1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,240 Reading Philippians 1 starting at verse 3. 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:10,520 I thank my God every time I remember you. 3 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:15,080 In all my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy because of your partnership 4 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:20,960 in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began 5 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:27,720 a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. 6 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:32,400 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you since I have you in my heart for 7 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:37,960 whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace 8 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:39,620 with me. 9 00:00:39,620 --> 00:00:46,120 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 10 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:52,080 And this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight 11 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:56,880 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the 12 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:02,760 day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory 13 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:05,040 and praise of God. 14 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:09,120 Good morning everyone. 15 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:14,520 It's great to be back and to see your beautiful faces. 16 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:22,680 So before, sorry, let's see, okay, me and technology are not the best of friends, that's 17 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:24,400 working now. 18 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:28,280 If you could have your Bibles open in front of you, I think that would be really handy 19 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:33,680 because we're going to be looking at our text quite a lot this morning. 20 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:41,760 But before we come to this wonderful letter written to the Philippians and by implication 21 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:47,920 written to all Christians, let's come to our Lord in prayer and ask for his help. 22 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:57,840 Father God, we are indeed so thankful that you are sovereign, that you are good, that 23 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,840 you are holy, that you are mighty. 24 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:10,520 And today, Father, we are not under the illusion that you have not sovereignly brought us together 25 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,320 by your kindness and in your grace. 26 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:19,720 And so we ask as we come around the words of eternal life that by your sovereign spirit, 27 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:24,600 that you would awaken our hearts, open our hearts to the words that we are going to hear 28 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:25,600 this morning. 29 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:31,520 And please lead and guide us to ever greater truths, but also change us so that we would 30 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,120 be the light and the salt of this world. 31 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:38,520 We ask for this in Jesus' name. 32 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:39,520 Amen. 33 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:47,120 So now for us to really understand what's being said here in our text, we might cast 34 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:56,320 our minds back to when Craig took us through the first two verses of this letter. 35 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:04,160 Now I'm glad how he approached last week's sermon in that he took you all the way back 36 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:10,680 to how the Philippian church came to be, drawing on Acts 16. 37 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:15,600 Now I don't want to spend too much time on this this morning because you can podcast 38 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:17,480 that wonderful sermon. 39 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,520 You can find the link to that on our website. 40 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:26,920 And if you missed it, might I say it's one of the best setups for a series that we could 41 00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:29,720 possibly have hoped for. 42 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:37,040 But a bit of a recap might be helpful for those of you who haven't heard it yet. 43 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,480 Philippi was and still is in Macedonia. 44 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:47,840 However, in the time of Paul, it was a deeply Roman thinking and acting city, even being 45 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:57,120 known as small Rome in the ancient world due to its Latin influenced art and architecture. 46 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:03,160 And interestingly enough, it was the first European church planted by Paul under the 47 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:06,240 direction of the Holy Spirit. 48 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:07,600 That's what we saw last week. 49 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:13,680 Paul was wanting to go further east in his second missionary journey. 50 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:20,440 But in the middle of the night, he had a vision of a man pleading for him to come over to 51 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:22,200 Macedonia. 52 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:26,240 And so Paul and his missionary companions did exactly that. 53 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:33,760 But what's fascinating is that when they got to the city of Philippi, there wasn't enough 54 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:40,640 Jewish men in the city to make up a synagogue, which you needed about nine guys, which was 55 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:45,720 where Paul would usually go and look for potential converts. 56 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:52,680 And so they headed out to a nearby river and found a woman's prayer group where Lydia, 57 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:58,520 a rich businesswoman, was converted and baptized along with her household. 58 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:04,400 And then we're told through Acts 16 over the course of a bit of time that a fortune teller 59 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,680 and a prison guard were converted as well. 60 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:14,920 A pretty eclectic mix of people to say the least. 61 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:20,320 But what I think is beautifully brought out in the first few words of this letter, the 62 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:28,120 letter to the Philippians, is that even though the first converts in Philippi were a motley 63 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:35,640 crew of assorted people from all walks of life and different economic circumstances, 64 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:43,280 by the time Paul had written this letter to them from a Roman prison about 10 years later, 65 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:50,720 they'd grown together to become a fully functional church with elders and deacons serving and 66 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:52,600 leading the people. 67 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,400 We see that in verse one. 68 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:01,240 Now just one other thing to mention, and that's this letter that this letter was written and 69 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:06,320 received in the context of persecution. 70 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:12,040 Now I say written in persecution because as mentioned, Paul was in prison in Rome for 71 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:18,400 preaching the gospel, which wasn't anything new as we know from looking at Acts 16 that 72 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:24,920 he was also thrown into prison in Philippi for disturbing the peace as the Philippians 73 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:30,080 weren't too keen on his practices and message. 74 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:36,120 And it seems by looking at the whole letter to the Philippians that they weren't too keen 75 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:38,880 on this church either. 76 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:44,600 Putting all the evidence together, it seems that to turn to Christianity was perceived 77 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:52,280 to be turning from being Philippian, from being a good Roman citizen, if you will. 78 00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:59,560 So both writer and receiver were being oppressed for living and sharing the gospel. 79 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:05,600 So this is the context that we have and it's good to keep in mind as we work our way through 80 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:09,320 our text this morning and this entire series. 81 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:15,520 This was a church planted by the apostle Paul about 10 years prior to this letter being 82 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:23,200 written, with its founding members being an incredibly eclectic mix of people from different 83 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,760 socioeconomic backgrounds. 84 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:31,440 And with that, probably incredibly different characters as well. 85 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:37,000 However, God was faithful and built his church over the years to the point that they had 86 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:44,040 ordained pastors and deacons who were looking after them and they were even able to fund 87 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:48,880 Paul's missionary efforts in other parts of Europe. 88 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:56,280 Yet in the midst of it all, in the midst of this wonderful gospel growth and faithfulness, 89 00:07:56,280 --> 00:08:04,400 they were also being persecuted externally by their own people in their own city for 90 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:08,100 what they had become and what they were doing. 91 00:08:08,100 --> 00:08:15,960 So what did their friend and the apostle want to say to them in the midst of all of this? 92 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:20,400 Well this brings us to our text this morning, which we're going to open up. 93 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:27,480 So if you have your Bibles in front of you, would you please look with me at verse 3. 94 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:31,720 Paul says, I thank my God every time I remember you. 95 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:40,080 So first, Paul wants to let them know that he is so thankful to God every time he thinks 96 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:41,560 about them. 97 00:08:41,560 --> 00:08:48,000 In other words, when Paul thinks of these people, he's filled with appreciation and 98 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,600 affection that he thanks God for. 99 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:54,920 I mean, how beautiful is that? 100 00:08:54,920 --> 00:09:01,120 You may have certain memories in your life that you look back on with great fondness, 101 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:08,320 like a group of friends at school, maybe some work colleagues or people you may have gone 102 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,040 on a trip with. 103 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:15,240 But remember the context of how this church was founded. 104 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:22,320 Paul, well he had the city turn on him and throw him into prison and they put him in 105 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:23,320 chains. 106 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:28,040 Now as we'll see throughout this series, he has a lot more interaction with the Philippian 107 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,200 church than just that event. 108 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:35,800 Yet when he thinks about these people and his interaction with them, he's so thankful 109 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:41,640 to God for knowing and coming into contact with all of them. 110 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:46,960 Seeing God every time they come to mind. 111 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:53,480 And dear brothers and sisters, this is such a beautiful picture of what we all have in 112 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:54,880 Christ. 113 00:09:54,880 --> 00:10:00,840 I was talking to someone from our congregation just this week and they were reflecting on 114 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:06,040 their time away and though they didn't have a terrible time, they ended our conversation 115 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:13,080 by saying that they couldn't wait to come home and see their church family. 116 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:18,200 And I get that as Haley and I have been away as well and though we had an opportunity to 117 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:24,760 worship with the church in Margaret River, we desperately missed our church family here 118 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:26,760 in Armidale. 119 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:31,120 Maybe you have your own experience of that as well. 120 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:36,280 And we can say that because there's an incredible bond that unites all of us. 121 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:42,720 Not just in this room and not just with the church in Australia, but also throughout the 122 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:43,720 world. 123 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:52,640 However, being part of the local church, plugging in, serving and getting involved in the lives 124 00:10:52,640 --> 00:11:00,880 of your spiritual brothers and sisters with your God-given gifts, well it's so incredibly 125 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:05,920 beneficial on so many different levels. 126 00:11:05,920 --> 00:11:13,320 We rob ourselves when we withdraw from Christian fellowship and church life. 127 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:19,120 It's a good and beautiful thing to have such affection towards your church family. 128 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:26,480 And though this is good and true and right, I want you to notice what Paul does with all 129 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:27,480 of this. 130 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:34,200 I want you to see what the result is with the warm and fuzzy feelings that he has towards 131 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:35,200 these people. 132 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:40,560 Well, he takes them to the throne of grace. 133 00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:42,680 It's right there in verses three and four. 134 00:11:42,680 --> 00:11:50,600 Paul says, I thank my God every time I remember you in all my prayers for all of you. 135 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:54,240 I always pray with joy. 136 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:58,160 See what Paul does when these people come to mind? 137 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:02,160 He doesn't just say, wow, I really miss those guys. 138 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:04,000 I wonder how they're going. 139 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:05,720 I hope they're doing well. 140 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:13,640 No, every time he thinks of them, every time he's reminded of them, it's fuel for the prayer 141 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:15,880 closet, so to speak. 142 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:22,000 In other words, Paul sees his being reminded of the Philippian church as a prompting to 143 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:30,520 go to God and thank him and pray for his fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. 144 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:36,280 And we're going to see the details of that prayer in verses nine through to 11. 145 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:37,960 Remember the context. 146 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:39,760 Paul was in prison here. 147 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:43,400 He was suffering for the sake of the gospel. 148 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:45,400 Yet what is he saying? 149 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:51,920 Well, in the midst of his own trial, he doesn't make the subject of his prayers just himself. 150 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:57,240 But uses what comes to mind to be thankful to God. 151 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:06,160 To put it simply, Paul never loses sight for praying for others, no matter the circumstances. 152 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:12,200 And that is a beautiful example set for the church. 153 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:19,560 When Paul remembers his brothers and sisters in the Lord, when he remembers this beautiful 154 00:13:19,560 --> 00:13:26,480 church, these dearly beloved people, even when he might be in the worst possible situation 155 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:34,000 himself, he takes these precious people to God in prayer with thankfulness. 156 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:41,320 And let me just say there is a mutual benefit in what Paul is modeling for the church here. 157 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:46,600 I've had brothers and sisters tell me that when they've gone through horrendous real 158 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:52,520 trials, either with health, their finances, some sort of tragedy, that they have found 159 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:59,560 that in the midst of all of that, that they have found praying for others like medicine 160 00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:01,280 for the soul. 161 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:08,080 In that not only was their gaze diverted from their own problems and situations, though 162 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:14,120 important and still to be prayed for, but they felt like they were able to use that 163 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:21,880 time of desperation to not just pray about themselves, but to really get in the prayer 164 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:26,560 closet and intercede for others as well. 165 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:31,880 Like I said, there's a real benefit in getting involved in the lives of your spiritual brothers 166 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:35,600 and sisters with your God-given gifts. 167 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:45,240 But sometimes, admittedly, it's not so clear what those gifts might be or how we can use 168 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,880 them with the season we find ourselves in. 169 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:56,760 But all of us, no matter who you are, no matter where you find yourself, we can always be 170 00:14:56,760 --> 00:15:02,160 praying for the brothers and sisters in the Lord. 171 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:07,240 Now notice this, Paul isn't saying that he's like, oh no, I've got to pray for these guys 172 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:08,240 again. 173 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:11,880 He says he prays with joy. 174 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:12,880 He prays with joy. 175 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:17,720 Now I have to admit, this doesn't sound like a guy who's in prison. 176 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:23,000 I mean, he sounds more like a guy who's having a great run of things. 177 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:24,800 He sounds so happy. 178 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,400 But this is the thing. 179 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:35,680 His joy, this feeling of exuberance, well for him to be this way, it must be because 180 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:43,400 his joy isn't rooted in his external circumstances. 181 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:44,720 Is the door okay? 182 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:45,720 Yep. 183 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:51,480 Now you might be sitting there this morning and thinking, well that's great for Paul. 184 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:56,600 I mean he had a vision of Jesus and he was an apostle. 185 00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:04,160 Of course he's going to be on cloud nine the whole time because he knew that he was loved 186 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:07,160 and special to God. 187 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:09,760 However to that I would say two things. 188 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:18,880 First, Paul isn't more saved or more loved of God than you and I in this very room. 189 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:25,600 He makes that clear to the church in verse seven when he says, all of you share in God's 190 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:28,000 grace with me. 191 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,680 And we'll have a look at what that means in just a moment. 192 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:38,000 But second, I would say Paul has this great joy because his joy isn't coming from himself 193 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:41,200 or his circumstances. 194 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:47,080 But it's squarely rooted in the work of God in his own life and the life of others. 195 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:51,840 And that is the key to everything that's going on here. 196 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:54,320 Allow me to explain what I mean. 197 00:16:54,320 --> 00:17:00,920 Now we know that joy is a fruit of the spirit and it's a work that comes from the grace 198 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:03,800 of God in you and me. 199 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:11,200 And this letter is going to take us back to that theme of joy over and over and over again 200 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:13,000 in this series. 201 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:20,080 But for now Paul actually defines why his prayers for these people are so infused with 202 00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:22,720 this joy that he speaks of. 203 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:30,200 And that's because he says of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 204 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:37,120 Being confident of this that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion 205 00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:40,240 until the day of Christ Jesus. 206 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:43,840 We see that in verses five and six. 207 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,480 Do you see what he's saying? 208 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:54,920 Paul's saying his joy is felt in his prayers because his whole focus is on the work of 209 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:56,200 God. 210 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,460 On the gospel at work in them all. 211 00:17:59,460 --> 00:18:03,560 In the life of himself and in his recipients. 212 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:12,240 That's why he has incredible joy in the midst of his imprisonment because the gospel is 213 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:14,440 still at work. 214 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:21,560 Now I want to make some clarifying comments on that complex bit of theology. 215 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:25,400 And I want you to see clearly what Paul's saying here. 216 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:33,440 First, this partnership as the New International Version puts it in verse five simply means 217 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:40,360 that Paul and these Christians have a real fellowship and communion together in the good 218 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:42,320 news of Jesus Christ. 219 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:44,120 That's what Paul is driving that there. 220 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:51,080 He's saying that because they believed his message when he first came to them, they too 221 00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:56,400 have become partakers of God's grace. 222 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:58,800 I think there's more going on here. 223 00:18:58,800 --> 00:18:59,800 And it's this. 224 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,640 Their partnership in the gospel. 225 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:07,960 Well it drove them to do something with it. 226 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:14,360 It drove them to practically partner with Paul in his call to take the gospel to the 227 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:15,360 Gentiles. 228 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:20,600 I mean that's part of the reason why he's writing this letter right? 229 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:27,480 He's thanking them because they helped him practically in his missionary work. 230 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:34,880 Even sending him money and helpers because they, both Paul and the church at Philippi 231 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:36,920 wanted the same thing. 232 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:41,640 And that was to see people come to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. 233 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:44,120 They had the same goal. 234 00:19:44,120 --> 00:19:46,160 They partnered in it. 235 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:51,160 And so when Paul thinks about these precious people, he has so much joy because he thinks 236 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:57,160 about that fellowship that they have in the gospel and in their common mission to spread 237 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,520 the gospel to all those around them. 238 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:01,520 But there's more. 239 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:02,520 There's more. 240 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:09,240 Second, Paul's joy comes from a confident hope about the future. 241 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:12,240 That's what he's talking about there in verse 6. 242 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:18,240 When he says being confident of this, he who began a good work in you will carry it onto 243 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:22,640 completion until the day of Jesus Christ. 244 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:23,640 What's he saying? 245 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:27,780 Well basically he's saying this. 246 00:20:27,780 --> 00:20:37,040 He can pray with great joy every time he remembers these people because their salvation, their 247 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:44,720 perseverance, their assurance of everlasting life doesn't come from any work of man, but 248 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:55,040 from the good work that God has, is and will do in them until the Lord Jesus returns. 249 00:20:55,040 --> 00:21:03,200 That's the common grace of verse 7 that Paul, these Philippians, and in fact you and me 250 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,120 in this very room share. 251 00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:11,840 It's by the grace of God alone that anyone comes to believe and trust in Jesus Christ. 252 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:18,040 It's by the grace of God alone that anyone has their hearts opened so that they can believe 253 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:21,760 the gospel and throw themselves on the Lord Jesus Christ. 254 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:26,040 This is the thing that Paul brings out here. 255 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:33,560 His joy not only comes from their same partaking in the gospel, but also in knowing that what 256 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:42,320 God has started in them and by implication any Christian, he will complete. 257 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:48,040 In other words, Paul reassures all Christians that they will be preserved to the end and 258 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:55,480 will never fall from grace because salvation isn't a matter of our working for God's acceptance, 259 00:21:55,480 --> 00:22:02,400 but God's working for us and in us so that we are already accepted by him. 260 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:07,880 Isn't that amazing news? 261 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:08,880 Amazing news. 262 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,840 Dear brothers and sisters, let me say it like this. 263 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:16,880 None of us can work our way into earning God's favour. 264 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:22,960 Nor can any of us through our own work maintain God's ongoing favour. 265 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:29,560 That's because God's standard is holy perfection and so God did the work for his people in 266 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:35,000 the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 267 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:40,600 That's the gospel that Paul preaches and takes great joy in. 268 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:45,440 The gospel that he won't compromise on, hence why he's being persecuted. 269 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:51,880 The gospel that the Philippian church won't compromise on, hence why they're being persecuted. 270 00:22:51,880 --> 00:23:00,440 The gospel that Grace Christian Church won't compromise on and the rest is up to our sovereign 271 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:01,440 God. 272 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:06,040 The grace of God, Paul says, he has so much joy. 273 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:11,040 It's been at work in the hearts and minds of these people which have been graciously 274 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:16,400 open to the gospel so that they could see their sin and thus they threw themselves on 275 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:22,640 Christ and then God graciously applied the work of the Lord Jesus by the Holy Spirit 276 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:24,920 on these people. 277 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:30,760 And Paul knew that God was never going to let them go. 278 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:35,240 Church salvation isn't a human achievement. 279 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:39,720 It's something that's accomplished by the work of God alone. 280 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:45,680 And this free gift was applied to our lives by what theologians call the regenerating 281 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:48,560 work of the Holy Spirit. 282 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:53,760 And for Paul, for the Philippians, for you and me, the good news in all of this is that 283 00:23:53,760 --> 00:24:00,320 from the beginning to the end, salvation is entirely a work of divine grace. 284 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:08,240 Dear one, if you have seen the gospel, if God has caused you to be born again, then 285 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:13,000 you can be assured that he will complete his work in you. 286 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:18,920 For all of us who have seen our sin for what it is and put our trust in the Lord Jesus 287 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:23,560 Christ, well you can be as certain of heaven as though you were already there because it's 288 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:25,800 God's work. 289 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:28,840 That's the joy of our salvation. 290 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:36,520 And we can pray in any circumstance with great joy because it's God who is at work and because 291 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:44,520 of the cross, because of that moment in history, we know that we have a God who finishes what 292 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:45,520 he starts. 293 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:53,320 It's like the Philippian jailer who asked Paul and Silas, what must I do to be saved? 294 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:59,440 Well they replied, believe in the Lord Jesus and you'll be saved, you and your household. 295 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:08,640 When I ask of you this morning, have you called upon the name of the Lord? 296 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:16,640 Paul is so thankful that what God had began, he will complete in these dear brothers and 297 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:20,200 sisters that he had in Philippi. 298 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:26,520 And thankful that they all partake in the work of the gospel in their lives. 299 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:33,200 That's why he has so much joy, but also so much love in his heart for these dear people, 300 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:39,640 for his dear spiritual brothers and sisters as we see here in verses seven and eight. 301 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:44,680 It's right for me to feel this way about you since I have you in my heart, whether I'm 302 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:51,440 in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you sharing God's grace with 303 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:52,440 me. 304 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:59,000 I testify how I long for you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 305 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:05,960 The King James says in the boughs of the Lord, it's like he loves them so much, his guts, 306 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:10,160 they turn. 307 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:17,200 What a beautiful picture of friendship and relationship that we all have in Christ in 308 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:19,120 the church. 309 00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:25,840 It's a beautiful love letter from Paul to these special people, from a man who's invested 310 00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:32,320 so much into their lives, so much time before the throne of grace on their behalf. 311 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,040 But it's here that Paul actually shifts. 312 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:41,280 He shifts from telling them how much he loves them and the hope that they have, to now telling 313 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:44,080 them the details of what he prays for them. 314 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,040 Look with me at verses nine through to 11. 315 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:53,080 This is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 316 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:57,480 so that you may be able to discern what's best and may be pure and blameless for the 317 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:05,280 day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory 318 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:07,800 and praise of God. 319 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:13,800 Now we could spend an entire sermon just looking at Paul's prayer, but for the sake of time, 320 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:19,320 I've broken it down into three easy things for you note takers out there, and we're going 321 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:21,840 to move through them relatively quickly. 322 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:26,640 If you have any questions, then please come and see me after the service. 323 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:33,760 So the first thing, first of all, Paul prays that their love may abound more and more in 324 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:35,960 knowledge and depth of insight. 325 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:40,080 That's what we see in verse nine. 326 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:41,080 What does he mean by that? 327 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:49,720 Well, you'll notice that Paul doesn't specify the object in which their love should be growing 328 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:50,720 on. 329 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:56,440 But let's have a think about the immediate context here. 330 00:27:56,440 --> 00:28:03,680 Paul has just been telling them how much love that he has for them and that this love comes 331 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:11,000 from a great joyous knowledge that they're all partakers of the same grace of God revealed 332 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,560 in and by the gospel. 333 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:20,080 And so I think it would be fair to understand that this love that he's talking about here 334 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:23,880 is about growing in love for one another in the church. 335 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:31,160 So his very first prayer for them is that they will grow in love more and more with 336 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:32,160 each other. 337 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:35,960 But I want to say this, I want to say something else. 338 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:44,200 Love for fellow believers, well it grows as a fruit of a deepening love for God. 339 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:52,960 We see it right here in the very same verse with the language around knowledge and insight. 340 00:28:52,960 --> 00:29:00,520 I mean, as Paul reflects on the work of the gospel in his chains for these fellow believers, 341 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:06,360 these affections for these people, well they grow all the more, which means a deepening 342 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:13,720 love for others is always the result of a deeper knowledge and insight of the gospel. 343 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:20,160 Let me say it like this, where there is true knowledge of Christ, where there's an apprehension 344 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:27,400 of the grace of God towards us in the Lord Jesus Christ, there will always be love towards 345 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:28,880 others, always. 346 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:36,560 The apostle John, he puts it like this, we love because he first loved us. 347 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:42,160 And as we see in the gospel, Jesus repeatedly affirmed to his disciples that no one can 348 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:49,040 say that they love God who doesn't have love for brother or sister. 349 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:56,320 And so love is a result, if you will, of the true knowledge of God, of the experience of 350 00:29:56,320 --> 00:30:00,120 his grace, of the experience of his love. 351 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:10,520 Church, if you have really come to know God's radical life transforming love, you will manifest 352 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:15,440 something of that love in your life towards others in your relationships. 353 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:16,440 It's the overflow. 354 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:22,560 And so the apostle Paul's first prayer for the Philippians and by implication for you 355 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:29,960 and me would be that we abound in love as we know the truth of the gospel, as we know 356 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:34,160 our Lord and savior, as we know our creator more and more. 357 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:41,040 However, I want to be clear here, this doesn't mean that love trumps knowledge, not in any 358 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:42,040 way. 359 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:43,560 In fact, just the opposite. 360 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:48,080 What Paul is bringing out here is that the more we know the truth and understand God 361 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:53,360 through the gospel, the more we'll be able to love others. 362 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:57,560 The two aren't mutually exclusive. 363 00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:03,240 This isn't Paul saying just go with your gut and love people in any which way because love 364 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:04,720 is love kind of thing. 365 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:13,640 No, he's saying that as you grow in the knowledge and insight of God, that the overflow of that 366 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:19,120 will have to be an authentic selfless biblical love. 367 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:24,400 That's the kind of love that can really meet the needs of other people. 368 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:31,480 To put it simply, Paul isn't praying that the Philippians would become smarter. 369 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:38,200 He's praying that they would become wiser in their love and care for one another. 370 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:45,440 He prays that their spiritual insight would cause them to know how to best love others 371 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:46,840 in a godly manner. 372 00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:53,560 Second, Paul wants them to have this knowledge and insight so they might be able to better 373 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:57,960 discern what it is best. 374 00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:01,720 And we see that in verse 10. 375 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:06,200 I've heard it said like this, wisdom is the application of knowledge. 376 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:11,280 And I think that's exactly what Paul is praying for, for these people to have here. 377 00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:17,600 Wisdom in being able to differentiate between all the options on the table and apply knowledge 378 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:25,040 and insight that they have to whatever situation that might be at hand. 379 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:33,720 It is a matter of fact that every single spirit-filled community on the face of the planet has a plethora 380 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:38,480 of things that they have to deal with if they are gospel-centric. 381 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:43,840 If a church is doing its job right, there is a spiritual enemy out there in the world 382 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:50,320 that doesn't leave those churches to just go about being the light and the salt of the 383 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:53,320 world, winning people for Christ. 384 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:59,040 And we know that the schemes of the enemy will come in various forms and ways to try 385 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:01,860 and stop that work from happening. 386 00:33:01,860 --> 00:33:07,720 As we'll see with the Philippian Church, they had it externally from persecution and as 387 00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:12,880 we'll see in the coming weeks, they had some things going on internally with something 388 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:18,960 that threatened to rip the church apart and mar their witness to the world. 389 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:25,240 Let me say this, not everything that happens in and around the church is because there's 390 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:30,960 a so-called devil hiding behind the bush. 391 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:37,160 We live in a fallen world with people who are dealing with all sorts of pressures and 392 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:44,240 problems, dealing with personality clashes, false persuasions and pestilences. 393 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:51,600 The key to all of this isn't to say the devil made them do it, the devil made me do it, 394 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:57,640 but nor is it to say there is no spiritual force at play at all. 395 00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:03,040 The key is that we know the truth and as we have a greater insight into the knowledge 396 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:10,120 of God, then we'll be able to proceed with wisdom and discernment, choosing those things 397 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:20,080 that are best, choosing those things which cause the love of God, the gospel to be exalted 398 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:21,800 among his people. 399 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:28,240 So that as Paul says here, we may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. 400 00:34:28,240 --> 00:34:34,000 Brothers and sisters, if we have a greater knowledge and insight into the word of God, 401 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:41,120 if we grow in our love for one another, then corporately and individually, we will grow 402 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:49,320 in wisdom and discernment so that we might choose what's best, what's most beneficial 403 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:55,560 and what will glorify God the most, not just in our lives, but in the lives of those around 404 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:56,560 us. 405 00:34:56,560 --> 00:35:04,280 And we all have access to that by the grace of God in the gospel, a life of sincerity 406 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:12,720 and integrity, not just in public view, but in private as well, a life where we will seek 407 00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:15,160 to honor God in all that we do. 408 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:20,880 Third, Paul prays that these dear Christians would be filled with the fruit of righteousness 409 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:22,680 that comes through Jesus Christ. 410 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:29,680 This is our last point, and it goes back to that central understanding of Paul's great 411 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:37,880 joy for these people and for you and me who have put our trust in Jesus in this room this 412 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:38,880 morning. 413 00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:48,200 That all this love, knowledge, insight, discernment, purity and fruit as he talks about here, well 414 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:53,120 it doesn't come about all by our feeble efforts. 415 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:58,640 None of this should be understood as Paul saying, just try harder. 416 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:07,680 This doesn't come about by ourselves, nor, sorry, no, it comes by what Paul says clearly 417 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:08,960 here. 418 00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:14,960 It comes through Jesus Christ. 419 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:17,520 We see this in verse 11. 420 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:20,040 That is the hope of the gospel. 421 00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:27,040 The supernatural fruit, the supernatural life of Christ, the pure and blameless life before 422 00:36:27,040 --> 00:36:34,280 God can only be lived out by believers because there has been first a supernatural work in 423 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:38,960 us by the grace of God through the gospel. 424 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:44,440 Paul makes this clear to the church in Galatia by saying, you, my brothers and sisters, were 425 00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:47,720 called to be free. 426 00:36:47,720 --> 00:36:52,920 Don't use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather serve one another humbly in love. 427 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:59,480 The entire law is fulfilled by this one command, love your neighbour as yourself. 428 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:04,000 So I say, walk by the spirit and you won't gratify the desires of the flesh and the fruit 429 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:11,400 of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, 430 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:12,400 self-control. 431 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:15,040 Against these, there is no law. 432 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:21,400 Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 433 00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:30,240 So since we live by the spirit, let us keep in step with the spirit, Galatians 5. 434 00:37:30,240 --> 00:37:35,560 So as we finish our time in this incredible text this morning, you might see that we are 435 00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:41,320 getting a glimpse of Paul's heart for these people, which we're going to dig into more 436 00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:43,680 and more through the weeks. 437 00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:46,320 But I want to end on saying this. 438 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:53,480 Paul concludes this opening section of his letter by expressing his greatest desire for 439 00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:56,440 the lives of these people. 440 00:37:56,440 --> 00:38:03,520 You see, he wants all of this for these people so much so that he goes to the throne room 441 00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:09,560 of grace every time he remembers them to intercede for them and praise for them so that they 442 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:14,420 will grow more and more and more in their love for one another. 443 00:38:14,420 --> 00:38:21,320 And as they grow, that their lives would rise to the highest possible point and that's that 444 00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:30,080 they would live in such a way that their lives will give glory to God, verse 11. 445 00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:33,880 Give glory and praise to God. 446 00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:39,400 And isn't that the goal of every single Christian in this world? 447 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:45,640 To live in such a way that we give glory and praise to God in the way that we live. 448 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:53,640 Well church, might I say a church that's growing in love for God and others will bring glory 449 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:55,440 and praise to God. 450 00:38:55,440 --> 00:39:01,520 You see, God alone is worthy of all praise and honor. 451 00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:07,640 He alone is worthy of all glory and we should never show the world by the way that we live 452 00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:11,760 that we are not about promoting that glory. 453 00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:17,720 Now you might be thinking to yourself, that's an impossible standard Michael. 454 00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:20,760 What a high and impossible calling for the church. 455 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:29,320 Well to that I would say yes, in our own feeble efforts and earthly wisdom it will be impossible. 456 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:32,440 It will be, but this is the thing. 457 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:35,200 We're not left alone in any of this. 458 00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:40,040 That's why we don't see Paul writing this letter saying that I just love you so much, 459 00:39:40,040 --> 00:39:44,000 I miss you so much, thank you for sending that guy to me. 460 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:52,920 He writes to them to tell them that even though they have God, and more importantly as we've 461 00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:58,680 seen in our text this morning, that God has them, that he's praying for them. 462 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:02,720 He's praying for them and that is key. 463 00:40:02,720 --> 00:40:05,800 Christians must pray for one another. 464 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:13,200 And so by way of application dear ones, let me just say that if Paul saw the great need 465 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:18,880 to be praying for these wonderful people, for all intents and purposes who were a growing 466 00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:26,560 and obedient church, surely we here in Armidale need to be praying prayers like we have seen 467 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:28,680 this morning for one another. 468 00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:34,480 That we would abound in love and grow in knowledge and increase in discernment and choose what's 469 00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:41,040 excellent and continue in integrity and sincerity and to live in fruitful righteousness all 470 00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:44,480 for the glory of God. 471 00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:46,900 So can I encourage you this morning? 472 00:40:46,900 --> 00:40:54,880 Can I encourage you my dear brothers and sisters, this week take some time to grab this passage, 473 00:40:54,880 --> 00:41:01,280 reflect on what we have looked at this morning and pray for your brothers and sisters in 474 00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:02,280 the faith. 475 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:08,040 It might not need to be here in Armidale, it could be the wider body, it could be for 476 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:14,280 those in other countries, but might I encourage you as you go into your week, don't just brush 477 00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:20,640 aside thoughts and feelings of those who pop into your head, but take some time to pray 478 00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:22,680 for those people. 479 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:24,640 Intercede for them. 480 00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:31,060 Like I said, there is real benefit in getting involved in the lives of your spiritual brothers 481 00:41:31,060 --> 00:41:38,840 and sisters in the local church and all of us, no matter who you are, well you can pray 482 00:41:38,840 --> 00:41:44,000 for others in whatever situation you find yourselves in. 483 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:47,320 Let's pray together now. 484 00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:54,240 Father, we thank you for these wonderful words from Paul and we thank you that they are so 485 00:41:54,240 --> 00:41:59,600 encouraging that you are the one who is doing the work in us. 486 00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:09,880 That you are causing us to respond in obedience, in faithfulness, in wanting to follow you. 487 00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:16,160 That by your spirit you have done an incredible awakening, a regenerating, a circumcising 488 00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:23,440 of the heart, a giving of a heart of flesh and not of stone, all because of your totally 489 00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:25,360 undeserved favour. 490 00:42:25,360 --> 00:42:31,200 And so I ask Lord God that this week, as all of us go into this week and we have various 491 00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:37,240 people pop into our minds for all sorts of situations, maybe not even, we have joyous 492 00:42:37,240 --> 00:42:38,920 memories of these people. 493 00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:41,920 Father, would you please help us to pray? 494 00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:44,760 Would you help us to be faithful in the prayer room? 495 00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:50,960 Father, would you help us to see the benefits of interceding and loving your church and 496 00:42:50,960 --> 00:42:52,520 serving in this way? 497 00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:55,280 I ask for this in Jesus' name, Amen.