INTRODUCTION
- Everyone has to meet certain expectations as they go through life. Parents have expectations of their children.
- Spouses have expectations of one another.
- Employers and employees come to job situation with certain expectations.
- You have certain expectations of me as your pastor as I have certain expectations of you as the members of this church.
- Did you know that God has expectations of His people?
- This letter of Paul was written with some of those expectations.
- The Philippi church was the first Christian church established in Europe
- Paul finds out that the church is in danger! Not from outside, but from some disunity within. They were murmuring and complaining. Reading the book it is plain to see that this hurt Paul and the cause of Christ.
- This chapter reveals God’s expectations upon our life as Christians. Let’s consider just three this morning:
1. OUR CONTINUOUS OBEDIENCE – Vs. 12a
“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence…” One obedience to God and His word must be a daily thing in our lives. It is not one off thing. It must be part of our life.
Too many Christians obey God only because of pressure on the outside, and not power on the inside. Paul warned the Philippians that not his presence with them but their desire to obey God and please Him was the important thing.
We have a tendency to please men, and to obey God only when others are watching. But when you surrender to the power of God within you, then obedience becomes a delight and not a battle.
2. WE MUST WORK OUT OUR SALVATION – 12b
"Work out your own salvation…" - This does not suggest, "Work for your own salvation." because Paul is writing to people who are already "saints" (Phil 1:1), they are saved already, which means they have trusted Christ and have been set apart for Him.
- The verb "work out" carries the meaning of "work to full completion," such as working out a problem in mathematics.
- In Paul's day it was also used for "working a mine," that is, getting out of the mine all the valuable ore possible; or "working a field" so as to get the greatest harvest possible.
- What he is talking about here is moving deeper in the things of the Lord and growing towards maturity!
- The purpose God wants us to achieve is Christlikeness, "to be conformed to the image of His Son" (Rom 8:29).
- There are problems in life, but God will help us to "work them out." Too many people “get in but they never go on”
Our lives have tremendous potential, like a mine or a field.
Day by day, you are to work to see that your salvation is mined to its fullness. That you, by His grace become all He saved you to be!
3. WE MUST ALLOW GOD TO WORK IN US BEFORE HE WORKS THROUGH US – Vs. 13.
“for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose”
- This principle is seen at work throughout the Bible in the lives of men Like Moses, David, the Apostles, and others.
- God had a special purpose for each man to fulfill, and each man was unique and not an imitation of somebody else. For example, it took God forty years to bring Moses to the place where He could use him to lead the people of Israel.
- As Moses tended sheep during those forty years, God was working in him so that one day He might work through him. God is more interested in the workman than in the work.
- If the workman is what he ought to be, the work will be what it ought to be.
The power that works in us is the power of the Holy Spirit of God (John 14:16-17,26; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor 6:19-20).
Our English word energy comes from the word translated "worketh" in vs. 13.
- It is God's divine energy at work in us and through us! The same Holy Spirit who empowered Christ when He was ministering on earth can empower us as well.
- But we must recognize the fact that the energy of the flesh (Rom 7:5) and of the devil (Eph 2:2; 2 Thess 2:7) are also at work.
- Because of the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, God's divine energy is available to us (Eph 1:18-23). The power is here, but how do we use it?
- What "tools" does God use, by His Spirit, to work in our lives? There are three tools:
The Word of God
"For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the Word of God, which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe" (1 Thess 2:13).
- God's divine energy is released in our lives through His inspired Word. The same Word that spoke the universe into being can release divine power in our lives!
- But we have a responsibility to appreciate the Word, and not treat it the way we treat the words of men. The Word of God is unique: it is inspired, authoritative, and infallible. If we do not appreciate the Word, then God's power cannot energize our lives.
- But we must also appropriate the Word "receive it." This means much more than listening to it, or even reading and studying it. To "receive" God's Word means to welcome it and make it a part of our inner being. God's truth is to the spiritual man what food is to the physical man.
- Finally, we must apply the Word; it works only in those "that believe."
- When we trust God's Word and act on it, then God's power is released in our lives. The angel's promise to Mary in Luke 1:37 - "For with God nothing shall be impossible" - is translated "For no word from God shall be void of power" in the American Standard Version (1901). God's Word has the power of accomplishment in it, and faith releases that power.
Prayer
So, if we want God's power working in us, we must spend time daily with the Word of God. But we must also pray, because prayer is the second "tool" God uses to work in the lives of His children.
"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Eph 3:20).
The Book of Acts makes it clear that prayer is a divinely ordained source of spiritual power (Acts 1:14; 4:23-31; 12:5, 12), and the Word of God and prayer go together (Acts 6:4).
Unless the Christian takes time for prayer, God cannot work in him and through him.
Suffering. - God's third "tool" is suffering. The Spirit of God works in a special way in the lives of those who suffer for the glory of Christ (1 Peter 4:12-19).
- The "fiery trial" has a way of burning away the dross and empowering the believer to serve Christ. Paul himself had experienced God's power in that Philippians jail when he was beaten and thrust into the stocks in the inner prison; for he was able to sing and praise God in spite of his suffering (Acts 16:19-33). His "fiery trial" also enabled him to forgive the jailer. It was not the earthquake that brought conviction to the man; the earthquake almost led him to suicide! It was Paul's encouraging word, "Don't do it! We are all here!" (TLB) This kind of love broke the man's heart and he fell before Paul asking how to be saved.
The Word of God, prayer, and suffering are the three "tools" that God uses in our lives. Just as electricity must run through a conductor, so the Holy Spirit must work through the means God has provided. As the Christian reads the Word and prays, he becomes more Like Christ, and the more he becomes Like Christ, the more the unsaved world opposes him. This daily "fellowship of His sufferings" (Phil 3:10) drives the believer back to the Word and prayer, so that all three "tools" work together to provide the spiritual power he needs to glorify Christ.