is found in the book of Philippians, chapter 2, verses 12 and 13. 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. This is the word of the Lord. Amen, you may be seated. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for the word of the Lord. We thank you that you, in your made grace and mercy and love, have given us a revelation of yourself. We thank a special revelation, the Lord Jesus and the word of God. Father, our prayer is today that you would take your word, like Jesus did when he fed 5,000, and take a couple of fishes and five small loaves, and multiply it in a great and mighty way. Father, speak to our heart through your word today. And may we be open, our Father, to what it says to us. And may you change us. And we'll thank you for what you accomplish now in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, this morning as we look forward to 2024, I kind of want to challenge you a little bit before this new year begins actually tomorrow. And the challenge comes from this passage of scripture that Paul writes to the church at Philippi. Now you know something, Paul loved the church at Philippi like none other. In fact, if you remember, he went into Philippi in Acts chapter 16 after the Macedonia call and he went to the river down where the people were. And he shared the gospel, and the Bible says that God opened Lydia's heart, and she believed, and that was the very beginning of the church. And you know what? Paul would write back to this church because this church supported him like none other. In fact, what's interesting is, is that Paul never got over being their pastor. All right? And so he had heard about how they were doing and their faithfulness to the Lord, and so he sends them this letter here to the Church of Philippi to encourage them to move forward in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, folks, the other day I read of a survey that was done, and I think probably one of the greatest evangelical seminaries that is out there today. And they asked this question to the graduates. And the question was this, let me get it right. In what area do you go out least prepared for ministry? That was the question. In what area do you go out least prepared for ministry? And I want you to listen to this answer. The answer was, how do I live the Christian life? Seminary students that have just learned Greek and church history and how an expository message was created and how to deliver it and all the other glorious things that you learn in Bible college and seminary. And the answer was, how do I live the Christian life? How do I make all of this knowledge work? How do I inculcate all of this into my daily life? Can I ask you, does anybody identify with that besides me? Learning all these glorious truths about who God is and what God has done and what he's willing to do for you and then wonder, how do I live this out in the day in which I live? Now this is a challenge for all of us, putting God's great truth into practice. But before we look at the passage, I want us to see the context, because that's so important. And what is the context of Philippians 12 and 13? The answer is the kenosis passage. If you take your Bibles and go with me to the book of Philippians chapter 2, I want to start reading it in verse 5. Philippians 2 and 5. Verse 5 says, have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, and being born in the likeness of men, And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him." Isn't that amazing, the context? Paul says, you have the same mind that Christ And did you notice the mind that is in you from Christ Jesus, he said. And take that mind and go out and live for the glory of God. Live out this humility that you see in our Savior, the Lord Jesus. Now that takes us back to our text. 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. Verse 12 speaks to our human responsibility. Paul is saying this is what a believer, a blood-bought person of Christ looks like. Then in verse 13, excuse me, he speaks of God's divine sign. And he says this, the only way that we can carry out our responsibilities is by the grace of God. The divine enablement of the Holy Spirit. Now folks, listen, I want you to notice that these two truths are meshed together. Human responsibility and God's sovereignty. The head and the tail of the same coin. the head and the tail of the doctrines of sanctification. So somebody might ask, well, pastor, why do we need both? Well, listen, the Christian life is not hard. It's impossible. The Christian life is not hard. It's impossible. Remember, Jesus said what? Without me, you can what? Do nothing. So in and of ourselves, then, the Christian life is impossible. However, I want you to listen to what the apostle says just a little bit later in this same book. You're in Philippians. Go over with me to chapter 4 and verse 13. Most of you can quote it, I'm sure. What does it say there? I can do all things through Christ or through Him who strengthens me. So everything that God has called you to do, you can do it. Everything. His sovereign plan for your life, God says, I'm going to strengthen you so you can do exactly what I want you to do. Obedience to the Word. because of Christ and his grace, we can do it. You can do it all through the supply of his sufficient grace. So Philippians 2.12 tells us our responsibility, and Philippians 2.13 tells us that none of us can say, I can't do this. Now let that sink in. None of us can say this morning, I cannot do this. Because God says just the opposite, doesn't he? Just the opposite. So here Paul mentions then three things, responsibilities of the human responsibility. And I want us just to look at them quickly this morning. And they are simply this, obedience, hard work, in a godly fear. So back in chapter two, verse 12, it says, as you have always obeyed. We're gonna talk about obedience. And again, this is the responsibility of every blood-bought Christian. Obedience to the word of God and obedience to the will of God. In fact, this is the basic distinguishing mark of a true believer. My sheep hear my voice and they know me and what? They follow me. And before I became a Christian, my favorite song was, I'll do it my way. But after becoming a Christian, everything began to change and I had this desire to want to do it his way. There was a death to self. And Jesus says that I should deny myself and pick up the cross. And isn't that true Christianity? We died with Christ. We were buried with Christ. We are risen with Christ. Isn't that what the scriptures teach? A death to self. We're no longer living for our own agenda. In fact, a believer has centered his will to the lordship of Jesus. Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 7, 21. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. In fact, ladies and gentlemen, listen, we don't obey to be saved, we obey why? because we are saved. God has given us a new spirit and a desire to do what he says. If you have your Bibles open, turn with me to another passage of scripture. It's over in 1 John chapter 2. And I want us to read a couple of verses, starting in verse 3. 1 John 2, 3. Here the scripture says, and by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says, I know him, but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word in him, truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him. Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. And isn't that exactly what Jesus did? Isn't that what we just read a little bit earlier in Philippians 2.8, and being found In human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Now I want this to sink in. God is not asking us to do anything that he wasn't willing to do and has done. What a beautiful thing that is. And folks, listen, this isn't preached too often today. We are to follow Jesus' example. In fact, what was His example? Well, do you remember Him in the suffering mentally that He was going through in the Garden of Gethsemane? Jesus said, Father, if there's any other way that your people can be redeemed without my time on the cross and my separation from your presence, let it be. But then what does he say? But nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done. Folks, listen, that was Jesus' defining moment. He was saying to the Father, I've come to do your will. And with a new heart comes this new desire to please God. Now, let's just look for a moment at the word obedience. And of all things, it's a military term. It means to listen up and line up under the lordship of Jesus. Now, believers are those who live in obedience not perfectly, but nevertheless with intentionality. When God's Word is being taught, we listen up. When God speaks, we listen up. Why? Because it's our desire to follow Him, right? The other day I was walking in my neighborhood, spending some time listening to Alistair Begg. And he was preaching, and man, he was in a good spot. And one of my neighbors came out and said, hey, happy new year. I'm like, yeah. I can't get my phone out and shut that off right when I want to. I didn't want to talk to him. But I wanted to be neighborly, so I pulled the thing out of my ear and talked to him for a while. Missed all the good stuff. But isn't that how it is when we listen to God's word and we want to hear it? We want to listen up because we know it's coming from God. It's for our good and ultimately for His glory. This is what Paul did in Philippi. When they came in, they obeyed what he said. And Lydia, she was so enamored with what was going on and God had changed her heart. She was like, look, come to my house. Make my house the center of the new church. And then even Paul and Silas, remember what happened? Paul got tired of this lady saying, these men are from God, and she had a spirit of divination, and he cast it out. And then their owners said, no, we don't like this. And then they had a big riot, an uprise, and Paul was beaten. They threw him in jail. And he goes in jail, and what does he do? He's obedient to the Lord, and he sings praises to God, knowing God was in control of all things. I can trust Him, even after being beaten. And then there's the great earthquake, and the Philippian jailer wants to kill himself. He said, no, no, don't. We're all here. And the Philippian jailer said, man, there's something about this gospel. What do I need to do? And Paul said, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. and thou shalt have salvation, thou shalt be saved. So now we have this church plan, right? And so he says, therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, that's that first obedience, so now not only as in my present, but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation. not only immediate obedience, but now much more in my absence, continual obedience throughout the Christian life. They're growing in the knowledge of the Word of God. They're growing in the discernment of the will of God. It's deepening, you see. In fact, Paul had already acknowledged this. I want you to look back with me at Philippians, and look with me at verse 6 of chapter 1. He says, I am sure of this, that he who begun a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. The reason they're obeying is that God had begun a good work in their life, right? And now, They're obeying it, and the reason they're obeying it, according to verse 13 is, for it is God who works in you both to will and work for his good pleasure. Listen, God is not working disobedience into your lives. God is working a heart of obedience. Remember what Jesus said in John 14, 15, if you love me, you will keep my So a growing love for Christ leads to a growing obedience to Christ. Before we shift gears and look at the second word, let me ask you this question. Is this your desire? Are you convicted when you sin to the point where you confess it right away and then move on? God's grace and mercy washes away that iniquity. Isn't that a glorious thing? Now, let's look at the second word, and the second word is hard work. He says, work out your salvation. Now, what does that mean, to work out our salvation? Well, let me start with the negative. What does it not mean, all right? It does not mean you work for your salvation. We understand that, right? Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourself. It is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should go. And so we're saved simply by God's grace and his mercy and his love for us. Jesus did it all. But he says, work out your salvation. So the question then is, what does it mean then to work out your salvation? Well, it implies that God has already done a work in your heart. Therefore, you now work it out. God has put his grace and the Holy Spirit inside of you. Now he desires you to work that out. Work out your sanctification. Work out your growth in grace. And that necessitates that we work it out in several ways. Prayer, worship, and service to others. You remember our church axiom? God is most honored and we are most happy when we worship him, serve one another, and take the gospel to the nation. So sanctification then requires that we work. It requires perspiration. So in order then to advance in godliness, we've got to remember that we're not called just to sit. We're called to hard work. And if we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, we're going to have to expend some energy. What I'm saying is, is there can be no passivity in the Christian life. Somebody told me once, you can't stand still in the Christian life. You're either going forward or you're going backwards. And I believe that with all my heart. There can be no passivity in the Christian life. But there's something that you need to understand. In sanctification, there's a cooperation. It's you obediently working hard what God has already worked in our lives. And you know, for a long time I had a hard time understanding this. And I kind of grew up in a kind of a Keswick movement type thing. And it was all this, whoo, kind of, kind of, you know, then this one time all of a sudden something was going to hit you like a, like a, like a head, a hammer in the top of your head. And then it was all going to make sense. And I kept waiting for that experience. Then I began to understand biblical counseling and progressive sanctification. And I found out, wait a minute, if I'm going to grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, then I'm going to have to do a few things. First of all, I'm going to have to start obeying what I do know. And then secondly, if I'm going to know who God is, I'm going to have to work hard to find out how he is. Because it's not going to come from osmosis. It's going to happen. It's going to take work. It's going to take perspiration. And so what I want to do is, it's something that I usually don't do, but I think it's important in this area, is I want us to look at this word work. In the Greek, the word is upakouo. It literally means to toil. And the prefix is the word hupo, which means it intensifies. So it's not just pakuo, work, it's hupakuo, literally work hard as you can possibly work. In fact, as I read that, I say this is intensified work. And as I began to spend some time in this verb, I said, holy smoke, man, I'm an awful lazy Christian. But then it's in the present tense, which means every moment of every day, you need to be working out your salvation. No days off, no sabbaticals, every moment of every day. But wait, it's in the middle voice, which means that you yourself must do it. Now folks, this is important. That means then that no one can do it for you. Not your pastor, not your elder, not your deacon, Not your Sunday school teacher. Listen closely. Not your spouse. This is your own personable responsibility, personal responsibility. And then one more thing, it's an imperative move, which means it's a command. It has come from the head of the church through his apostle Paul to every church and every generation. We are commanded to work out our salvation. This is our responsibility. You will never follow Jesus Christ's standing still. And so what Paul is saying is, is move out with Christ. and work out your salvation. Now that brings us to that third thing I want us to see, and that's godly fear. Notice again, verse 12, what it says. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now not only in my present, but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Godly fear. Now folks, before I go on any farther, I need to bring your attention to something, and it's this. This is not addressed on believers, is it? Paul says, my beloved, to you and me down through the ages. Therefore, there must be a fear of God if we are to follow Jesus to such an extent that there's a trembling on the inside. trembling on the inside. Are you kidding me? As I read that and as I thought through that, I said to myself, self, when's the last time you trembled? Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Now, there are two types of fear. All right? The first type I'm going to call survival fear. All right? That's a prisoner and a warden. You get the picture? All right? He has complete control over your life, and if you don't do what he says, he's going to come down on you like with a ton of bricks. But listen. Remember what Paul tells us in Romans chapter 8 and verse 1? There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are So that's not the kind of fear we have, right? But I don't worry about the judgment. I'm in Christ. Jesus paid it all on the cross of Calvary. My sins are gone, forgiven. But then there's a second kind of fear, and that's what we call philio fear or family fear, the fear and respect that a son has for his father. And this is the fear that we're talking about here, you see. And Paul says to the church aunt Philippi that this fear and trembling is a mark of a Christian. Now, how many could quote Proverbs 1, 7? The beginning of wisdom is what? Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, right? Listen, if you're sitting there and you're nodding your head in the affirmative, you're in a good place. But if you're sitting there and you're trying to tap the brakes, you know how it is sometimes when you're driving with somebody? You're not in such a good place. We don't want to displease God. We have this reverential awe. And let me remind you of a verse that I just love in Isaiah 66, in chapter two, in verse B. It says this, but this is the one to whom I look. But this is the one to whom I will look. He who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. You want to get God's attention? Tremble at his word. And as I thought about that, I said, you know what? Remember Isaiah's response to God's holiness. You remember what he did? In Isaiah 6, when he comes into the presence of God and he sees God in all His glory at the throne room, high and lifted up, what was his response? Oh, yeah, he just kind of nonchalantly walked into the throne room, right? No, no, no. Woe is me, for I am undone. I'm a sinner in the presence of a holy God. He didn't just skip into the throne room. Folks, listen, I tremble in God's sovereignty. Talking to Charlie this morning before everybody else showed up, and I was reminding him that we have an appointed day for our death. That's what the Bible teaches. We're not going to die one day sooner or one day later. How we die might make a difference, all right? So do some good things in your life. But he honestly holds our life in his hands. And so what this is telling me is that we must all grow in the fear of the Lord. Why? Because not a one of us has arrived that way. We have much spiritual growth ahead of us. And here in the book of Philippians, we see Paul is sprinting to the finish. I want you to look at one more passage with me in Philippians. Go with me to chapter three. Listen, this might be one of the greatest Christians that ever lived. And he says this in verse 12. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it mine own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Ooh, that's good, ain't it? I hope everybody here can say Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it, excuse me, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. forgetting what lies behind and staring forward to what lies ahead. Now, you know, if anybody could take a vacation, Paul could have, huh? All that God used him to do. And he said, that's nothing. I strain forward. I persevere. I'm gonna run it up to the very end. And that's what God wants from us. Why? Because when we get to the end, who's going to be there waiting for us? The Lord Jesus himself. The Savior. Let me make a quick application to all of this. God delights in our obedience, and he requires much work and effort to advance in our knowledge and understanding and love for him. Time and effort invested in spiritual disciplines. But let me ask you, is it worth it? Let me jump on one of my favorite verses in Hebrews 11. Without faith, it is impossible to please him. But he who cometh to God must believe that he is, and he's the what? Rewarder of them who diligently seek. Is it worth it? I guarantee that you'll be happier in the will of God than you'll be in any other place. And Paul said, listen, I want you to hang in there. I want you to be obedient. I want you to have godly fear. I want you to work hard because in the end it's going to be worth it. Jesus is at the finish line. So keep working, keep obeying, keep loving, keep serving because one day you're going to enjoy it for all eternity. Why? Again, verse 13, for it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. At the end of the day, it's all God. But we have cooperated with him and he's going to bless us for it, you see. We don't know how many days we have left. But when you come into the Lord's sight, into his presence, wouldn't it be beautiful to hear, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make it ruder over many. Enter into the joy of the Lord. Let me just say one more thing. Here without Christ, listen, You cannot work your way into the kingdom. Jesus did all the work for you. When Christ was dying on the cross, the last thing he said was, it is finished. So what does Christ want us to do? He wants us to call on him. He tells us in Matthew 11, come unto me all you are led. laden and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And if you do, you will find a caring and loving Savior. But that's just the start. Because Whom he called, he elected. Whom he elected, he justified. And whom he justified, he will also glorify. 224 is right around the corner. And I look back at 223, and I'm like, whoa, hallelujah. What a great year we've had here at Duke. But as I look forward to 224, I say, you know what? God can do abundantly above all that we can ask of him. Isn't that what he tells us? But he needs us. He doesn't need us, but he allows us to be you. God is most honored, and we are most happy when we worship him, serve one another, and take the gospels of the nations. Our Father, we're so thankful for your Word. We're so thankful for the practicality of your Word. You've done it all, and all we have to do is obey, work hard, and bear you with triumph. And the reward is glorious and great. Father, for those that know you here this morning, help us, our Father, in our heart through your word and spirit, just say, I'm going to commit myself to 2024, and I'm going to, by God's grace, do better than I did last year. I'm going to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. I want him to use me. I want to take what I've learned and put it into practice. But Father, if there's someone here today without Christ, help them to see how glorious our Savior is and how he was willing to come and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, so he could die and shed his blood and be buried and rise so we could have eternal life. Living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried, he carried my sins far away. Rising, he justified me. Oh, what a day, what a day. Father, use your word now, we pray in Jesus' name.