9/3/23 Philippians - Part 6 “Night Light”

“Night Light”

Philippians 2:12-18

How many of you were able to sneak a peak of the rare “Blue Supermoon” last Wednesday night?

After the Potter’s meal, Lisa & I drove to a place near our house where we were able to watch it rise like a big beach ball over the eastern horizon.

The moon was so bright that night, one would almost think it was a source of light unto itself, but as we all know, the moon simply reflects light that it receives from the sun. It reminds us of just how bright and hot our sun really is!

In fact, despite being 93 million miles away from earth, we can feel and see the effects of the sun’s light all around us.

Think it was hot when we had those 100-degree days a couple of weeks ago? Well, the sun is a bit steamier at its surface where it burns at 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit….and get this, at its inner core, the sun burns at 27,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit!

Light itself is an amazing thing, and much of it is still a mystery to us:

For example:

1)     Light is both a particle AND in an electromagnetic wave – this property of light remains a paradox that scientists still haven’t figured out.

2)     Light is the only form of energy that we can see with our eyes.

3)     Light is made up off all colors mixed together.

4)     Some animals can see light in the electromagnetic spectrum that we cannot – which means they can see colors that we can’t even imagine.

5)     Light is the fastest thing in the cosmos and travels at 186,282 miles per second (everyone go ahead and blink your eyes – In the time that it just took to blink your eyes, light would have had enough time to go around the earth 8 times!)

6)     Plants turn sunlight into food (Photosynthesis)

7)     All living things produce light (Including you!) Your body produces heat, which is actually electromagnetic radiation…a form of light. If I had an infrared camera with me this morning, we could see how much light each of you is emitting.

8)     Light from the sun has many health benefits, including: the absorption of vitamin D, it wards off depression, and studies have shown that the more sunlight you get during the day, the better you sleep at night.

Light is definitely a gift from God that we are still learning about!

In fact (In a spiritual sense) Jesus even compares himself to light in John 8:12 when he says “….I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Then John echoes Jesus’ statement in his first epistle: “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”

In our passage for today, Paul talks about striving to live ought the humility of Christ that we learned about last week.

Jesus was the epitome of humility – and today we will be looking at what humility ought to look like in our lives.

He begins in verse 12 by making a statement that can easily be misunderstood if we don’t read it in its proper context.

Paul encourages us to “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

So, what does it mean to ‘work out our salvation.’

Is Paul telling us that our works somehow count toward obtaining salvation?

Do these four words mean that our actions are like deposits in a bank account that someday might reach an acceptable balance, enabling God to admit us into His heavenly kingdom?

Well, if this were the case, it would go against many other passages of scripture, including Paul’s own words in Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Romans 4:2-5 makes the same point “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about – but not before God. What does the scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.”

Scripture is absolutely clear – we do not work for our salvation.

So, what is Paul talking about here?

The Greek word for the phrase ‘work out’ is katergazomai, and it conveys the idea of constant energy and effort necessary to finish a task.

In light of Ephesians 2, Romans 4 (And various other passages of scripture dealing with the merit-less reality of salvation) we end up with, I believe, a picture of our own responsibility in the process of sanctification.

If you recall, sanctification is the process by which our faith grows in maturity as we continually become closer to Christ through activities such as prayer, being in the Word, discipleship, and fellowship.

So, in other words, when Paul tells us to ‘work out our salvation’, I believe what he is saying is that we need to put forth a good deal of effort in doing those things in life that will bring us into a closer relationship with God – all the while keeping our eyes on eternity in Heaven.

James 4:8 echoes this sentiment when it says, “Come near to God and He will come near to you….”

We also see the words “Fear” and “Trembling” in verse 12 (Philippians 2:12)

This is not a ‘cowering in the corner’ or ‘Am I doomed’ kind of fear – it describes more of a reverential awe that should result in obedience in the lives of God’s children.

When we consider our position in relation to God - how great and holy our God is, compared to how weak and sinful we are – this realization should motivate us to live in sober obedience and submission.

Think of God being the size of the sun, and each of us as being the size of the moon. Fun fact: It would take 64 million moons to fit into the sun.

Understanding the vast physical disparity between these two celestial bodies is like understanding the vast spiritual disparity between humanity and God.

And just as the moon reflects the sun’s massive light, each of us ought to choose to reflect the massive spiritual light that our heavenly Father has shone upon us through the Holy Spirit!

Verse 13 provides more insight into the power behind our ability to draw near to God – to grow in sanctification.

Look closely at this verse as it specifically informs us as to where we receive the power and ability to live in obedience to God.

Does this ability to live within God’s will come from within us?...No Way!

When we give our lives to Christ, we receive power from the Holy Spirit – and included in this power is the ability to live in consistent obedience to God.

As a believer, you have the freedom to reject sin and choose to live in obedience…this is POWER, folks! People who do not have the Holy Spirit indwelling them simply cannot live in consistent obedience to God.

This reality is one of the defining characteristics of what it means to be saved.

If you are finding that you have difficulty remaining obedient to God on a consistent basis (Or, to put it conversely, if you find yourself sinning on a frequent and consistent basis) then it may be time to reevaluate your relationship with your creator….it may be time to dedicate (Or rededicate) your life to Him!

….And then there’s verse 14 (Philippians 2:14)….Oh, verse 14 – this passage is humbling and convicting, isn’t it?

It says: “Do everything without complaining or arguing.”

I don’t know about y’all, but I was feeling pretty good about this passage of scripture until we got to this verse!...I REALLY wish Paul had not used that word everything!

Really, God?...You expect me to never complain about anything? But…didn’t you see how disrespectfully that driver cut me off in traffic back there?

Lord, didn’t you see all the junk food the lady in front of me just purchased with her government-funded food card?...God, don’t you realize how evil our state and national leaders are?...You heard me specifically tell the counter person ‘No lettuce or tomato on my butter burger, right, God?

We humans LOVE to complain. And yes, some of those things are definitely negative situations in life, but Paul’s point is that complaining does not help solve anything - essentially it amounts to…at best, wasted time….and at worst, sinful disobedience.

Modern Western society is by far the most prosperous culture in the history of mankind.

The vast majority of us in this country have everything we need to survive and much of what we want – yet our society is arguably the most discontented society in all of history!

People seem to complain to a greater degree with each passing generation despite being more materialistically prosperous than every generation before.

What’s going on here? What gives?

One bible commentator sees it this way: “The complaints of modern man are fueled by a staunch conviction that personal happiness, though elusive and unattained, is the supreme objective of life.”

The mindset of modern man is that he is deserving of health and happiness, and when life ultimately lets him down, complaining ensues.

Many of you had parents or grandparents who lived through the Great Depression of the 1930’s.

All four of my grandparents were of this generation and they all had one thing in common – I never heard any of them complain…ever.

Now this isn’t to say they never complained in life, but at least when I was near them, this simply was not something they allowed themselves to do….I really wish I were more like them in this way.

People of their generation lived through a nation-crippling economic disaster and two bloody world wars.

These people understood what serious trials and devastation looked like – and these experiences would help shape an attitude of gratitude for the rest of their lives.

…And complaining about other believers is especially distasteful to God.

James 5:9 puts it this way “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The judge is standing at the door.”

Remember this passage from the book of 1 Peter? “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (1 Peter 4:9)

Well, complaining has an ugly relative, and its name is ‘arguing.’

An argumentative attitude and disposition is contrary to God’s will, and also sends a terrible message to unbelievers about what it means to live as a follower of Jesus.

Jesus says in Matthew 10:16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

How many times have you seen a sign in someone’s yard saying, ‘Beware of Lamb?’ or ‘beware of circling doves?’

These animals are calm and docile – unlike more aggressive creatures such as wolves and snakes.

As Christians, it’s that type of cool-headed, self-restraint that we are called to exemplify in our day-to-day lives.

Look at verse 15 of our text for today (Philippians 2:15)

Paul writes that the unbelieving world in which we live is ‘crooked’ and ‘depraved’…this certainly hasn’t changed much over the centuries, has it.

He also says in verse 15 that we as Christians should stand out from the world as shining stars in the universe.

Our world is an evil place – all of you know this.

Did you know that over the past 100 years, over 100 million people have been killed in war – that’s more than any and all other centuries put together.

According to the FBI, in the United States alone:

1)     There is a murder every 35 minutes

2)     There is a rape every 6 minutes

3)     There is a burglary every 14 seconds

God’s Word tells us that followers of Jesus Christ need to stand in stark contrast to the ways of the world – we need to be lights of righteousness in a world darkened by sin.

Does anyone remember the toy called ‘Lite-Brite’? It had a lightbulb in back of the frame shielded by a black piece of paper in the front. When you ‘poked’ a transparent peg through the black paper, the peg lit up, bringing light to an otherwise dark canvas.

We are told to be just like these pegs of light in our dark world today…and if enough of us ‘poke’ through the darkness alongside of each other, we can produce a beautiful and attractive light design that will catch the attention of the world around us and point others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus reminds us of this mission: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden, neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in Heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

Remember the Sunday School song “This little light of mine – I’m gonna let it shine….”

This needs to be you and I – let the light of our joy in Christ pierce the darkness of this world.

Many of you have an auto-headlight function on your vehicle. There’s a sensor on your vehicle that sends a message to your headlights telling them to turn on when the surrounding environment becomes dark.

We need to be the same way. We need to make sure that as the culture around us becomes darker, our beams of light become brighter.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, our world is dark. Our culture of sin, pride, greed, corruption, hatred, moral decay, wokeism, and disregard for human life is a dark, dark and sinful place.

But the good news is that just one light can pierce an enormous amount of darkness.

Did you know that in complete darkness, a single candlelight can be seen by the human eye from 1.6 miles away (That would be like standing at the old school building on the south side of LaValle and being able to see a candle on a stand up at the Hartje complex north of town….amazing, right?)

And get this - with average binoculars, a single candlelight can be seen 10 miles away – that’s from here to downtown Reedsburg!

Light reveals what darkness tries to conceal. Light exposes the mold of sin that grows in the damp shadows of our world.

But the good news?...light always prevails over darkness.

In fact, scientifically speaking, darkness does not exist by itself as a unique physical entity….darkness is simply the absence of light.

Where there is no light, there will be darkness – but where light exists, darkness will disappear.

Be the light of truth and righteousness in your neighborhood – be the light that chases darkness away in your world.

In John 3:19-21, Jesus says “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Light shows people how to get out of darkness. Light showed you the way out of darkness when you gave your life to Jesus Christ.

Be like the supermoon from last Wednesday night – reflect the light of the savior to such as extent that others will see your good works and glorify your Father who in Heaven.

BE THE LIGHT for others who are still in darkness so they will be able to exit that crowded highway headed for eternal destruction, and begin walking that rare, seldomly traveled path to everlasting life….

they will be thanking you for all of eternity.

Let’s Pray.