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[0:00] It quieted down. Now, I don't want it to get too quiet. You know, I'm Harry Renner is not here and he's my amen corner. And so I need at least one other person, maybe two or three to fill in for Harry and be my amen corner.

[0:29] And so I'm going to read through this passage. We've been looking at, in chapter two, it's all about the humility of Christ and looking at the humility of Christ as really an inspiration and a motivation for us to live like him.

[0:45] And so let's go ahead and just read through all that again, just to put that in our minds as we study the section that comes right after that. So I'm just going to read starting really from the beginning of the chapter.

[0:58] Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love of one accord, of one mind.

[1:13] Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

[1:27] Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men.

[1:40] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given him the name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those on heaven and of those on the earth and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

[2:10] And then our passage for this morning. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

[2:24] For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do, for his good pleasure. So we're just going to be looking at two verses today.

[2:36] But as we've seen here, we're looking at the humility of Christ and what he accomplished for us. And this is, like many of Paul's epistles, talking about what Christ has done and then what we ought to do to emulate him in being inspired or motivated by what he has done in us and how we ought to live.

[2:58] And today's message in these two verses is really going to be about works, doing good works. But this is a grace church, right?

[3:14] So we don't believe in doing good works, right? No, actually quite the contrary, right? In fact, we as Christians want to be zealous for good works.

[3:28] In Titus 2, verse 11, it says this, For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works.

[4:04] In this passage, and maybe I should have had you turn there, but when I read this passage, what is it that teaches us to live righteously? Is it the law of Moses?

[4:15] Does he say that? It is the law that teaches us to live righteous. No, he says it is the grace of God that teaches us to live righteously.

[4:26] And you know what? What I have found, both in experience and by reading the scriptures, is that, you know, God wants us to live lives that honor him, to emulate his godliness, to be godly, to be like God, to be godly, which means to be like God.

[4:50] And you know what? The best way towards those ends is to emphasize the grace of God at every turn in our lives.

[5:02] Now, this passage is one that is many times misunderstood or misinterpreted. It can sound, if you read it just by itself, it can sound like it's talking about us working for our salvation.

[5:19] And so we're going to consider both what it means, but also what it doesn't mean. So let's jump into verse 12 there. He says, You know, he, as we've looked at before with the Philippians, he's actually very pleased with the Philippians, with how they've lived, with how they've listened to him.

[5:47] And he's confident. In fact, he had said back in Philippians 1.6, he talked about his confidence of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

[6:06] And he was confident that the Lord was going to work in them because they were living for the Lord. God had already done a work in them, and he was confident that God would continue to do a work in them.

[6:20] And so even right here, he's kind of bragging about them. He's saying, Hey, I'm confident. Just as you've always obeyed, Hey, I have good expectations for what God's going to do, but also just looking at how you've lived your life.

[6:36] But he's talking here specifically about obedience. Obedience. My beloved, as you have always obeyed. And then he says, Work out your salvation.

[6:48] So this obedience and working out your salvation, those are the same thing. But what is it that he is talking about obeying? Obeying what?

[6:59] Well, obeying the Lord. But here's a question. Well, how is it that we obey the Lord? And I think there are two things to consider when it comes to obeying the Lord.

[7:11] And specifically in Paul's day, we have the application of, you know, what he was talking about to them in their day, and then how do we apply that to our lives? And so when Paul is writing to Timothy, this is in 2 Timothy 3, verse 16, he says this, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instructions in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

[7:44] Part of our obedience is obeying the Scriptures, obeying God's Word. And so that was one of the things that I think he was talking about here to the Philippians, and their obedience to the Lord, both their obedience while he was there, and their obedience after he left, was their obedience to the Scripture.

[8:00] Now at that time, what was their Scripture? It was today what we would call the Old Testament, or the Jewish Scriptures. And then the other thing that they were obedient about was the things that Paul taught them, the things taught by Paul.

[8:17] Later on in Philippians, so if you're already sitting there in Philippians chapter 3, you can just look over at chapter 4, verse 9. And Paul said this, The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do.

[8:34] The God of peace will be with you. So he's given instruction, hey, there's the Scriptures, the Jewish Scriptures that you need to adhere to or obey, but then also you need to obey me.

[8:45] And why is that important? What kind of authority does Paul have? Well, God had given Paul authority as what?

[8:55] Apostle to the Gentiles. And so at this time, was there a New Testament? There wasn't. There was only the Jewish Scriptures, but there were changes that had happened, information about Jesus Christ and how to live as a Christian.

[9:12] And so the only access they had to that information about how they ought to live was through God's apostles, and specifically spearheaded by the Apostle Paul, who was sent as an apostle to the Gentiles.

[9:28] And so Paul taught several times in several of his letters. He said, Hey, emulate me. Look at my teaching and my example and do those things. But then ultimately, what happened to the teaching of Paul?

[9:38] Well, it got written down as Scripture. And now, today, for us, what we look to is the Word of God and obeying God by being obedient to His Word.

[9:54] And that's both the Jewish Scriptures in the Old Testament and the Christian Scriptures in the New Testament. You know, he mentions here that they have been obedient not only in His presence, but also much more in His absence.

[10:15] And that's speaking to this principle that is brought out elsewhere in Scripture of not just doing good, doing right, when somebody is watching, right, when you're under their watchful eye.

[10:33] You know, there are really two types of obedience, two types of obedience. One is just external compliance, right? You just do what you're told, sometimes so that you can get a reward, sometimes so that you will avoid a punishment, but you're just being compliant for external reasons.

[10:58] The other type of obedience is what the Bible calls of a willing heart, obeying from a willing heart. And that's actually the most important kind of obedience that we can have.

[11:11] And that's what Paul here is pointing to. He said, you know, I was there as an authority. I'm the, you know, I'm the big leader, the spiritual leader. And so while I'm watching, you know, and parents can attest to this, right, when the parents are at home, the kids are more on their better behavior.

[11:28] But what happens when mom and dad leave the house or maybe they're in their bedroom, whatever it might be, do the kids continue to do what their parents ask and expect of them?

[11:42] And that's really the test of a willing heart and the kind of obedience that God is looking for. Paul speaks to this when he writes to the Ephesians, talking about bond servants or really slaves and how they ought to obey their masters.

[11:57] You know, when you're a slave, there are consequences if you don't obey, right? There can be lashes to the back if you don't obey.

[12:08] But is that the primary reason why slaves ought to obey? Well, he speaks to that in Ephesians 6, 5. He says this, bond servants or slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ, not with eye service as men pleasers, but as bond servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with good will, doing service, as to the Lord and not to men.

[12:42] So he uses this term eye service. You don't want to just serve when somebody's watching based on the good or the ill they might do towards you, but doing it as serving the Lord out of a willing heart.

[13:00] Then he says this, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

[13:15] And so what this is saying, right, is that we need as Christians to do good works in order to contribute to our salvation. Is that what this is saying?

[13:28] That's what many people think that this is talking about. Let's look at a few passages that correct that idea, that give us a clear picture of the foundation of our salvation.

[13:46] I'm going to have you turn to these two passages, Titus chapter 3 and verse 4. Turn to Titus chapter 3 and verse 4. And then if you want to work ahead, Ephesians chapter 2 is the next one.

[13:59] So Titus 3 and then Ephesians chapter 2. Titus 3 verse 4 says this, But when the kindness and the love of God, our Savior, toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us.

[14:27] Through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that having been justified by his what?

[14:37] By his grace, we should become heirs, according to the hope of eternal life. So it's not by works of righteousness that we have done that he has saved us, but according to his mercy.

[14:50] It's simply a gift that he offers to us that is received through faith alone. Turn over to Ephesians chapter 2 that says something very similar.

[15:05] And this is a passage, I think, that every Christian should have memorized. It's such an important scripture to know and to understand for living the Christian life.

[15:20] Ephesians 2.7, That in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

[15:31] For by grace, you have been saved through faith. God has a gift that he has given to us and we receive it simply by faith.

[15:42] Not by working for it, not by earning it in any kind of way, but simply by trusting that what Christ did for us is sufficient. For by grace, you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, not anything that you have done.

[15:56] It is the gift of God, not of works. Let me repeat that again. Not of works, lest anyone should boast.

[16:06] God's not interested in anybody boasting. If you work for your salvation, there's something to brag about. God doesn't want any bragging. He doesn't want any boasting. It's a free gift that he's giving away for free just by trusting in him.

[16:19] And so, looking at kind of this phrase again here in Philippians chapter 2, he says, Work out your own salvation. Work out your own salvation.

[16:31] Here's what this doesn't say. It doesn't say, Work for your salvation. Is that what it says? Work for your salvation? It does not say that. It doesn't say, Work in your salvation.

[16:46] You got to work in your salvation. It doesn't say that. It says, Work it out. It also does not say, Finish out your salvation. You know, for some people, they think, Well, God started it.

[16:58] You know, he got me, he got the ball rolling. Maybe he even got me 80% of the way there or 90% of the way there and now I just have to finish it out by doing some good works and I'll finish out my salvation.

[17:10] Is that what that says? Finish out your own salvation? No, he says, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. What he's getting at here is this.

[17:28] God has saved you by his grace. God has done a work in you. That work that he has done in you, I want you to live it out.

[17:39] To work it out. To work it out in your life. To let the salvation that's on the inside come out to the outside. Or, put another way, to put the salvation in you to put it to work.

[17:53] Make it active. You know, this is really similar to what we looked at in chapter 1 of Philippians where Paul says, To walk worthy of the gospel.

[18:05] There's the gospel message, the salvation message of the gospel. Something that God did in you and for you. And we ought to walk it out. We ought to walk worthy of the salvation that we have received.

[18:19] You know, our salvation, from as far as I can tell, has two purposes. There's two reasons God saved us. One is to restore a relationship with him.

[18:31] That we might be the children of God. He wants to walk with us. He wants us to walk with him. The other one is for us to be made more like him.

[18:45] For us to be like him. To do good like he does. To speak good like he does. And you know what? Those two passages that we just looked at in Titus and Ephesians, if you're still there, and sorry if you lost your place, but I want you to go back.

[19:03] Go back to Titus chapter 3. And we read all the way up to verse 7. But now I want to look at verse 8. Titus 3.

[19:17] He talked about our salvation being by grace, not of any righteous works that we have done. And he says this in verse 8. This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly.

[19:30] that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. Is he saying, hey, these things are good and they're profitable to your salvation?

[19:46] No, that's not what he's saying. These things don't earn your salvation. They don't contribute to it. But, because we've been saved, hey, let us endeavor to do good works.

[19:57] to be careful to maintain good works. And you know what? If we go to Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 2, and read the next verse there, verse 10, Ephesians 2.10.

[20:14] Sorry, I'll read the whole thing. Ephesians 2.8 and 9. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

[20:26] Our salvation is not of works. We don't do anything to earn our salvation. But verse 10 says this, For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

[20:47] God wants us to do good. That's what he wants from us. He wants us to relate to him. And by the way, both of these things are important.

[20:57] The first one is the most important, the restored relationship with God, because it actually leads to the second one, to being like him, to being good, to doing good, like God does.

[21:10] And so, what this working out our salvation is all about is just that walk, walking out our salvation, working it out, living our life in light of our salvation, and doing good as God intended.

[21:26] And then, the other thing I think that kind of contributes to this whole idea that this is talking about, us needing to work for our salvation, is the next phrase, which says that we should do it with fear and trembling.

[21:41] Right? That puts the idea in your mind, right, of we need to try to do these good things, because otherwise, we're in big, big trouble. Right?

[21:51] And really, it makes sense from a worldly perspective, right, because people who do bad things should be in trouble. Right? That's how the world works.

[22:02] That's how our own justice system works. But is that, is that what he's getting at when he's talking about fear and trembling?

[22:16] You know, fear, right, evokes fear of judgment. And a lot of times, the Bible does speak of fear of judgment. And really, for men who are unsaved, who were not trusting in Christ, they should fear judgment.

[22:33] However, the Bible teaches, actually quite clearly, that as believers trusting in Jesus Christ, we should no longer fear judgment.

[22:44] And you know what? If you do, that is going to have a negative impact, a severely negative impact, on your Christian life. In 2 Timothy 1.7, Paul says this to Timothy, he says, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and a sound mind.

[23:02] God does not want us as Christians, and the salvation that he gave us is not one in which there is fear of judgment involved. So then, what does fear and trembling mean?

[23:15] What's he talking about? Well, I think in this case, this phrase, fear and trembling, is more of an idiom. It's a figure of speech. Instead of communicating dread or terror, being terrified to do good things or else, it's really communicating the actions that come out of fear and dread.

[23:41] And things like this, the seriousness and sobriety that you see with fear and trembling. When somebody is afraid, right, or they tremble, they do things with more sobriety.

[23:55] And so we ought to work out our salvation. We ought to serve the Lord with seriousness, being sober about it. Also, fear and trembling brings humility and reverence.

[24:09] And that's how we ought to serve the Lord, with humility and reverence. Also, with earnestness, when somebody is afraid for their life, they need to do something in order to save their life, they're going to be quite earnest about it.

[24:22] And so we need to have that same kind of earnestness and diligence when it comes to us doing good. in the same way that somebody would be if they were motivated by fear.

[24:38] And we actually see this as a figure of speech used elsewhere. So it's not just that it's here where we're kind of seeing a figure of speech. In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul's actually talking about his co-worker, Titus.

[24:56] He says this, 2 Corinthians 7, verse 13. He says, we have been comforted in your comfort, he's writing to the Corinthians, we rejoiced exceedingly more for the joy of Titus because his spirit had been refreshed by you all.

[25:12] So Titus had come back after visiting the Corinthians and he was giving a good report. For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so, our boasting to Titus was found to be true.

[25:31] And his affections are greater for you as he remembers the obedience of you all. Titus is remembering the ways that they obeyed, that they were living a diligent Christian life while he was there in Corinth.

[25:44] He says this, he remembers the obedience of you all how with fear and trembling you received him. Now it would seem strange, right, if he was saying that when Titus came to encourage you all, everybody was shaking and afraid about, you know, what's going to happen with him here.

[26:03] But, I don't think that that's what he's getting at with this phrase, fear and trembling. He's just saying, hey, you guys were earnest about listening to Titus and doing what he asked of you and serving the Lord according to what he shared.

[26:18] and then the other passage that has this same phrase is Ephesians chapter 6, verse 5, which we just read about slaves or bondservants, right?

[26:30] I don't know if you caught that when we read that before, but I'll read it again, Ephesians 6, 5. Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling in sincerity of heart as to Christ.

[26:44] Now, it wouldn't make sense if he's saying with fear and trembling, you need to obey because you're afraid of getting punished. That's what fear and trembling is, right? You're doing something because you're afraid of getting punished, but is that what Paul is telling them to do as bondservants?

[26:58] No, he said, no, do it as if you're serving the Lord. And so, really, with reverence, with honor, with respect, with humility, with diligence, and so, this phrase, with fear and trembling, is commonly used as an idiomatic expression, a figure of speech, to mean, hey, do this with seriousness.

[27:23] Let's be serious about this. Let's be sober about it. We don't want to just say, hey, I'm saved, and now, I'm just going to flutter about life and not care about how I actually live.

[27:36] We need to take our Christian life seriously. but I'll tell you one of the reasons why, and I see this a lot, I mean, there are whole denominations that point to more of a works-based salvation, or sometimes looking to works not as a way to earn salvation, but sometimes just to confirm, right?

[28:01] And so, there will be those who say, hey, you've got to be introspective and look at your life and, you know, if you're not really serving the Lord the way that you ought to, then you should be afraid that maybe God's salvation didn't do a work in you.

[28:21] And there are many people that you will find in your life who will try to take away the confidence that you should have in Christ. They'll try to take away your assurance that just based on your faith alone, no matter how well you're doing, how poorly you're doing, that you can have confidence that you are safe in His hands.

[28:48] And so, as a Christian, you need to beware of these, what I call, merchants of terror and dread who want you to look at yourself, at your own performance.

[29:01] And why, why do they do it? What's the motivating factor? And I think the number one motivating factor is this. Because it seems like people who are afraid tend to do the things that they should, right?

[29:15] Fear can be a motivator. And fear does work. But you know what? It's not what God wants.

[29:27] God does not want fear to be the motivating factor in our lives for doing good. He wants us to live as free men, to live at liberty.

[29:40] In fact, the chapter, chapter 4 in Galatians is all about this, about our liberty in Christ and how as sons, we do good because we do it freely, not because we are in bondage and we have to do it.

[30:00] Paul actually speaks to this idea of bondage and liberty as sons in Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8, verse 14 says this, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, and he's talking about all those who are in Christ, everyone who is in Christ is led by the Spirit of God.

[30:19] These are the sons of God. When we are in Christ, we are identified as sons and daughters of God. Verse 15, for you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father.

[30:44] God did not save us so that we could be afraid. He saved us so that we could be confident as sons, as daughters of the Most High God.

[30:56] He wants us to have confidence in Him, not to be afraid. He wants us to do good for the right reasons.

[31:10] Not because we're afraid of what will happen. You know what? He wants us to do good for the same reason that He does good. And why does God do good? Why is He good to us?

[31:22] Is it because He's afraid that something bad is going to happen to Him? Is that why God does good? No. Is it because God is trying to earn a reward?

[31:33] Is that why God does good things to us? No. Not at all. He is good and righteous.

[31:44] He loves truth and mercy and forgiveness and joy. It comes out of His own being. And so we, our duty is to be transformed so that the good things that we do are for the right reasons.

[32:05] Because of the love that's in us that comes from Him. And we do it as confident sons and daughters that we might be transformed to be like Him, to be like our Father.

[32:16] And you know what? This is really what the next verse is about in Philippians 2. And it says this, so this is the last verse we'll look at and we'll wrap up with this.

[32:33] For it is, I guess I'll read verse 12 again. Sorry, to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

[32:52] So God wants us to work. He wants us to serve. He wants us to love. He wants us to be pure. But, He doesn't want us to do that just from our own selves.

[33:07] He doesn't want us to do it for reasons of fear or for reasons of reward. He's saying, hey, you need to do these things because God is working in you.

[33:22] This word, it says, for God who works, or it says, for it is God who works in you. That word works is a Greek word where we actually get the English word energize.

[33:34] So you can think of this word as God energizing you. It is God who energizes you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

[33:48] So as we abide in Christ, as we live with the Lord, He's going to work in us. He's going to motivate us. He's going to work in us.

[33:59] He's going to energize us. He's going to transform us. not to just be externally compliant, right? But what does it say here? Both to will and to do.

[34:12] Not just to do, but also have the willing heart in it all. The want to do it. To do good, to forgive, to have mercy, to express joy, to seek after justice, to seek after truth, to use wisdom because we want to for the same reasons that He does.

[34:41] Have that willingness that God has. And it ends with this, to will and to do of His good pleasure. Because as we've already said, the reason God does good is because it pleases Him to do good.

[34:54] God's happy to do good. He's not looking for reward. He's not looking to avoid a punishment. It is because of His good pleasure that God does good to us.

[35:06] God forgives because it's His pleasure to do so. He's pleased to be good, to be righteous, to be just. And God, He works in us to change our hearts so that His good pleasure will become our good pleasure as well.

[35:27] and we can delight in doing good just like He does. And so I think this really gets to the theme that we've talked about of Philippians, which is what?

[35:40] Rejoice in the Lord. And so what can we do, right, so that God can work in us? We want God to work in us, so what can we do so that God can have more of an impact in working in us?

[35:55] I think that's the theme of Philippians. We rejoice in the Lord. And again, it's not just saying a praise, singing a song, but rejoicing in God's truth, rejoicing in His wisdom, enjoying His goodness and His mercy, rejoicing in His forgiveness and His love for us, rejoicing in His salvation, the salvation that He has provided to us, rejoicing in the position that He's given us, all the benefits that He's given us in Christ.

[36:24] And rejoicing even in our eternal home that we look forward to, the promise of heaven that He has prepared for us. And as we rejoice in all those things, God will be working in us and we can be transformed from the inside out.

[36:47] And do good, we ought to take this seriously, right? To take seriously doing good, not just basking in the glory of our salvation, though we should and we ought to bask in the glory of our salvation, but not just doing that, but to have the salvation that He worked out in us, or that He worked in us, that we would work it out in our day-to-day lives, growing spiritually, growing in character, growing in virtue, growing in love.

[37:18] And I'll end with this, you know, for some of us, this might be, you know, part of our daily life. We just are on the Christian journey and we've been growing for many years.

[37:29] And today is just another day to grow in the Lord, to draw near to Him, and to grow a little bit more in Christian maturity.

[37:39] By the way, Christian maturity isn't something where you go from zero to a hundred, you know, in a day. It's a path that we follow over years and years of growing in the Lord by drawing near to Him.

[37:55] But then there might be other people in here where you're really struggling. Maybe for a short season, maybe it's been for a long time, and you feel like, I'm just spiritually lazy and I'm not really, or maybe just spiritually fatigued because of the cares of life.

[38:18] You found lots of bad habits and sin in your life that keeps coming up again and again, things that do not reflect the salvation and the glory of God, and you just feel like you don't have the will, the want to, to live for the Lord like you ought to.

[38:41] And we can maybe get the idea that what we need to do is just put a guilt trip on ourselves and focus on how guilty we are, or maybe just try harder, just try harder to live for the Lord.

[38:59] I recommend not doing that, but really following what we've talked about this morning. I just do this, just pray, and you know, I remember years ago, as a teenager actually, doing this.

[39:15] I remember listening to some message, and it was about how we ought to serve the Lord, and I remember listening to it and thinking, you know what, I am just actually not all that interested in that. I was just honest. It just wasn't interesting to me.

[39:27] There was other things that were more bright and shiny and interesting, but we had an opportunity to pray, and so in my prayer, all I did was this, I said, God, you know what, I'm not interested in these things.

[39:40] I probably should be, but I'm not. And Lord, would you do a work in me? Would you help me to have the will, to have the desire, to have the want to, the kind that you have, to live the kind of life that you would have a Christian to live?

[40:05] and that was, what, 20 some years ago, maybe I'm, maybe it was longer than that, but that was many, many years ago, and you know what I saw the Lord do?

[40:17] He answered that prayer. He did a work in my life, and it wasn't overnight, but over time, I found that the desires in my heart started to match more the desires of his, and so as we close this morning, I want to take some time just to pray, we'll close in prayer here, but for any of you that might pray that same prayer this morning before we wrap up, and so I'm just going to take a few moments, maybe 20 or 30 seconds here, and just give people an opportunity to pray, whether this is something that's a huge need in your life, or just something that we want the Lord to continue to work in, just pray and ask the Lord to continue to work in your life, to give you that willingness, to give you that heart, to give you that want to.

[41:09] So let's take a few minutes and do that, and then I'll wrap up with a prayer of my own. continue. Thank you.

[41:44] Well, Father, we want to thank you again for the scriptures that you've given to us. It's tremendous. It's always so practical and so needful for us.

[41:59] And, you know, this morning we want to serve you. Pray that you would help us with having the seriousness about living and growing as Christians, becoming more like you.

[42:13] And doing it for the right reasons, doing it the right way, to be inspired, to be motivated, to love, not because we're trying to muster up our own love, but to love because you first loved us.

[42:27] Let's take the love that you poured out in our hearts and let that come out of us, that we would work that love, that salvation that's in us, that we would work it out of us, serve those around us, be good, be merciful, be kind, be generous, just as you were and are to us.

[42:52] Continue to do that work in us, Father. Father, we so need you. We need you working in our lives every single day. We thank you for your willingness to do it. We thank you for all these things in Jesus' mighty name.

[43:06]  Amen. Amen. All right. Thanks, everybody. And don't forget, check out that one book in the library.