God Who Works In You

Please take your Bibles and open them up to the book of Philippians this morning.

The book of Philippians. We're continuing on in our series through Philippians.

We've made our way about halfway through chapter 2, and our passage this morning is Philippians 2, verses 12-18.

Philippians 2:12–18

And when you've found it, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word this morning.

Philippians 2, verses 12-18.

Philippians 2:12–18

Philippians 2, verses 12-18.

Philippians 2:12–18

Philippians 3, verses 12-18.

Philippians 3:12–18

Philippians 3, verses 12-18.

Philippians 3:12–18

Philippians 3, verses 12-18.

Philippians 3:12–18

Philippians 3, verses 12-18.

Philippians 3:12–18

Philippians 3, verses 12-18.

Philippians 3:12–18

Philippians 3, verses 12-18.

Philippians 3:12–18

Philippians 3, verses 12-22.

Philippians 3, verses 12-18.

Philippians 3:12–18

Philippians 3, verses 12-21.

Philippians 3:12–21

Philippians 4, verses 12-18.

Philippians 4:12–18

Philippians 4, verse 13-18.

Philippians 4:13–18

Philippians 3, verses 14-18.

Philippians 3:14–18

Philippians 4, verse 13-28.

Philippians 3, verse 13-86.

open our eyes to behold wondrous things out of your word.

Lord, would you transform us in this moment as we meet with you.

Now we pray in Christ's name. Amen.

You may be seated.

This morning I want to take you all the way back to the early church father, St. Augustine.

St. Augustine. Many of you probably are familiar with that name,

but you might not know that St. Augustine battled with all sorts of sin in the flesh.

He wrestled especially with sexual sin,

but he would tell you he wrestled also with pride and with greed and with gluttony.

He wrote about his struggle in his book called Confessions.

It's an honest portrayal of his battle with sin and then his eventual conversion to Christ.

And here's what he said. He said, I was bound down by this disease of the flesh.

Its deadly pleasures were a chain that I dragged along with me, yet I was afraid to be freed from it.

In fact, he said that in his youth he used to pray,

give me chastity and give me continency, only not yet.

In other words, I want to be holy, I think.

I want to be like you, I think.

I want to follow you, I think.

I want to obey you, I think, but not yet.

Not until I'm done chasing after my sin.

Christ, I want to be satisfied in Christ after I'm done being satisfied with the sins of my flesh.

And maybe you've prayed something like that,

or even if you haven't prayed that, maybe you've felt something like that.

I want to get serious about the Lord at some point, but maybe not quite yet.

Well, if that's you, you should know, not yet will never come.

And the call of our passage this morning is a call from the Apostle Paul

to follow Christ with all of your heart,

all of your soul, all of your mind, all of your strength.

This is a call to total obedience to Christ right now.

So our passage this morning is, we see the call,

and then Paul makes a case.

The call to pursue total obedience,

and then the case for why and how that's even possible for sinners like us

to meet such a high calling.

So first, let's see the call here.

Look with me to verse 12.

Paul says,

We saw last week, over the past several weeks really,

this call for Christians.

We are called to lay down our lives

in radical, selfless, humble, sacrificial love for others.

You remember this from last week.

Out of the example and the power of Christ Jesus for us,

we are called to go and die for the good of others.

Christ Jesus has humbled himself.

He who is God has set aside this right,

this divine right to become a servant of sinners.

And now Paul says,

You likewise, if you are in Christ,

you go and serve others as well.

So now in our passage today,

he says,

In light of this,

in light of this example,

and in light of the power of Christ's sacrifice,

therefore,

you go,

work out your own salvation.

Now what in the world does this mean?

I'll tell you what it doesn't mean.

It does not mean work for your salvation.

Work to achieve your salvation.

Our salvation is based on the finished work of Christ Jesus alone.

Not a single one of us can work for our salvation.

That's not what it means.

Others have taken this to mean,

well,

work out whether you are saved or not.

Find some evidence for your salvation.

Determine whether or not you are actually a Christian.

And I don't think that that's exactly what he means either.

Although that application is here.

Here's what I think he means.

I think that in light of what he's calling them to do here

in pursuing total obedience,

he's calling them and us to work out your salvation,

meaning to live it out.

To work it out in your life.

Show the outworking of what Christ has done in your life.

Faith is invisible,

but obedience is not.

Faith is internal.

It's invisible,

but our obedience,

our following Christ,

the fruit of our salvation,

is visible.

And so he says,

Christian,

if you're in Christ,

live it out.

Work it out.

Show the outwork.

Let God's grace play out in your life.

Pursue full obedience.

Genuine faith,

it has to be lived.

It's got to be worked out in your life.

A few places,

a few references here.

James,

we know,

tells us,

faith without works is what?

It's dead.

If you say you have faith in Christ,

but then that faith in Christ

isn't paired with genuine pursuit of obedience,

not perfect,

not perfect,

but genuine pursuit of obedience,

something's not adding up here.

John Calvin says,

we're saved by faith alone,

but the faith that saves is never alone.

In other words,

it's always paired with this outworking of our faith in our lives.

One of the Lutheran confessions,

it says,

good works always follow justifying faith

and are surely found with it,

if it be true and living.

For it is never alone,

but always has with it love and hope.

So Luther himself,

he says,

idle faith is not justifying faith.

You hear the call here,

don't you?

This is a call to live out your faith in Christ,

to show it,

to work it out by pursuing full obedience.

Paul says,

work it out in your life.

If you're a Christian,

if you claim Christ,

show it in your life,

show it to be true,

live it,

walk in the good works

that your Father's prepared for you beforehand,

that you should walk in them.

Let me see your progress

and your joy in the faith.

And not only while I'm there with you,

he says,

but also while I'm gone,

I'm in prison,

I'm not able to be there to oversee you.

And that's the real test,

isn't it?

That's one thing to obey

in the presence of some oversight.

It's a whole other thing

when you think nobody's there watching you,

right?

Maybe you've seen some of these videos

of parents testing the obedience of their children.

I think that this is cruel,

okay?

But they will set up a camera somewhere in the room.

They'll put their children there

in front of a big bowl of candy.

And they'll sit there with them

and they'll say,

I gotta go take a call real quick.

Don't eat any of this.

And then they find an excuse

to get up and leave.

Camera's rolling,

right?

And they see whether or not

their child will obey

in the absence of their immediate oversight.

Believers,

Paul says,

believers

are to work out their faith.

They're to live out their faith.

They're to obey at all times,

right?

And with fear and trembling,

not just because Paul cares about their obedience,

but because we live our lives

in the oversight of a sovereign God

who loves us

and calls us

to constant pursuit of holiness.

Church,

how is this going for you?

How is it going for you?

What part of your faith

needs to be worked out in your life?

What are you struggling with obeying?

What part of the Christian call

seems difficult for you to put on?

You know,

Paul,

he calls us to a high call here.

It's not just things big

and obvious,

obvious sins to put to death,

obvious things Christians ought to do.

He applies this

all the way down

to the attitudes of the heart,

even the way that we speak.

Here at verse 14.

Do all things

without grumbling

or disputing.

How are we doing?

I failed this morning.

Multiple times.

Do all things

without grumbling

or disputing.

You know,

we laugh at that.

We think it's a small thing.

We maybe roll our eyes at it.

Why would Paul

make such a big deal out of this?

But let me tell you,

even the slightest

little bit of grumbling

is sin

that must be put to death.

Especially when we think

about the effect

that it can have

on a church family.

Now you remember Paul's goal

here.

He's writing.

He's fighting.

He's urging them

to pursue unity

in the church,

to work together,

to link arms together.

He wants to see them

have joy in the church

and unity.

The slightest

little bit of grumbling

will disrupt

the unity of the church.

Before a church

burns down

in a bonfire,

a bonfire of disunity,

you know where it starts,

church?

The slightest little flicker

of a grumble.

The slightest little argument

that never gets dealt with.

The slightest little bit

of friction

that we just let time go by

and we'll never handle it.

Paul says,

no, no, no, no, no.

Let everything you do

be done without grumbling

or disputing.

All the way down

to the slightest grumble.

We have to put our sin

to death.

This is a call

to total obedience

to Christ.

And that's a high call,

is it not?

So now let's turn

our attention

to the case.

The case.

Because Paul never leaves

it just as an empty command.

He never does.

He anticipates

that we're going to ask,

well, how do I do that?

Why should I do that?

What's the reason

why we're called

to live like that?

How can sinners like us

even begin

to put sin to death?

And he gives us

three parts here

to this case.

And I'm going to work it

backwards from the bottom up.

Okay?

So why pursue

full obedience?

First reason is,

this is Paul's aim

as your brother.

Philippians,

why do all things

without grumbling

or complaining?

Well, Paul says,

this is what I want for you.

This is why I labored for you.

This is my aim

as your brother.

This is why I'm laying

down my life for you.

This is,

to say it more broadly,

this is the aim

of Christian ministry.

My aim for you,

church,

is not just that

I would see you

come to faith in Christ

and then stay there

as a baby Christian.

Never grow up.

My aim is to see

Christ fully formed

in you.

I want to see you

grow as disciples

of Christ.

I want to see you

progress in maturity.

And none of us

will ever reach

full maturity

until glory.

But we all have

a next step

that we can take

in putting sin to death

and pursuing full obedience.

This is the aim

of Christian ministry.

He says he wants them

to approve

what's excellent

and so be pure

and blameless

for the day of Christ.

Filled with the fruit

of righteousness

that comes through

Jesus Christ

to the glory

and praise of God.

That's chapter 1

verses 10 and 11.

He says in chapter 4,

what you've learned

and received

and heard

and seen in me,

practice these things.

Practice these things.

How much practice

does it take

to go and grumble

and complain?

We don't need

to practice that,

do we?

That comes naturally.

I've got to share

the story.

I was one of my boys

who I will not tell you

which one

was playing a game.

He was pretending.

He was in front

of a mirror

and he was yelling

at that guy

in the mirror

because he was copying him.

Stop copying me.

You're imitating me.

Stop it.

Cut it out.

Cut it out.

I said,

you know what, son?

Maybe if you would

just ask him nicely,

he might calm down too.

You don't have to practice

yelling and grumbling

and arguing.

That comes naturally.

We've got to practice

these things.

We've got to practice

holiness.

We've got to practice

making peace

with one another.

Full obedience

is the goal

of Paul's ministry.

Romans 1.

He says,

he received grace

and apostleship.

Why?

To bring about

the obedience

of faith

for the sake

of his name

among all the nations.

It's faith

and it's the

outworking of faith.

That's his goal.

We go to Matthew 28.

Back it all the way up

to the Great Commission

and see,

what did Jesus

command his disciples?

What's the mission

of the church?

Go and make disciples

of all nations,

baptizing them

in the name

of the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit

and teaching them

to what?

To obey

most of what

I commanded you.

everything

to obey all

that I have

commanded you.

This is Paul's goal.

In fact,

he says,

I'd be willing

to die for this.

Even if I'm going

to be poured out

as a sacrificial offering,

as a sacrificial offering

of your faith,

I'm glad

and will rejoice

with you all.

I will give my life,

he says,

for your progress

and joy

in the faith.

We see this

all over Scripture.

I want to take you

to one more place

where maybe you haven't

considered the connection

here.

It's to Jesus'

parable of the sower.

You know the story.

The parable of the sower.

He shares this parable

in Luke chapter 8.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

He shares it in several

of the Gospels.

Luke chapter 8,

Luke 8 · chapter mention

starting in verse 5,

he says this,

A sower went out

to sow his seed

and as he sowed,

some fell along the path

and was trampled underfoot

and the birds of the air

devoured it

and some fell on the rock

and as it grew up

it withered away

because it had no moisture.

Some fell among thorns

and the thorns grew up

with it and choked it

and some fell into good soil

and that soil grew

and it yielded a hundredfold

and as he said these things,

he called out,

He who has ears to hear,

let him hear.

He explains it

down in verse 11.

He says,

Now the parable is this,

the seed is the word of God.

The ones along the path

are those who have heard

and then the devil comes

and he takes away

the word from their hearts

so that they may not believe

and be saved.

And the ones on the rock

are those who

when they hear the word

they receive it with joy

but these have no root.

They believe for a while

and then at the time

a testing comes

and they fall away.

As for what fell

among the thorns,

they are those

who hear the word

but as they go on their way

they are choked

by the cares

and the riches

and the pleasures of life

and their fruit

does not mature.

But there's another category.

Verse 15.

As for that

in the good soil,

they are those

who hearing the word

hold it fast

in an honest

and good heart

and bear fruit

with patience.

church,

I'm sad to say

that

I have seen

every single one

of these categories

play out.

And Paul knows

that there is

such a thing

as a false

profession of faith.

There is such a thing

as someone

who says

I believe,

I want to

know Christ

and then

for whatever reason

time goes by

the cares of the world

choke it out.

The enemy

takes it away.

They're distracted

by something

and there is no fruit,

no obedience,

no life in Christ.

It is snuffed

out completely.

And so Paul says

my desire for you

Philippians

is that you not

just receive the word

for a minute

and then it's gone.

And that you fall away.

He says

my desire,

I want to be able

to look at you

in the day of Christ

and be proud

that I didn't waste

my time ministering

to you.

I want to be proud

in the day of Christ

that you are fully

formed in him.

That on that day

when every knee

will bow

and every tongue

confess that Christ

is Lord,

I'll look at you

and see that you're

ready to receive him

as king.

My aim,

my goal

in my ministry

is that when he comes

you will be standing

there ready

in the day of Christ.

That's his aim.

How will they do it?

Church,

how will you do it?

How will you

make sure

that the cares

of the world

don't snuff it out?

How will you

make sure

that the temptations

of the enemy

don't draw you astray?

What does he say?

Hold fast

to the word

of life.

Hold fast

to the word

of life.

How does a gospel

minister make sure

his church is growing

even when he's not

there to see it,

to help him,

to minister to him?

He says,

you have the word.

Hold fast

to the word

of life.

This is Paul's aim

in his ministry,

not only this.

Second,

full obedience

is meant to be

your aim

as God's child.

Meant to be your aim

as God's child.

Look there with me

to verse 14 again.

He says,

do all things

without grumbling

or disputing

that you may be

blameless and innocent

children of God

without blemish

in the midst

of a crooked

and twisted generation

among whom you shine

as lights

in the world.

Here's the idea,

church.

Our identity

shapes

our actions.

Our identity

shapes

our behaviors.

Our identity

shapes our thoughts

and the way

we go about

our life.

If we see ourselves

as part of this world,

as belonging

to this world,

guess what you're

going to act like?

You're going to act

just like this world.

Paul says,

you,

by the grace of God,

have been brought

out of belonging

to this world.

That's what it means

to be a Christian.

You realize this,

right?

To be a Christian

means that by the grace

of God,

you have been given

faith in Christ

and with that faith

in Christ,

you've been given

a new identity

in Christ.

You've been adopted

out of belonging

to this world.

You've been adopted

now as a son

or a daughter

of the living God.

So you're no longer

a part of this crooked

and twisted generation.

You are a part

of the family

of God.

We all know

that any parent

in the room

understands this,

right?

Your children

come to you,

maybe they see

something that

they see somebody

else doing

that they want

to do

or in my family

it's normally

they see somebody

else eating

something that

they want to eat

and so they come

and they say,

well,

dad,

but so and so

is doing it.

So and so

gets to eat

that dessert

and what's my

response?

It's dad.

They're not my

child.

You're my child

and as my child

I expect you

to follow my rules

and I expect you

to obey me

as your father.

You're not a part

of their family.

You're a part

of my family

and so God

says,

as my child

as my child

shine as lights

in the world

in the midst

of a crooked

and twisted generation.

You know how normal

it is to grumble,

church?

You know how normal

it is to hear

grumbling

and conversations?

I mean,

you turn on the TV

it doesn't matter

what station,

right?

Politics,

you turn on TV

Fox News,

CNN,

MSNBC,

it doesn't matter

what station it is,

what do you hear?

You hear grumbling

and disputing,

don't you?

You turn on sports,

ESPN,

what do you hear?

You hear grumbling.

I'm about to grumble

about this.

I wasn't going

to say anything

but now I can't

get it out of my head.

All you hear

is grumbling

and disputing.

You can't get away

from it.

You turn on the radio

on the way to work,

what do you hear?

You hear grumbling,

you hear disputing,

you hear arguing.

God says,

not my children.

Not my children.

You belong to me.

The way that we speak,

the way that we act,

the way that we live,

the way that we treat

one another,

the way that we serve

one another,

honors God our Father

when we do it like Christ.

Meant to be our aim

as God's children

but not only this.

Third,

third and finally,

pursue full obedience

because this is God's aim

as your Savior.

This is God's aim

as your Savior.

You realize I have,

I've spent this whole time

telling you what to do

but I haven't given you

power to do it yet.

Here it is.

Look there again

to verse 13.

Actually,

let me back up

to verse 12.

Again,

the command is,

therefore my beloved

as you have always obeyed,

so now,

not only as in my presence

but much more in my absence,

work out your own salvation

with fear and trembling.

For,

verse 13,

for,

here's the basis,

here's the power,

for,

it is God who works in you

both to will

and to work

for His good pleasure.

Here's the good news

for sinners

and for failures

and for strugglers,

those of us

who are struggling

to live the Christian life.

Here's some really good news

for you this morning.

The power

for the Christian life

from beginning to end

comes from God.

You can't do it.

The power

to put grumbling

to death

cannot come from us.

You can't do it.

If all you hear

this morning

is try harder,

be better,

you've missed it.

You can't do it.

It's God

who works in you

to will

and to work

for His good pleasure.

Paul says work.

Paul says obey.

Paul says pursue

full obedience.

Why?

Because it's God

who works it in you.

This verse is just

absolutely stunning

and it's really

not hard to understand

if we just read it

simply

and so that's what

I'm going to try

to do here, okay?

He tells us

both our working

and our willing

is from God.

Isn't that what he says?

Both our working

and our willing

is from God.

He says your working

is from God.

All the bearing fruit,

all the putting sin

to death,

all the loving

your brother,

all the holding

your tongue

when you want

to grumble

and complain,

all the counting

others more significant

than yourselves.

Where does that

power come from?

Only from God.

It's God

who works it in you,

Paul says.

It's like when I

want to build something

or have some project

I'm doing at the house.

Maybe I'm hanging blinds

or maybe I'm building

a table

and I say,

son,

come build this table

with me.

What are they going

to say?

I can't do that.

I can't do that.

I say,

you just hold this drill

and I put it in their hands

and my hands

go on top of his hands

and together

we place the bit

into the screw

and then together

with my fingers

on top of his fingers

together we drive

in that screw

into the wood

and I use some

of my dad's strength

to get it in there

because he can't do it

on his own

and then it's done

and he leaves

and says,

guess what?

I built a table.

Yeah, you did.

But it was the Father.

The Father's work

in you.

And when a Christian

say they hear

God's command

go and share

the gospel

with your neighbor

and go bring

this word of life

to somebody

who doesn't know it

and so they work

up the courage.

They take a risk.

They have this gospel

conversation with somebody

that doesn't know Jesus

and they put themselves

out there

for some social rejection.

They say,

this is the only way

a sinner is saved

is by faith in Christ

and that person responds

and says,

you know,

I want to hear

some more about that.

They go home rejoicing

at what God has done

in and through them.

It's God who works

in you to work

for his good pleasure

but not only that.

Paul says,

even your willing

is from God.

Here's where my analogy

breaks down a little bit,

right?

Because I can't change

anybody's will.

Paul can't change

anybody's will.

I can make my son

come and do what I ask.

I can kind of force

some obedience

but I cannot change

the human will.

But here,

Paul again,

plainly,

he says,

God works in you

to will

for his good pleasure.

Now,

this is a little bit

controversial,

isn't it?

You get into

conversations about

human will

and free will

and God's sovereignty

and everybody starts

to get a little bit tense

and so,

y'all just take a deep breath.

Okay?

Again,

my goal is to make

scripture be plain.

Paul says,

it is God

who works in you

to will

and to work

for his good pleasure.

That doesn't mean

that we don't make

a choice.

Of course not.

You're involved

in the choices

you make

but we make choices,

we need to know

we make choices

in accordance

with our nature

and by nature.

Sinners outside

of Christ

are dead

in the trespasses

and sins.

We're spiritually

dead.

We're unable

to will

the will of God.

Spiritually dead

sinners cannot

desire God.

Those who are

in the flesh,

Paul says

in Romans 8,

cannot please God.

We're not neutral

towards him either.

We're hostile

towards God

in the flesh.

Those who are

in the flesh

cannot please God,

he says.

The mind that's

set on the flesh

is hostile to God.

It does not submit

to God's law.

Indeed,

it cannot.

Martin Luther,

he says that

the human will

is like a beast.

We'll call it a horse.

The human will

is like a horse.

And that horse

is standing

in between

two riders.

If God rides,

he says,

it goes where

God wills.

If Satan rides,

he says,

it goes and it

wills where

Satan wills.

And here's the point.

The beast,

the horse,

can't choose

who rides it.

The riders themselves

fight for control

and possession

of the will.

And so what God does

when he saves

a sinner

is he kicks

that old rider off

and he occupies

your will.

He gives you

a new will.

He enlivens

the sinner's will.

He resurrects

your old,

dead,

sin-chained will

and frees it

to love

and to do

the will of God

to the glory of God.

He gives you

a new heart

that loves Christ

and loves

the law of God

and loves

to obey the Lord

and desires holiness.

And where in the world

did that come from?

It didn't come from you.

It is God

who works in you

to will

for his good pleasure.

The amazing thing

about the Christian life

is that it is God

from beginning to end.

If you,

this morning,

have any desire

for the Lord

in your heart,

if you hear these words

and you want to grow

in obedience,

if you want to know

the Lord

and you want to pursue

him with your life,

praise God.

That is his work in you.

By grace,

you have been saved

through faith.

It is not of your own doing.

It is the gift of God.

Not a result of works

that no man

may boast.

It begins this way

in conversion.

God speaks

and dead bones live.

Jesus calls

and Lazarus

walks out of the grave.

The invitation

is cast

to sinners

and they hear

by the grace of God

and they are made alive

to the glory of God

in the face of Christ.

It begins this way

in conversion

and it continues

this way

all the way

until glory

and the long

duty of sanctification

as God works

holiness

in you.

You realize

any victory

you have

in the Christian life,

any sin

that you put

to death

this week,

any obedience

that you go

and you do a good work

for the glory of God,

you know where that comes from?

It's God

who works in you

both to will

and to work

for his good pleasure.

So church,

let's close

by coming back

to Augustine.

If you're

struggling

with coming

to Christ

this morning,

maybe you just,

if you're being honest,

you don't desire

him at all.

You desire sin,

you desire

the world,

you desire

anything else

other than the glory

of God

and the gospel

of Christ.

Or Christian,

if you are

wrestling

and struggling

with putting

some sin

to death,

you just don't know

how in the world

you can grow out

of this,

wrestling with

giving yourself

completely to him,

maybe if that's you,

you could pray

something like

what Augustine

prayed in confessions.

He prayed this,

Grant what thou

dost command

and then command

what thou wilt.

You remember

his struggle.

I want to follow

you but not yet.

I want to be holy

but not yet.

I want to follow

Christ but not yet.

Augustine struggled

to come to faith

in Christ

and once he came

to faith in Christ

he struggled

to fully obey.

He struggled

like we do

but then he had

this life-changing

realization.

You know what it was?

He realized

he couldn't

do it.

So he said,

you command

self-control.

You command

holiness.

God,

you command

that I love

Christ.

You command

that I follow

Christ but I realize

no one can do it

unless God

gives it.

And so I prayed,

give me the grace

to do as you command

and then command

me to do

whatever you want.

It might be that.

Some of you here

are wrestling in this way

and so here's my

encouragement to you.

Non-believer,

your prayer this morning

might sound like this.

You've commanded me

to repent and follow

Christ but I realize

I cannot do it

so Lord,

I ask now,

would you give me

the grace to do

as you command

and then bid me come.

And for you Christian,

the Christian life

is impossible

apart from the work

of God.

So for that sin

that lingers in the flesh,

for that command

that you just struggle

to find the courage

and the power

to obey,

for that part

of the Christian life

that just seems

impossible for you

to put on,

pray,

Lord,

would you give me

the grace

to do as you command

and ask whatever

you want.

The power

for the Christian life

is from God

and God alone.

Let's pray.

Lord,

we need you.

We come to you

this morning weak.

We come to you

this morning powerless

to do anything

that you've commanded

us to do.

God,

each week I stand up here

and I ask the impossible

Lord in the flesh

you must do it.

Father,

would you give

new life

to those who are dead

in their sins

this morning?

God,

would you bring faith

to those who don't know

you this morning?

Would you cause them

this morning

to call out to you

to have a renewed will

that desires life

in Christ?

Would you do that

this morning?

And Father,

for this church

that I long to see

grow in holiness

and obedience,

Lord,

I can't make it happen.

So Father,

I ask that you would do it.

I ask all this

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

He is here.

Amen.

Thank you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.