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So as we begin to look at this text for this morning, I want to start by taking you to James chapter three, and we're going to read verses five and six to begin with. And we want to read what James has to say about the tongue. James 3:5-6 James says, "So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell." James says that despite the relatively small size of our tongues, relative to the size of our bodies, it has the potential of creating big problems for us. According to James, the uncontrolled tongue is like lighting a match and dropping it on the floor of a very dry forest. So it works like this: a comment is made, a gossip is spread, and before you know it you have a fire that is burning out of control. And notice that James says that the improper use of our tongues stains the whole body. Meaning a reputation is ruined by what is said. A Christian testimony is voided because of careless and thoughtless speech. A lifetime of achievement is shattered in a moment of time by a crass comment. And I'm really afraid that we as Christians, we don't pay as much attention as we should to our speech. We don't pay as much attention as we should to the way that we talk. And not only to what we say, but also how we say it. Now I'm afraid as Christians, we severely underestimate the power of our words. We severely underestimate just how much damage our tongues can do. But we also underestimate the power of our tongues, of our words, of our speech, to provide comfort, to provide guidance, and encouragement to those that we interact with. Solomon said in one of his Proverbs, "a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver". Which simply means that our words can be a beautiful thing. Our words hold the potential to heal as well as to hurt. Our words hold the potential of causing damage or they can be a source of encouragement. Our words have the potential to either build up or tear down. And I don't know if you've ever done a study or a search in the scriptures to see, but the Bible has so much to say about our tongues. The Bible has so much to say about our speech. The Bible has so much to say about how we communicate with one another. And how we use our tongues, how we think-- because thinking, your thinking ultimately governs what you say-- how we think and how we talk is part of the process of working out our own salvation. And perhaps we thought, well, you know, if I would just read my Bible more, if I would pray more, perhaps I'd memorize more scripture. And in 2021, I'll try and meditate on scripture. And that should be enough to work out my own salvation. Paul says, not so fast. There's another area of life that we need to address that will help you in working out your own salvation. So briefly, just let me remind you that we are in the portion of Paul's letter to his beloved brothers and sisters in Christ at the church of Philippi. And in this letter, he is encouraging them to apply the will, as well as the work of God, to their own lives so that they will be able to work out their own salvation, as Paul says, with fear and trembling. So as we saw a week or two ago, perhaps last week I forget, that God supplies the will, which means God gives us the desire to do the work. And the work that God provides for us is literally the power, it's the energy for us to carry out his desire for us to become like Christ, as Paul says, according to His good pleasure. And when we do things, and we work out our own salvation, incredibly, we bring pleasure to God, we bring satisfaction to God, as he sees the very purpose for which he saved us is being worked out in our lives. So what Paul is doing here, he's laying out for them what it means to grow in Christ's likeness. He's showing them the path of sanctification that all Christians must travel on their way to reaching their final character destination, which is conformity to the image of Christ. So part of our sanctification is the taming of our tongue. How we talk matters. The words that we choose to use matters. And the attitude behind our words matters. And you've heard people say this, and unfortunately some Christians say this, and they almost say it like a badge of courage at times. They will try and justify their unkind words, they will try and justify their unChrist-like speech by saying something like, well, that's just the way that I am. Have you ever heard somebody say that? You know, they know that they shouldn't have said what they said, but they try and justify by saying, well, that's just the way that I am. But I don't care, Christian or non Christian, frankly, it's not a valid excuse. There's never an excuse to use the gift of language that God has given to us, given to us to praise, to courage, to build up and use it to tear down to snipe and complain about others. It's particularly not becoming for a Christian, to use that kind of excuse. You say why? Because salvation brings a total transformation that must include the use of our tongues. You can't find anywhere in Scripture that's- you say, now you're being ridiculous. I'm being ridiculous to make a point-- but you can't find anywhere in Scripture that says, well, everything about you changes but your tongue. If any man be in Christ he is what? He is a new creation. Is your tongue part of that new creation? Absolutely it is. So therefore, we can't use the kind of really lame excuse of saying, well, that's just the way that I am. The Christians should never say that. The Christian should be constantly reminding themselves, that may have been what I was but that's not who I am now. And by the grace of God that I will never be like that again. Our speech is an indication of the conditions of our hearts. We all know this, but let me remind you, Luke 6:46 [6:45], "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." The tongue only says what's in the heart. The tongue is simply displaying the overflow of the condition of the heart. Go back to James chapter three with me. This time, let's read verses 7-12. James says. "For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water." Now as you read that, I don't know why, but the image that came to my mind when James says that, you know, we've tamed every kind of bird and beast and reptile and sea creature, I immediately thought of the lion tamer, right? You ever go to the circus and see some guy, frankly, that must be just a half a loaf short of a full loaf of bread in there with the the lion and he's cracking his whip and he's got his pistol and he got those balloony pants on, you know, it looks kind of funny. And he's supposedly taming the tiger. And do you see people who get a grizzly bear and they try and tame a grizzly bear or they keep some other kind of wild animal. And James says, you know, it is possible that you know, we have tamed some of these things. But you know, there's one thing that we cannot tame: our tongue, our tongue. Say, how do we know that that's really true, James? Well, I think if we're honest with ourself, our own personal experience validates exactly what James says. That we're not in control of our tongues. There's too many times that we don't control our tongues. And why don't we control our tongues? Because humanly speaking, we can't control our tongues. Your personal experience is all the validation you need that what James says is an indisputable fact. The tongue is powerful, it can't be tamed. So if that is true, then you must admit that human strength and your willpower is not enough to tame the tongue. Say well, how then can the tongue be tamed? The tongue can only be tamed as we are what? Filled with the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit supplies the necessary power. The filling of the Holy Spirit supplies the necessary capability of making sure that our words are helpful, that our words provide encouragement. Encouragement both for ourselves and for the sake of others. Now, you may be wondering at this point, how does any of this relate to unity in the church, which is what Paul has been teaching us here in Philippians chapter two. Well look at it this way. How many churches have been destroyed by gossip? How many churches have been split by angry words exchanged in a church meeting or a church service? The number is too high probably to count. And the quickest way to alienate someone is to let them find out that you've been talking about them. You know, as a pastor, I can always tell if mom and dad have been talking about me. It shows up in the kids. The kids haven't developed the ability to be hypocritical, so to speak. Mom and dad are kind to the pastor's face, but he's the subject of Sunday dinner. He's being roasted. And this shows up in the kids. I always think of the verse "be sure your sin will find you out".But that's beside the point. Part of the working out of our salvation is living with humility, which allows us to live in unity with one another. But when we talk about one another, when we gossip about one another, we are not living with humility and we're certainly not living in unity. So as we

I would like for you for just a moment to think back in time. Think back to the time when you became a Christian. Think back to that time when you knew that God had done something in your life. Think back to that time when you first took notice that your thinking and your desires began to change. And as best as you can remember when you became a Christian, did you immediately become like Christ? Say why of course not. Good answer. James Montgomery Boyce wrote in his commentary on this passage, he said, "When a person comes to the truth of the gospel, he is not much different from what he was in the moments before he believed. He has heard the gospel preached and has responded to it. Before he believed he was filled with misconceptions about God and himself. He had problems that he could not solve. He was doing many things that were against the will of God. After he believes these things are usually exactly the same. He still has the same problems, the same misconceptions, the same sins, sometimes even the same doubts. But it now begins to dawn on him, that many of these things must change. He now has the Holy Spirit within his heart. And as he responds to the work of the Holy Spirit, he begins to see that the salvation he already has must express itself in action. It must be seen distinctly in his conduct." Now, what pastor Boyce is referring to is our sanctification. When God brought us the faith in Christ, he did so in order to make us like Christ. Therefore, our conduct, as Pastor Boyce says, must change. Now, I'm a realist. The struggle to change is a real one. The struggle to change is a real one and it's a real hard one. Unfortunately, there are believers who never seem to change. Despite all the prayers offered on their behalf, despite the sermons they hear, preach, despite the time they spend in discipleship, despite their faithfulness and attending church, they never seem to make much progress in becoming like Jesus. So I asked myself, could the reason be that they struggle to change, that they never seem to make much progress in becoming like Christ is really, we can pinpoint it very simply, could it be a simple lack of effort? Now, I want to be charitable here. I do want to allow for the possibility that a professing Christian's lack of effort could be the result of poor teaching on sanctification or perhaps no teaching on sanctification. Perhaps they've never heard Philippians 2:12-13 in the way that they should hear it. I will allow for the possibility, as we talked about three weeks ago, that they are of the persuasion, perhaps they've been taught this way, that all that they have to do is to let go and let God. They just have to sit back and let God do all of the work. But I find that mindset hard to justify, if not impossible to justify, based upon what the Apostle Paul teaches right here. And if I may be so bold, I believe it'll be hard for you to justify holding that position based upon what you've already heard and what you will hear both this week and the next. Sanctification is a matter of obedience Now, as I said three weeks ago last time I preached-- and I thank Ben for helping out the past couple of weeks-- sanctification is a matter of obedience. Sanctification is a matter of obedience. So as the Apostle Paul begins verse 12, what does he address? He addresses the subject of their obedience. He reminds them that their lives were characterized by obedience in the past and he encourages them to continue to be obedient despite the fact that he is not physically present with them at that present time. So your obedience, the believer's obedience, is a sign of your conversion. I know that's radical in today's church world. But apart from obedience, there is no conversion. Say now that's awful harsh. Well, take it up with Jesus, Jesus said, "Why do you call me Lord, yet you don't do anything that I say?" And what do you follow that up with? "Depart from me I never knew you." I never knew you in a saving way. So your obedience is a sign of conversion. So I want to emphasize this again, working out your own salvation is the process of becoming like Christ. Working out your own salvation is synonymous with sanctification. Now notice Paul does not say work for your salvation. Neither does Paul say work in your salvation. Paul says you are to work out your salvation. Well, what exactly does that mean? Well, in very broad strokes, if I can do it, say it this way this morning, we'll look at more detail next week. Working out your salvation is the process of you becoming the person God saved you to be. Working out your salvation requires that you be an active participant in your sanctification. Working out your salvation means that you are actively cooperating with the work of the Holy Spirit as he changes your character and your understanding of the world. You cannot separate sanctification from your obedience. But if we're honest, we struggle to obey don't we? We have the best of intentions to obey. But when push comes to shove, guess what gets shoved out of the way? Our best intentions. Would you know this? Your flesh is a bully. It's a bully! And your flesh is such a bully that he will try and have his way every day. So therefore, we need to be aware of that. And because that is true of all of us, it's so easy to become discouraged. It's very easy to become frustrated. It's very easy to just want to throw up your hands and simply give up. Now, if any of that or all of that is true of you this morning, then Paul has incredibly good news for you. Paul says, it is possible for you to obey. Paul says it is possible for you to grow in becoming like Jesus. Paul says it is possible for you to make progress in sanctification and holiness. Say, well, why is this possible or how is this possible? Verse 13, "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Now, as I read and meditate particularly on verse 13, there were four things that came to my mind that I want us to take a look at this morning. Four key words, if you will. In verse 13, we find comfort, encouragement, challenge, and a warning. So comfort, encouragement, challenge and a warning. Comfort So verse 13, I find it to be a very comforting verse. In fact, if you take the time to meditate on verse 13, you can't help but be comforted by what Paul says. In our struggle to obey, in our struggle to grow spiritually many of us still have a tendency to try and take on too much. We take too much on ourselves. In other words, we adopt a motto that I said, I spoke of before, if it's got to be, it's up to me. And so what do we do, we set out with the best of intentions. We make our resolutions, we make our promises to God, we steal our resolve, we try and stiffen our backbone and we say that we are going to be a good boy or a good girl. But what happens? We fail. Despite our best intentions, we fail. Despite our promises, we fail. Despite everything that we swore that we would do we still fail. We find that we simply cannot live up to God's standard in our own power or in our own strength. But as I properly understand verse 13, I find comfort. I'm comforted by the knowledge that I am not in this alone. Yes, there is work to be done, but is not work to be done in my own strength. It is not work to be done in my own power. See, this is where I begin to understand both intellectually and experientially what Paul meant when he said when I'm weak, then I'm strong. This is where I come to understand what the Bible means when it says that his strength is made perfect in my weakness. Listen to what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12: "But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you." All right. Now how do we know that his grace is sufficient for us? For my power is made perfect in weakness. Now, how did Paul view that? Was Paul offended by that? Was Paul upset by that? Did Paul say how dare you think that I can't do this on my own? No, Paul says, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Paul boasted in the fact that he was weak. He was not afraid to admit that he was weak. That seems so un-American. We don't dare admit any kind of weakness. But Paul says the only way to know the power of Christ is to admit our weaknesses. Jesus has promised you that if you are in Christ, if you are truly his that his power is made perfect in your weakness. I find that to be incredibly comforting. I don't have to put on a façade. I don't have to act like I'm He-Man, I'm spiritual He-Man, I can conquer it all. I can do it all myself. I'm not Cam Newton scoring a touchdown and pulling back my shirt like I got Superman on my chest. I don't. If I got an "S" for anything it's for simpleton, simpleton. No, see, this is this is incredibly comforting knowledge for me. As I meditate on verse 13 I understand why Paul told us in Ephesians 6 to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. He understood. The success in sanctification comes from admitting our weaknesses and trusting in the power of Christ. So when I'm strong in the Lord in the power of his might, when I understand that it is God who works in me both to will and to work for his good pleasure I can move on from both my discouragement and my depression over my failure, over my lack of progress. And I experience comfort as I realize that the motto that perhaps I've been living by-- if it's got to be, it's up to me-- is all wrong. It's a falsehood, it is not true. It's not a Christian way of thinking. So I take comfort knowing that God is at work within me, as John MacArthur says, while the believer is working out, God is working in. Encouragement I'm not only comforted by verse 13, I'm encouraged by verse 13. So where's the encouragement in verse 13? The encouragement is found in the knowledge that God is at work in me. The encouragement is found in the knowledge that God is actively now in this passage doing two thi