Thank you for joining me today for the weekend sermon. I am so glad to be able to post this message. We've been having a lot of bad weather where I live. I've had to go up on the roof and repair damage. Please pray that I can get all the work done, and that there won't be any more problems from all the rain and storms. I hope and pray that all of you are doing well.
Today, we are resuming our study in the book of Philippians. Last time, we focused on the section known as the Christ Hymn. This section shows clearly the humility of Jesus Christ. He was willing to set aside His Heavenly glory to come as a human in order to redeem the universe from the fall. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all.
Now, chapter two takes a turn. As we've seen, Paul is away from the church at Philippi. In our first verse today, Paul urges the people to obey his teachings even more now that he is away from them as they did when he was with them. Paul gave the people his example and the teachings of the Lord Jesus about how they were to live their lives in the world. The mark that they were really getting the principles of the Lord Jesus deep within their hearts was that they were living according to the teachings and commandments of Jesus at all times. It was a consistent part of their lives. They didn't need Paul there to monitor what they were doing, they were simply willing to do what the Lord wanted them to be doing.
Paul goes on to tell them in the rest of verse twelve to, "Work with fear and trembling to discover what it really means to be saved." First of all, what does this verse not mean. Paul is not telling anyone that they are saved by works or by doing good deeds. We are saved by grace through faith alone. We are saved not by anything that we have done, but we are saved because of what Jesus has done on our behalf.
What Paul is getting at is that being saved means that we do certain things. A person who has a true possession of faith and not merely an empty profession of faith is a person who is living in such a way that it is evident that Jesus is the Lord of their life. A person who truly knows what it means to be saved is a person who is doing all that they can to love the Lord with all that they have within them, and they are doing all they can to love their neighbor as they love themselves. To be saved means that we are following the teachings and the commandments of Jesus. By doing this, we know that we have eternal life dwelling within us. We aren't saved by good works, we are saved unto good works. Good works are a natural outflowing of one who has Jesus within their heart.
Paul concludes our section by stating that we can only really follow the Lord and His commandments through His work within us. We have to be empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit to be able to live for Jesus in this world. We can't do anything through our strength alone. We need the help of the Lord, and we must rely on the help of the Lord in all things.
A person who has true faith in the Lord Jesus will be a person living in such a way that it is evident that Jesus is living within their heart. We must all strive to live each day for Jesus as the Spirit gives us the power. Amen.
Prayer Requests
Please keep praying that I will get to full health.
Continue to pray for peace. Pray for peace in Israel and Gaza and pray that the ceasefire holds between Israel and Iran. Keep praying for peace in Ukraine and Sudan. Pray for peace wherever you know that there is conflict and strife within this world.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Indonesia and Algeria. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will continue with our series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.
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