Rev. David Holwick ZJ PHILIPPIANS
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
October 29, 2017
Philippians 2:12-18
WORK IT OUT
I. There are different ways to work out.
A. The David Holwick version.
Two or three times a week I drive to the trail parking lot
on Waterloo Road, and run on the Sussex Branch Trail.
This Monday I ran 3 miles - that is a lot for me.
Halfway through, my muscles ached and my feet were sore.
Then I heard a thumping noise behind me - a young woman
tore past me at twice my pace.
After my run I usually treat myself to a pizza combo and an
ice cream sundae at Sam's Club.
My version of a workout doesn't produce much - I am sure that
hers is much better.
B. How do we build up our spiritual muscles?
1) Two historical tendencies.
a) Quietism... God does it all.
1> The motto is, "Let go and let God..."
2> The Keswick retreat center down at the Jersey Shore
has long been a proponent of this view.
3> It has a great emphasis on God's grace.
4> But this movement believes we have to have a second
salvation experience, what they call the "Second
Touch."
A> When this happens, God takes total control over
your life.
B> You are just along for the ride. #65936
b) Pietism... We do most of it.
1> We have to be pure and holy and read our Bible
every day.
2> Pietism has had a huge impact on the way Baptists
do things.
3> But it can lead to the idea that salvation is
mostly our own doing.
2) It is better to see our salvation as a combination effort -
God and us.
a) From God's perspective, He does it all.
b) From our human perspective, we do a lot.
c) It is a great paradox!
3) In today's passage, Paul gives some pointers on working
it out from a human perspective, but with God in view.
II. It starts with obedience.
A. Obedience is never a popular topic for humans.
1) Anyone who has raised teenagers knows this.
2) Anyone who has BEEN a teenager knows it.
a) And you know it doesn't start at 13, it just peaks then.
B. Obedience is at the heart of the gospel.
1) We are saying we want God's will be done, not ours.
a) We submit to his wisdom on how we should live.
2) Paul feels the Philippians have done a good job at this.
a) They have been obedient Christians whether Paul is
around or not.
b) Just like you are good Christians even when I am not
peeking in your house.
C. Obedience is part of the Christian workout.
1) But this raises some questions about how salvation works.
2) Obedience is something I have to do.
a) Plenty of churches emphasize getting saved by our
effort.
b) Many of you grew up in denominations that made you
believe you had to be good and do religious stuff
in order to go to heaven.
3) Isn't salvation supposed to be free?
III. The interplay of God's sovereignty and our responsibility.
A. Only God's grace can start our salvation.
1) The Bible calls this part justification, the instant
we are declared to be forgiven and saved by God.
2) That aspect of salvation is all by grace.
As Ephesians 2:8-9 says,
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith --
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God --
not by works, so that no one can boast."
a) Notice that even your faith, your reaching out to
God, is something God himself has brought about.
b) You don't earn salvation, you can't work for it, you
can only humbly receive it.
c) Note that Paul already assumes the Philippians have
salvation, because he calls it "your salvation"
in verse 12.
B. The process of salvation doesn't stop with justification.
1) The next step is called sanctification, where you live out
your relationship with God in everyday life.
a) This portion of our Christian life requires effort
and work. Just like exercise.
2) Paul is focusing on sanctification in this passage.
a) Yet even with sanctification, God has the central role.
b) Verse 13 says it is God who gives you the desire and
the ability to do good things for him.
1> It is never just you.
2> But from our earthly perspective, it seems like
an awful lot of it is up to us!
C. Should we be afraid, very afraid?
1) Fear and trembling is a curious way to describe our walk
with God.
2) But it does reflect how awesome God is.
a) When God appeared on Mount Sinai, the people were
terrified.
b) And they were right to be, because the holy God could
have turned them all to toast.
c) All of us need to take God seriously, more seriously
than we usually do.
3) God is all about love, and God is all about grace, but you
don't want to trifle with him.
a) The God who can save you is also the God who can
discipline you.
b) How seriously do you take your salvation?
1> Do you practice spiritual disciplines?
A> Time each day for prayer and Bible reading.
B> Reading spiritual literature to challenge
yourself with how other believers deal
with spiritual life.
C> Doing Bible study with other Christians.
2> You also have to watch the negative side.
A> If you have known sins, deal with them.
B> It may require confession to another believer,
and a plan of action to break its hold on
you.
C> But don't let it grow to the point that it
strangles your spirituality.
IV. Where the rubber meets the road.
A. All of us have areas we need to work on.
1) Paul thinks the Philippians are saved, basically obedient,
and being used by God.
2) But he points out areas where they are challenged.
a) I know from personal experience that many of us face
the same challenges.
B. The pitfall of complaining.
1) Some people are really good at it.
Airports often get complaints about the noise they generate.
But Denver International Airport found that the majority
of complaints came from a single person.
In the first nine months of 2016 this individual made a
staggering 3,349 complaints.
That's an average of ten times a day, and 76% of all
complaints they receive.
Guess what - he lives over 30 miles away!
#65367
2) Believers have done it for a very long time.
a) The Jews wandering in the wilderness complained about
not having meat to eat.
b) Then God sent huge flocks of birds, and they complained
about having too much meat to eat.
c) Their complaining was really a criticism of the way
God provided for them.
1> Should any believer do this?
Maya Angelou, the African-American poet, had a grandma
who ran a general store in Arkansas.
When a habitual complainer would come in, grandma would
always quietly motion for Maya to come closer.
Then she would bait the customer with, "How are you doing
today, Brother Thomas?"
As the complaining gushed forth she would make eye contact
with her granddaughter to make sure Maya heard what was
being said.
After they left, grandma would draw Maya close and ask,
"Did you hear what they complained about?
Did you hear it?
Maya would nod.
Grandma would continue, "There are people who went to
sleep all over the world last night, poor and rich and
white and black, but they will never wake up again.
Those who expected to rise did not...
And those dead folks would give anything, anything at all,
for just five minutes of this weather or 10 minutes of
plowing that that person was grumbling about.
Grandma would conclude: "What you're supposed to do when
you don't like a thing is change it.
If you can't change it, change the way you think about it.
Don't complain."
Don't make a habit of ignoring or forgetting God's goodness.
Too many Christians do. How about you?
#35488
C. The pitfall of arguing.
1) Arguing often comes from a harsh, critical, or judgmental
spirit.
2) It is one thing to constructively disagree, and another to
belittle people and tear them, and their ideas, down.
3) Some believers are so contrary they will disagree with you
no matter what position you take.
a) This whole chapter stresses having a unified spirit.
b) Unity is not achieved by napalming everyone near you.
V. Spiritual fitness produces light.
A. Who is influencing whom?
1) There have been several recent statements on how rotten
our political discourse has become.
a) Whether they are right or wrong, we can all sense
a coarsening of our society.
b) Unfortunately, even many Christians have contributed
to it.
2) Our culture is rotten, but we can influence it rather
than it influencing us.
B. We are light by holding out the Word of eternal life.
1) We have something stupendous to offer others.
a) People can be forgiven, redeemed, and renewed.
b) God can change people, and put them with others who
have had the same experience. (It's called church)
c) Do you think our church reflects this?
d) Don't just complain about the darkness, start giving
out some light.
2) Power to change comes from God's power and our choices.
a) Don't belittle God's power to make dramatic change.
1> Don't belittle your ability to choose.
2> We do this to get ourselves off the hook.
b) What do you need to change, to surrender to God?
1> What can you do about it?
2> Have a plan of attack.
C. Working out gets results.
1) Paul felt all used up, but he could see results - them.
a) It made him supremely happy.
b) It honored God.
2) What will you see as the fruit of your walk with God?
a) How will you reflect on my own ministry?
b) Make me proud before God!
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#35488 “Grumbling Is Forgetfulness,” by Mark Abbott, Preaching Now,
www.preaching.com; November 4, 2008 (Preaching, Nov-Dec 2008).
#65367 “Some People Just Like To Complain,” by Rev. David Holwick,
adapted from “A single caller made 3,500 DIA noise complaints
last year — and lives 30 miles away,” by Tom McGhee,
Denver Post, October 20, 2016; <link>.
#65936 "Is The Keswick Movement Biblical?" Gotquestions.org, <link>.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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