to be that innocent substitute.
That would once forever and always satisfy God's just requirement.
God is both just and the justifier of the wicked. And in that upper room the night he was betrayed,
Jesus transformed that final Passover into the Lord's table. At the
Lord's table, believers share communion and celebrate that innocent substitute that took our place.
We publicly testify of God's saving power through Christ's death and resurrection.
In a courtroom, if someone tries to testify about something that they don't have firsthand knowledge, the opposing attorney will object and say the testimony is only hearsay and it's inadmissible in the court.
So in other words, the witness is trying to testify about something that they don't personally have firsthand experience of.
What they speak about may be true, but they haven't personally experienced it yet.
So they can't be a true witness of that. Just as the
Israelites had to apply the blood of the lamb to the doorposts to be delivered. I, we, you as individuals must repent, which means turning from your sin.
And believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ to be a true witness. And even the word repent,
I think it's misunderstood today. Repent, we know means to change the mind.
But that means very little I think to a lot of people today because we are so easy to change our mind.
It's very easy to change your mind. But to the Jew, the mind was not just something that could be changed easily.
The mind is the totality of who you are. It's your mind, your will, your emotions, everything that make up.
So when this is saying change your mind, it's a complete reversal, a complete change.
Not something that can be flip -flopped by someone else's opinion. The last thing
I would say is do not deceive yourself that you have communion with Christ if you're not one in Christ.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever therefore eats the bread and drinks the cup of the
Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.
That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.
But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Ushers, if you'd come forward, let's pray.
Lord, we pray that you would do your work in hearts during this time as we reflect on your sacrifice,
Lord. God, I pray for every believer here,
Lord. I pray that you would convict of sin, even sin that we might overlook,
Lord God. Jesus, just as you told
Peter and the disciples after you washed their feet, you said, If a man is clean, he need only wash his feet and his would be all clean,
Lord. So we know that we are purchased by the precious blood of the lamb,
Lord. But reveal to us those things that we need to confess so that we are fully clean before you,
Lord. And Lord, I pray for any unbelievers in this place, Lord. God, I pray that you would bring your conviction as they've heard the truth,
Lord God, that the truth would set them free, Lord. Your word is truth. God, I pray that you would bring conviction, that you would bring a knowledge of sin, a repentance of sin,
Lord God, and a knowledge that they need you to be that spotless, that innocent substitute, that the only way that they could be forgiven for their sins and stand justified before a holy
God. In Jesus name, I pray. When he had given thanks, he broke it and said,
This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, he also took the cup after supper, saying,
This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
Amen. Phil, not bad for your first time. Alright. Let's pray.
Father God, thank you for your blood that you spilled for us. Thank you for your body that was broken for us.
Thank you that you sent your son, Father, to come and live as a human being, and not just to be served, but to serve, that he left his kingdom on high to become a servant.
We thank you for his humble example of how to live the human life. We thank you for your son and what he's done for us, dying on the cross and rising from the dead.
We pray now that we can look at your word and that we would change. If your word is really true, then it should change us.
I pray that you would work in us and send your spirit to fall on us, that we would hear your word, and that we would obey, and that we would be glad, and that we would rejoice in it.
In Jesus' name, amen. Alright. Today is the day that the
Lord has made, so we will rejoice and be glad.
I'm going to have to tell you, first service was a little better than you guys. But we're happy, right?
We're rejoicing, being glad. And that's what the book of Philippians is about.
So, if you guys would turn your Bibles to the book of Philippians. The book of Philippians is a book about joy.
Sometimes, one of the youth or someone will come up to me and they will ask me, hey Tim, I'm feeling a little down, you know,
I'm down in the dumps, what's a good passage of scripture to read? And I say, read the book of Philippians.
It's a great book. If you're in a bad mood or a sad mood, I think
Philippians will do the trick. It's all about joy, and encouragement, and rejoicing, and it's just a happy, warm, and fuzzy book.
And I love it. So when I'm down in the dumps, or I'm not feeling that great, sometimes that happens, right?
Life is hard sometimes. The book of Philippians does cheer me up. So, maybe you guys can read the book of Philippians next time you're down in the dumps, or just read it, even when you're happy, it'll keep that happiness.
So, the theme of Philippians is encouragement and joy. John has been walking us through the book, and it's a very
Christ -centered, gospel -focused book, and that's the kind of life that Paul lived.
He was Christ -centered and gospel -focused. That's the kind of life that every believer in Christ ought to be living.
So I'm going to go through just a little recap of what John has taught us so far, just highlighting some verses along the way in chapter 1.
He starts his letter out thanking God in a prayer, thanking
God for the Philippians. And he says every time he thanks God for the Philippians and remembers the
Philippians in his prayer, he becomes joyful. It brings him joy. So when you guys pray,
I hope when you're praying for people in this church, it brings you joy. When I pray for Cornerstone Church, and I think of people from our church, it brings me joy because we have this partnership in the gospel.
And that's what the Philippians and Paul had, a partnership in the gospel. And Paul encouraged them with this verse,
Philippians 1 -6. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
That is such an encouraging verse because that tells me that it's not just up to me, it's up to the
Lord because I know that He began a good work in me. And I trust Him that He will finish it for the day of Jesus Christ.
He will finish that work He started. It's not just up to me to complete it because if it was, I don't have faith in myself like I have faith in Jesus Christ.
I have faith in Him. He started the work, and I know He'll finish it. And I know He'll do the same for you guys.
So when we give out the graduation cards or I go to a graduation party, I try to write that verse in there for Christians, Philippians 1 -6.
I love that verse. And it's because they're partakers of grace.
Everyone who believes in Jesus and is living a gospel -centered life, it's because they're partakers of grace.
And the Philippians were partakers of grace in Paul's imprisonment and in the defense and the confirmation of the gospel.
They had one another's back. And he also prayed, this is a great prayer to pray over people, in Philippians 1 -9.
His prayer is that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment.
That's something that we all should be praying for each other, that our love would abound more and more. Who wouldn't want that?
Love abounding more and more with knowledge and all discernment. And then verse 12.
Oh, by the way, Paul is in prison when he writes this. So Paul is happy and joyful, although the circumstances are not in his favor.
He's in Roman prison. It's not a cakewalk. It's very difficult. And yet he's very happy and joyful.
And Paul's mind is so gospel -centered that he just wants the gospel to advance. And that's his main focus.
His main focus isn't the house that he's living in. He's in prison. His main focus isn't things of the world.
It's about the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he was happy that he got locked up because he says the gospel is going out even more.
He says, I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
That's what Paul wants to have happen, and that's what happened. And for that, he's rejoicing.
Because the whole Imperial Guard and all the rest that are at the imprisonment, they know that the imprisonment is for Christ.
Because Paul was preaching Jesus and Jesus crucified, that's why they locked him up.
Some people go to jail because they deserve it. In my opinion, Paul didn't deserve to go to jail. He was suffering for the sake of the name, suffering alongside of Jesus Christ.
And because of that, people who knew Paul and met Paul in prison now became more bold and were proclaiming the gospel boldly.
Some did it out of selfish gain, maybe trying to mock Paul, or maybe for selfish reasons.
And others did it out of love. But either way, Paul says he rejoices that the gospel is being preached.
Sometimes I watch preachers on TV or hear them on the radio, and they're pretty famous. I might not agree with them theologically, and maybe they're not that great of a church, but when they're preaching the gospel and they do mention that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead and preached a clear gospel,
I rejoice in that. And I pray that some people do get saved, because some people do get saved through preachers, and it's
God that saves and it's His word, so I pray that the word goes out. But when it does go out, no matter who it is,
I rejoice that God's word is going out, that the gospel is being preached. Christ is being proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
And Paul says that, he rejoices because of that. And then one of my other favorite verses is
Philippians 1 .21. You guys probably know it. For to me, to live is
Christ, and to die is gain. Paul was locked up, and he was thinking, like, life is kind of hard.
You know, if I die, I'll be with heaven, and that's gain, and it's better for me to die and be with Jesus in heaven.
But he says, for other people's sake, it's probably better that I live, and that would mean fruitful labor for me.
And I don't know how he was able to choose it, but he says, I don't know which one he'll choose, and then he eventually says,
I'm going to choose the fruitful labor, because it's better for Paul that he dies and is with Christ, but it's better for all that he stays around and preaches the gospel and continues to live a gospel -centered,
Christ -centered life. So that he can have fruitful labor. And Paul let his manner of life be worthy of the gospel, and he encouraged the
Philippians to do the same thing. Your manner of life is really not worthy at all if you're preaching
Christ, but you're not living like Christ. Nothing's changed. When we hear the word and we believe the word, everything should change.
Your attitude should change, your behavior should change, and everything should change. So he says, not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake.
So, if you're not doing any suffering at all for Jesus Christ, you can't think of one time someone mocked you for being a
Christian, or got mad at maybe one of your Facebook posts, or got mad at one of your
Instagram posts, or is annoyed at you being a Christian, then it might be because you're not living it out the way you ought to.
When you're living in a dark world, full of worldly dark people, and you're a light, people are going to notice that light, and some people will love it, and some people will hate it.
And for Paul, he counted the cost and he lived for Christ, and he ended up getting locked up.
But he still rejoiced in that because the suffering was for Jesus Christ. In chapter 2,
John preached last week in chapter 2, and it was a beautiful picture of Jesus leaving his kingdom on high, and becoming a little newborn, well,
I guess you could say pre -born, Jewish baby. Jesus left his kingdom, he was always
God, eternity passed, and he added humanity to his deity. He still remained fully
God, and fully human, as John taught us last week. Now, he could have probably entered the world as a 33 -year -old, and then died, and suffered, and paid the penalty.
I suppose maybe he could have done that, but he humbly became a baby, and grew up among his own people, and lived in a household, and was an older brother probably to his siblings, and lived a whole life worthy of the gospel, and obeying
God. He lived an obedient life to the
Father, and he was humble in the way he did things. He was humble in the way he chose his disciples, and who he chose.
It was kind of a ragtag bunch. It wasn't the most famous, and popular, and powerful people in the world. They were mainly fishermen, and average people.
Some tax collectors, and Jesus changed them, and picked them because he was humble, and chose humble people out of this world to believe in him.
He endured being betrayed by one of them. He knew the entire time that Judas was going to betray him, yet he treated him with respect, just like all the others, because when it was time for, when they were sitting at the table,
Jesus said that one of you is going to betray me, and they didn't know it was Judas. They had no clue. They're like, is it me?
Is it me? Is it me? And he revealed it was Judas, and he still treated him kindly, and it was very humble.
He endured the authorities under authority, and even on his trials, Pontius Pilate, he was very humble in the way he spoke, or didn't speak.
Even the crowds were shouting, crucify him, although he did nothing wrong. They even chose a murderer,
Barabbas, over him. He was very, very humble in all of that. He endured all the mocking, the crown of thorns, the mocking that he was king of the
Jews, and yet he was king of the Jews. They just didn't recognize that his kingdom is not of this world. And he humbly laid down his life.
No one took it from Jesus. He laid down his life on his own accord, humbly laid down his life.
And not only did he come and live, he came and died, and even death on a cross. How humiliating.
Think about it. The God of the universe who made the heavens and earth came to his own people, lived a perfect life, lived a good life, and they still crucified him, and even death on a cross.
He died, and that was the plan. God planned that from the beginning, so although the devil and the
Jewish authorities and everyone didn't like them, they were working towards the same goal as Jesus. Jesus wanted to die, and they wanted him dead.
But he was humbly following the Father's will. And when he died, he rose again, giving us all this amazing and great hope of eternal life, and God highly exalted him.
He was humble, and then he was exalted. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble, and he exalts the humble.
And Jesus was the most humble man to ever live. The second was probably Moses. And he gave
Jesus the name above all names, that at his name, every knee, every knee will bow to him, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord for the glory of the Father. That will happen. Now, some of you do that now, and you've made that decision that Jesus is
Lord, and you bow the knee now, and that is a good decision. And some people, they don't make that decision to bow the knee now, but that's a bad decision, and they're gonna have to bow later.
So a lot of us will be bowing on that day to Jesus Christ when we meet him, and we'll be doing it joyfully because we accepted him as Lord and Savior here on earth.
But there's some people that will be doing it grumbly and resentfully and mad that Jesus Christ is
Lord, and they will admit that Jesus Christ is Lord when they see him, and every knee will do this.
So it's better to now put your faith in Christ and bow the knee now before it's too late.
Those of us who've done that look forward to that day. It's our great hope. So we're gonna be in Philippians chapter two.
We're gonna continue where John left off. Chapter two, verses 12 and 18, and it starts off, therefore, so therefore in light of what
John taught last week, this is who Jesus is. This is what Jesus done. Because of all this, because of his humility and his humbleness and his servant heart, therefore, this is how ought you to live.
Now you take the action. You apply it. This is the application to the following verses.
That's why therefore is there. 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 may be blameless and innocent children of God, blameless children in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to 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, 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.
Okay, bringing it back to verse 12. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence.
So the Philippian church had a very good relationship with Paul. They obeyed in the past, and Paul is encouraging them to continue in obedience and continue in that partnership.
But even when I'm gone, because it's easy when Paul's around, that's probably easy to do work also because Paul's probably doing a lot of the work.
So when they're gone, they need to work even harder to bear some of the workload that Paul was doing, but even more so to continue in their own faith, not just the faith of Paul's, but to continue in obedience, not just when
Paul's around, but even in his absence. They probably were very dependent on Paul, but it was time for them to continue in the faith.
And this was Paul's goal. He wanted them to make it blamelessly for the day of Jesus Christ.
That was Paul's goal, that the gospel would advance, but the gospel would stay and the spirit would come upon people and the spirit would do the work.
Later on in verse 12, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Now, some of you guys might be thinking, okay, how do I work out my own salvation? Now, do we all have a duty to work out our own salvation?
In a way, we all have a duty to figure out who Christ is and follow God and obey by the rules.
The problem is we just never will do that without God's help. So this doesn't mean work out your own salvation, do enough good, and eventually work, work, work, work, and then you'll make it into heaven and obtain grace.
That won't work. It's like grabbing a baseball and trying to hit the moon.
Right? If you can do that, let's just say you have eternal life. The problem is no one can do that.
Some of us might be able to throw it farther, like Noah Meyer, he might be able to throw it pretty high in the sky, but it's never going to reach the moon.
So no matter how good you are and how good you do, it's not going to be good enough. So it's not like you can work towards your salvation.
Rather, what this verse means, it means work out your salvation. The salvation is already in you.
God put his spirit in you. Now God wants to work it out of you. Now putting it into practice because when your heart changes, and that means everything will change.
Your heart changes for the gospel, and then now your life reflects what you believe.
So a lot of the books in the Bible, it talks about believing in Jesus, seeing what
Jesus has done, and you believe, but then it talks about your behavior and how it should change your behavior. So when we believe in Christ, it's because we were appointed eternal life before the foundations of the world.
God chose us. Not because there was something good about us or we deserved it.
He chose us out of grace and out of love for us, and he appointed some of us to believe in the gospel, the gospel being that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead.
Anyone who believes that message will get the spirit, and the Holy Spirit is your guarantee to make it into heaven, to have entrance into eternal life.
So you should be asking yourself, okay, do I have the Holy Spirit? But if the spirit of God is inside of you, you probably know it.
It's the spirit of God. It changes everything. Your thinking, everything that you do is different.
Things that you once loved before, now you hate. Things that you didn't wanna do before, now you wanna do.
It's a pleasure and a joy to obey Jesus Christ. It's a pleasure and a joy to serve
Jesus Christ and do good for Jesus Christ. So what that verse means is that it's working out your salvation, and then it talks about fear and trembling.
And you say, well, if you're a Christian and it's working out your salvation, what is there to be afraid of?
Christians still fear the Lord. They're not to fear man, they're not to fear anything else. Do not fear.
But Christians should have a healthy fear of God. And throughout the Bible, you'll see, if you read the entire
Bible, you'll see stories of men who didn't fear God and it didn't go well with them. But you'll see some stories of men who did fear the
Lord and it went well with them. And God guided them and loved them and blessed them. If you look in Genesis 22, you'll see that Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son
Isaac on a cross. And all of that was to see, it was a test to see if Abraham really feared the
Lord. Now, Abraham believed in God, but the test was, does he really fear the Lord? In verse 22, 12, it says, the angel of the
Lord says to Abraham, right as he was about to kill his son, he said, do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him.
For now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me.
And then another guy in Genesis is Joseph. We know that he lived a life fearing
God, a God fearing man, sold into slavery by his own brothers and then put in prison, having dreams of God.
And then eventually living in Potiphar's house. He wasn't afraid of Potiphar, but he feared the
Lord. That's why he didn't lay down with Potiphar's life. He feared God. He couldn't sin against his
God. It wasn't sinning against Potiphar. It was, I can't do this to my God. He feared the Lord. And then eventually
God promoted him to being a powerful man in the land of Egypt.
And then there was a famine. And then his brothers came to see him. And because Joseph feared the
Lord, he was able to deal kindly with his brothers. In Genesis 42, verse 18, it says, on the third day,
Joseph said to them, do this and you will live for I fear God. He's saying, I fear
God, but he lived a life that can back up that he really did fear the Lord. In Exodus, Pharaoh told all the
Jewish midwives that were helping the Jewish women give birth to kill all the baby boys.
Now, if the Jewish midwives feared Pharaoh, they would do that. They would kill all the baby boys.
But if the Jewish midwives feared God, there's no way that they're gonna kill the baby boys, knowing that God is in control and they're accountable to God and keeping his commandments more than Pharaoh.
And in Exodus 1, it says, in Exodus 1, 17, but the midwives feared
God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.
And because of this, God blessed them and gave them families and gave them children and gave them homes to live in.
In Malachi 3, there was a book of remembrance written for God with those who feared the
Lord. The names in the book feared the Lord and who esteemed his name in Malachi 3, 16.
And God has a book that everyone who fears his name and believes in his son, he has his name written in the
Lamb's book of life. Anyone who has his name written in the Lamb's book of life has eternal life and no one can take it from them.
But if your name is not written in that book, then you do not have life. And the way of knowing that your name is written in the book is if you believe in his son whom he sent, believing in the one true
God and his son. In the early church, according to Acts 9, 31, the church was going on in the fear of the
Lord and comforted by the spirit so much so that the church continued to increase and do good works because they feared the
Lord they were doing these things. And then you might be familiar of an older guy from the land of Uz, his name is
Job. And God blessed him more than anyone in the world blessed him so much because he feared the
Lord and he turned away from evil. Fearing the Lord makes you turn away from evil.
When you're tempted with sin and sin's crouching at the door, if you have no fear of God, then you're probably gonna give in to the temptation.
But if you fear God and know God and love God and don't wanna sin against God and you know that he might discipline you, then you're gonna fear
God and you're not gonna commit that sin. So what we're missing sometimes is trust in God and also a fear of God, knowing that he can discipline us.
I don't know about you guys, but when I go the wrong way or I'm disobedient and I know I'm doing the thing that I'm not supposed to do,
I feel God's heavy hand on me, his discipline. And the things that I used to love and if I do enjoy them or try to enjoy them,
I don't even enjoy them anymore because his spirit is inside of me. And I know that I don't wanna sin against my
God who loves me. I don't wanna sin against God. I fear him, I love him. And it's not because I fear anyone else or I'm afraid to do it because I'm gonna get caught by someone else or anything like that.
It's that I fear God and that keeps me away from evil and keeps me putting my faith in him and trusting him.
Now, a fear of God is good for an unbeliever because eventually you need that fear of hell, knowing that God can throw you into hell.
God has the power to do that, throw you into an eternal flame, cut you off from the land of the living.
He can do that. If you're afraid of hell and you believe in Jesus because you are afraid of hell,
I'm gonna say that's not a bad thing. It's good. Hell is part of the gospel. Eventually you grow as a
Christian. You start to love God and you know that God died for your sins. That's great. But knowing that God can punish you and throw you into hell, that's fearful.
But when you grow as a man of God, you're not just afraid of what he can do, but you're afraid of who he is, knowing that he is holy.
His splendor, his majesty, his glory is so much. Knowing that he is so much better and so good and so holy.
If we were to meet God, we would fall at his knees and bow to him and probably be afraid. He's that glorious.
But knowing who God is should cause us to fear him a little bit and it should reflect how we live our lives.
So verse 13, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
We do all this because God is happy to choose us, save us and work with us.
And I'm happy to live a life that pleases the Father and pleases
God. When we're changed, we now want to do good things.
We want to obey and we want to turn away from evil. And we're empowered by the
Holy Spirit to do it. And it starts to feel good. It's okay to love
God's law. It's okay to love living as a Christian. It's not like you're missing out on things of the world.
It's not really that great of a life. It's a way better life living for Christ and living for God.
He can do a lot more with your life than you think you can do with it. Verse 14, now there's doing good and then there's doing good and complaining while you're doing it or guilting people into doing good or doing good for your own selfish reason.
That's all fine, but your reward is just that you did it in front of people. That's your only reward.
Verse 14, do all things without grumbling or disputing. Now that's very hard to do.
How many of you go to work and there's someone there that complains all the time?
How many of you serve at church or serve somewhere or go home or you're working and you're driving somewhere and you got stuck with the complainer?
Someone that just grumbles all day. What does it make you want to do? Makes you want to complain and grumble too.
If someone's miserable sitting next to you, eventually it's going to make you miserable if you're not on guard.
But we're called to be lights. I grew up on a summer day usually like this.
I would wake up in the morning, maybe seven or eight in the morning and I would work for my dad's lawn service.
My dad was the boss and me and my brother were his only employees. And if one of us was in a bad mood, eventually all of us got to be in a bad mood and it just wasn't a fun day.
I look back and I'm like, wow, I really wish I just was joyful and happy and was happy to spend time with my dad and brother.
I don't look back and be like, oh, I wish I was more miserable. I don't look back. But there was days where me and my brother would be complaining and didn't want to be there and we wanted to go out with our friends or go to the beach, but we woke up and we're cutting grass all day.
And sometimes my dad would say, all right, only one more lawn and then we would arrive and we would cut the lawn and then we would get in the car and we're like, all right, let's go, we're going home.
And then he would say, oh, nope, one more. And then he would do that and then it would be like after seven times we're like, we thought we were done.
So I would look at my brother and he'd be complaining and grumbling and my brother, I love him so much, but he would do more work trying not to do work than it would have just been better for him just to do the work.
So him and I would complain and yell at each other, you do this, no, you do that. It would have been just way easier if I just did the work and was happy to do it and did it joyfully onto the
Lord. And I look at my dad and he's doing more work than both of us put together. So I'm like, okay, little kids complain and they groan.
And then eventually if they don't learn the lesson, they grow up to be adults that complain and moan and groan. And then, okay, grown men work joyfully knowing that they have a job to do when they get it done right.
So I learned a lesson that day. Okay, it's way easier to work when you're joyful and happy and doing it onto the
Lord than it is to just be mad that you're doing it and doing it because you have to do it.
We should do it because we're happy to do it and wanna be there. Some people do that. When I need someone for the nursery, a lot of the people that work in the nursery are quick to help.
Someone like Susan Conville is quick to help. If I need help, she's right there for me and she's happy to do it. She doesn't complain about it the entire time.
Those are the type of people we want serving. Those are the type of people we want helping our church.
Someone like Ann McCormick is quick. Someone like Dawn Hoke. Hey, Dawn, can you teach? Yeah, sure,
I can do it. And she's not like, oh, I have to teach Sunday school. She's happy to help the kids. She's happy that God is using her.
And Annette usually helps her out. Those are the type of people we want helping and serving in the church. Someone like Antoinette is always helping and serving and she's not complaining about it.
She just does her work onto the Lord. That's the way it ought to be done.
You kids, sometimes you go home and you sit on the couch and you turn the TV on and then your mom or dad asks you to do something, take the trash out or wash the dishes.
Make that decision right then and there. Are you going to do it joyfully and happy to do it? Are you going to be mad someone else can be doing it?
Are you entitled and say, oh, those aren't my dishes, I don't want to do it? Or are you just going to obey your mom or dad and just joyfully do it?
It's hard to do, but it's a lot better to make the right choice and just joyfully do it.
I'm learning this with my wife. If she asks me to do something, I just want to be happy to do it. It goes way better for me too.
Now verse 15, that you may 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.
So we have a obligation and a duty to be the light. And if we really are believers in Christ and we have the light in us, it shouldn't be hard to do.
It should just shine. All of us shine a little bit, but I think we control how much we shine on the little decisions that we make.
Lights in a dark world have, they do things for people.
Like a light can help guide someone, right? It helps someone to see when you say like,
I don't really understand. Someone's shed some light on it for me, right? We're teachers.
We help people find the truth. We help people see. And we're also lights of the world in a sense that lights can be warnings, right?
When I'm driving in a car and there's a deer like to the left or to the right and I usually see it, but Mary's like, flash your high beams, flash your high beams because the car in front of me doesn't see the deer.
So we warn them, there's a deer coming. Don't hit the deer. You know, there's danger. There's something there.
We flash the high beams. That's what light does. And light exposes deeds, exposes darkness.
People who are in darkness, they don't want to come to the light. They don't like the light. It's too bright for them because you're exposing their sin.
Some of you guys might feel this when you go into your job or wherever you go in the park and you find it that the world doesn't really like you that much.
Some people like you. Some people don't because you're a light to some people and some people are attracted to it.
And some people, it turns them off because they're so dark. The light is too bright. It annoys them.
Why are you happy and I'm miserable? And they just continue to be miserable. My wife deals with this.
She goes to work. Everything about her is lovable, but sometimes some people don't like her or give her a hard time.
And she's working joyfully and other people probably are there working miserably. And you guys probably do the same thing.
Or maybe you've succumbed to joining in on the complaining and being miserable.
Now it's time to change. This is your call to change. You're the light of the world. So when you go there, who else is going to be the light if everyone's not really that fun to be around, if that cool or complaining all the time, miserable.
You have a job to get done. Let's do it for the Lord and not do it just because we want to receive credit or care about who gets the credit.
Let's just do it because God is watching us and God is helping us and God is working out our own salvation that other people can see it.
Another way we can do this is holding fast, verse 16, holding fast to the word of life.
What is the word of life? The scriptures, the word of God. Some of you guys, your
Bible is dusty. Some of you guys might know the Bible pretty good, but you need to practice it.
Put it in your heart. Repeat it to yourself. Memorize it. Say it all day. Read it more.
Some of you guys might only read it once a month. Maybe you guys need to start reading it once a week. Some of you guys might need to read it once a week.
Maybe you need to read it every day. Maybe you read it every day, but it's still not enough. Read it twice a day, three times a day, as much as you possibly can.
You'll learn to love it. You'll learn to love the word of life. Hold fast to it, because it's what we stand on.
It's what God has given to us to equip us to live in this dark and crooked generation, so that in the day of Christ, I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
So some people, they start out living, it looks like they're living the Christian life, but they run out of steam or eventually fall away.
Paul does not want this, because that means his labor would be in vain. He's helping to make disciples and making disciples out of the
Philippian church, and he wants the Philippians to grow in obedience and eventually make more disciples of their own that make disciples, so that he would be proud at the day of Jesus Christ.
That is gonna be a glorious day where we'll see each other there. We'll see what we believe in is true.
A lot of us know it to be true. We're just waiting for the day. But it's gonna be a glorious day to see people there.
Now, it's gonna be sad to see some people didn't finish the race. Some people didn't make it. So we should be trying to make sure everyone makes it home and be praying for people that they would be brought blameless in this crooked and twisted generation.
Going back to verse 15, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world.
Have you noticed that the generation is crooked and twisted? It was crooked and twisted back then, too.
It's getting worse and worse, I think. But that means that we just need to shine brighter and brighter. It's easier to shine in a dark world than when the entire world is lit up.
So we have a duty and a call to be a light in the world. Crooked and twisted is the generation.
A lot of the people just, it seems like they don't know their right hand from their left. They don't know if they're a boy or a girl.
And they wanna teach weird things to people. They're crooked, twisted. They only care about themselves.
It's an evil generation. Does that mean we just fit in like them and try to be like them? No, we're called to be different.
Christians are called to stand out and be different. I know it's easier to just blend in and be in the background, but God calls us to stand out and be different and take some ground for the kingdom, to glorify
God, to live for God, not just people and for ourselves. 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. So back in Old Testament times, they would sacrifice animals, sometimes a lamb or a goat or something else.
And while they were doing that, the offering would be being burned and they would have a cup of wine.
And as it would be being burned and sacrificed, they would dump out the cup. And Paul is saying that his life is going to be like that cup beside the offering, beside Jesus Christ.
His life is going to be poured out. Now, Paul, eventually his life does be poured out like a drink offering, that he gave it all.
It means that when you poured it out, that means that they would give it all. They would give everything they have. And Paul's saying that's how he wants to live his life.
He wants to live it all for Christ. What he does and is doing on this earth is for Christ.
And even if he dies, it's gained because he'll be with Christ. It's for Christ and then with Christ.
That's the Christian life and it's beautiful. And he wants the
Philippians to be glad with him. Now it's funny because Paul's writing this encouraging and happy and joyful letter and he's in prison, yet he's the one trying to encourage and get the
Philippians to be encouraged and be glad and rejoice. So if Paul can rejoice and be glad in prison,
I think that no matter what circumstance we're in, because he figured out it was through Christ that he was able to do those things, because of Christ and what
Christ has done for us, we should be able to have joy and be glad and rejoice in any situation that God gives us.
So it's through Christ that you're able to obey, be glad and rejoice.
And 18, he says, likewise, you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
I don't know about you guys, I like being around Christians that are happy and rejoicing and happy to serve, happy to be at church.
Sunday's their favorite day. That's my favorite people to be around. It's hard for me to be around people that look at life like life owes them something.
Those people are always miserable because they think they're entitled to something that they don't have. Christians are happy for what they have.
Christians are happy that they get to obey someone who's perfect, obey God, that they have purpose in their life.
They're not living for no reason, they're living for a purpose. So if you're a
Christian, instead of disobeying, start to obey, follow God.
Don't obey the world, but obey God first. You guys probably heard of this one before, instead of being mad, be glad.
There's no need to be mad when you can be glad. Everything in life, some of it will test you.
Life is hard sometimes. Sure, there's times where we get mad and angry. A lot of times it doesn't really help though.
But we can be glad knowing that no matter what happens, Jesus died on the cross for us and he rose from the dead.
And no matter how bad it gets, I know that he's coming back. I know that he's coming back for me. I know that he has a place for me in heaven.
I know that he is a king and that he will set everything right at its proper day. And instead of reacting against someone, try to turn that situation around and rejoice with them.
Try to be a light in someone's life. You don't know what one person has been through. Someone that's complaining at work, you might think they have the hardest life ever.
They probably don't, but they just complain a lot. But you never know. Instead of reacting against them and putting them in their place, look for an opportunity to show grace.
When you're poked and things come at you and you don't like it, you can respond by being angry and stand up for yourself.
Sometimes there's a case for that. Most of the time, you can just count it all joy when people don't like you at work or people talk about you or make up lies about you.
The best thing to do is just count it all joy knowing that God is watching and that you can do things that you don't need credit for, that you can do things and God will reward you for in secret.
So I want you guys to obey, be glad, and rejoice.
Not because you can muster up that stuff on your own, but because what God did for you.
We should be happy people because God loved us so much that he died on the cross for us and that he rose from the dead for us.
Now that we may live one day and rise from the dead or maybe not even see death because of what
Jesus has done. This is something to be happy and excited about. So when we come here next Sunday morning and Phil's got the worship team going, don't be afraid to start clapping, yelling amens, whatever it is you wanna do.
Be joyful, make a joyful noise. That's what Christians should be doing. Phil, you know what
I'm talking about. So obey, be glad, and rejoice.
For what God has done for you and for who God is, amen? All right,
Father God, thank you for your word. Thank you for the book of Philippians and how we can read it and find joy and be happy people.
This world sometimes is tough, Lord, and you look to the left and you look to the right and you see how, we see how it's not how it should be, but we have this hope that you will restore all things and that you will change things.
Things that are evil. We pray that you would use us to be a light to the world, that we would make it a brighter place and that you would be happy with the faith that you see on earth, that you would use
Cornerstone Church to be a bright lampstand to the town and to the state and to the nation, that you would use us in a mighty way.
You are our God, Lord, and we know that you can do a lot for us. We know that you can do a lot for your son.
We wanna glorify you and give you the credit, and we thank you for what you've done.
That you sent your son, that he lived a humble life, and he came here to not be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom.
We thank you for the life of Jesus Christ, and we thank you for the life and the more abundant life that you've given us who believe.
We pray that anyone who doesn't believe that would believe, that you would grant them faith in your son, that they would change their life.
We thank you in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Amen, let's rise up, church. We've been blessed.
We have partaken in the communion. We've shared fellowship with believers. We've testified of the goodness of God and the gift of salvation through Christ, and we have had an awesome time, but like I told the first service, we're gonna walk out that door in a couple minutes, and we're gonna be out in the world, and we've got a week coming, and some of you might have an awesome week, and praise
God, you're blessed, and some might have things that they need to overcome.
They might have things facing them that they just wish they didn't have to face.
As we sing this next song, it is not in us. It is through Christ in us. Let's go out, and praise in his name, amen.
What if the grace is Jesus, my
Redeemer? There is no more for heaven now to give.
He is my joy, my righteousness and freedom, my steadfast hope, my deep and boundless peace.
To this I hold, my hope is only
Jesus, for my love is wholly bound to his.
Oh, how strange and divine I can see all his glory and might, but through Christ in me.
The night is long, but I am not forsaken, for by my side the
Savior, he will stay. I labor on in weakness and rejoicing, for in my need his power is displayed.
To this I hold, my shepherd will defend me, for my deepest valley he will be.
Oh, the night has been won, and I shall overcome, yet not
I, but through Christ in me.
No pain I bear, I know I am forgiven.
No future sure, no price yet has been paid, for Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon, and he was raised to overcome the grave.
To this I hold, my sin has been defeated.
Jesus now and ever is my plea.
Oh, the chains are released, I can't flee.
I am free, yet not I, but through Christ in me.
With every breath I long to follow Jesus, for he has said that he will bring me home.
And day by day I know he will renew me, until I stand with joy before the
Lord. To this I hold, my hope is only
Jesus. Oh, the glory evermore to him.
When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat, yet not
I, but through Christ in me. When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat, yet not
I, but through Christ in me. Yet not
Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your victory?
Oh, death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord. Knowing that in the Lord, your labor is not in vain. Amen.
We'll gather next Sunday, unless Jesus returns. Go in peace. Next Sunday, my favorite preacher will be here.