to begin our worship by singing to God's praise. We're going to sing in Psalm 100 in the Scottish
Psalter, the first version of the psalm, page 362, in the tune is Finart. We'll sing the whole of
the psalm. All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice, and say with
mirth his praise forth tell, come ye before him and rejoice. We'll sing the whole of this psalm
to God's praise.
Amen.
This Lord can bless His name always, for it is seemly so to do.
For while the Lord our God is good, His mercy is forever sure,
His truth at all times firmly stood, and shall from age to age endure.
Our united hearts in prayer, let us pray.
Amen.
And we thank You today, Lord, that we have Your Word before us, for it speaks to us.
It communicates to us Your wonderful grace and how good You have been to us.
And may we seek to learn more and more from it.
We are surrounded by different kinds of teaching.
We are surrounded in a world that communicates in so many different ways to us.
Adverts and television and media of all sorts, they come to us each and every day,
speaking to us different messages.
But we thank You that You are the God of the greatest message of all, the message of the
gospel, the good news of Jesus.
And so help us to hear it and help us to share it with others as well.
That as we are invited by You to come, that we would invite others to come, to come and hear of the wonder of Jesus,
the one who came to save His people.
And so may You bless us together today in our service times.
May You bless the Sunday school, the Crescent, the Tweenies as well.
Lord, look over them and bless them.
Be with all the teachers in the Sunday school.
Bless them and be with them as they prepare for lessons.
Be with the children as they hear.
Lord, give them to hear Your Word and to understand it and to live by it.
We thank You too for our schools during the week, for all the teachers and staff and the children who attend schools day by day.
May Your blessing and peace be upon each place of learning.
And may they know Your goodness to them as well.
So Lord, look down upon us, continue to bless us and to keep us and to guide us in all things as we ask it all with the forgiveness of our sins.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Well, I wonder who here, young or old alike, if you're excited when you see the postie coming.
Maybe there's some days that you're looking out the window, wondering what time the postie will arrive.
Other days you may be not bothered, you may be not expecting anything.
Now, there's certain days of the year you might be looking out for a postie coming for a particular reason.
It may be it's your birthday or it may be it's another special occasion like Christmas time.
And you're wondering, will the postie bring you something?
And so you're waiting and getting excited.
And hopefully when the postie arrives, you may get something in the post that cheers you up, that makes you thankful.
Other times you might be thinking, oh, no, there was nothing today and you have to wait for another time when the postie comes.
And the postie's got an important job.
They're given bundles and bundles of letters and parcels and they can't decide one day, oh, it's too wet.
I'm not going out in that rain.
I'm going to wait for a sunny day so I can go out when the weather's better.
They have to go out whatever the weather and deliver the mail, whatever that mail is.
They have a very important job to do.
Now, on the notice sheet, as I was highlighting before, we were talking about having a family service two weeks today for Easter.
It'll be Easter Sunday and we want to have a family service.
But we also want to think about inviting people along.
Now, you think how excited you are when you're waiting for the postie to come, maybe for a birthday.
And you think the postie's going to have something.
But what about when you get a surprise?
When something arrives in the post and you weren't expecting it, a letter from some friend somewhere or a partial, a gift from someone that you weren't expecting,
how that cheers you up, how it makes you feel so pleased that someone's remembered you.
Well, just think about that in the way that we can give invitations to people to church.
Some people might be just waiting for an invitation and nobody's bringing it.
And they'll be disappointed.
Others maybe aren't expecting an invitation.
So when you give it to them, it might cheer them up that you've remembered them, that you've thought of them.
And so it's important for us to think, too, that we, all of us together, have an important part to play, to invite people along to church.
It might be something they're waiting for, or it might be something that cheers them up and makes them glad that you've remembered them.
It might be just what they need to come along and to hear and gather with us together as we come to hear the good news of Jesus.
And just like the posties, they don't make excuses that the weather's too wet or too cold to go out with their post.
Well, let's not make our own excuses not to deliver the invitation.
We can make lots of different excuses not to invite or to give an invitation to someone.
But let's just think, well, we're inviting them to hear about Jesus.
And that's what counts.
And even if there's people listening online today as well, I invite you to come along and to gather with us and to be together to hear about Jesus.
So let's think about inviting, because God invites us to himself to come to him.
And then he tells us to invite others to come and see this Jesus and all his glory and all his love towards us.
So may God help us as we think about that and think over these coming days who we can invite and to go and invite people to come along to worship with us.
Well, we're going to say the Lord's Prayer together now.
Amen.
Well, let's sing to God's praise once again.
We're singing in Psalm 45a, in the Sing Psalms version, page 56 of the psalm books.
Psalm 45a, we'll sing from verse 1 to 6.
And the tune is Herder's Field.
A noble theme inspires my heart with verses for the king.
My tongue's a skillful writer's pen.
Composing lines to sing.
We'll sing from verse 1 to 6.
To God's praise.
Amen.
A noble theme inspires my heart with verses for the king.
My tongue's a skillful writer's pen.
Composing lines to sing.
You far excel the best of men.
Your lips are full of grace.
For God's light.
For God has blessed you evermore.
This light shines on your face.
O mighty one, take up your sword, and find it on your thigh.
With God's splendor.
Clothe yourself and with your majesty.
Bright court and state victoriously.
For meekness, truth and pride.
Let your light hand display your deeds of awesome power and height.
Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of those who hate the king.
And all the nations of the earth into subjection bring.
Your royal throne, O God, will last throughout eternity.
Your kingdom's center will be one of truth and equity.
Well, we'll turn to read together in God's word.
We're going to read in Paul's letter to the Philippians.
Our main reading is going to be in chapter 4 from verse 10 down to the end.
I just want to read the opening verses in chapter 1 as well.
Just the first two verses there in Philippians chapter 1.
You find this around page 1178.
So in the beginning of the letter, Paul says this,
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi with the overseers and deacons,
grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's his opening to this letter.
And then we're going to read in chapter 4 from verse 10 downwards.
And our focus today is really going to be on the close,
the closing part of this letter.
So we're going to read from verse 10.
I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me.
You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.
Not that I am speaking of being in need,
for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound.
In any and every circumstance,
I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.
And you, Philippians, yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel,
when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me,
giving and receiving, except you only.
Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once and again.
Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.
I have received full payment and more.
I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent,
a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.
The brothers who are with me greet you.
All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Amen.
And may God bless that reading from his word.
So again, just unite our hearts together in prayer.
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, as we continue in our worship,
we thank you for all the riches that are ours in Christ Jesus,
that we have a God who is able to abundantly supply all of our needs,
and that there are many things that we take for granted on a daily basis.
Help us and remind us that all that is ours is through your generosity to us.
For all is yours, and you are the one who supplies.
And we pray, Lord, that as we are blessed with so much,
that we would not forget you.
It is so easily done when we think of ourselves more and more,
when we give praise to ourselves or to those around us,
instead of looking up and looking to you.
And Lord, we pray that not just for ourselves today,
but for our people all around us,
for our nation and the world in which we live,
that we would recognize that every good
and every perfect gift is from above,
from the one who does not change,
the one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever,
that we would realize that you alone are God,
that you alone are worthy of worship and praise.
And how quickly our lives can change in that sense,
when we can go, even as Paul describes,
from plenty to need,
from having everything to having nothing, as it were,
how quickly and how easily our lives can change in that way.
And yet, even in Paul's own situation,
he was able to find what it was to be content,
to have that true joy of salvation in his heart.
And that was through knowing Christ Jesus.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
And we thank you, Lord,
that you are the one who gives strength for all our needs.
That day by day, Lord,
that we would recognize the strength that you have given in the past,
the strength that you have given for this day,
and the strength that you will give us as we go on in this world.
For your grace is always sufficient,
and you supply, O Lord, as we need.
And so help us that we will depend upon you
and lean upon you in all of these things.
And we know that as we pray,
we can pray for others too,
that many more would come and know the wonder of your grace
and the wonder of your help
in the midst of many different and difficult situations
that people find themselves in.
We know the struggles of this life are so real
and so many at times,
that there is grief,
that there is sorrow and sadness,
that there is ill health,
that there is worry and anxiety,
that there are so many things
that are never far from our doorstep.
We can feel overwhelmed at times.
We can feel as if we're in the darkness of despair.
And yet, Lord, we thank you
that you are able to provide
even in the midst of all of that.
You are able to provide comfort.
You are able to provide help
and strength and light
and all that belongs to you.
And so we pray that, Lord,
together we would know
your help in every circumstance
and that people all around us
would come to know that help for themselves.
And we do remember, Lord,
all the different needs.
We pray for those who are grieving
in their hearts today.
We thank you, Lord,
that you are a God of all comfort.
We pray for those who are going through
times of ill health,
going through times of treatment for ill health,
going through anxious waiting
on results or appointments to take place.
Lord, may you give grace as they need.
We pray, Lord, for those around our communities
who are struggling financially,
those who are anxious about work,
those who are anxious about family.
Lord, again, we pray for you to come,
to come in your power,
to come in your grace
and to give us, O Lord,
a burden for them as well.
We pray to you and thank you, Lord,
that life has its joys as well.
We thank you that there are many reasons
for giving thanks to you.
We give thanks, Lord,
that you provide new life
for babies who are born
into our communities.
Lord, we thank you for that,
for those who are going through
times of pregnancy.
Lord, we pray your help
and protection over them.
For those who are going through
times of preparing for marriage,
for those who are coming to membership
in our congregation
or other congregations,
we thank you for these times of joy
where we see and know your spirit working.
We thank you, Lord,
that you are a God of many promises
and that you, O Lord,
are able to bless beyond
what we even ask or imagine.
So, Lord, hear our prayers
of petition and thanksgiving
as we offer them up to you.
We pray for the work of the gospel
in our own midst
and far and wide.
We think of things going on
throughout this coming week
and in the weeks ahead as well.
We pray for the Friday at the Free
and thank you for all
who have helped there
and for the encouragement received
through seeing many people
coming through our doors.
We pray your spirit to work
in the midst of that.
We thank you for the work
of the Free Church camps.
For those of our own number
who are going away as campers
and leaders,
we pray for them, Lord,
that you will bless these times to them.
We thank you for the carry night
being organized
and pray, Lord,
for a good response,
for a blessed evening
and for encouragements there.
O Lord, may your hand
be upon it for good.
Remember those who are organizing
the camps.
We pray for Maddie Beaton
and pray for others who help,
for all the leaders
who are preparing.
Lord, may your hand be upon them
for good as well.
We thank you for the teaching
of your word as well
and we pray for Precepts Scotland
as they come and visit
for a weekend in April.
We pray for events to be held
for young people and adults
to help us to learn together
from your word,
how to read it,
how to understand it,
how to share it.
We thank you for every opportunity
we have for all of these things.
And Lord, we above all just pray
for your spirit to work,
for to know your power upon us,
Lord.
We cannot do it ourselves,
not by might,
not by power,
but by my spirit,
says the Lord.
And we thank you
that you have promised
the Holy Spirit.
And we pray in his name too
and the name of our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ,
for you to come in your power,
to come and revive us,
to come and do us good.
Continue with us in our worship
at this time and into the evening.
Watch over us this day, Lord.
Give us from your word
to be refreshed and encouraged.
Give us rest for our bodies
and our souls.
And renew us, Lord,
as we go on into the week ahead.
Go before us, Lord,
in all things.
Hear our prayers then
and watch over us now,
forgiving us for all our sin,
as we ask it all in Jesus' name.
Amen.
We're going to sing together
to God's praise this time
in Psalm 145.
And let's sing Psalms.
Psalm 145,
page 190 of the Psalm books.
We'll sing from verse 8
down to verse 18.
The tune is eventide.
The Lord is gracious
and compassionate.
He's slow to anger,
rich in steadfast love.
The Lord is good
to all that he has made
and merciful to all on earth
that move.
We'll sing from verse 8
down to verse 18
to God's praise.
The Lord is gracious
and compassionate.
低 in�면ian glory,
honor the Lord is good
the God's blessing
and good
himself.
The heart of their
salvation is good
and sorry about
God,
the Lord is good
and merciful to all
of
earth.
to all of it.
Amen.
All you have made
will give you praise,
O Lord.
Your saints will all
die to bless your name.
The glory of your reign
they will declare,
and your surpassing might
they will proclaim.
Thus all will hear
how hard your mighty act
unto the glorious
splendor of your reign.
Your kingdom will enter
for evermore.
Our all-time year to me
and will remain.
The Lord is faithful
to his promises,
to all that he has made
his love is shown.
The Lord himself
upholds all those who fall,
and lifts up everyone
who is out of town.
All eyes are blessed
except for me to you,
and in your season
you supply their food.
You open my dear
and to all that live,
and satisfy their needs
with all his food.
The Lord is just
and good in all his ways.
He shows his love
to all that he has paid.
The Lord is near
to all who fall on him,
to all who fall in truth
to him,
for he.
Let's turn back to our reading
in Paul's letter
to the Philippians chapter 4.
And we're reading at the end
of the chapter there
at verse 19,
down to the end.
My God will supply
every need of yours
according to his riches
and glory in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father
be glory
forever and ever.
Amen.
Greet every saint
in Christ Jesus.
The brothers who are with me
greet you.
All the saints greet you,
especially those
of Caesar's household.
The grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ
be with your spirit.
As we look to this letter,
it is a letter of joy
that Paul wrote
to the church at Philippi.
He was rejoicing in them
and with them
for all their goodness
towards him
and towards their faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
As you read through the letter,
you find there is so much
of that sense of rejoicing.
And we should open it up
as a letter to ourselves
to be excited about what God
has to say to us.
I remember when I was in school
being taught how you were to write
a letter.
It was one of these exercises
that you wanted to learn
just how you would go about
writing a letter
and the different kinds
of letters
that you might write.
We were told
the kind of things
that were important
to put on the letter.
The date,
who it was from,
how you started it,
how the main body
of the letter
was to be written
and what was to be included in it.
But we were also told
about how you write
at the end of the letter
and what it means
and how you write
at the end of the letter.
If you were writing
a general letter
starting,
Dear Sir, Madam,
it would end
yours faithfully.
Or if you were writing
and you knew the person's name,
you would put Dear,
whoever,
and you would say at the end
yours sincerely.
Now it doesn't sound
much of a difference,
yours faithfully
or yours sincerely,
but what was being emphasized
was how it would be received.
And the difference
it would make
to the person
who was receiving it.
If you get them mixed up,
it would cause
a little bit of confusion.
But when you look at
God's Word,
and when we look at
especially maybe Paul's letters
in the New Testament,
there's a danger for us
where we don't pay attention
to the small details.
The little details
that would make a difference
in the letter
we write to someone
is the same as true
in how Paul writes,
but how we see it
as God writing
through him,
and how the little details
are important as well.
As you're reading through
the letter to the Philippines,
there's so much to take in
and to learn
that you can think that
that's what is so important.
But the beginning and the end
highlight for us
the bookends of the letter.
That's why we read
in the opening verses as well.
As Paul writes,
he says there in verse 2
of chapter 1,
grace to you and peace
from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is who is writing
to the people.
It's the grace of God
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And as you come to the conclusion
of the letter,
he's not writing
yours faithfully, Paul,
or yours sincerely, Paul.
He doesn't even mention
his own name.
He says there in the very last verse,
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
be with your spirit.
And that's important for us
to remember as well.
There are many ways
that we can communicate today.
In many ways,
the art of letter writing
is a dying art.
We have so many other ways
to communicate.
Text messages,
emails,
cards,
and sometimes letters.
It can be short,
it can be long,
but it's what's behind it
that counts.
It's what's behind it
that makes all the difference.
That you are writing,
you're getting in touch
getting in touch with someone,
to let them know
that you're thinking of them.
In whatever situation
it might be.
It might be just saying hello.
It might be just saying congratulations.
It might be saying,
I'm sorry to hear your news.
Whatever it is,
it's just that you are remembering them.
And what we have before us here,
it's not just a letter from Paul to the church.
It is God's word to his church,
to Philippi,
as it is to Stornway,
to ourselves today.
Because God wrote his book
to communicate with his people.
The word of God together
is God's way of communicating to us.
And it's reminding us of his concern
and his compassion
and his love towards us
as he writes to us.
Sometimes it's just in the ordinary
day-to-day situations.
Other times,
it's in the times of joy
that we hear God's word speaking to us.
Other times,
it's in the times of deep sorrow or anxiety
that we hear God's word speaking to us.
And we are to take our time
to read it as God's word to us
for every and any circumstance.
And to see his great love towards us.
That he has remembered us as a people.
And like many letters
can be sealed with a sense of love behind them.
God's word to us is sealed
with the greatest sense of love.
It is sealed by his grace.
Grace through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through the one who gave himself for us.
And that's what we see at the conclusion
of this letter.
And that's what we're going to focus on
just for a few moments together this morning.
As we see the close of this letter of joy
that Paul wrote to the Philippians.
In his signing off here,
there's three things that remind us
of God's abundant provision
towards his people.
Three things that we see here.
We see glory
and where that glory is to be given.
We see greetings
and how these greetings
are to be received and given.
But we also see grace.
Grace.
Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So beginning at verse 19,
I want to see these three things.
The glory to God.
The greetings to one another.
And the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So first we see the glory of God.
In verse 19 there it says,
And my God will supply every need of yours
according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father be glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Twice the word glory is used there.
And the context is important for us here.
When we start reading at verse 10,
we see the context into which Paul is writing to the church at Philippi.
They have been very generous towards Paul in his ministry.
He rejoices greatly, he says in verse 10,
that you have revived your concern for me.
That they have been able to give to him once again.
Something that they've been doing on a regular basis,
as you see, as you read through these verses.
In verse 14, in the middle of that verse,
When I left Macedonia,
no church entered into partnership with me
in giving and receiving except only you.
Even in Thessalonica, a rich place.
You sent me help for my needs once and again.
And Philippi wasn't as rich as other places.
But they were giving out of their generosity.
They were giving out of their thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving for Paul's ministry.
But above all, thanksgiving to God.
They were generous because God had been good to them.
They were giving glory to God.
It's easy to take glory to ourselves.
It's easy to praise ourselves.
But who is worthy of all our praise?
God alone.
And that's what Paul is making clear at the end of this letter.
My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus.
He's encouraging them to continue to be generous in light of God's goodness to them.
And so are we generous to God in this way?
Are we a people who are generous to God in all that we are doing?
Are we generous in giving him praise and glory in all that we do?
Are we generous in giving our lives to him?
NeverWhy aren't they going to Iismany psalm
So she gave her daughter a pound coin and a five pound note.
And she said to her, put whichever one you want into the collection plate and keep the other one for yourself.
A little test.
Put one into the collection plate and keep the other to yourself.
And so they sat through the sermon.
And part of the sermon in the church they were in was that a giving's plate would be passed round at a certain point in the service.
And after the service, as we were leaving the church, the mother asked the daughter, well, what did you give?
And the daughter started replying by saying, well, I was going to give the five pound note.
But then the man in the pulpit said that we are to be cheerful givers.
And so I thought to myself then for a moment, I'll be much more cheerful if I give the pound.
So I put the pound in.
Now that's not what God means by being cheerful givers.
It's not about making ourselves happy.
It's about being cheerful and recognizing all that God has done for us.
And being generous in what we give to him.
So what are you willing to give to God?
And what do you see that God has given to you?
When you look at verse 19 there,
My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Every need is met in Christ Jesus.
He has supplied our every need.
If your birthday is approaching or when Christmas is coming, like we were saying to the young ones earlier, there's a sense of anticipation.
I wonder what I'll get.
There's an excitement in that thought, but also sometimes an element of doubt.
I wonder will I get what I want?
I wonder will I get what I've asked for?
I wonder sometimes if I'll get anything at all.
But when you look at Philippi and the people of God there and Paul himself,
they weren't looking at God in this way.
They weren't saying, I wonder will God supply.
Because look at what Paul says,
My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
He will.
It's not might.
God might give.
Or God could give that in some ways dependent on you.
But no, it's my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches.
Do you doubt God in his supply?
Do you doubt God that he is able to meet everything that you need in Christ Jesus?
Paul doesn't.
And that's what he's encouraging the church at Philippi and ourselves to remember,
that God will supply our every need in Christ Jesus.
People in management, people in politics,
they sometimes go through that period when things aren't going well.
And they receive what's often called the dreaded vote of confidence.
It comes, if you think of a football manager,
going through a period of poor results.
It comes in the midst of this run of poor results.
And they'll come out with a statement.
The board has given him the vote of confidence.
And then a few days later, they're sacked.
They don't have confidence that the manager is able to turn things around.
And it's mere words, a token gesture of a vote of confidence.
And it's called the dreaded vote of confidence
because it usually means that a change is coming.
But Paul here is reminding us that God is a God who is able to turn things around.
That when things aren't going right, when things aren't going well,
that he is able to turn things around.
That he can and will supply our every need.
And that that is why we are to give glory to God.
Because he is able.
He is able and he has done so much for us
through the riches that we have in Christ Jesus.
You think of when God came down to this world in his son, Christ Jesus.
The birth of Jesus.
When the angels met the shepherds out in the field,
they were singing,
Glory to God in the highest.
And that's the song that we can still sing.
Glory to God in the highest.
To our God and Father be glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Full stop.
Give glory to God.
For he is worthy.
Well then we see the second thing here is the greetings to one another.
And it says here as he's concluding his letter,
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.
The brothers who are with me greet you.
And all the saints greet you,
especially those of Caesar's household.
How we greet and are greeted.
As you come to the conclusion of this letter,
it's Paul reminding them to be united,
to be together in the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.
They've been reminded of the joy that there is in the Lord.
The rejoicing that there is in the Lord.
The rejoicing that there is
and sharing in the work of the gospel together.
Now he's reminding them that this joy can be shown
in how you greet one another.
And greet here is literally a word used in other places.
It's for salute.
Salute one another.
Don't go past one another without acknowledging
and saluting, greeting one another.
And the letter opened with this sense of greeting as well.
As he's writing to them in the opening verses,
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi,
with the overseers and deacons,
grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's greetings in his name.
Greetings through the riches that are ours in Christ.
And that's what he's reminding them to go on
in that sense of togetherness here as well.
Greet one another.
Encourage one another.
Remember one another.
Look out for one another.
And you think of the people he mentions here as well.
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.
The brothers who are with me greet you.
And you think, that's great, that's fine.
But then he says, all the saints greet you,
especially those of Caesar's household.
And you think to yourself,
well, what's important about Caesar's household?
Well, Caesar was the ruler at the time.
Caesar was the one under whose name Paul
was being held in prison.
Caesar's household was the guards who was keeping him.
And you think, well, here's the church at Philippi
hearing that they are to greet Caesar's household
who would be almost seen as the enemy,
the ones who are holding Paul.
And yet he's saying, greet them.
And what's made the difference?
Well, it's those who are of, greet the saints.
So there are saints now in Caesar's household.
That even through Paul's imprisonment,
nothing has been wasted by God.
That God has used this imprisonment
to bring people to know Jesus.
Even people who are sworn enemies of Christians
and the Christian faith, Caesar's household,
some have been converted.
And it's a reason for rejoicing.
It's a reason to remember the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the wonder of that grace
that makes all the difference.
the wonder of that grace
that we invite people to come and hear of.
The wonder of that grace
that can unite all people.
The saints in Christ Jesus.
The brothers who are with me.
The saints.
All the saints greet you,
especially Caesar's household.
That God has people everywhere.
And that in that,
we can rejoice.
that God's abundant provision
is that he is saving his people
here, there, and everywhere.
And it's wonderful when we hear
God saving people.
God's work of salvation.
God working in power
to bring people
to know the grace and the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And in that, we can rejoice
that God is working.
That God is drawing people
to himself.
And that together,
we see that and rejoice
in that as well.
And that together,
we share in that.
And then we share
with one another.
And it's a reminder here
as Paul is concluding his letter,
greet, salute, remember,
encourage, help.
All of these things are bound up
in what he's saying.
Quietly love one another.
Graciously receive one another.
As Paul speaks here,
he's speaking about fellowship.
And fellowship is all through
the New Testament.
It's the togetherness
of God's people,
of sharing with one another.
And I read a thing about
Charles Spurgeon
and his wife recently.
And it was something
that I was surprised
to read of.
And it was a simple story.
And it reminds us
of just what it means
to be there for one another.
Charles Spurgeon
and his wife,
they had hens.
And as their hens
would lay eggs,
they would sell the eggs.
They refused to give them away.
They would always sell them,
even to close relatives.
They were told,
well, if you want eggs,
you have to pay for them.
And this led to them
being criticized.
People thought
they were selfish
and greedy.
And why is it
that they would do this
and not just give them away?
And it wasn't until after
Spurgeon's wife passed away
that it became known
just what was behind it all.
all the money
that they received
from selling eggs
was used to support
two widows.
They would receive criticism,
but they wouldn't
defend themselves.
They didn't want to know
that they were helping
or that these women
were being helped.
They just quietly did it
and accepted the criticism.
And that is fellowship
in the gospel.
Looking out for one another.
And that is the greetings
that we are to share
and to show
to those around us,
to all the saints,
to all who are in Christ,
even those who surprise us
that they are in Christ,
those of Caesar's household.
How many people
have we seen surprises
in their coming to the Lord,
maybe even questioned
whether it's real?
But we are to greet
one another.
greet one another
in Christ Jesus.
And then finally,
you have these closing words.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
be with your spirit.
Paul closes this letter
with what we would call
a benediction.
And a benediction
is something
that you will hear
at every service.
You'll hear it at funerals.
You'll hear it whenever
the gospel is being preached.
But we can just kind of,
as we do with a closing
of a letter,
we can just glance over it
as unimportant.
We can start looking
for our keys
when the minister says
we're going to close
with a benediction.
We can start sorting
ourselves out.
And yet,
it's such an important thing.
So what is
a benediction?
What is Paul
closing with here?
The grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ
be with your spirit.
He's closing with words
that are not just
his own.
Or a blessing
that's just
from himself.
He's closing
with the blessing
of God.
A reminder
that the word of God
is from God
himself.
That God
is speaking
to us.
that God
wants
what is good
for us.
That God
remembers us.
And so that as we go
from here
and as the church
at Philippi
was receiving
this letter
and coming to the
close of this letter,
that they would go on
in the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is what it is
for ourselves
as well.
to go from here
under the blessing
of God
and to know
God
with us
and to know
the grace
of the Lord
Jesus Christ
with our spirit.
Think of yourselves
even as you go home
today.
You'll go home
perhaps
and you'll sit
at the table
whether it's with family
and friends
or just by yourself.
you'll sit
and you'll eat
something
and as we do
we will say
a word of grace
before we have
our food.
Or just think
of these words.
The grace
of the Lord
Jesus Christ
be with
your spirit.
Grace,
a word of thanks
before a meal
can just become
another habit,
another routine,
another ritual
and we just
say the words
and we eat.
But do we think
about what
our words mean?
Do we think
about what is
before us?
That we are
thanking the Lord
for the food
that we have,
for the blessings
that we enjoy
from his hand,
that he enables
us to go on
in his strength.
Without
the grace
of the Lord
Jesus Christ
we have nothing.
but in it
we remember
that God
has remembered
us.
Whether it's
sitting at a meal
or whatever
we are doing
we do it
by the grace
of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
And even as
you sit at a meal
today
remember the
provision,
the abundant
provision that
God is preparing
for his people.
A meal,
a banquet
prepared for
those of his
people
who will come
into his glory
and share
with him.
We have an
abundance
because he
who was rich
for our sake
became poor.
That Christ
came into
this world
to give
himself for us.
What Paul
has written
earlier in this
letter in
chapter 2
those wonderful
words,
have this mind
among yourselves
which is yours
in Christ Jesus
who,
though he was
in the form
of God
did not
count equality
with God
a thing to be
grasped
but made
himself
nothing.
Taking the
form of a
servant
being born
in the likeness
of men
and so it
goes on
to the point
where it
describes himself
giving his
life
on a tree.
He emptied
himself.
He made
himself
nothing.
He was rich
but for
our sakes
he became
poor.
Why?
So that we
might be rich
through him.
The grace
of the Lord
Jesus Christ
is something
precious.
Something to
give thanks
for.
Something to
remember
every day.
Back in
2015
Mark Zuckerberg
the creator
of Facebook
and who made
a fortune
out of it
he announced
that he was
going to
spend or
give 99%
of his
wealth
to charity
and his
wealth
even at that
point
was no
small figure.
He was
worth
roughly
45 billion
dollars
at that
time.
He was
going to
give away
99%
still
leaving
with
450
million
dollars.
You think
well
give it
away
and still
be left
rich.
the creator
of Facebook
a billionaire.
Well think
about what
the Lord
has given
for us.
The creator
of the
heavens
and the
earth.
Not
99%
but 100%
gave his
all.
He gave
his life
that we
might have
life
in him.
That we
might have
the grace
of the
Lord Jesus
Christ
in our
spirit.
That we
might have
him with
us as
we sit
at a
meal.
We
remember
as we
give
thanks
he is
present.
That we
remember
his grace
as we
sit with
loved
ones
as they
pass away
that he
is with
us.
That we
remember
his grace
when we
are sick
or someone
else is
sick
that he
is with
us.
That we
remember
his grace
when we
are in
these
times of
joy and
gladness
that he
is with
us.
This letter
reminds us
of his
great love
that he
has
remembered
us
that he
has not
forgotten
us.
And the
benediction
that he
concludes
with
reminds us
of all
of these
things.
The glory
of God
the greetings
the fellowship
that we
have
in Christ
and the
grace
that is
ours
through
him.
I often
quote
older hymns
but there's
some new
ones that
speak to
us as
well and
this one
from Australia
speaks of
the grace
of God.
What gift
of grace
is Jesus
my Redeemer?
There is
no more
for heaven
now to
give.
He is
my joy
my righteousness
and freedom
my steadfast
love
my deep
and boundless
peace.
What gift
of grace
is Jesus
my Redeemer?
And here
we have
the grace
of the
Lord Jesus
Christ
who is
with us.
May we
know
that gift
of grace
and hold
fast to
him as
he holds
fast to
us.
Let us
pray.
our
Father in
heaven we
rejoice in
the hope
that is
ours in
Christ
that whatever
our circumstances
plenty or need
we can rejoice
in his
strength and
help us to
give glory
and praise
to him.
Help us to
greet and
fellowship with
one another
through him
and help us
to know
the grace
and the
strength that
that gives
of our
Lord Jesus
Christ
with our
spirit as
we ask it
in his
name.
Amen.
Let's
conclude by
singing to
God's praise
in Psalm
28.
The Sing
Psalms version
Psalm 28
on page
33.
We'll
sing from
verse 6
to 9
6 down
to the end
of the
psalm.
Psalm 28
on page
33.
Praise to
the Lord
for he has
heard the
plea for
mercy which
I made.
He is my
strength,
he is my
shield,
I trust
in him
who sends
me aid.
The tune is
Warrington
and we'll
sing these
three stanzas.
Praise to
the Lord
for he
he has
hurt the
plea for
mercy which
I
need.
He is my
strength,
he is my
shield,
I trust in
him who
sends me
heed.
My heart
uplifted
for joy,
my
thanks to
him I
gladly
sing.
The
Lord all
is his
people's
strength,
love,
a saving
fortress
for his
king.
Lord,
save your
people,
your own
flock,
be
pleased
your
heritage
to
bless,
be
their
good
shepherd,
carry
them
forever
in
your
faithfulness.
Lord,
bless.
I will
close with
a
benediction.
Now may
grace,
mercy,
and peace
from God
our
Father,
God our
Son,
and the
Holy Spirit
be with us
all now
and forever
more.
Amen.