We've just wrapped up the freedom series, and we talked about the choice of being free from the prison of our sins and shame. Once we have made that decision to give up our chains, what are we to do next? A look at Philippians 2:12-17 gives us a good guide. We are saved by faith, but we still have to do something with it. Verse 12 tells us "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling". This fear is reverence and respect for God. Much like a car, we have to keep doing maintenance on our faith. We will get dirty as we go through life, so we have to do maintenance to keep our faith strong and to be obedient to God. It's not just a one time thing when we accept Jesus. Verse 13 talks about the will - how God works in us so that we do what he has purposed for us to do. As we walk with Jesus, we will feel an urgency to do what God tells us to do. Like a thermostat that is wired above to the air conditioner, we are wired to God. When you turn the thermostat up or down, the machine will adjust. In the same way, if we are wired to God above through prayer, we can change our surroundings. When we get our will in alignment with His, we can change the environment. Verse 14 can be hard because it tells us to everything without grumbling or arguing - not some things, everything. It's not always easy to do! Things frustrate us and we react in a way we don't want to. We should do things in joy, but why? Verse 15 tells us! We will become blameless in a crooked generation and we will shine. Our witness will be God's light shining through us in the darkness. People will notice something different about us if we react in peace and kindness when others react harshly or in anger. Verse 16 reminds us to hold firmly to the word of life - that is Jesus. As we live for Jesus, we will be able to witness that our lives are changed because of Him. We are reminded in verse 17 that there will be things we will have to sacrifice to serve Jesus. It is like exercising. If you go to the gym but don't do anything, you won't see results. If you just come to church, but don't engage and don't exercise your faith on other days, it won't matter. What we feed our spirits - our spiritual food - will come out. Be sure you are putting in good food! As we serve God, we must remember that eventually, we will be persecuted, whether it is being the odd one at work or people saying you are wrong in your beliefs because they don't match current day culture. Remember that the Word needs to change the culture - not the culture changing the word to suit it. Equip yourself by putting on the full armor of God like Ephesians 6 tells us so that after you have done everything, you can stand. Keep up the good work!

Amen!