Sparkles of Salvation

A sermon preached by Dr. Peter James Flamming, Pastor
First Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia
July 19, 1998

Text: Philippians 2

On a Saturday morning past I turned on the British Open. The time difference makes for a morning telecast. I was astonished to find a seventeen year old amateur on the leader board. The weather was horrible, the wind blowing a gale. But here was a young kid ahead of guys like Tiger Wood, and Nick Price, and Nick Faldo. After I got over my shock something within me said, "go young man, go."

Something there is that loves to see an amateur succeed when teeing off against professionals.

Let us then take heart. As Christians, we are never anything but amateurs. But God seeks amateurs, and wants to walk with us within the journey of faith.

You say, "I'm no amateur. I've been coming to church for fifty years. I admit we can look admirable when compared with someone else. But if we compare ourselves to the Lord Jesus, we always come up looking amateurish.

In recent days I have been thinking about the portrait of our Lord in Philippians 2. Paul sketches in a picture of our Lord that stands in sharp contrast to the life style most of us prefer.

Christ, gave up privilege and position for our sakes.
We fight for prestige and position and put others down.
Our Lord, laughed at status and became like a servant.
We laugh at servants, and sell our souls for status.
Jesus became obedient even to the ugliness of a cross.
We ornament the cross and hand it around our necks.
He included everybody in his circle of friends.
We exclude others and love the word exclusive.

When we compare ourselves to the Lord we will never be anything but amateurs. But there is good news here. God loves amateurs. Look at the disciples Jesus chose. Not a professional anything in the bunch. What he wanted was not finished professionals, but amateurs who were willing to learn. Disciple means learner.

Paul has a verse for us amateurs in Philippians 2:12: Continue to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works within you." I like Peterson's translation of these next verses: "Do everything readily and cheerfully - no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God."

The Eternal and the Specific
Begin by noticing a principle we mention often: that which is eternal always has a specific application and that which is a specific solution always leads to an eternal truth. Paul is not talking about eternal salvation, but specific, situational energy that our salvation in Christ can bring to every situation. The reason we know that is the next thing he speaks of is complaining and arguing.

Work At It Where You Are
Focus on the words, "Work out your salvation. . . ."

Sounds easy. Sometimes its hard. We would like to be somewhere else. We don't want to find solutions. We don't want to live within imperfections. We don't want to reflect our eternal salvation in Christ in specific ways where we are.

In a M.A.S.H. episode, Colonel Potter is in a reflective mood. It is Christmas and he is once again separated from home and from those he most loved. He says, "I've spent eighteen Christmases away from my wife Mildred. It took me fifteen of them to realize I was making myself miserable by wishing I was someplace I wasn't." He pauses a moment and then says, "If you ain't where you are, you are no place."

Let me give that a theological translation. "If you ain't willing to apply splinters of salvation where you are, you are no place. Let your salvation in Christ find specific application right where you are. Bloom where you are planted."

Summer Salvation
Summer journeys are a wonderful parable of Christian summer solutions. Have you ever been on a summer vacation trip when everything was perfect? Everything was always on schedule. The weather was perfect. The food was always delicious. The accommodations were always as promised and outstanding. No one ever got lost. Prices were always predictable. If so, you live in a different world than I do. Most summer trips we made when the boys were younger were anything but perfect. Challenges abounded on every hand.

Now, what Paul is saying is, "That is wonderful. Because as you try to use your mind and heart to meet the challenges, God is at work teaching, guiding, filling, forming. Find out how to apply a spiritual band aid right where you are. It may not be eternal, but it is important at the moment. It is an eternal band-aid perhaps.

Let’s take the average family that leaves on vacation. Ten minutes out side of the city limits a little voice says, "Mamma, how long before we get there?" Mamma says, "Oh, it’s a long time, but that is the fun of it. Let’s look outside and see what we can see. Let's count the number of whatever we see along the way."

Distraction. Sure. But some important stuff happens as this mother works out her own salvation with fear and trembling. The great teacher/guide is at work within everyone concerned. For one thing, the Lord is teaching us that life is a journey. How long before we get there is not the main issue. The issue is what is happening along the way. You know my mother never learned this lesson. She always said as we pulled away from the house, "Oh, I wish I could push a button and we could be there." Life for her was always a set of destinations rather than the fun, the adventure of making the journey and applying the splinter truths of salvation within specific situations.

Boundaries
After a while a squabble flares up in the back seat. Mamma reaches back and draws a line with her finger down the middle of the cushion. Then she says, "You stay on that side of the line and you stay on this side of the line." Been there? Done that?

Hey. Some important stuff is going on here. In working our her practical salvation with fear and trembling, she is setting some boundaries. Tremendous insight that much of the world has never learned. In an imperfect world, with imperfect people, on an imperfect journey, life has got to have boundaries. That is not negotiable. Mamma just drew some in the back seat. That is important stuff, and you can be sure the Lord Jesus will use it.

Courage and Murphy's Law
Pretend you are on a trip with the family and Murphy's Law happens: Everything that can go wrong, will and at the worst possible time. Well, now then, here is a wonderful time to pull some spiritual courage out of your system. Courage comes from the Latin word cour which means heart. Courage means pulling something out of your heart that is really positive. Courage, in this instance is the courage to see the blessing. It is from deep within you. You choose not to despair or cuss or kick something. You choose from deep within you to look for the blessing, for the positive.

John Killinger tells about a person named Ralph Kelly who is a Purdue graduate, an engineer, a successful business man, and a committed Christian. Ralph has made it a discipline of his Christian life to first be thankful to the Lord, and then to try to figure out what to be thankful for. For example, when he drops a pencil on the floor what do you think he does, pick up the pencil? Not for a minute. He first says to himself and to the Lord, "Thank you, Lord." Then he begins to figure out what to be thankful for. If asked he might reply, "the first thing I am thankful for is gravity. If it weren't for gravity my pencil would not have fallen, it would have floated off somewhere and I would never have seen it again. Then he says, "Thank you for graphite, which makes pencils possible." Then he thanks God for chemical engineering which makes erasers to remove his mistakes, just like the chemistry of Christ's forgiveness erases his mistakes. You see what he is doing? He lets his mind roam to see where the splinters of eternal truth and purpose are hidden within every situation."

You know, the wonderful thing is, that is just the habit God has with us. We are all amateurs when it comes to spiritual things. But god loves amateurs. And how much joy it gives the Father to show us splinters of eternal truth that apply to wherever we are.

Getting Lost
Well, after a while Mamma says to Daddy - "Do we know where we are?" Daddy says, "I think so." That is a dead give away - it means Dad has no idea where he is. "Don't you think we ought to ask directions?" "Naw. I can handle it." Being interpreted that means, "I'm going to muddle through this whatever anybody says." There are those, you know, who think the reason Israel was lost for forty years in the wilderness was that Moses refused to ask for directions.

Dad doesn't ask directions and finally it becomes clear that they are lost. The children pick up the tension in the front seat and concern shows in their voices. "Mamma, are we lost. What is going to happen to us."

Now, let’s bestow upon Dad, some unusual discernment and wonderful wisdom. And Dad says, "Children, we are lost. But you know, getting lost happens. We all get lost sometimes in the living of our lives. The first thing is to admit it, and the second is to ask directions. So, lets admit we are lost and then lets ask for directions."

You say, "Be real. That is not going to happen. Dad is not going to admit he is lost and he is never going to ask directions."

Look. It’s my sermon and if I want to make Dad into a wonderfully wise father, that is my privilege. O.K. So its not likely. But just suppose Dad did say, "Children, we are lost. But you know what, getting lost happens. We all get lost sometimes. The first thing is to admit we are lost and the second is to ask directions." About this time he sees a farmer not far from the road fueling up his tractor. He stops the car and the man comes over and smiles, then points, then Dad turns the car and goes back to the main road and they are on their way again.

Wow. Is this ever neat stuff for the God who is working within for teachable moments! Everybody gets lost every once in a while, right? So the first thing is to admit it and the second is to ask directions.

Hey, that is the precise way in which one becomes a Christian.

First he or she admits that spiritually speaking I am lost. I have no anchor, no road map for my life, no connection with God. I am lost. I need some help. And so we turn to the Lord Christ for directions and you know what the Lord Christ says, "Follow me." Wow. Talk about a teachable moment.

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