Sermon Notes - Philippians 2:12-18 - God at Work - Rising Sun Baptist Church - July 12, 2026

1.        Open your Bibles to Philippians 2.

a.        We are continuing our journey through the Word of God.

b.       Specifically, the letter Paul wrote to the Philippian church.

2.        This world we live in is a fallen world.

a.        Things do not always go right.

b.       Or at least the way we would like them to go.

c.        The question is how do we respond in those situations.

d.       Human nature may be to get frustrated.

e.        To lash out.

f.          To be unhappy about it and make sure others know how you feel.

g.        Or the other end of the spectrum might be anxiety.

h.        Struggling with how to move forward.

i.          Even hiding from the problem.

3.        We all get to that point now and again.

4.        Scripture does give us some guidance to help.

5.        Galatians 5:22-25

a.        As Chrit Followers, with the Holy Spirit working in us, these behaviors are who we are to be.

b.       We will not be perfect at it.

c.        We will faulter.

d.       I know I have.

e.        But when frustrations hit, we need to lean into the work of the Holy Spirit.

f.          We are to work out the situation by following our God.

g.        Remembering we are not of this world.

h.        We are God’s children.

6.        That is part of what Paul is getting at in our verses today.

a.        The Philippian church needed to remember they are children of God.

b.       They are citizens of heaven.

c.        They have received the Gospel of Christ.

d.       And they needed to imitate their Lord Jesus.

7.        These same things apply to us.

a.        I for one am thankful for the Grace our Lord has given us.

b.       I know I would be lost without Him.

8.        Let’s jump in.

9.        Philippians 2:12

a.        Therefore – reminding us to look back.

b.       To think about what we have talked about the last couple of weeks.

c.        The verses we are in today, continue what started in Philippians 1:27.

d.       We are citizens of heaven.

e.        We are to live worthy of the Gospel of Christ.

f.          We are too humble ourselves.

g.        Considering others, as more important.

10.   My dear friends… fellow Christ followers.

a.        Continue to obey… Paul trusted that they had listened to what they had been taught in the past.

b.       And Paul is encouraging them to follow through with what they have heard.

c.        But what is meant by “work out your own salvation”?

d.       They cannot earn salvation.

e.        None of us can.

f.          It is a gift offered by our God.

11.   What Paul is getting at here, is that we are to live our faith.

a.        Being a Christ follower should impact how we act.

b.       Define our choices.

c.        Our entertainment.

d.       How we spend our time.

e.        Even our politics.

12.   Our following Jesus should impact all aspects of our lives.

a.        Paul put a heavy emphasis on this by adding fear and trembling.

b.       Our following Jesus.

c.        Our living our faith.

d.       Is not something that we do haphazardly.

e.        It is to be something that is a priority.

f.          It is something we do as we remember who God is and what He has done for us.

13.   James 4:7-8

a.        Submit to God.

b.       Draw near to Him.

c.        Being a Christ follower requires effort.

d.       Even the resisting of the devil takes effort.

14.   Paul talks about it.

a.        James talked about it.

b.       And Peter talks about it.

c.        We are to work at living our faith.

d.       It does not save us.

e.        But our salvation through Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit changes us.

15.   Philippians 2:13

a.        If you were thinking that it is hard to live your faith all the time.

b.       If you were wondering how you might not have gotten so upset last week.

c.        How you might not let anxiety or worry get the best of you.

d.       This verse gives us the answer.

e.        It is God who is working in us.

f.          It is God who builds the desire in us to live according to his calling.

g.        And It is God who equips, emboldens, and empowers us to do His work.

h.        All to achieve His will or good purpose.

16.   We cannot accomplish it on our own.

a.        We need our Jesus.

b.       We are fully dependent on Him.

c.        We need the Holy Spirit to give us the fruit.

17.   We do want to be careful here.

a.        This is not passive.

b.       This does not happen by saying a single prayer and then sitting on our hands for the rest of our lives.

c.        We need to seek our Lord.

d.       We need to learn about Him.

e.        We need to be His disciple.

f.          Growing in knowledge of who He is.

g.        Seeking His wisdom and His will.

18.   As we seek our God.

a.        Drawing near to Him.

b.       He will work in us.

c.        Changing our hearts.

d.       Helping us to seek His desires for our lives.

e.        Equipping us to live how He wants us to live.

f.          To be a light to the world around us.

19.   Philippians 2:14

a.        Let me say it again, I am thankful for God’s grace.

b.       Those who heard our frustrations with our kitchen remodel know that I probably grumbled a bit.

c.        Thankfully Jesus has wiped that away.

20.   The direction here is clear.

a.        We are to walk this side of eternity without grumbling and arguing.

b.       Now this does not mean we cannot have a difference of opinion.

c.        We see things from different perspectives.

d.       But we are to be humble, which we talked about last week.

e.        Putting others first.

f.          Trusting out God.

g.        Letting the Holy Spirit give us His fruit, such as love, joy, peace, patience, and so on.

21.   This is a hard one.

a.        Do everything without grumbling.

b.       Working out our salvation.

c.        Those are not easy.

d.       But remember we are relying on our God.

e.        Trusting in Him.

f.          Because we are His children and citizens of heaven.

22.   Thankfully, we do not have to do it on our own.

a.        God started a good work in us and will carry it to completion.

23.   Philippians 2:15

a.        Now Paul is getting to the why.

b.       Why is it important that we strive to honor our God by how we live?

c.        Why is it important that while we may disagree at times, that we are unified in serving God?

d.       Why is it important that our faith is lived out each day?

e.        Why are we to turn away from our sins?

24.   Re-read vs. 15

a.        God has started a good work in us, which He will finish.

b.       So that we can be blameless and pure.

c.        Not perfect.

d.       Not sinless.

e.        But washed in the blood of Jesus.

f.          Redeemed.

g.        Transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit.

h.        So that we can be faithful witnesses to those around us.

i.          So that the world will see that we are different.

j.          So that the crooked and perverted generation all around us can hear the Gospel message.

25.   All of this ties back to…

a.        Our salvation as believers.

b.       And our ability to be witnesses to the world around us.

26.   We need to strive to honor God with our choices, thoughts, and actions.

a.        So that we can be seen as Light in this dark world.

b.       In order that others will want to know why we see things differently.

c.        And be open to hear the truth we have to share.

27.   Philippians 2:16

a.        Hold fast to the Word of Life.

b.       Hold firmly the Gospel of Jesus.

c.        The message that has set us free from our sins.

d.       The truth we are to share with others.

e.        Let it change us.

f.          So we can be the witnesses we were created to be.

28.   Why…

a.        So that when it is all said and done.

b.       When we stand before our Jesus.

c.        We will be seen as good and faithful servants.

d.       As Christ Followers who let the Holy Spirit change us.

e.        Living our faith in a way that honored God.

f.          Pointing people to our Jesus.

g.        In hope that they too would accept the most amazing gift.

29.   If you have followed Jesus for any amount of time, I suspect you can think of an occasion where someone questioned your behavior.

a.        Or watched how you would respond to something.

b.       People are watching.

c.        They hear that we spend time at church.

d.       They might hear us talk about our Jesus.

e.        But they watch to see if it truly changes who we are.

f.          The whole do we walk the walk or only talk the talk, thing.

30.   Are we giving our lives to Christ or holding parts of it back?

31.   Philippians 2:17-18

a.        To truly understand what Paul is saying here, we need to remember what he is facing.

b.       He is sitting in a Roman jail.

c.        Religious leaders from Israel have tried to have him killed.

d.       Being poured out, dying, is a real possibility for him.

32.   Knowing what Paul is facing, we read that even if the earthly worst was to happen.

a.        Paul is glad.

b.       He is rejoicing.

c.        And he wants his Philippians friends to do the same.

d.       Because he believes that the Philippian church will work out their salvation.

e.        They will live their lives for Christ.

f.          Being obedient to the Holy Spirit.

g.        Being transformed.

h.        And be the light that they are meant to be.

33.   That is the call to us.

a.        To live our faith for Jesus.

b.       Letting the Holy Spirit give us peace, joy, patience, self-control, and more… instead of grumbling, arguing, and those other things.

c.        We are to let God change who we are so that we can point people to Jesus.

34.   As we wrap up our:

35.   Thoughts for the Road.

a.        How are we living our faith? Are there areas of our lives we need to let the Holy Spirit work in us and change us?

b.       Do we have a habit of grumbling? How can we replace that with peace, joy, patience, kindness, and gentleness.

c.        What do we need to do differently to be the light to those in our lives?

36.   If you don’t know Jesus, you don’t have the Holy Spirit living in you.

a.        Living for Jesus can replace your fear with joy.

b.       Letting the Holy Spirit work in you can take away that anxiety and replace it with peace.

c.        But it all starts with putting your faith in Jesus.

d.       He came to this earth to die for your sins.

e.        He paid your debt.

f.          He paid all of our debts.

g.        He defeated death, granting all who follow Him a new wonderful eternity in His presence.

h.        He is now sitting at the right hand of the Father.

i.          And He will return.

j.          When the time comes every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.

k.        If you declare it on this side of eternity, you will be redeemed and spend forever with Him.

l.          You don’t want to wait.

m.     If you are ready to declare Jesus is Lord and repent of your sins, I would love to pray with you.

37.   If you are ready to follow our Lord in water baptism or want to become a member of RSBC, please talk to me.