Can you sing out? Just worship him. Well, let's press in just a little bit. It feels uncomfortable, that's okay. I should have the holy hand. We'll leave you in the house, give you the sticky stone. But mom, if you say or danger, if you know it, will you lift your hands in honor of us? One last time let's lift it up. Oh Well, we look changing. Father, we declare you the King of Kings, the Lord of hosts, and your worthy of praise. You're worthy of hands lifted up and hearts lifted up and voices lifted up. You're worthy, Lord. Lord, we honor you in this place, oh God. We honor you in this place. Father, would you just be in this service? Our hearts be surrendered to in the heaven. We receive from your word your very throne. We ask it in Jesus' precious name.
On eleven o'clock can you say amen? Can you put your hands together? Man. Hey God bless you guys. Before you're seated, turn around and give someone a fist bump, high five, a handshake. If you know him real well, you can give them a hug. Guys, how about this worship team? Can we just thank God for our worship team? Super job, man. I was telling uh there you go. Hey. Lisa, that was good. Right on time. Um, yeah, I was telling Jim, what a great set list. Some of you smelling good. I smelt you on the way in. Pass me at the door. Some of that perfume. Cologne.
Well, good morning, guys. My name is Ron. Many of you know me. If you don't, introduce myself. Love to meet you after this Christmas. Excited to speak with you guys today. Um celebrating this weekend, we had the CCS golf tournament this weekend. AD Johnson put together a good tournament. This right here, ladies and gentlemen, is your 2026 champions. Forever in history, this will be the first place team. Look at these guys right here, all these handsome guys. I told, you know, uh, yeah, thank you so much for that. Um it was a golf scramble, and this is the honest truth. We did not use one of my shots. Okay. All these guys were really good, but I told these guys before the foundations of the world, before I was being formed, the Lord said, Will he be good at golf or will he be good looking? Okay, so I leave you guys so you know what happened, right? I didn't get any golf skills. James says nothing happened, but Aaron says, I got all the good looks. Thank you, baby. But it was good. Guys, support CCS. What a wonderful school that's training another generation. So thankful for uh Coach Johnson and all they're doing with the athletic program. Excited about the future of CCS. If you agree with that, can you give me a good amen?
Well, I know you came here today not to talk about golf, but actually to dive into God's word, and I'm excited to do that. We're actually reading through the book of Philippians and teaching through the book of Philippians. And guys, what a wonderful book of the Bible. If you don't know much about the Bible, Philippians is one of Paul's warmest letters. In fact, it's really his only letter where it wasn't some kind of like serious moral rebuke or confrontation. He was actually really encouraging these guys. And it's one of those that you can read over and over and really get strengthened from. Philippi was an interesting place, just so you when you read the Bible, you can think about this. Philippi was eight miles from the sea, and it was a beautiful city. Think about like Napa Valley. And there was wine and grapes and vineyards and all these retirees. It was like a retirement colony for Roman military veterans. And so you got these really successful people, these really high achievers in this beautiful city. And Paul had planted a church there in
Acts chapter 16. And here he is from prison writing these guys to encourage them and strengthen them.
We're gonna start today in
verse number 12 of chapter 2. Glenn did such a fantastic job last week. But Paul starts off and he says it like this.
Philippians 2:12. Therefore, my beloved. Now we know anytime you see therefore in the Bible, you gotta ask yourself, what's the therefore therefore? And Paul has just given the most beautiful picture that we find in all the Bible about Jesus. He came from heaven, he humbled himself, he emptied himself, he became a servant, he died, he rose again. Paul has this beautiful description of Christ and his obedience. And he says, Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, just as Christ was obedient, you have been obedient. So now not only in my presence, but much more in my absence. So Paul is encouraging these guys. How many of you have young kids and you kind of you finally cross that threshold where you can leave them at home by themselves and not pay for child care? All the parents know that's a big deal. Can I get an amen? Finally, you're not spending $300 to go out to Burger King, you know? You're actually able to go out. And you say, hey, don't do this, don't do that, and you come home, you're like, you did a great job when mom and dad wasn't here. Paul says, not only were you obedient when I was there, you were obedient when I was absent.
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. We're going to talk about this today, this idea of working out the salvation that God has given you. Verse 13:
For it is God and God alone. Works in you both to will and to work Possibly quoting Philippians 2:13. What does God do in us? He wills and he works for his good pleasure. And really, this verse is talking about sanctification. If you look historically, and it's kind of a you know interesting thing, but you can see it, there's this one belief they call quietism, which is where people believe that our sanctification is passive, that you don't have to do anything, it's all God's work. You just kind of just hang loose and let it happen. God does it all, laissez faire. And then there's another side of that coin. called pietism, where people believe that it's all up to you to white knuckle your discipleship, that you have to make it happen. That if you're failing in any way, it's because you haven't tried hard enough. It's self-reliance or God reliance. And we got these two sides. So Paul says here, listen, you do have to work out your salvation, but it's God who works in you. Are you following with me? He says that it's not just Either or, but it's actually both.
Verse 14. Do all things, all things, circle it, highlight it, underline it, all things, without grumbling or disputing.
That you may be blameless, innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation Possibly quoting Philippians 2:15. Now, Paul here is throwing back to the book of Deuteronomy. He's talking about their forefathers. You've heard this language before, right? Crooked and perverse generation. What did the children of Israel do in their journey to the promised land? What kept them from the promised land? Grumbling and what? Complaining. So he's kind of throwing back here. Your forefathers, you saw your forefathers and the mistakes they made. Don't grumble and complain, but do all things without it. Don't be
a crooked and perverse generation, but shine as lights in the world Possibly quoting Philippians 2:15–16. Verse 16: Holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain. Even if I'm poured out like a drink offering. So Paul is basically saying, hey, I'm this example of sacrifice. I'm pouring my life out. Just like I'm not doing, I'm not complaining, I'm not grumbling, I'm pouring myself out. Even if I am to be poured out upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I'm glad and I have joy. Likewise, you should be glad and have joy with me. Do you love the Bible today? Amen.
Well, let's just pray over it and I'm going to talk to you a little bit. Father, thank you for your word in this 11 o'clock service. Lord, right now, I pray in Jesus' name that you would draw us in. To your word, that you would draw us in, that you would bring all of our attention and focus to the scripture. Social media jump. Six ways to do blank. Three ways to do this. Two pointers to do this. Everybody's always trying to level up and get better. We have a growth mindset. It's the pickleball player who's trying to work on other pickleball shots, like Corey. He's mad about that. It's the business person trying to find a new system so that they can scale their business. It's the young couple trying to save money so that they can buy a new home. It's the person hitting the gym three days a week trying to increase their strength. All these things are good, and I think that all of us, if I went to every person here, there's probably at least a few areas of your life that you're bringing intentionality to to grow. Growing. But the real question is not, are you just growing? But are you growing in the places that it matters the most?
Listen to me, Claremore, 11 o'clock. Most people spend a lot of energy trying to get better at things they do, but they don't even pay attention to who they're becoming. And Paul here is not talking about a new way to get your finances in order or a new way to put a little more muscle on your torso. He's saying, hey, you have to grow spiritually. The real question is not just are we growing? It's not just are we growing in the places where it matters the most? It's are we growing in God? Are you growing in God? How in the last three years can you see a growth in your life when it comes to the things of God? Paul reminds us in
Romans 8 that we were predestined to be conformed to God's image. And we mirror that and we become like him, changing from glory to glory. In Galatians, he said that he travailed over the Galatians, saying that Christ would be formed in you. This was a post salvation experience that God would continue to work in them and bring to life the very nature of God inside of them. That from the inside out that they will be transformed. That it wasn't just fire insurance, that it wasn't just them becoming, you know, a Christian, but it was actually them being transformed to be more like the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And I think there's a truth of that, that God's people should be growing. We should be growing. There's no doubt about it that you should be growing in God.
Paul said in verse 12 work out this salvation. Work it, work it, work it,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling Possibly quoting Philippians 2:12. Throughout all of Paul's teaching, we see this fact that God didn't just save you from something, but He actually saved you for something. Ladies and gentlemen, every person here, under the sound of my voice, was given a purpose and a destiny by God Almighty that before the foundations of the world you were brought into the kingdom for such a time as this. You could have been born in 1853, but you were born in 1987 for a purpose that God, through your life, would show forth his glory in your generation. And that doesn't happen by accident. It comes to a life surrender and a dedication to growing in God.
I can't get no help over here. Can I get some help over here? Amen. We should be growing up. The Father loves us too much to leave us in our dysfunction. He loves us too much to leave us bitter. He loves us too much to leave us in our destructive habits. Controlled by our temper, our fears, pride, our insecurity. Paul charges the church grow up into him. Peter says,
desire pure milk of the word that you may grow Possibly quoting 1 Peter 2:2. Amen.
Do you want to grow today? Do you want to grow? See, the thing is that some believers are still babies. The old Pentecostal preachers used to say, you got to park the whiskers to get the milk in there, get the bottle. People say he's 11 years old for the 32nd time. Some believers are still babies, easily offended, still consumers, still complainers, self-centered, self-righteous. Not following God's plan. And Paul chasing the church at Corinth, he says, brothers and sisters, I couldn't address you as spiritual people, but as worldly people, infants, I gave you milk, not solid food. Why? Because you weren't ready. And you're still not ready, Paul said. Hebrews says, by this time you should be a teacher. But you still need someone to teach you the basic things of faith. Some believe. It was three quarters of the way down. He's still working. So many of us in here, we're still in progress. God is working. And we work with God intentionally by our own sacrifice.
Listen to me. We're talking about spiritual growth today. Paul told Timothy to train yourself. He said in Corinthians, I discipline my body and keep it under control. In Hebrews, Lay aside weight in things that so easily entangle and run with endurance. Train, disciple, control, lay aside and run. These are intentional words. There's an intentionality that we bring to spiritual growth. There's a part of this spiritual growth thing where we intently say, I'm gonna bring change. I'm gonna work to change and be better. But that's not the end of the story because all of it isn't on you. We also change by surrender, by allowing God to begin to work in us. I was seeing a counselor, and there was a certain issue that I was trying to work through, and I said to him, and maybe some of you can identify with this I said to him, I know that I need to do the work, but I don't know what the work is. And I began to say, Man, I've done this, I've done this, I've done this. What else can I do? And he told me something I thought was so profound. He said, Ron, there's two sides of being an overcomer. There's one side where you wrestle with the sin. Where you put your boundaries up, where you where you white knuckle, where you say, Man, I'm not going, you know, you put all the fence posts up and say, Man, I'm drawing a line in the sand, I'm not doing that again, I'm changing, I'm going as far away from that as I can. That's one side. But there's another side to where we pursue Jesus. Do you know there's a work in pursuing Jesus? Because if you pursue Jesus, He begins to change you from the inside out. Amen.
There's two sides. So we work intentionally, but we also surrender. It's a long process of saying, Today, my marriage is yours, God. My family is yours. God, my business is yours. God, my money is yours. God, my sexuality is yours. God, my ambitions are yours. God, my future is yours. My trauma is yours. My bitterness is yours. My quirks are yours. All that I am and all that I will be God, it's yours. And I surrender it to you.
I want to take a moment right there. Will you just bow your heads? Right now in this moment, Services where I lost everybody. I just felt it. People were daydreaming right here. So I asked Michael in the four-year, I said, Man, did you feel that? And he says, I feel okay. Are you sure? Can I finish the message? Okay, fully engaged. Amen.
Alright, we're ready. Because it's good news here. It's not just on us to do this work, but there's actually, Paul says, there's a source of transformation that happens in the life of the believer, and it's this it's that God is at work. This is the best part of the message. Don't daydream here because it can be kind of overwhelming to say that, man, I've got to put in the work and I've got to change. This is the good part where we say, guess what? There's a God who's living on the inside of you that's bringing a strength beyond your human capacity to change your very life. He's not leaving you in that dysfunction, but he's bringing strength and health to you. There's a God, Paul says. That is
working in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure Possibly quoting Philippians 2:13. And I want to remind you, Claremore, 11 o'clock. Are you still with me? I want to remind you of something. That the God that's in work in you is the same God who called Abraham to look at the stars and brought a nation out of a man who was barren. He's the same God who met Moses at the burning bush, who fed the pit the children of Israel in the wilderness, who brought water from a rock. He was the God of the Old Testament who brought the walls of Jericho down. He was the God of the New Testament who was healing the lame and opening blind eyes and setting captives free. This is the God who's living in you, bringing the hope and change and healing that you need. God raised Jesus from the dead, and He's raising you to life in Christ.
Somebody should say amen right there. Come on, I can't get no help over here. Can you guys help me and say amen? God is raising you to life through his power, not your own. It's Christian transformation that I'm talking about today, not self-improvement. It's not try harder, do better, fix yourself. It's leaning into God's everlasting grace and his superior strength to see your life transformed.
Ephesians 3 20 is one of my favorite scriptures. Now to him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all you could ever think, ask, or imagine what? According to the power that's at work within you. There's a power working in you. Paul 2 Corinthians, he says, I labored more than all of them. I did the work, yet by grace and grace alone. He said in
2 Corinthians 4 7, he says, All of us have a treasure in jars of clay. Why? To show forth the excellence of our God. Glenn said it like this in his illustration. He said that the work of sanctification or spiritual growth is like a sailboat. He says the sailor has to put the sail up. He has to adjust the mast. He has to tie the ropes down. He has to get at the helm. He has to read the currents and the waves, but he can't make the wind blow. Isn't that good? We work with God in our spiritual growth. We work with God to see our lives transformed.
I'm going to close here. Lisa, can you help me? Paul says that God works in two areas. Number one, he works to will. He changes us. He reshapes our desires. Isn't that true? The Bible says he gives us the very desires of our heart. Not that he gives us everything that we want, but he places his desires in us as we draw close to him. And he also works. He empowers us to do what we need to do by supplying strength. See, you may feel guilty to pray, not wanting to serve, wanting to forgive. But here's the good news. Even the wanting is something that God works in us. One of the most honest prayers you can pray is that, God, I don't want to. Will you help me want to? That's honest and real, right? And he'll put that in you. Pretty encompassing, right? You know, but here he's talking about this willing and working. This do all things, do everything you do, whether that is, you know, serve on Sunday, work on Monday, play on Saturday, whatever it is that you're doing, do everything, all things without grumbling or complaining. That you may be blameless and innocent
in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you Possibly quoting Philippians 2:15 shine.
I was thinking about this, like, man, you know, I was just meditating on it. There's so much here. How Paul's connecting this to their fathers. You know, my dad, my dad was 40 years older than me. My dad was 40 and my mom was 20 when I was born. And my dad was a wonderful man. He was a sailor. He was in the Navy. He was a farmer. He was a pork producer. And he was one of the strongest, most tender men I've ever met. Generation, you know, don't really talk about the thing. They said spiritual birth is about going forward. It's about embracing what God has for your future, for you to become that person. Right? And it's really to be a light in the world. to be a light in the world. And I was thinking about for me, you know, I have this real responsibility. I have this responsibility first to Aaron, because she's my loving and faithful and beautiful wife. And I have this responsibility to be a certain kind of man for her. I'm not saying I always do that perfectly. Come on, human just like you guys. But I have this responsibility because when I'm the man that I'm supposed to be, she feels safe and secure. And she feels her sense of identity and purpose. We're so tied together. You know what I'm saying?
Come on, any married couples in the house? Can I get a can I get an amen there? Married couples I don't want to talk about. And Supposed to be. I'm walking that responsibility of my spiritual growth. There's something that happens in her. And I was thinking about my children. My oldest son Everett is here. I've got Everett, Stella May, and Grayson and Amelia. I got a crew at the Jones House. My house is a zoo, y'all. These kids are they're crazy in a bag of hammers, but they're great, wonderful kids. And I've got a responsibility to them to be the dad that they need. My son is looking up to me. Saying, what kind of man am I supposed to be? What kind of husband am I supposed to be? How's my life supposed to be as a man? My girls are looking at me saying, Who's the man that I'm gonna marry? What's that example? Are y'all following with me?
I have a reason to pursue spiritual growth. Because when I'm in my place, I'm a light in my world. Now think about this beautiful church. I have responsibility to you guys. I've given this wonderful privilege. God has called you to be So you can be a light in your world. And that responsibility is not all on you, yet it is on you to a sense. Because you have to man up or woman up, you got to step up to that call in your life. But it's not in your own strength and power, it's actually the God of the world working in you and you surrendering to Him, becoming more and more like Jesus. Loving more like Jesus, walking in faith more like Jesus, letting go of the sin that so easily entangles. Are you with me today, Flairboy? There's something beautiful here. And Paul says, Man, he's just giving the example here. Even if I pour my life out. And maybe that'll be a charge here today. There's some things that right now the Lord. Is highlighting in your world. Lord, there be something spiritual in this. Lord, I don't even know how you would use that, but God, to each person here with the spirit of the Lord, bring sweet conviction and sweet hope and strength as they as they say, Lord, I'm surrendered to you. God, today I surrender my marriage to you. God, I surrender my purity to you. God, I surrender my business to you, my finances, my hopes, my dreams. We surrender it, God, and give us the strength to walk out spiritually. Something from that.
What up, James? There's a challenge today I want to leave you with, and that's it's very simple. What area is God calling me to grow? How can I be intentional to work? Where do I need God to change my want to? What am I still trying to change in my own strength? What do I need to surround? See what's sharing the word. Scripture said to
grow in grace and in the knowledge of Possibly quoting 2 Peter 3:18 the Savior. There's always the challenge. Need to grow.
Remind me of a little Sunday school song we used to sing. Read your Bible, pray every day, and you'll grow, grow, grow. We used to also sing it, don't read your Bible, don't pray every day, and you shrink. Ought to continue to worship the Lord forgiving.
This is a time of of real worship and for what he has blessed us with. I say just about every time, it's not that we Same thing. Blessing man with health and strength. Scripture says, Don't say to yourself that I've gotten this wealth by my own strength. Lord, I thank you for your people. I thank you that you have faithful people that worship you and they see this as a time of giving worth unto you. And as we've already said, thank you, Lord, for blessing us with strength and with health. Thank you for our jobs. Thank you for our businesses. Lord, I thank you that those who need jobs, that you're bringing them into the right relationships for that. Thank you that as we worship the Lord with our labor, that you cause increases to be there and you give us favor in every area. I thank you for it.
Now bless your people this morning. In Jesus' name, amen.
As you prepare your giving, check out it. Tonight uh at six o'clock at the Owasso campus, it's not too late to sign up. We'd love to see you there. October 14th. It'll be here at on the Owasso campus. The prerequisite is to have done 101, 201, 301, and 401. And you can just sign up by the QR code on the seat there beside you. Flyer seat beside you. That's what I'm saying. Would you stand with us as we prepare to go out into the mission field? We used to have a sign over at the Thank you. Bless you in Jesus' name. Amen. Go in the grace of the Lord, tell somebody you love them and don't lie to them.
