Good morning, everyone. We'll be continuing our study through Philippians. This morning will be Philippians chapter 2, verses 12 and 13. We'll be looking at the believer's sanctification. Philippians 2, 12 and 13. 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. Let's open a word of prayer. Father God, we come to you this morning, Lord, and we ask that you would take these truths, Lord, and apply them to our heart. It's a very important subject of sanctification, that we would understand it as much as we can, but more than that, that we would live up to it and indeed work to further our sanctification process along. Again, Lord, we just thank you for this opportunity of meeting here together. In Jesus' name, amen. Now, salvation itself is seen in three phases. We've got justification, sanctification, and glorification. I want to look at those quickly just to set the context for sanctification itself. Now, the phase one is justification. And justification or justify is a legal term declaring one as being not guilty. Now this takes place at the point of salvation or conversion. Now let's turn to Romans chapter 3 verse 20, get a look at that. I just want to make sure we have a good understanding of what we're talking about here. I know most of you have heard this before, but just to get the context set for the this morning's lesson. Now after Paul explained in Romans 1.18 all the way through 3.20 that no one will ever make themselves righteous enough before God to enter heaven. I mean, that's a long, when you say from Romans 1.18 all the way through the bulk of chapter 3, first three chapters of the book of Romans is explaining to us why no one on their own is ever going to be saved. Not going to be able to do it. Won't do it, never happen. Now, we get to 3.20 and I'll pick it up there and we'll move on to 26, which says, because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. And that was true, that was the law. The law was never set up to save anybody. The purpose of the law was to show everybody that you're sinful, and you're never going to be able to keep the law, because in order to be saved through the law, you had to keep it 100%. Nobody ever did, except one, the man Jesus Christ. That's it. Now, verse 21, but now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe, for there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith that this was to demonstrate his righteousness because in the forbearance of God he passed over the sins previously committed. for the demonstration, I say, of his righteousness at the present time that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Okay, again, faith, gift, justification, gift, Nobody worked for it, that's a gift. It's by faith, not works. Romans 5 verse 6, this is why we were still helpless at the right time. Christ died for the ungodly, for one will hardly die for a righteous man. Though perhaps for the good man, someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him. And it goes on to say in verse 17 of Romans 5, he says, for it is by the transgression of the one It's comparing Jesus to Adam. For the transgression by the one, death reigned through one. Much more, those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. So then, as though one transgression there resulted in condemnation to all men, even so, Through one act of righteousness, there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience, the many were made sinners, even so, through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous." Okay, and that's it, righteous. It comes through, that's justification. It's a work of God. Now, That's phase one of the salvation. It happens right at the point of conversion, among other things. And then the next phase would be sanctification. Now, sanctification is a progressive work that begins at conversion and continues throughout our entire lives. It's a work in which both the believer and God are involved. Okay, we saw that in Philippians, and I'll read it again, Philippians 2, 12 to 13, you know. So then my beloved, just as you have always obeyed and not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trebling. And then verse 13 says, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." So both parties are on. Now, the sanctification process, again, is to grow in Christ, mature in our faith, and walk with the Lord as we move through our life. Matter of fact, if you're still in Romans 6, 11 says, well, 11 through 23, it says, even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey its lusts. And do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness of God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are no longer under the law but under grace? May it never be. In that term, may it never be, Paul throughout Romans asks a number of hypothetical questions. almost in anticipation of somebody going, well, wait a minute. You talk about this grace, and they think, isn't that just giving everybody a license to steal, so to speak? And he asked those questions, and then he answers, may it never be. That's a very strong term. That's a very strong term, meaning absolutely not, okay, in the Greek. That's what it's trying to say there. Do you, verse 16, do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death or of obedience resulting in righteousness. But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed. And it just keeps going, you can keep going on to the end of the chapter. and we're not going to do that for the sake of time. But now the word sanctification itself, we can stay in Romans for a while, but sanctification, hagiosmos, means holiness or the state of purity. So the sanctification process, and it is a process, it's going to take us our entire life. All right, it's going to take our, it's a lifelong work. Now, hagiosmos again is the word, and it translates literally holiness. Now, a word that we're familiar with, saint, is a related word, hagios, which means pure and blameless. Okay, and the word hagios that's used of the saint is also the same word translated holy, as in Holy Spirit. Okay, so let's look at it, and we don't have time yet, but our position in Christ, we stand before him holy, even though, practically speaking, we're not. Okay, and so, again, it goes back to a word that we read back in Romans 3, that he was our propitiation. That means Christ's sacrifice, paid, the required debt of a just and holy God for our sin. That is why we can stand here and say we're holy, because not only on that cross was our sin imputed to him, but his righteousness was in turn imputed to us. I mean, that's a magnificent thought when you stop and think about it. Remember 2 Corinthians 5.21? The imputation, tremendous doctrine. Romans 12, verse 1 and 2, Romans 12, 1 and 2, after 11 chapters, of pretty hardcore doctrine. We now get to the application section of Romans, and he starts out this way. I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is. That that which is good and acceptable and perfect, right there is a practical definition of what sanctification is. And it's really, it's the renewing of our mind, verse two, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. That's the process we're going through. That describes it right there. That's what we're trying to accomplish. And a matter of fact, for the true believer, that will be accomplished. We will see improvement, not perfection, but we will see the improvement as we move through life. Now, from the rest of that chapter, Romans 3 to 21 is what this, and I'd like, I really would like to read that because it's important, and this is what the sanctification process actually looks like, okay? Verse three, for through the grace given to me, I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to have sound judgment as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we were, for just as we have had many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ. and individually members one of another. And since we have the gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly, if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith, if service in his serving, or if he has teaching in his teaching, or he who exhorts in his exhortation, He who gives with liberality, he who leads with diligence, he who shows mercy with cheerfulness, let love be without hypocrisy, abhor that which is evil, cling to what is good, be devoted to one another in brotherly love, give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoice in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer. contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality, bless those who persecute you, bless and curse not, rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for his written vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him. And if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. We'll have to get into that burning coals thing one of these days. But that is really, I mean you could read through Romans 12 As a devotional speaker, what do I need to do today? It's in here. It's in here somewhere. It's in here. And just briefly, I want to deal with, because it's the phase three of our salvation, is glorification. I just want to touch on that just to wrap up the bundle, so to speak. Now, glorification is that final step in the redemptive process. That's the one, the older we get, the more we look forward to it, okay? That's the one, well, 1 Corinthians 15, that's 1 Corinthians 15, we're in Romans, it's right next door. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and we're, verse 51, that's the, often called the great resurrection passage. 1 Corinthians 15, beginning at verse 51 through, we'll go through 58. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. We'll all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable and the mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable and the mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, 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 brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." Verse 58. is telling us, until that day happens, verse 58 is getting us back to this sanctification process. In the meantime, this is what we need to do. Verse 58, therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. Keep working. Keep working. Don't, you know, get in your pajamas, sit on the roof and wait for it. Just, no, just keep working. Keep working. Keep working. We had a little conversation this morning in the Sunday school room, you know, talking about, you know, the Lord's coming and taking away and getting out of this and people setting dates and all that sort of thing. That date is set out there. It's coming. We can't speed it up. We can't put it back. It's coming. It's on His time. But in the meantime, it says here, be steadfast, be immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain. And know that, too. Know that the work you do here is not in vain. It's not for nothing. Great grammar there, but it's not. It has a result. It is right. Philippians 2.12, let's go back there. Philippians 2.12. Now we're gonna see, per Philippians, the believer's role in sanctification. Remember, it's got two sections today. The believer's role, verse 12. God's role, verse 13. Okay, the believer's role, now I see three exhortations seen here in verse 12. The first one is, follow the example of Christ. And I'm gonna read verse 12 again. 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 own salvation with fear and trembling. The first one. Follow the example of Christ. Well, where do you see that? I see that right there in those first two words, so then. So then is like a therefore. And so then ties back to what was just said about so then refers back to the example of Jesus Christ as the perfect model of humility, submission, and obedience. Verse 5 through 8, let's read that again. He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men, and being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. And it goes on to say here, therefore also God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So based upon all this, he says, so then, my beloved, so then, One of the very notable realities of the Incarnation, when Christ came to this earth, is the fact that Jesus did everything he did by the power of the Holy Spirit. He submitted to the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, he had the power, but he submitted to the power of the Holy Spirit. And he kept, remember, speaking to the Father, you know, the Father's greater than I. Well, that speaks of his submissive state at that point. It doesn't refer to his person. Because remember, when he came to this earth, he did not give up any of his deity. He was 100% God. as he walked on this earth. 100% God. But some of the prerogatives of Deity he put aside. And one of them was he followed the lead of the Holy Spirit. Look at the Gospel of Luke chapter 4. It shows in Luke, Gospel of Luke chapter 4. One, where very early on, now here is very early on in the ministry, the baptism has happened, and now Jesus is going into the wilderness to be tempted. Luke 4.1 says this, and Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness. And then you jump to verse 14 of Luke 4, And now, Jesus is beginning his public ministry, and verse 14 says, And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread throughout all the surrounding district. And he began teaching in their synagogue and was praised by all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up and was his custom. He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, and he opened the book and found the place where it is written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, sat down, and the eyes of all the synagogue were fixed upon him, and began to say to them, today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Interesting, great passage. Again, this is important to note, and a little side note. We're so close, let's look at Mark chapter three, A passage that is often misunderstood, and it's in the three synoptics anyway. Mark 3.22.30, this is the situation where we have that sin that is commonly called the unpardonable sin. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, he is possessed by Beelzebul, and he casts out demons by the ruler of demons. Beelzebul, some translators might say Beelzebub. Okay, basically that's a term that goes back to the Lord of the Flies, Lord of the Dunghill, that very nice classy title, right? Anyway, and he called them to himself, that's Jesus, and began speaking to them in parables. How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand up, but he is finished. But no one can enter the strongman's house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strongman, and then he will plunder the house. Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whoever blasphemes, they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. because because they were saying he has an unclean spirit. That sin is a very unique sin. I don't believe really that sin can be even be committed today. For those people that were witnessing Jesus doing those miracles that only somebody empowered by God could do, and then speaking what he spoke, doing what he did, all by the power of the Holy Spirit, and then to say that Holy Spirit is Satan? That's the conclusion you come to? They basically expose their position as being gone. lost. They were in an unsavable condition. That's the sin, to see everything Jesus did, and then your final analysis of that is, all these works, he raised the dead, he healed the sick, he did all that by the power of Satan? Oh really? You're toast. You're done. That's it. You've committed that sin. That's it. You can't come back. They hit that point of no return. Okay? And like I say, Jesus not walking the earth, Jesus not doing those, doing what he did. I know some try to say, in certain movements that say miracles are here today and they claim to be miracle workers, they pull this passage out and say, you're doing it above it. No, that's not even close. This one is specific to Jesus himself doing what he did. And then them coming to conclusion, you're doing it by Satan's power. Okay. I mean, it's like one of those things, you know, this thing, you had to have been there, right? But if you were there, I mean, just, we read about it, and these miracles are just phenomenal. Some of these miracles, like, remember the man that was on the pallet that they lowered him through the roof, for example? This guy was on that pallet for, what, 20, 30, 40 years or something? I forget the number, a long time. And when you heal a guy like that who just stands up and walks away, I mean, you're talking about it, in terms of muscle tissue and things like that, you're talking an act of creation as well. And speaking of an act of creation, how about the loaves and the fishes? Twice. 5,000 and 4,000. I mean, these are miracles that are just, some of them are actually acts of creation. And I'll tell you, but to witness all of that and come to the conclusion that it's all done by the power of Satan, puts a person in a very untenable situation. And that leads us to our second point in verse 12. First one, follow the example of Christ. The second one is be obedient at all times. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. So keep the life of obedience. Follow Christ, be obedient at all times. Now, the obedience, and here again, I'm gonna go back to the Gospels and take a look, Obedience, and this is so important, obedience is the mark of a true believer. And guess what lack of obedience is? Is the mark of a non-believer. And so, if you're, if everyone, the eternal security is an act of God. Personal securance assurance comes from within. And the best way to have assurance is to have that desire to be obedient to the Lord and actually do it. Okay, assurance comes from working. It comes from living a life of obedience. Let's go back to Matthew, Matthew chapter 28. And we're just gonna walk through here the New Testament a little bit. Matthew 28, the Great Commission, verse 18. Matthew 28, 18, and Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. I'm gonna pause right there a minute. Okay, this is obviously post-resurrection, just about ready to ascend back into heaven. You know where he gave up a lot of prerogatives and submissive? Guess what? All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. No longer in that state. He's going back to heaven to be reunited with the Father. Anyway, verse 19, go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Verse 20, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. What do we do? Obviously, we go out and make disciples. How do we do that? By presenting the gospel. They come in, but that's not it. That's part one of the evangelistic process. Part two is verse 20, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. Now, where do we find all that I commanded you? The Bible. It's right here in the word. We have it. We have it all. We move forward. John chapter 14. Working our way back. John 14. I mean, this is so stressed over and over and over again. John 14 verse 21. He who has my commandments and keeps them, he is He it is who loves me. And he who loves me shall be loved by my father and I will love him and will disclose myself to him. And then Judas, not Iscariot, said to him, Lord, what then has happened that you are going to disclose yourself to us and not to the world? Jesus answered, said to him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will love him And we will come to him and make our abode with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words, and the word which you hear is not mine, but the father's who sent me." And then moving forward to Ephesians 4, 17. Ephesians 4, 17 says, This I say therefore and affirm together with the Lord that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk in the futility of their mind. I want to pause a minute. The word Gentiles here has two meanings depending on the context. One meaning is the word Gentile is used as a person that's not a Jew. And the other usage is what you have here, a Gentile is a pagan. non-believer as opposed to a believer. Remember, this letter's written to the Ephesians, all right? And Ephesians were primarily Gentiles, non-Jews. So that's the two ways this word pops up. So the context will kind of tell you which one is being referred here. In this case, it's pretty obvious, but I just thought I'd point that out while we're here. Now, being darkened in their understanding, that would be the unbelievers, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them because of the hardness of their hearts. and they having become callous have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you do not learn Christ in this way. Indeed, if indeed you have heard him and have been taught in him, just as truth is in Jesus, that in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self, which is in the likeness of God, being created in righteousness and holiness and of the truth. Okay. I have another one, we'll bypass it. My next passage will be 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 2 to 9. However, if you're a man, you can come on Wednesday nights. We'll be starting 1 and 2 Thessalonians this week. A little shameless plug there. Now, who, no, since we, in other words, going from here, since we are to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. We're in Ephesians, look at Ephesians 4.1, okay, a manner worthy of our calling. Therefore, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. With all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another, in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." That sounded an awful lot like what Jesus did when he came down with humility, gentleness, patience, showing forbearance. Man, the forbearance Jesus showed on the cross when they were down there mocking him and he could have thought it and just snuffed them out right then and there. You're talking about forbearance, mercy. And then 1 John, 1 John chapter 2, verse 3, it says, and this is an important passage about assurance of one's salvation. 1 John 2, verse 3 through 6, and by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. John gets right to the bottom line right here. Doesn't mess around. Right here, this is what cuts it right here. By this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. The one who says, I have come to know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. You notice he doesn't say, is mistaken? No, he says, is a liar. He's a liar. Verse 5, but whoever keeps his word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in him. I mean, he just keeps saying this. I mean, he just says it a couple of different ways. He's emphasizing the fact, you know, emphasizing the fact, you know, of what he said in verse three, by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. And again, he goes on and says the opposite of that is true also. Those that don't keep his commandments, don't care to keep his commandments, they're giving full expression to the fact that they are not his. Okay? And it's easy. I mean, people say, judge not lest you be judged. Hey, man, we don't have to judge. We don't need to judge. What does scripture say? By their fruits, you shall know them. Those that don't believe, they expose their own condition. You don't have to judge anybody. And we shouldn't judge anybody's thinking process, their motives. You can just see if one's a believer or not. Now, by the way, that's part of what church discipline's all about. But anyway, that's a different topic. Now, the third exhortation here in verse 12 of Philippians 2 is the first one, follow the example of Christ. The second one, be obedient at all times. And the third one, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Okay, first of all, I think it's important that we establish what this is not saying. This is not saying we must work for or earn our salvation, that's not saying that at all. And again, if you still happen to be there, in Ephesians 2, very familiar passage, 2.8-10 says, for by grace you have been saved through faith and not of yourselves is the gift of God not a result of works that no one should boast, and in verse 10, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. See, that's an important point right here, and this one we'll draw back on a little bit later. For we are his workmanship. We are, as believers, works of Christ, you know? We are works of Christ, for we are his workmanship. Why? What did he create us for? For good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. And we could go a long time on this passage, on what the ramifications are, but basically it's that everyone called to be a believer has a purpose. We get into a discussion one of these days about the spiritual gifts. Everybody is gifted to carry out that purpose. And everybody, if nothing else, we all fall under the commandment of the Great Commission. For no other thing at all. If there's nothing else, we got it. But I tell you, every one of you out there that's a believer is gifted to do something. You're gifted to do something. And that's all we got, all we can do for that today, but just know that. And there it says, work out your own self, your salvation. To work out means to fully work out. In other words, in a sense of accomplishing by implication to finish, okay, just keep working, don't stop working. Because again, it's a lifelong or it's a lifelong process. It's a lifelong ordeal. Work out. And it's also in the, it's a present imperative. Remember those? Present imperative, present tense means continuous action. It's not something you do, I'll work it out on Tuesday. No. every day of the week, or every waking hour of the week. Present, continuous action. Imperative mode. Imperative mode means it's a command statement. It's not an option. It's something we have to do. It's something as children of God, that's something our Father wants us to do. Work it out. Keep going. Remember, Working out our salvation. And think of salvation in the sense of the sanctification portion of salvation. We're not getting saved, like I say, that's not what this is talking about. It's talking about keeping it going, keeping it moving. And we're not talking about at the risk of losing either, because I believe a true believer will not. And that's the thing, a true believer will keep it going. Will keep it going. You know, those who are faithful to the end will be saved. That's a mark of the true believer. When it all comes to the end, they will be faithful. The true believer will be faithful right up through and to the end. Now, the Christian life of sanctification, I'll tell you, it requires effort. It requires lots of effort to live the Christian life as described in the New Testament. It's not a part-time job. You can't phone it in. It's a day-by-day-by-day-by-day, step-by-step-by-step operation. It's not just something. It's not some hit-and-miss thing. Look at 1 Corinthians, again, 1 Corinthians chapter 9. I mean, these are very practical. 1 Corinthians 9, beginning of verse 24. And I like what he uses. Paul often uses sports, athletics, and military for observations. Here are the sports. 1 Corinthians 9, 24. Do you not know that those who run a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Remember, you're not there for the participation trophy, okay? You're going for the gold. Go to win. In other words, when we're running, when we're working for the Lord, we want to be our best. That's the point he's trying to make here. And everyone who completes, in the games, exercises self-control in all things, they then do it to receive a perishable wreath. But we, an imperishable. See, here's where the analogy is. You get that wreath, the Stephanus crown, the Victor crown, the man that, you know, I just watched Ben Hur the other night in the lottery thing for winning that race, okay? And that's the winner's crown, but that's because it's made, it's going to eventually just rot away and die and be useless. But the wreath we're going for is imperishable. That's in heaven where, you know, come Judgment Day, that is the gold, silver, and precious stones, the imperishable. That's what we're running the race for. That's why we got to keep at it day after day after day after day. You know, you stop, you're not going to win. There, verse 26, Therefore I run in such a way as to not as not without aim. I box in such a way I am not beating the air. He's not shadow boxing. When he's boxing, he wants to hit the target. He's just not flailing around. He's focused, he's focused. But, verse 27, I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. Wow. I myself should be disqualified." And he's not talking about losing salvation, okay? He's not talking about losing salvation. He's talking about losing his ministry. Okay. 2 Peter. Look at 2 Peter. I haven't got Peter in the act yet. 2 Peter chapter 1, which shows us a couple of things. It's a tremendous passage. It shows the unity of the New Testament on this. But 2 Peter chapter 1, we'll begin at verse 1. Simon Peter, a bondservant, that's doulos or slave, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Another statement of deity, by the way, folks, the grammar says, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, referring to the same person right there. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of him who has called us by his own glory and excellence. Seeing that he has divine power, has granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness, we've got everything we need. You don't have to go out searching for anything. It's all here in the scriptures. He's given us the ability. He's given us the information. All we gotta do is apply it. It's all there. It's people going seeking, people out there always seeking something. It's already here. It's already here. And I can see we're running out. I'm just gonna leave this go for now, but you just read through this passage, and I'm gonna drop to the end. I'm going to pick it up in verse 12 of 1 Peter 1, it says, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling to stir you up by way of remembrance. And this gives you a little insight onto this letter. 2 Peter is a lot like 2 Timothy. Here Peter was writing this knowing that his time on earth was coming to an end. And he goes, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ had made clear to me, And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you may be able to call these things to mind." You know, we constantly need to be reminded, and you notice verse 15? It gives you the reason he wrote this letter. And I will always be diligent that at any time after my departure you may be able to call these things to mind. Look it up and read it. We have it. We have it. Again, you know, if it wasn't so terrible, it would be laughable. People out there seeking new truth, please. Seeking new truth. You know, let's learn the old truth, the real truth, right? And it's just, it's amazing. All right, we work our salvation, how? With fear and trembling. Fear, phobos, phobos, from what we get the word phobia, it means being frightened. It could even mean, even in the point of terror. Well, like Luke 21, 26, where it says, Minph, speaking about Jesus in the Olivet Discourse, talking about the end times, he goes, Men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. They're fainting from fear, just thinking about what's coming based on what they're seeing, okay? And they're dropping over. It's also in Phobos, it's also used of a reverent awe and I believe that's the situation here in Philippians where it's like in Acts 2.43 where everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, there's that word. And many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. I mean, the apostles were doing some amazing things through the power of Christ. And then in Acts 9.31, so the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace. enjoyed being built up and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit and continued to increase. Again, that fear of the Lord that we have is not, we're terrorized of our God. No. If anybody on this earth has no reason to be terrorized, it's us. It's us. We've been given his insurance throughout both Old and New Testament that he called us because he loved us and desired to pour his grace upon us. That's nothing to be fearful of. There's nothing to be scared of there, but there is great cause to have a reverential awe of the God we serve. I mean, he's huge. He is big. And it's just, I mean, I think of the Isaiah 6, picture of God on the throne, and the angels shouting back and forth, holy, holy, holy, and that's the God that picked us. It's amazing. The word trembling actually means quaking with fear, trembling. Now this, again, this reverential fear comes from an understanding of a holy and righteous God. You know, it comes from a knowledge of him, who he is, as being righteous and holy and awesome and in a knowledge of our comparative weakness. When we think of ourselves as we ought to and we don't think of ourselves more highly than we ought to, that has a humbling effect as we compare ourselves to the creator of the universe, wouldn't you think? You know, and that's why it's so important to understand who our God is. It really is. Understand who our God is. I mean, I won't read it there, but Paul described himself to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2, 1 through 5, as speaking to them with fear and trembling, with fear and trembling because of the awesome message of salvation that he carried and the responsibility he had to his God. He produced, he viewed his ministry that same way. We know in the Old Testament it says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I mean, that's Psalm 111 verse 10. It's also in Proverbs 9, 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of the wisdom. Now the godless, and here's where we need to go back to Romans once again, the godless have no fear of God. Romans chapter three again, verse nine. Romans chapter three, verse nine. And here again, as Paul is wrapping up his discussion on the fact that everybody alive is dead in their trespass and does, in fact, need a savior, here's his closing argument to that point. We'll pick it up in verse 9 and we'll run through 18. What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. And again, two and a half chapters doing so. As it is written, there is none righteous, not even one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one. Their throat is an open grave. With their tongues they keep deceiving. The poison of asps is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their paths. And the path of peace have they not known. And it's kind of like a summation statement. There is no fear of God before their eyes. And that summarized it. There is no fear of God before their eyes. I mean, I can't help but just, I apply this to our own country today, especially our government. Pathetic. They just about fit. I can put names. I'm not going to do it, but I can put officials' names under all this at the federal, state levels that promote What is being condemned here? Bizarre, really bizarre. But there is actually, believe it or not, there is a good side to that. Our light should shine even the brighter in such darkness. Think about it. Think about it. Paul warned Timothy, those who would live a godly life will suffer persecution. He didn't say might. He said will. Will suffer persecution. So if you dare to shine your light, stand by, as they used to say in the military, stand by. It's coming. It's coming. And now we go to God's role in sanctification, verse 13 of Philippians 2. I hadn't forgotten Philippians, but there was a lot of ramification there. Verse 13, Philippians 2, for it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. For it is God who is at work in you. That term work, again, work in the present tense, indicating God continually, He's active continuously, He never stops. God does not, even when we are less than faithful at times, God keeps working. God keeps working. If nothing else, He works through your conscience, He's going to work. He's not going to stop. He's not going to stop. Why? Because He's going to bring us all to fruition. He's going to see to it that we make it to the end. Thank God He didn't leave it up to us. How long ago would we have fallen out of the race? Think about it. If it was on us, forget about it. Forget about it. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now, the Lord spoke of the presence of God in the life of the believer, Father, Son, and Spirit. We read some of that in John 14, so I won't go back there. But he kept, in that upper room discourse, he kept teaching the disciples, well, when I go, I'm going to send the helper, but through the Holy Spirit. And also, he also said that we, speaking of himself and the Father, will be in you. So we've got the triune God working for us. You just go back to John 14, 16, or you can read through 16 through 23. You'll get the whole thing. Father, Son, and Spirit are active within us as we speak today. They're there. They're active. They're working. And they work the best through the Word. The Holy Spirit really has, in our sanctification process, the one member of the Trinity that really has a critical role and a key role, large role, is the Holy Spirit himself. And so I'd like to just spot a little east, Galatians chapter five. Galatians chapter five. Galatians five, we'll start it in verse 16. Galatians five, and if I get through Ephesians, back up one more. Okay, Galatians five, beginning of verse 16. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. For these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now, the deeds of the flesh are evident. And every one of us here is capable of doing anything in this list. Just be mindful of that. For the flesh sets desire against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things which you please. But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are, immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, entities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envyings, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. And the key word there is practice such things. If any one or several of these describe a lifestyle, odds are you're not in the kingdom. An occasional malfunction, all right, I'm not trying to make it easy. Don't be grieving about an excuse, but know that. But, verse 22, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now, those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with his passion and desires. If we live by the spirit, let us also walk by the spirit. All right. And then it says, let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. Interesting, always that appeal for unity, you know, in many ways. Don't become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. Now, how do we do that? Well, I'm not going to turn that, but Ephesians 5.18 says, be filled with the Spirit. I'm going to go to a parallel passage because it's easier to understand as to what exactly, how we can do that. Colossians 3.16, or what that means. Colossians 3.16, where it says, and this is a parallel concept to Ephesians 5.18 and following. Colossians 3.16 and following are teaching the same truth. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word and deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. The key term is here, let the word of Christ richly, richly dwell in you, abundantly. Let it take over. Let it permeate you, okay? And then, and again, that's why it's so important to be in the word. You know, not just on Sunday. That's important, too, but not just on Sunday. It's good to do on Monday. Tuesday is a good day, too. Try Wednesday. Wednesday night, men, okay? Thursday. I mean, every day of the week is a good day to get in the Word. It's important. We have to do that. And then back to Philippians 2.13. What else? Well, for it is God who is at work in you. Why? Well, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. This is God's purpose. Remember Ephesians 2.10? We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. To will and to work refers to the believer's will, not God's, but to the believer's will and work. In other words, God's purpose is that we would will to do what is right before God. That's what he's saying here. And through the power of God in us, we can do this. See, that's the thing. If verse 13 wasn't here, this could be a little bit of legalism going on here. Do this, do that, do that, check the boxes, you're spiritual. Yay! No. No. The fact that God is working in us makes it happen, makes it actually bear fruit, bear fruit. Okay? Now, for his good pleasure, you're probably glad to hear these words in conclusion. Philippians 2, 12 to 13. I'll read it one more time and close with this, and close just beyond this. So then, my beloved, just as you've always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. That is, be active in that sanctification process. Why? For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Paul's skin, it speaks of man's role, God's role in our sanctification. You know, he does so, he makes no effort to harmonize the two, you notice that? He just says it. I mean, he doesn't tell us how. I guess he expects us to work out our own salvation, or you could say work out our own sanctification, and we'll figure it out as we do that. And I hope I shed some light on that this morning, you know. But he just simply states both truths, leaving us in the situation of maybe not fully comprehending how they actually do work together, but they do. But I think what we need to grasp is that as we are faithful in going through the sanctification process, working it out, working hard, not failing, not faltering. You know, I guarantee you one thing, no matter how effectively we may work and do our part, one thing that we can be counted, God will certainly do his part. See, that we can take to the bank. That we can take to the bank. And I think, that's what I think, when it comes time to judgment, when the gold, silver, and precious stones are passed out, Those who work harder on here are going to get the gold, silver, and precious stones up there. And I'll end with a passage that is one of the words that we often use as a benediction verse, and that's Hebrews 13, 20 to 21, which speaks to this issue of sanctification. Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Father God, we thank you this morning, Lord, for your word. And even those passages, Lord, that at first don't seem understandable, we know that your truth is there. And if we dig deep, we keep studying, keep learning, we will discover those truths. And again, Lord, we just thank you so much for the work of grace you've done in each and every one of our lives. And again, Lord, we pray that perhaps if there's someone here this morning that has not experienced your effectual calling, we pray that you might bring them to yourself this morning. Again, Lord, we ask in Jesus' name and for your glory, amen.