Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world.
So that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church, located in Kernersville, North Carolina. Feel comfortable around y'all. Amen. First word.
Anytime you see wherefore in the Bible, find out what it's there for. Amen. Amen. Is placed in Scripture to say, having said what I said before this.
Now, I'm going to tell you what to do in response.
So, verse number 12. Is the response to what he said in verses 1 through 11. Wherefore my beloved, that's saved, folks. Say amen. If you're saved, say not.
As you've always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings, that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God. Without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.
holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain. Neither labored in vain. Yea, And if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy. and rejoice with you all. Eighteen.
For the same cause also do Ye join. And Rejoice. With Me. Let the church say amen. Our Father, in the name of Jesus, we beg you now for unction to function.
I pray for strength in my body, in my lungs. I pray for... for the power in my voice that no one would have problems hearing me. I pray, God, that you would cleanse me of sin. Empty me of self and fill me with your spirit.
Help me be a blessing. But you'd use me. I I know that there are Many churches in North Carolina, and some of them I I will be at in the next several weeks, but tonight I'm at Carl Red Baptist. And I pray that you would give the message. For the body of believers here I ask that you would bind the devil.
Put a hedge of protection about this place that in no way he would hinder the work of the Holy Ghost of God. And would you use me like only you can? Would you do what you do?
Now up the road just about four and a half hours I'm asking you tonight. That you would watch over my wife and my family while I'm gone. And then in just a couple days, you would take me back to them. Just just as safe and sound. as they were when I left this morning.
For all that you will do. Have done. and are doing We'll praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated.
Thank you so much for standing. When I was growing up, I used to hear my dad say his favorite book of the Bible was the book of Philippians. And it was not my favorite book at the time. I didn't quite understand why it was his favorite book. But now that I have been pastoring now these 13 years and I've had the joy of preaching through the book of Philippians, Verse by verse, as God gave it, it makes total sense why the book of Philippians was my daddy's favorite book in the Bible and has rapidly become one of my favorites as well.
I'll tell you why I like the book of Philippians. It is a book written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Philippi on the subject of joy. On the count of three, I'd like us all to say joy. One, two, three. I'd like you to say it like you mean it.
One, two, three. I like joy. It's hard to find. It is impossible to fake, but I tell you when you got it, you can't shake a stick against it. Joy is something that God gives.
Can I get an amen? Happiness is based on happenings.
So if your happenings aren't happening in your favor, you're not happy anymore. If you like the warm weather, you're not happy in the wintertime. If you like the cold weather, you're not happy in the summertime. If you don't like the rain, you're not happy when it rains. If you don't like sunshine, you're not happy when it's beaming outside.
If you're happy when you have your job, you're sad when you lose your job. If you're happy when you have friends, you're not happy when you lose friends. If you're happy when your team wins, you're unhappy when your team loses. If you're happy when you got money, you are unhappy when you're broke. If you're happy when you're well, you're unhappy when you're sick.
Your happiness goes up and down because your circumstances go up and down. But joy is not based on your happenings. Joy is based on Jesus. And your joy doesn't have to change because your Jesus doesn't change. You say, well, my Jesus changes.
Well, you got the wrong Jesus. Listen. Because he's the same yesterday, today, and forever. See, if you have happiness and you lose your job, you're not happy anymore. But if you have joy and you lose your job, you can still be happy.
If you have happiness and you lose your money, you're not happy anymore. But if you have joy and you lose your money, you can still be happy. The songwriter put it this way: I've been lied on, cheated, talked about, and mistreated. I've been buked at, scorned, run down, sure as you're born. I've been up, down, and almost to the ground, but it's Long as I got King Jesus.
I don't need nobody else.
Now listen. Paul understood. I'm locked up and I'm locked down. I wouldn't choose a prison cell. I'd rather be preaching.
I'd rather be free. I'd rather be doing what I enjoy doing. But the providence of God has allowed me to be locked up in this prison cell and they can take my freedoms. They can take my liberties. They can take my itinerary.
They can take my choices. But they cannot take my joy because they cannot take my Jesus. And so when he writes in the book of Philippians on joy, he's reminding us that joy is something you can have regardless of the circumstances. And he proves that in the book of Philippians because he's writing on joy from jail. But he teaches us that joy doesn't come from some human perspective.
It's a spiritual matter that only God can produce. In chapter number one, joy comes from a single mind. Centered on the gospel. It's the only message that works on everybody, regardless of color or creed or circumstance. Aren't you glad you can go into any store, go into any country, go into any culture, go into any climate, go into any economical scene and give the gospel and it can work on anybody.
And so Paul says joy comes from a single. You can't get your mind caught up on any and everything or you'll lose your joy. You got to have a single mind. Chapter number two, you have to have a selfless mind. The most miserable people I know are selfish people.
They're always caught up on themselves and they never get enough because they're always thinking, me, me, me, me, me. I have found out the joyous people, the most joyous people I know, are selfless people who aren't looking at their own situation. They're looking to be a blessing to somebody else. He says, look not every man on his own thing, but every man also on the things of others.
So joy comes from a single mind. Joy comes from a selfless mind. Later in chapter number two, joy comes from a submissive mind. Raise your hand if you like to be in charge. All right, come on now.
Raise your hand if you like to be in charge. And the rest of you like to lie. All right.
So we like to be in charge. And yet, Paul teaches us that joy comes from a submissive mind. We have to be willing to let somebody who is in charge of us tell us what to do, and that somebody is Almighty God.
Now, listen, he gives us the greatest example of submissiveness, and it is in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you know doctrine and you know it well, you understand that there are three that bear reckon in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. I'm not teaching doctrine tonight, but just let me throw it at you. Jesus is just as much God as the Father.
The Holy Ghost is just as much God as Jesus. The Father is just as much God as the Holy Ghost. Come on now. There are three that bear record in heaven.
So that means when Jesus was sent to earth by the Father, he didn't have to go.
So you gotta say amen now. He didn't have to go. But God said yes to God not because he had to but because he was willing to to save our sin now listen listen here's what Paul's saying if God could look at God and say yes to God because God decided he would say yes to God when God didn't have to what in the world is wrong with us And Jesus experienced joy from saying yes to God because by coming to earth, he said yes to God. He hung, he bled, he suffered for the sins of mankind. And sitting in Kernersville on a Monday night in September 2024 are some sinners who were headed to a devil's hell, who were lost and undone without God or his son.
But because Jesus said yes to the Father and died on the cross for yours and my sins, tonight I'm no longer a sinner headed to hell. I'm saved by the grace of God. My name's been written down in the Lamb's book of life. God's my father. Jesus, my Savior, the Holy Ghost, my comforter.
The word of God is my God. And when the role is called up yonder, I'm going to be there. Listen to me. That happened because of a submissive mind. And because he lowered himself, God has lifted him up.
And there's coming a day when, at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. Here's what Jesus learned by submission. The way up is always down. You don't get up by lifting yourself up. You get up by lowering yourself down and God lifts you up.
And because Jesus lowered himself, God one day is going to lift him up and every single person on planet earth is going to bow down to him and worship the king of kings and the Lord of lords. When he said yes to the Father, he came to earth and did the work of our salvation. How many are glad you're saved tonight? I hate to bust your bubble. You couldn't save yourself.
You couldn't get saved by yourself. You couldn't get saved by getting baptized. You couldn't get saved by joining a church. You couldn't get saved by what family you're born in. You couldn't get saved by how much offering you give.
You couldn't get saved by how much religion you're committed to. You couldn't get saved by singing in the choir. You couldn't get saved by doing good works. You could only get saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them, not by works. Of righteousness, as we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us by the washing of regeneration. and renewing of the Holy Ghost. For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, that he might be testified in due time.
He said, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature.
Old things are passed away. Behold, all things have become new. That if thou should confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus... That God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believed unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men. Whereby we must be saved, and this is the record that God had given to us eternal life. And this life is in His Son: He that hath the Son hath life, He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things ever written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes you are healed.
Some of you saying, Them a lot of verses, you saying them real fast. I don't know what you're saying, but let me tell you this: God's got a way that you can't go over, God's got a way that you can't go under, God's got a way that you can't go around. You must come in at the door. And Jesus said, I'm the door of deliverance, I'm the pathway of peace, I'm the highway of holiness, I'm the roadway of righteousness, I'm the gateway of glory, I'm the master of the mighty, I'm the leader of the legislators, I'm the overseer of overcomers, I'm the governor of governors, I'm the prince of princes, I'm the king of kings, and I'm the lord of lords. The Pharisees couldn't stomp him, Pilate couldn't find a fault in him, the witnesses couldn't get their testimony.
to agree Herod couldn't kill him, death couldn't handle him, and the grave could not hold him. He had no predecessor. He'll have no successor. You can't impeach Jesus, and he's not going to resign. He's king of kings and Lord of Lord.
Scarcely for a righteous man, some would die. Peradventure for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God commended his love toward us. In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us when there wasn't a lamb white enough, there wasn't a rose wet enough, there wasn't a man good enough. God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might redeem, receive the adoption of sons.
I'm so glad that he came from my sin. I'm so glad that he died when I couldn't. I'm so glad that his red, crimson blood was shed for my sin. I couldn't get there on my own, but because Jesus did the work for my salvation, I'm saved, saved, saved. Yeah, come on give God the praise tonight What a mighty God.
Please, sir. He did the work. And he gets to verse number 12 and says, okay. Since Jesus did the work. Four.
Your salvation. Look at verse number 12.
Now Work Output transcript. Your salvation. Now let's just be honest. This is a phrase in Scripture. that's clearly inspired without a doubt.
But to the human eye Having learned that salvation is not by works. To look at the statement, work out your salvation. I believe it because God said it, but I don't instinctively understand it. Can I get an amen? So I want to preach on that phrase today.
What did Paul mean when he said work Your salvation, if clearly the scripture says we can't work for let's let's just agree, let's just agree together, you cannot work for your salvation. But you've been ordered to work out your salvation. I tell our people across those baptisms, you can't live the Bible if you haven't learned it. How are you gonna obey a command if you don't even know what it means? Yeah, you're right.
Here it is in the Greek. Cater gazomai, cater gazomai, work out. Here's what it means. to achieve, to bring about, to full completion. to produce to the fullest.
Here's a good definition. To get The most Out of John Phillips in his commentary demonstrates By illustration, work out, cater gazoma. 1 John Philip says it's like working out a math problem. Here's what the math teacher used to say: just because you put down the right answer doesn't give you credit for it unless you show your word. You know what she's saying?
I need to know how you got the right answer. Because you might have guessed. You might have got lucky, you might have used a calculator, or you might have cheated. But if you show your work, I know you know how to get the right answer because you can't get the answer right the next time unless you know how you got it right that somebody helped me preach.
So you gotta work it out. Follow it, bring it down, carry the three, bring it down, carry the three, four, bring it down, carry the five, add it up. Circle your answer, show your work so you have worked the problem all the way through. Everybody understand? Say amen.
John Phillips said you can work out a field. You can plow it right, you can seed it right, you can harvest it right, you got to work it all the way out. Cater Gazoma. Here's my favorite definition, illustration, catergizo mine, and the best one I think, Pastor. John Phillips says you work out a mind.
A gold mine.
So here's what he describes. He says Somebody who's broke and can't afford a mine. has been deeded a mine from somebody else who's rich.
So the rich man who could afford the mine bought the mine for the poor man who couldn't afford the mine, gave the poor man the mine and deeded it in his name. And when he deeded the mine to the poor man who couldn't afford the mine, he not only deeded him the mine, but he gave him a mine that belonged to him and told him there's gold in the mine. Yeah. But there's a problem. Just because the poor man now is a rich man with gold in his mind, he can't enjoy the gold in his mind until he digs it up.
Yeah, yeah. It's like if you go to the grocery store and you fill up your buggy with a bunch of groceries and then you get to the line and she rings it up, says that that's $230.52 and you say, ma'am, in some remote island, some tropical land somewhere, I'm very, very rich. That's what my accountant told me. I'm a millionaire over in some tropical island somewhere, so just charge it to my account. And she looks at you and says, that's a wonderful story, but until that million dollars leave that island and get here in my register, you better put that food back.
You understand what I'm saying? You can be rich on paper, but you can't spend nothing you don't have. Here's my concern, Pastor. There are Christian people. Every single person that is saved in this building tonight is rich on paper.
But there's a bunch of people that are rich on paper that are living poor in practice. I mean they're losing battles in sin. They're losing battles of temptation. I'm talking about saved people that are getting divorced. I'm talking about saved kids that are walking away from God.
I'm talking about Christian people that are losing to the devil every day. They're not reading their Bible. They're not praying. They're not revived. They're rich.
They're rich. They're rich. They're going to heaven. The riches of eternal grace have been deeded to them. Listen to me.
If you don't know the story of salvation, you must not know you were broke when God found you. But a rich man named Jesus could afford the gold mine. And he gave you a gold mine. And when he gave you a gold mine, he deeded it to you in your name. But here's the problem.
You can have the gold mine in your name, but you can't enjoy the gold until you dig it up.
So John Phillips says. John Phillips says The miner's going to take his What's this? His shovel. And then he's going to take his what? Bucket, can you see me?
I'm coming over here where you can see me a little bit better. Everybody can see me now. Y'all can't see me? Use your imagination. Come here, bud.
Give me a hand, okay? I'm coming down, all right? I just need some help there. Here we go. Thank you, buddy.
I pay you after service. Can you see me now? All right.
So John Phillips says this man's got his... And his Bucket, all right? Yeah. Oh, you got the camera. Come on, we're going back up, man.
Oh, come on. All right, there we go. Man, that was a lot of work. Good gracious. I forgot this was a high technology church.
Mm-hmm. I passed a black church, all right? We got technology. It just took us a while. Do you know?
Stop laughing. Y'all got technology, but we got rhythm. All right, but anyway, so.
So Sometimes you gotta pick your battles. Pick your battles.
So so so so everybody can see me right Excuse me somehow.
So here's what John Phillips says. He's got his shovel and his... And he's in his mind and in the mind is somewhat. But it's under the ground.
So he's going to take his shovel and he's going to start digging. He don't want a dirt in the bucket. He dump the dirt and keep the gold. Talk to him. He's going to dump the And keep the Dump the And keep the Dump the And keep the.
Now, here's what he's going to do in the mind. He's going to keep digging this direction in the mind until he gets to a spot. where he digs and there's no gold there.
So now he finds out there's no more gold beyond this point, so he's gonna mark it off. Everybody following?
Now he's going to do the same thing in this direction. gets to a spot where he finds no more gold. Mark it all. Same thing this way. Same thing.
Anybody know what he's doing? Getting a radius of where the gold is. Why? Don't nobody want to waste no time digging somewhere where there ain't no gold. You don't get rich because you're tired.
You get rich because you're tired from digging gold. There are a lot of Christians that come in church every Sunday and sit down and say, I'm a good Christian because I'm worn out. Listen to me. The heathens are worn out. You're not a good Christian because you're worn out unless you're worn out from living for God.
So he says now that I know where the gold is.
Now I'm going to spend my time digging. Yeah, to me. I only have as much gold in my bucket as I dug up.
Some of y'all missing it now. Everybody in the building that is saved inherited a gold mine. But there's a bunch of people that inherited a gold mine that aren't enjoying the gold because they haven't got their shovel and their bucket and dug up.
So, you know what that means? You can't blame your pastor if you don't have no gold in your bucket. You can't blame your wife because you don't have your gold in your bucket. You can't blame your husband because you don't have no gold in your bucket. You can't blame your parents because you don't have no gold in your bucket.
And in November, if your person don't get in the White House, you can't blame your president because you don't have no gold in your bucket. Because when God saved you, He gave you your own mind.
So you need to get up off your blessed assurance and grab your shovel and grab your bucket and work out your... Own. Salvation.
So tonight I'm going to ask you the invitation. Who's gonna grab your shovel? Because there's a whole lot in salvation that's in the mind. That you have, if you think all you got out of salvation is getting out of hell, you ain't been digging. Amen.
Come on now. Every once in a while somebody come to me. I say, Pastor, I'm going to another church. I'm not growing. I said, what'd you say?
I'm not growing. I said, we're preaching from one book on Sunday morning, we're preaching from another book on Sunday night, we're preaching from another book on Wednesday night, and you're not growing. That's like saying I'm at Fogo de Chow and I'm not eating. I'm talking about a place where they bring you all you can eat meat out until you tell them to stop. I'm talking about a buffet that's got enough food on it before you even get the meat that will fill you up.
Now, if the buffet is full of meat that somebody fixed and it's hot and the food is sitting up there at the buffet and you sit in the restaurant for an hour and an hour later you leave and say, I'm hungry, I didn't eat nothing. You can't blame nobody because the reason why you didn't eat is because you didn't put something on your plate and in your mouth. And if you had, you'd have been full. Let me tell you, don't you tell somebody you ain't growing. Listen to me.
You got your bucket, you got your shovel, and in Jesus' name, you need to dig up some gold.
Now quickly, let me give you an outline. of how you can work out your own salvation. Philippians chapter 2. Number 1, it must be a humble approach. A humble approach.
Beloved, as you've always obeyed, in my absence, now in my presence, now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation. What do you mean? He says, number one, you got to do it with fear and trembling. He says when you dig for when you dig into Christian life, you better have some reverence of God. Come on, you know what the problem is?
We don't have any seriousness about the Christian life anymore. Come on, we get more serious about politics than we do the Christian life. We're more serious about sports than we are the Christian life.
Some people are more in love with Donald Trump than they are Jesus Christ. Listen, I'm telling you, you better realize when you come to church, you ain't coming to see the preach. You didn't come to show off your new outfit. You ain't coming to punch the clock. You come to see Jesus.
And when preaching goes on in church, get your shovel and your bucket. Don't come here and just punch the clock and say you are here. Make sure when you leave here, you take some gold. Amen. And make sure that when you leave here, you not only take some gold, but when you leave here, you dig some gold.
Some people don't even take their buckets home. They leave their buckets and their shovel at their seat so the person that comes into church knows not to sit there. Excuse me, I know you're not sitting in my seat. Yes, I am. You didn't see my bucket and my shovel?
My bucket and my shovel have been in that seat for 25 years at this church. Clearly, you must have bumped your leg when you sat there because that bucket is so big.
Well, clearly, you're not growing, because if only you have your bucket and shovel at church, you're only getting gold on Sundays and Wednesdays, and that ain't enough to beat the devil.
Solemn fear, servants' faithfulness. He says, In my presence and in my absence, you got to dig when your preacher's not looking. You got to dig when your wife is not looking. You got to dig when your parents aren't looking. You got to dig during the summer when your Christian school is not assigning you Bible assignments.
You got to dig in your freshman year at college, when your youth pastor is not staying on top of you. You got to dig in two o'clock in the morning when nobody's watching what computer site you're on. I'm simply saying, if you're going to work out your own salvation, it requires a humble approach. Number two, it requires heavenly assistance. Look at verse 13: for it is God which worketh.
Verse 13. Are you there? The word worketh in verse number 13 is a different Greek word than the two words work out in verse number 12. In verse number 12, he said, Work out your own salvation. Cater goes, Oh my, get the most out of your salvation.
But in verse 13, he said, God worketh. Verse 12, Cater goes, oh my, you get the most out of you. dig Christian verse 13 while you dig God works Verse 12, get the most out of. Cater gazovi. Verse 13, energio.
It's where we get our word energy. Here's what Paul said. Hey, every Christian, encourage. The greatest news that anyone can receive is the news of the free gift of salvation found in Jesus Christ. It is our desire for you to know him personally.
Would you take a moment to hear this today? Every man is born with a sin nature. Romans three twenty three says For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No matter how hard we try, we're not good enough to obtain God's glory. or to get to heaven.
Because of that, sin carries the penalty of death. Romans 6.23 says, For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life. through Jesus Christ our Lord. The wages of our sin, or the payment of our sin, only equals death and separation from God.
But it's only through God's gift salvation through Jesus Christ that we can accept him as our Saviour. Jesus Christ paid for your sin debt. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, but God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. All you have to do is receive Christ. by faith as your Saviour.
Romans ten nine says That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Verse 13 continues, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It's as simple as admitting that you're a sinner believing that Jesus is the only way. and calling upon his name. Bible says whosoever that's anyone can call upon the name of the Lord to be saved.
Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior? There is no greater day than today to take care of this. Would you accept Christ as your Savior? If you have any questions, please give us a call at 336-993-5192 or visit our website at Kerwin Baptist Church. Dot com.
or visits that person at one of our three service times. We hope you have a great rest of your day. God bless you. Mm-hmm.
