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I want to invite you to take your Bibles and turn to Philippians chapter 1 with me.
Philippians chapter 1.
The opening verses of the book of Philippians provide for us a preview of what will be the major thematic elements of the entire letter.
The book is often characterized as the epistle of joy, and that certainly could be true.
There's 18 different times throughout Paul's letter to the Philippian church, he uses the word joy or rejoice, 18 different times.
There's no doubt that he meant for joy to be a common theme throughout the book.
In fact, he probably meant it not just to be a comfort to them, but as you study through the book of Philippians,
you'll see that the context of joy with which Paul speaks from is almost in a way of exhortation.
That it's not just that they can experience joy, but he exhorts them to do the things that are necessary in order to have the true joy of the Lord.
It certainly is a dominant theme throughout the book.
But I think if we were to reduce the book of Philippians to a simple discussion of Christian joy,
I think that that would be a mistake for us, actually.
I think what we'll discover as we study these first 11 verses of the book,
and as it sets the tone and lays the foundation for the rest of the letter for us,
I think we'll discover that while joy is prominent, there are actually a few other perhaps greater, even deeper themes that run throughout the book.
Namely, the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
the fact that God continues an ongoing process of work through the scriptures,
through his spirit in the lives of those that believe,
and then this gospel partnership that we're going to deal with today,
that God provides for us in the church,
and in fellowship, and in friendship, and in partnership with other believers.
I think what you'll find as you study the book,
and certainly as we discover this together on Sundays,
that more common than joy are these themes of gospel,
and what God does through the gospel,
and what he gives us in partnership in the gospel with other believers.
And then running alongside of that as we study the book is this dominant element of joy.
Well, these first 11 verses contain Paul's opening greeting
to what some people consider to be his favorite congregation in the New Testament.
As we read it in just a moment,
you'll discover, maybe even look for intentionally,
a particular warmth and affection
that Paul feels for the people to which he's writing.
He communicates an endearing love for them,
a thankfulness for their partnership in the gospel,
as he refers to it in verse number five.
And it becomes clear that this is a heartfelt expression of a pastor to his people.
And so in my own study this week,
as we prepared to look at it together today,
I can't help but understand Paul's heart in that.
That as he writes this prayer of thanksgiving,
and as he expresses this love and this joy that he has found actually in the Philippian church,
and as he makes this prayer for them,
this ongoing prayer that he prays on their behalf,
we see his pastoral heart,
and it actually shows as a conviction to me as your pastor,
as someone that wants to be thankful for you
in the way that Paul was thankful for his people,
that wants to love you in the way that Paul loved them,
that wants to pray for you in the same way that Paul prayed for the Philippian church.
Let's read it together, starting at verse number one.
Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ,
to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi,
with the elders and deacons,
grace be unto you and peace from God our Father
and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine for you all,
making requests with joy
for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.
And I am confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Even as it is meet or right is what that means.
It is right for me to think this of you all
because I have you in my heart.
Inasmuch as both in my bonds
and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel,
you are partakers of my grace.
For God is my witness, my record.
How greatly I long after you
in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
And this I pray,
that your love may abound yet more and more
in knowledge and in all judgment,
that you may approve things that are excellent,
that you may be sincere and without offense
till the day of Christ,
being filled with the fruits of righteousness,
which are by Jesus Christ,
unto the glory and praise of God.
The first thing that we notice,
if you're keeping notes as we go along
through our lesson today or our message today,
the first thing that you'd wanna write down
is Paul's joyful thanksgiving.
Paul's joyful thanksgiving.
We see this in verses three through six.
Let's read them together again.
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine for you all,
making my request, making my prayer with joy.
And this is the root and the ground
of this prayer and this thanksgiving that he's making.
It's as a result of your fellowship
or partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
being confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Reminiscing from his jail cell in Rome,
Paul writes this greeting to the Philippian believers
and he opens here with a specific prayer
of thanksgiving for them.
Verse number four gives us actually the first
of 18 mentions of joy that we'll find in the letter.
And the joy that Paul has experienced
in this particular prayer in verse number four
is a direct result of his remembrance of his people.
Have you ever loved someone so much
or cared for someone so much
that every time you thought of them,
what came to your heart was joy?
We don't actually often experience that
in the same way, right?
Did you pick up on the words that Paul used here?
Always, in every prayer, making my request with joy.
There's a uniqueness to Paul's greeting here.
As he offers this thanksgiving,
thinking of even the place that he writes this greeting from,
as you study the book of Acts
and you study the tradition of Christianity
and church history, you understand that
Paul is at closing in on the tail end
of a particular imprisonment in Rome.
He's appealed at this point his case to Caesar himself
and we'll discover that as we study the book of Philippians
just a little bit further,
how that even people within Caesar's household
have become believers as a result of Paul's witness
from his jail cell, from this imprisonment
that he had in Rome.
Church history tells us that after this particular imprisonment,
he actually is released from imprisonment
before he goes back a number of years later
and is actually beheaded for his faith.
But where he finds himself at this particular moment
writing to these Philippian believers
is under 24-hour surveillance.
He's chained to a Roman guard
and they would take turns, particular watches
where every day there would be different Roman soldiers
that would come in
and they would be physically chained to Paul.
It was humiliating for him, there's no doubt.
But even in the midst of that,
what he writes to these Philippian believers
is his thoughts of joy towards them.
And as you study the remainder of the letter,
you'll see that even despite his circumstances,
that's where this joy is rooted
that no matter what's going on in his life,
even in the midst of a prison cell,
when he's awaiting what could be his death
and would eventually be his death,
he writes with such joy and such warmth
and such affection.
Well, what is this joy really about?
What is this thanksgiving about for him in this passage?
Kent Hughes wrote this,
Paul rarely thanked God for things.
Paul thanked God for people
who despite whatever trouble they may have been to him,
remained a source of joy and thanksgiving.
That really stands in contrast to the way
that we look at thanksgiving, right?
Perhaps this week, even in the thanksgiving holiday,
you had a moment like our family does
where we'll at least take a few moments
or whether it's around the dinner table,
usually it's led by my dad
when we're with my parents on Thanksgiving.
And he just begins to talk about the ways
that God has been good to him.
And we go through a whole list of things
like you probably did this week too.
Hopefully you did this week.
And we talk about all the tangible things.
We talk about the successes that the Lord has brought.
We talk about the physical blessings
that the Lord has brought.
But my dad always gets to a point
where he begins to thank God more for the people
that God has brought into his life
than he actually does the things
that God has blessed in his life.
And that's really the idea
and the picture that we get of Paul.
Of course he was thankful for things.
Of course he was thankful for the benefits
and the blessings that God brought.
But most often he was thankful for the people
that God had put in his life.
And that's the reflection that he gives us
here just now in Philippians chapter one.
There's two particular notes of this Thanksgiving
that I think would be worth you making.
The first thing that we notice
is that he was thankful
for their partnership in the gospel.
He was thankful for their partnership in the gospel.
Look with me again at verse number five.
For your fellowship in the gospel
from the first day until now.
That word fellowship is koinonia in the Greek.
It's translated various ways
throughout the New Testament.
We'll look at a couple of them today.
But it really means partnership.
When he thought and he had this memory
of the church in Philippi,
what he thought first and foremost
was the way that they had partnered with him
underneath the banner of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Well, what was it that he thought about
as he went through?
There could have been a number of things
that he thought about,
but the Bible does actually give us a glimpse
into a number of things that it could have been.
Think back to Acts chapter 16.
Acts chapter 16 tells us the story
of how Paul and Silas and Timothy and Luke
started the church in Philippi.
They had made this journey there
and on their first Sabbath day
as they made their way out to the riverbank,
they found a group of women that were praying there.
And as a result of the preaching of the gospel,
a successful businesswoman named Lydia was saved.
As you study Acts 16,
you'll see not only was Lydia saved,
but she was on fire for the Lord at this point.
Her house became the place
where the missionary team lived
and we believe that her house also became the location
for the meeting place of the church.
Perhaps when Paul's writing,
I thank my God on every remembrance of you,
maybe he's thinking about Lydia
and the times and the effort and the expense
that she put into this gospel ministry in Philippi.
Maybe he thought about that slave girl
that we studied in Acts 16.
She was demon possessed.
She was being abused by her masters.
God empowered Paul to cast out this demon
and presumably she became a believer in that moment.
And he was able to witness
not only this life change for her physically,
but he was able to witness
the radical change of her eternity
as she believed in the gospel in that moment.
Maybe it was her that he thought about.
Maybe it was the Philippian jailer
that we're all familiar with, right?
Because of his work in the gospel
and the conversion of that slave girl,
Paul and Silas, as you study the chapter,
were stripped naked in front of the whole city.
They were beaten nearly to death.
They were cast into the innermost part of the prison
and they were held fast in the stocks,
awaiting what probably they thought
would be their execution the next day.
And that night, instead of complaining,
they sang praises to the Lord.
You remember what happened?
God sends an earthquake.
And then this Philippian jailer comes in
and his question is,
what do I have to do to be saved?
What do I have to do to experience this joy
that you've experienced tonight in this prison?
Perhaps as he's writing verse three,
that I thank God upon every remembrance of you,
maybe it's Lydia, maybe it's the slave girl,
maybe it's the Philippian jailer,
maybe it was all of them.
Maybe he was thinking back to what he wrote
in 2 Corinthians chapter eight.
In fact, why don't you flip there for me,
just a few pages to the left.
2 Corinthians chapter eight,
the first five verses,
Paul writing to the church of Corinth
references this church of Philippi in Macedonia
and something that they had done for him.
Verse number one,
moreover brethren,
we do you to wit of the grace of God
bestowed on the churches of Macedonia.
That's the church at Philippi.
How that in a great trial of affliction,
the abundance of their joy
and their deep poverty
abounded unto the riches of their generosity.
For to their power, I bear record,
yea, and beyond their power,
they were willing of themselves,
praying us with much entreaty
that we would receive a gift
and take upon us,
here's that word again,
the fellowship of the ministering to the saints,
the partnership of the gospel.
And this they did not as we had hoped,
but first gave their own selves to the Lord
and unto us by the will of God.
They gave generously.
Some point in Paul's missionary journeys,
this church had developed a burden
for what he was doing for the gospel
and even out of their deep poverty,
sacrificially,
they gave of themselves
in order that the work of the gospel
could be supported all across the world.
We do that in our missions giving.
In the way that we give
for particular outreach efforts
here in our community in Cornelius,
as we look to missionaries
that maybe from time to time
would come in and present their works.
When we look to things like
Marty and Fay are involved with,
with getting Bibles all across the world.
When we look to all of these things,
that's our partnership together.
This church,
when Paul thought about them,
maybe reflected on how even in their poverty,
when they had every reason in the world
to say no to an extra offering,
gave of themselves
in order that they could fellowship
with the ministering of the saints,
partner with Paul in the gospel.
And as he writes in verse three,
I thank God on every remembrance of you.
He's thinking back to the conversions
that he experienced in Acts chapter 16
and then maybe to the particular sacrifice
and partnership in financial giving
in 2 Corinthians chapter eight.
And then back in Philippians,
if you just flip over to chapter four,
we see another glimpse of this
in verses 15 and 16.
On another occasion,
Paul is referencing here,
now you Philippians know also
that in the beginning of the gospel,
when I departed from Macedonia,
that is when he first left after Acts 16,
no church communicated with me
as concerning giving and receiving,
but you only.
For even in Thessalonica,
you sent once and again unto my necessity.
Again, verse 15,
the word communicated,
same word,
koinonia,
partnership.
When Paul thought about this people,
what he thought about
was partnership.
These people have been there for me.
They have helped me.
They have helped the gospel.
It's not just me that they care for.
It's the work of the gospel
that they care for.
And as he reflected on them,
this became an outpouring
of thanksgiving to God
on their behalf,
that as he remembered these people,
he thought to stop
and thank the Lord,
thank you for these people
that have partnered with me
in the gospel.
And I read that
and I consider the testimony
of these Philippian people
and I ask myself the question,
if I was in the Philippian church
or if I was a part
of one of these other churches
that Paul had started,
would he think on me
with the same kind of thanksgiving?
Would Paul be thankful for Jared
because of his partnership
in the gospel?
Maybe he'd be thankful for friendship
or maybe he would be thankful
for a number of things,
but would he be thankful
that I partnered with him
in the gospel?
That's a challenge to us.
How's your partnership
in the gospel?
We commit our lives
to all kinds of partnerships
all the time.
Good partnerships,
partnerships with our spouses,
partnerships with our coworkers,
partnerships that we jump into
with particular hobbies
and with particular things.
We fill our lives
with partnerships,
with endeavors,
with fellowships
and various things.
Where does your partnership
in the gospel
fit on your list of priorities?
I know that it's a priority
in some sense.
You're here today.
You're here for church
on the fourth week
of a baby church
in an elementary school gym.
There's a partnership
in the gospel
that you have here today,
even those of you
that are guests with us
and friendships that we have.
There's a partnership here,
but where does that partnership
in your mind
stack on your list of priorities?
Would you give sacrificially
to a family member
when they had a need?
Most likely, yeah.
Would you give sacrificially
to the work of the gospel
when it has a need?
I hope so.
Would you drop everything
that you're doing
in order to help somebody
that you love
or a friend
that you've grown close to?
Probably, yeah.
Would you drop everything
you're doing
in order to meet a need
and share the gospel
with somebody,
even though it's going
to take away
from something else
that you're interested in?
When Paul wrote
to these people
when he thought about them,
it was their partnership
in the gospel
that resounded
in his heart and his mind
and it became
an outbursting
of thanksgiving for them.
But it wasn't just
their partnership
in the gospel
that he was thankful for.
Secondly,
he was thankful
because he acknowledged
the true source
of their partnership.
He acknowledged
the true source
of their partnership.
Look with me
at verse six.
being confident
of this very thing
or I am sure
of this very thing,
Paul says,
that he,
being God,
that has begun
a good work in you
will perform it
until the day
of Jesus Christ.
That phrase,
will perform it,
it means will bring
to completion,
that he'll finish it.
That the work
that God had started
in the hearts
and in the lives
of these Philippian believers,
that he would never
stop that work
until that work was done.
Paul was confident
of that.
So look at the verses again.
He opens in verse three.
I thank my God.
Did you notice
who he thanked?
It's significant here.
When he thought
about these Philippian believers,
the direction
of his thanksgiving
wasn't to them.
Of course,
he was thankful for them.
Just like we're thankful
for one another,
we're thankful
for other people
in our lives.
But it wasn't just
directed to them,
his thanksgiving.
It was directed to God.
He understood
in that moment,
as I give thanks,
I'm thanking God
because I understand
the source of this partnership
is not rooted
in your love for me
and it's not rooted
in my love for you.
The source of this partnership
is rooted
in the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
I thank God
because he has begun
this work in us
in salvation.
For those of us
that have believed,
God has begun
this work in your heart.
And then what
encouragement we get.
As we read in verse six
and Paul says,
and I'm convinced
of this,
that the God
that has begun
this work
will finish
this work in you.
And that again
became an outpouring
of thanksgiving.
I'm thankful
for your partnership
but even more
than the partnership,
I'm thankful
for the God
that has sourced it,
for the God
that has provided it.
We take great comfort
in this verse.
Do you ever have moments
of doubt
in your walk
with Christ?
Of course.
We all do,
right?
Do you ever struggle
so much
with sinfulness
and your own
fleshly desires
in your life
that you wonder,
have I ever really
got a hold of this?
Can God really
continue on
working in me
in this way?
I keep falling
over and over again.
I'm not as committed
as this person is
or I can't seem
to get victory
in this area
or whatever it is.
Can I encourage you
with verse number six?
that he that has begun
a good work in you,
he will finish that work.
He will bring it
to completion.
Jesus said,
all that come to me
I will in no wise
cast out.
There's going to be days
that you don't feel
particularly saved.
Have days
like that.
Days
to be transparent
with you
that I follow my face
and beg God
to change my heart,
to change the way
that I think.
And I come back
to verses like this
and I take comfort
in the fact
that my Christian life,
the very fact
that I'm a Christian
has nothing to do
with me.
It has everything
to do
with God's power
in my life.
Paul recognized that
and it caused him
to offer thanksgiving
to the Lord.
We can be thankful
for that.
Thankful for one another
that as we see
each other's lives
that we're thankful
that God has promised
he will continue this work.
Thankful that
on our worst days
as believers
we can stop
and have joy
not because our circumstances
are great
or that we've gotten victory
over a particular
besetting sin
but we can stop
even in the midst of that
and we can have joy
because we understand
that God will not
let me go.
That because
he has done
this work of salvation
he will bring
this work of salvation
to completion
at the day
of Jesus Christ.
When Jesus returns
or when we die
and go to heaven.
Well not only do we see
Paul's joyful thanksgiving
but secondly
we see Paul's
supernatural love.
We see his
supernatural love.
This is in verses
seven and eight.
They express
a very warm affection
for the people here.
Let's look at them together.
It's right for me
to think this of you all
because I have you
in my heart
in as much
as both in my bonds
that is in the suffering
that he was experiencing
and also
as they defended
and confirmed the gospel.
They were partakers.
Again
koinonia
same word
partners with him
in the gospel
in his grace.
For God
is my witness
he says.
How greatly
I long for you
I yearn for you
in all the bowels
of Jesus Christ.
If you're using
a King James
that's a weird word.
In this particular context
it means
the seat of the emotions.
It's a reference
to affection.
Paul's saying here
I love you
and God is my witness
and I yearn after you
with the same affection
that Jesus Christ
yearns after you
and loves you.
It's because of his love
that I love you
and it's in that way
that I desire
to love you.
Jesus said
that our love
for one another
would be an evidence
of our genuine salvation.
Do you remember that
in John 13?
By this shall all men
know that you are
my disciples
if you have love
one to another.
Paul in another letter
to the Corinthian church
1 Corinthians chapter 13
expressed the nature
and the superiority
of Christian love.
Maybe some of you
have this as a picture
in your house somewhere.
Love is patient
and kind.
It does not envy
or boast.
It's not arrogant
or rude.
It does not insist
on its own way.
It's not irritable
or resentful.
It doesn't rejoice
in wrongdoing
but rejoices
in the truth.
Love bears all things.
It believes all things.
It hopes all things.
It endures all things.
The scriptures teach us
that love is the
greatest of Christian virtues
and here Paul is expressing
that love that he had
for the Philippian believers.
And I think it's a particular
example for us.
An example of three ways
that we can actually
exhibit this same love
for one another
at Lakeside Bible Church.
The first way is this.
His love was born
out of personal relationships.
His love was born
out of personal relationships.
Look at verse 7.
It's right for me
to think this of you all,
to have this feeling
for you all
because I have you
in my heart.
It's an interesting,
affectionate phrase
that he has here.
He holds them dearly
in his heart.
But you cannot hold
someone dear to your heart
that you have not
taken the time to know
and understand
in time spent together.
A number of us
went to a wedding
of a mutual friend
last night in Locust.
And it reminded me
of this kind of love.
Caroline and David
were married.
Many of you know them.
Caroline and David
were both teenagers
of mine in a youth group
at Laurel
for years and years
and years.
I've known Caroline
since she was probably
10 years old,
9 or 10 years old.
Last night she got married
and that made me
feel a little bit old.
But I remember
watching their relationship.
I remember when they
first started dating.
They started dating at church.
Maybe some of you
started dating at church.
That's where you met
your spouse.
And I remember seeing them
as they progressed
through this relationship
and as they developed
and this love
in their,
and for one another,
blossomed
in their relationship.
That only blossomed
because they were committed
to one another
in personal relationship,
right?
That's where it started.
The love began
to blossom in the early days
because at some point
they spent time together.
And it began to grow
and continue
in love for one another
because they spent
more time together.
And then it blossomed
into what has been
now a covenant
of lifelong marriage
with one another
because they grew
in this fellowship together.
How can we have
this same love
for one another
that Paul had
for the Philippian church?
It starts
with personal relationships.
Your life
in and through
Lakeside Bible Church
cannot be reduced
to a 90 minute service
on Sunday morning.
It won't work.
You'll be able
to come and worship.
You'll be able
to hear the truth
of the Bible
but you will never
bear this kind of love
for the other people here
until you determine
to commit
to building
personal relationships.
And there's simple things
we can do with that.
Come a little early
to service on Sunday
and just talk to people.
Stay a little later
after the service.
We intentionally
on Sundays
we intentionally
don't start to tear
all of this stuff
back down
until 20 or 30 minutes
after the service concludes
because I want us
to spend time together.
Come to the prayer fellowships
on Wednesday nights
at mine and Julie's house.
When we have
moments of fellowship together
ask somebody
to lunch today.
Ask somebody
that maybe you haven't
got to know yet
at our church
if they want to go
have lunch today
or if they want to have
dinner tonight.
Get to know people
in the church.
Develop this love
for one another.
Spend time together.
Not only was this love
born out of personal relationships
it was born out of that
same gospel partnership.
Look at verse 7
once again.
Paul says
in as much as both
in my bonds
and in the defense
and confirmation
of the gospel
y'all are partakers
of my grace.
Their faithfulness
to boldly proclaim
and defend the gospel
along with their willingness
to partner with him
in suffering
was foundational
to the love
that he felt.
Kent Hughes
again writing about
this particular verse
said that this is
the fellowship
of compatriots
bound together
in a great cause.
Paul says
I love you
because you have
fought the fight
with me.
You have served
alongside of me.
I don't love you
because you're just like me.
They were vastly different.
It was because
they were united
under a common cause.
Many of us
don't experience
this kind of love
this supernatural
godly love
for one another
because we never
engage in the fight.
I want to encourage you
this week
engage in the fight.
We have a mission
as a church
as believers.
Our mission
is to take the gospel
that has transformed
our lives
and to tell it
to as many people
as we can.
The people you work with
the family you know
your community
your neighbors
engage in this fight
and then when we
come together
talk to one another
about the fight
pray with one another
and let's watch
the bond that
God gives us
in love for one another
through it.
Thirdly
his love was born
out of love
for Christ.
Was born out of love
for Christ.
Look at verse 8
for God is my witness
how greatly I long
after you
in the infections
of Jesus Christ.
It's possible
to experience
a form of love
without Christ
just by building
personal relationships.
Perhaps before
your own salvation
there were plenty
of people in your life
that you loved.
It's possible
to have a form
of love
in particular
partnerships
that aren't
Christian related.
we've experienced
that as well.
It's impossible
to experience
the fullness
of love
without knowing
the love
of Christ.
The love
as Philippians
chapter 2
tells us
of a mighty God
a sovereign God
the creator
of all that is
coming
and humbling
himself
and becoming
in the form
of a servant
and was made
in the likeness
of men.
Why did he do that?
out of love
John 3
16
we know well
for God
so loved
the world
that he gave
his only son.
When you come
to grips
with the true love
that's demonstrated
in the gospel
and you understand
and experience
that love
it will transform
the way you love
others.
Sure the partnership
will grow your love.
Just spending time
together will grow
your love.
But when we come
together underneath
the banner
of Christ
there is no kind
of love
that any person
can experience
that is like
that love
the fullness
of it.
Thirdly and finally
we see Paul's
pastoral prayer.
We see his
joyful thanksgiving
we see
his supernatural
love
and then we see
his pastoral prayer.
I'll leave it to you
to dig deeper
into each and every
one of these
dynamics as we go in
but I will say this
Paul's prayer here
in verses 9 through 11
stand in contrast
to many of our prayers.
Paul didn't pray here
for ease
in his suffering
and he didn't really
pray for ease
in their suffering.
Surely that was a care
and a concern of his.
But his prayer
was focused in
on the spiritual
needs of the people.
Let me just mention
to him quickly
what he prays for.
The first thing
that he prays for
is that their love
would continue.
Look at verse number 9.
This I pray
that your love
may abound
yet more and more
in knowledge
and in all judgment.
So Paul prays
it's a very pastoral prayer.
I pray God
that I'm thankful
for them
they bring me joy
but I pray that you
would help their love
to continue.
Secondly
his prayer was
that they would examine
what is best.
Look at verse 10
that you may approve
the things
that are excellent.
This is the difference
between good and best
and Paul prayed
that on this progression
that as they grew
in their knowledge
of the scriptures
and their love
for one another
that they would learn
to choose
not just good things
but the best things.
They would have discernment.
They would make wise choices
in their walk with Christ.
When John Wesley
went away to Oxford
John MacArthur writes
his mother Susanna
wisely wrote this
in one of her letters
to him.
She said
whatever weakens
your reason
impairs the tenderness
of your conscience
obscures your sense
of God
or takes off
the delight
for spiritual things
whatever increases
the authority
of your body
over your mind
that thing is sin.
I think that's
what Paul is alluding
to here.
He prays
whatever is in your life
even if it's a good thing
it's not necessarily
a bad thing
whatever in your life
pulls you away
from walking
closer with Christ
and moving
towards Christ
that thing
for you
has now become sin
and his prayer
for them
is that their love
would abound
but that as their love
abounds in knowledge
and in discernment
that they would learn
to choose
not just helpful
things in life
but they would choose
the best things
in lives
the things that would
push them further
towards God
in a walk with him.
The third element
of his prayer
was that they would
experience purity
and blamelessness
ahead of Christ's return.
Look again at verse 10
that you may be sincere
that's purity
and without offense
that's blamelessness
till the day of Christ.
He reminds them
of the reality
that Christ is
coming back
and that when he returns
or when this life
is over
we will stand
before him
as judge
and we will give
account for our lives
and so we praise
that the spirit
would continue
to work in them
to make them holy
and pure
and blameless
so that they could
stand before Christ
with joy.
Fourthly
he prays
that they would
bear the fruit
of the righteousness
of Christ.
Look at verse 11
being filled
with the fruits
of righteousness
which are by
Jesus Christ.
He tells us
in the book
of Galatians
what those fruits
begin with
love
joy
peace
long-suffering
patience
gentleness
goodness
gentleness
goodness
faith
or faithfulness
meekness
temperance
are these things
evidenced in your life
these fruits
of the spirit
these things
that God provides
as we
abound in love
and knowledge
and discernment
as we choose
what is best
and not just
what is good
as we seek
to live a pure
life
that all results
in the bearing
of Christian fruit
of the fruit
of righteousness
that God provides
to our lives.
Paul prayed
that these believers
would experience that
and it all culminates
in this last thing
and we're done.
It was a prayer
for the glory
of God.
It was a prayer
for the glory
of God.
Look at verse 11
being filled
with the fruits
of righteousness
which are by
Jesus Christ
unto what?
The glory
and praise
of God.
We make God
a man-centered God
don't we?
God certainly loves us.
We just talked about that
John 3 16
he certainly has
a tremendous amount
of love for us
but greater even
than God's love
for us
is God's concern
for his own glory.
He's more concerned
that your life
glorify him
than he is concerned
that your life
be filled
with whatever measure
of happiness
you would like
it to be filled
with.
It's why God
allows good people
believers
to go through
difficult circumstances.
It's all for the
purpose
of his glory.
Paul's writing
to a group
of believers
in Philippi
that are sharing
in his suffering.
In fact
when he gets
to the end
of chapter 1
we'll discover
it in a couple
of weeks
he commends
them to look
at their suffering
as a grace
from God
because this
grace
and suffering
is actually
for the purpose
of God's glory.
God's glory
is a difficult
thing to define.
I think the best
description
that I've heard
of him
is that it's
God's holiness
his perfection
everything in his
majesty
and his greatness
demonstrated
in us
and in the way
that we live
and in the things
that we do.
It's a manifestation
of his holiness
so that when Paul
prays for this
people
and he prays
for the fruit
of Christ's
righteousness
and their knowledge
to grow
all of these things
what he's actually
praying for
is that God
would receive
glory in them.
Can I tell you
that I pray
this prayer
for you
and I hope
you pray it
for me
and I hope
you pray it
for one another.
Miss Faith
we prayed this
morning that
you'd feel better
we know your
back's been down.
We prayed
for several of us
in our prayer
fellowship
just a couple
of Wednesdays ago
we all took
down requests
and we prayed
for one another's
physical needs
but can I tell you
I pray for those
things I care
about those
things but
more than any
of those things
what I pray
for you
is that you
will love
the Lord
that you
will love
his word
that his word
would do its
work in your
heart
in a tremendous
way so much
so that you
would bear the
fruit of Christ's
righteousness in
your life so that
you and I
together can bring
glory to God
because more than
anything else in
our lives
God is concerned
ultimately for his
own glory.
He's not a man
centered God
he's a God
centered God
and why
shouldn't he be?
He is the one
true God
he deserves
every bit of
our attention
every bit of
our affection
and so as we
begin this study
in the book of
Philippians and
we see this
preview really in
Paul's greeting
in these first
11 verses
we come to
understand that
the ultimate
purpose of
Paul's writing
and his
exhortation
is not just
that they
would experience
joy
but that the
root of that
joy would
bring glory
to God
specifically
their partnership
and I'm
thankful to you
for your
partnership
many of you
that I've
sacrificed so
much in
order to be a
part of this
church plant
I love you
not just because
you're my
friend I love
you because you
are partnering
with me in
this
we're partnering
together in
this it's not
about me
and my
hope is that
we'll pray for
one another
that we'll
glorify the
Lord and
we'll glorify
him in the
way that he
sees fit to
be glorified
whether that
be through
life or
through death
as Paul will
say next
week as we
study that
his ultimate
purpose of
glory would be
fulfilled in
us
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