It’s not about us. It’s about Him.

Steve Brown:
It’s not about us. It’s about Him. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
This is Key Life, here to let Christians know that God isn’t mad at them. Keep listening and you’ll hear that because of what Jesus has done, you’re welcomed home into the family of God because of His radical grace, free from the penalties of sin and never alone in your suffering.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you have been listening. We’re looking at the second chapter of Philippians: verses 12 through 13, which is a powerful text. In that text, the apostle Paul says.

Work out your own salvation.

You go, what? I thought I was already saved. And then we saw what Paul was talking about. Work out, become mature and complete what has already been done in you, Philippians 1:6 says.

He who began a good work in you

Has he ever done any good work in you? Of course he has. If you’re a believer, the first good work he did in you was to bring you to himself.

He who began a good work in you,

think about that

will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

And that’s what the apostle Paul is talking about in this text, when he says.

Work out your own salvation.

You are saved, but there’s stuff that’s going to happen that’s going to make a big difference. And we have looked at in this particular text, not only the activity and the attitude and the animation of the believer in the process of salvation and completeness. I want you to, there’s one other thing that’s really important that you see in this text. And it’s the result, the attainment of the believer in the process of salvation. It’s Philippians 2:13.

For it is God who works in you to will and to act

and here it comes

according to his good purpose.

Now, please note the word good. In other words, what God is doing in you is good and he will complete that and it will be God’s will, not yours. I’m not here to do my own thing. I, this is about God. I have to remind myself, because I have a tendency to be selfish. Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, is a wonderful book, and it’s a book I have not read. Because, I don’t read books with purpose and driven in the titles. I just want you to know, I am already driven. I don’t need to read a book, to tell me that I’m driven, and the purpose, I know what it is. But in that book, I’m told, and it’s a great book, I know what it teaches, and it’s wonderful. But in that book, he says, it’s not about you, it’s about God. And that’s true here too. God is working in you, he’s doing a good thing, and he’s doing exactly what he’s decided to do, which is best for you, for everybody you know, and for the world. So, relax a bit, and just let him do what he does. Let me give you some good news on this question. And I’m going to give you three or four different verses, so listen up and you might want to jot down where these are found, because they’re really helpful. First is Isaiah 51:16.

“I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand, I who set the heavens in place, who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.'”

And then Ephesians 1:18.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his gracious inheritance in the saints.

Romans 8:17

Now we are children, we’re heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.

I Corinthians 3:21 through 23

So no more boasting about men. All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—every bit of it is yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

And so, when Paul says.

Work out your salvation.

Don’t get uptight about it. Don’t run in the other direction. Don’t say, I can’t work out my own, of course you can’t. Because remember what else Paul said. He said.

God is working in you for His good purpose.

And His good purpose is the best purpose for you and for me. So, what do you do? You know, I had a German Shepherd, I have a German Shepherd now. Her name is Annie and she weighs 120 pounds. She looks like a male German shepherd because most female shepherds are small, but she’s as big as a horse. I think she’s kind of a transgendered shepherd. And she’s really good, the sweetest dog we’ve ever had. Of course, if you come to our door, she’ll growl and scare you to death. When she doesn’t have water in her bowl, you know what she does? She goes and stands by the bowl. Just sits there and looks at us. That’s what this text says about us. Go stand by the bowl, and when it’s filled, drink from the living water.

Work out your own salvation.

You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. That can be a confusing experience, so thank you Steve, for shining a light on it. We’ve been looking at Philippians 2:11 through 13, but today also delved into Isaiah 51:16, Ephesians 1:18, Romans 8:17, and I Corinthians 3:23. So, what is God like? Well, God has answered that question, and Christmas is a big part of that answer. Steve gave a sermon called Grace: The Heart of the Incarnation, and it speaks to the subject. Take a listen to part of that talk, then I’ll be back to tell you about a special free offer. Here’s Steve.

Steve Brown:
The issue is, what is God like? And the teaching of the New Testament is that, surprise guys, God is gracious. God is merciful. About two months ago, I went to Miami to do a funeral of a dear friend of mine. She had AIDS. She was married to another friend of mine who looks like Jesus, by the way. He’s a hairdresser an Australia, lives in Coconut Grove, the swinging section of Miami. He’s got long hair and the beard looks like Solomon’s head of Christ. And he came to our church one time and when he received Christ and his life just radically changed. He said things like, I’ve got Jesus in my body and I want to say, no, no, no, heart. Heart, you’ve got to learn the clichés or they’re going to reject you around here. And the first time I saw him, he walked across the patio and I thought it was Jesus. And I thought, oh man, I ain’t ready yet. But anyway, his milieu, the people he associated with were all real pagans. I mean, the swingers of Miami. Four years ago, his son fell on a swimming pool at their home and they didn’t get him out in time. And he ended up being at a vegetative state for almost two and a half, three years. I just had the funeral for Sasha, his son. And it was a sad, sad time, and then his wife had AIDS. So he said, I want to have this thing in my home, he said. And so, I drove down to Miami to have a little girl, Alexis, that I love a lot. And as I was walking across the street to his house, Alexis ran out with a flower in her hand. She’s a little girl, and she just hugged me. Oh, Mr. Brown, so glad you’re here. Can we go see mother? They, her remains have been cremated and she was in a box in the bedroom and we went in and we put the flower on the box and then Alexis and I sat there on the bed and cried. Maybe it was the first time she felt free enough to cry and to let go. Then I went out into the room where all the people had gathered, and there were balloons all over the place. Lots of beer and booze, and a jazz keyboard artist playing music. And I thought, hmm, this is going to, and some of them, I mean, people I’ve met through many, many marriages, a lot of gays, swingers. Just weren’t, I didn’t, these were not my kind of people, I want you to know. And the place was packed. So Alex said, it’s up to you. So, I went over to the keyboard artist and I said, Son, when you finish this piece, why don’t you stop? I’m going to say something religious. And he said, sure. So, he ended up his piece and I stood before them and I said, I don’t do many of these with beer and balloons. But Liz wanted beer and balloons, so we’re going to have beer and balloons. And I’m going to say something that’ll, that I don’t want to sound too religious because the only reason I’m here is because one bad person needed to stand before other bad people and tell them that God isn’t mad at them. You go to him, he won’t be mad at you. And I said, Liz isn’t here. She’s in heaven. And I’m going to tell you why she’s in heaven. Then I gave a plan of salvation without any clichés to it. And I want you to look around that room and people were weeping everywhere. Not just because Liz was gone, because she’d been gone before and they weren’t crying. They were crying because somebody had said, in eternity there’s grace. And there’s mercy and there’s love, and that’s what God is really like. Yes, he’s holy, he’s righteous.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God is still God, and one must remember his holiness and his awesomeness, and that he’s infinite. And one isn’t flippant before the throne room, but the base of who he is, that he’s love, and that he’s gracious.

Matthew Porter:
And as you probably noticed, this is a classic sermon from Steve and you really should hear the entire thing. That’s why we put it on CD and we would love to send you that CD for free. Claim your copy right now by calling us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD. If you’d like to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for your free CD called Grace: The Heart of the Incarnation. And finally, if you’ve been blessed by the work of Key Life, would you help share that blessing with others through your financial support? Giving is easy. You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope, or you can now give safely and securely through text. Just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.