Love and Joy in Prayer | Philippians 1:3-11

Reading Philippians 1 starting at verse 3.

I thank my God every time I remember you.

In all my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy because of your partnership

in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began

a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.

It is right for me to feel this way about all of you since I have you in my heart for

whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace

with me.

God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight

so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the

day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory

and praise of God.

Good morning everyone.

It's great to be back and to see your beautiful faces.

So before, sorry, let's see, okay, me and technology are not the best of friends, that's

working now.

If you could have your Bibles open in front of you, I think that would be really handy

because we're going to be looking at our text quite a lot this morning.

But before we come to this wonderful letter written to the Philippians and by implication

written to all Christians, let's come to our Lord in prayer and ask for his help.

Father God, we are indeed so thankful that you are sovereign, that you are good, that

you are holy, that you are mighty.

And today, Father, we are not under the illusion that you have not sovereignly brought us together

by your kindness and in your grace.

And so we ask as we come around the words of eternal life that by your sovereign spirit,

that you would awaken our hearts, open our hearts to the words that we are going to hear

this morning.

And please lead and guide us to ever greater truths, but also change us so that we would

be the light and the salt of this world.

We ask for this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So now for us to really understand what's being said here in our text, we might cast

our minds back to when Craig took us through the first two verses of this letter.

Now I'm glad how he approached last week's sermon in that he took you all the way back

to how the Philippian church came to be, drawing on Acts 16.

Now I don't want to spend too much time on this this morning because you can podcast

that wonderful sermon.

You can find the link to that on our website.

And if you missed it, might I say it's one of the best setups for a series that we could

possibly have hoped for.

But a bit of a recap might be helpful for those of you who haven't heard it yet.

Philippi was and still is in Macedonia.

However, in the time of Paul, it was a deeply Roman thinking and acting city, even being

known as small Rome in the ancient world due to its Latin influenced art and architecture.

And interestingly enough, it was the first European church planted by Paul under the

direction of the Holy Spirit.

That's what we saw last week.

Paul was wanting to go further east in his second missionary journey.

But in the middle of the night, he had a vision of a man pleading for him to come over to

Macedonia.

And so Paul and his missionary companions did exactly that.

But what's fascinating is that when they got to the city of Philippi, there wasn't enough

Jewish men in the city to make up a synagogue, which you needed about nine guys, which was

where Paul would usually go and look for potential converts.

And so they headed out to a nearby river and found a woman's prayer group where Lydia,

a rich businesswoman, was converted and baptized along with her household.

And then we're told through Acts 16 over the course of a bit of time that a fortune teller

and a prison guard were converted as well.

A pretty eclectic mix of people to say the least.

But what I think is beautifully brought out in the first few words of this letter, the

letter to the Philippians, is that even though the first converts in Philippi were a motley

crew of assorted people from all walks of life and different economic circumstances,

by the time Paul had written this letter to them from a Roman prison about 10 years later,

they'd grown together to become a fully functional church with elders and deacons serving and

leading the people.

We see that in verse one.

Now just one other thing to mention, and that's this letter that this letter was written and

received in the context of persecution.

Now I say written in persecution because as mentioned, Paul was in prison in Rome for

preaching the gospel, which wasn't anything new as we know from looking at Acts 16 that

he was also thrown into prison in Philippi for disturbing the peace as the Philippians

weren't too keen on his practices and message.

And it seems by looking at the whole letter to the Philippians that they weren't too keen

on this church either.

Putting all the evidence together, it seems that to turn to Christianity was perceived

to be turning from being Philippian, from being a good Roman citizen, if you will.

So both writer and receiver were being oppressed for living and sharing the gospel.

So this is the context that we have and it's good to keep in mind as we work our way through

our text this morning and this entire series.

This was a church planted by the apostle Paul about 10 years prior to this letter being

written, with its founding members being an incredibly eclectic mix of people from different

socioeconomic backgrounds.

And with that, probably incredibly different characters as well.

However, God was faithful and built his church over the years to the point that they had

ordained pastors and deacons who were looking after them and they were even able to fund

Paul's missionary efforts in other parts of Europe.

Yet in the midst of it all, in the midst of this wonderful gospel growth and faithfulness,

they were also being persecuted externally by their own people in their own city for

what they had become and what they were doing.

So what did their friend and the apostle want to say to them in the midst of all of this?

Well this brings us to our text this morning, which we're going to open up.

So if you have your Bibles in front of you, would you please look with me at verse 3.

Paul says, I thank my God every time I remember you.

So first, Paul wants to let them know that he is so thankful to God every time he thinks

about them.

In other words, when Paul thinks of these people, he's filled with appreciation and

affection that he thanks God for.

I mean, how beautiful is that?

You may have certain memories in your life that you look back on with great fondness,

like a group of friends at school, maybe some work colleagues or people you may have gone

on a trip with.

But remember the context of how this church was founded.

Paul, well he had the city turn on him and throw him into prison and they put him in

chains.

Now as we'll see throughout this series, he has a lot more interaction with the Philippian

church than just that event.

Yet when he thinks about these people and his interaction with them, he's so thankful

to God for knowing and coming into contact with all of them.

Seeing God every time they come to mind.

And dear brothers and sisters, this is such a beautiful picture of what we all have in

Christ.

I was talking to someone from our congregation just this week and they were reflecting on

their time away and though they didn't have a terrible time, they ended our conversation

by saying that they couldn't wait to come home and see their church family.

And I get that as Haley and I have been away as well and though we had an opportunity to

worship with the church in Margaret River, we desperately missed our church family here

in Armidale.

Maybe you have your own experience of that as well.

And we can say that because there's an incredible bond that unites all of us.

Not just in this room and not just with the church in Australia, but also throughout the

world.

However, being part of the local church, plugging in, serving and getting involved in the lives

of your spiritual brothers and sisters with your God-given gifts, well it's so incredibly

beneficial on so many different levels.

We rob ourselves when we withdraw from Christian fellowship and church life.

It's a good and beautiful thing to have such affection towards your church family.

And though this is good and true and right, I want you to notice what Paul does with all

of this.

I want you to see what the result is with the warm and fuzzy feelings that he has towards

these people.

Well, he takes them to the throne of grace.

It's right there in verses three and four.

Paul says, I thank my God every time I remember you in all my prayers for all of you.

I always pray with joy.

See what Paul does when these people come to mind?

He doesn't just say, wow, I really miss those guys.

I wonder how they're going.

I hope they're doing well.

No, every time he thinks of them, every time he's reminded of them, it's fuel for the prayer

closet, so to speak.

In other words, Paul sees his being reminded of the Philippian church as a prompting to

go to God and thank him and pray for his fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord.

And we're going to see the details of that prayer in verses nine through to 11.

Remember the context.

Paul was in prison here.

He was suffering for the sake of the gospel.

Yet what is he saying?

Well, in the midst of his own trial, he doesn't make the subject of his prayers just himself.

But uses what comes to mind to be thankful to God.

To put it simply, Paul never loses sight for praying for others, no matter the circumstances.

And that is a beautiful example set for the church.

When Paul remembers his brothers and sisters in the Lord, when he remembers this beautiful

church, these dearly beloved people, even when he might be in the worst possible situation

himself, he takes these precious people to God in prayer with thankfulness.

And let me just say there is a mutual benefit in what Paul is modeling for the church here.

I've had brothers and sisters tell me that when they've gone through horrendous real

trials, either with health, their finances, some sort of tragedy, that they have found

that in the midst of all of that, that they have found praying for others like medicine

for the soul.

In that not only was their gaze diverted from their own problems and situations, though

important and still to be prayed for, but they felt like they were able to use that

time of desperation to not just pray about themselves, but to really get in the prayer

closet and intercede for others as well.

Like I said, there's a real benefit in getting involved in the lives of your spiritual brothers

and sisters with your God-given gifts.

But sometimes, admittedly, it's not so clear what those gifts might be or how we can use

them with the season we find ourselves in.

But all of us, no matter who you are, no matter where you find yourself, we can always be

praying for the brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Now notice this, Paul isn't saying that he's like, oh no, I've got to pray for these guys

again.

He says he prays with joy.

He prays with joy.

Now I have to admit, this doesn't sound like a guy who's in prison.

I mean, he sounds more like a guy who's having a great run of things.

He sounds so happy.

But this is the thing.

His joy, this feeling of exuberance, well for him to be this way, it must be because

his joy isn't rooted in his external circumstances.

Is the door okay?

Yep.

Now you might be sitting there this morning and thinking, well that's great for Paul.

I mean he had a vision of Jesus and he was an apostle.

Of course he's going to be on cloud nine the whole time because he knew that he was loved

and special to God.

However to that I would say two things.

First, Paul isn't more saved or more loved of God than you and I in this very room.

He makes that clear to the church in verse seven when he says, all of you share in God's

grace with me.

And we'll have a look at what that means in just a moment.

But second, I would say Paul has this great joy because his joy isn't coming from himself

or his circumstances.

But it's squarely rooted in the work of God in his own life and the life of others.

And that is the key to everything that's going on here.

Allow me to explain what I mean.

Now we know that joy is a fruit of the spirit and it's a work that comes from the grace

of God in you and me.

And this letter is going to take us back to that theme of joy over and over and over again

in this series.

But for now Paul actually defines why his prayers for these people are so infused with

this joy that he speaks of.

And that's because he says of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Being confident of this that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion

until the day of Christ Jesus.

We see that in verses five and six.

Do you see what he's saying?

Paul's saying his joy is felt in his prayers because his whole focus is on the work of

God.

On the gospel at work in them all.

In the life of himself and in his recipients.

That's why he has incredible joy in the midst of his imprisonment because the gospel is

still at work.

Now I want to make some clarifying comments on that complex bit of theology.

And I want you to see clearly what Paul's saying here.

First, this partnership as the New International Version puts it in verse five simply means

that Paul and these Christians have a real fellowship and communion together in the good

news of Jesus Christ.

That's what Paul is driving that there.

He's saying that because they believed his message when he first came to them, they too

have become partakers of God's grace.

I think there's more going on here.

And it's this.

Their partnership in the gospel.

Well it drove them to do something with it.

It drove them to practically partner with Paul in his call to take the gospel to the

Gentiles.

I mean that's part of the reason why he's writing this letter right?

He's thanking them because they helped him practically in his missionary work.

Even sending him money and helpers because they, both Paul and the church at Philippi

wanted the same thing.

And that was to see people come to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

They had the same goal.

They partnered in it.

And so when Paul thinks about these precious people, he has so much joy because he thinks

about that fellowship that they have in the gospel and in their common mission to spread

the gospel to all those around them.

But there's more.

There's more.

Second, Paul's joy comes from a confident hope about the future.

That's what he's talking about there in verse 6.

When he says being confident of this, he who began a good work in you will carry it onto

completion until the day of Jesus Christ.

What's he saying?

Well basically he's saying this.

He can pray with great joy every time he remembers these people because their salvation, their

perseverance, their assurance of everlasting life doesn't come from any work of man, but

from the good work that God has, is and will do in them until the Lord Jesus returns.

That's the common grace of verse 7 that Paul, these Philippians, and in fact you and me

in this very room share.

It's by the grace of God alone that anyone comes to believe and trust in Jesus Christ.

It's by the grace of God alone that anyone has their hearts opened so that they can believe

the gospel and throw themselves on the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the thing that Paul brings out here.

His joy not only comes from their same partaking in the gospel, but also in knowing that what

God has started in them and by implication any Christian, he will complete.

In other words, Paul reassures all Christians that they will be preserved to the end and

will never fall from grace because salvation isn't a matter of our working for God's acceptance,

but God's working for us and in us so that we are already accepted by him.

Isn't that amazing news?

Amazing news.

Dear brothers and sisters, let me say it like this.

None of us can work our way into earning God's favour.

Nor can any of us through our own work maintain God's ongoing favour.

That's because God's standard is holy perfection and so God did the work for his people in

the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That's the gospel that Paul preaches and takes great joy in.

The gospel that he won't compromise on, hence why he's being persecuted.

The gospel that the Philippian church won't compromise on, hence why they're being persecuted.

The gospel that Grace Christian Church won't compromise on and the rest is up to our sovereign

God.

The grace of God, Paul says, he has so much joy.

It's been at work in the hearts and minds of these people which have been graciously

open to the gospel so that they could see their sin and thus they threw themselves on

Christ and then God graciously applied the work of the Lord Jesus by the Holy Spirit

on these people.

And Paul knew that God was never going to let them go.

Church salvation isn't a human achievement.

It's something that's accomplished by the work of God alone.

And this free gift was applied to our lives by what theologians call the regenerating

work of the Holy Spirit.

And for Paul, for the Philippians, for you and me, the good news in all of this is that

from the beginning to the end, salvation is entirely a work of divine grace.

Dear one, if you have seen the gospel, if God has caused you to be born again, then

you can be assured that he will complete his work in you.

For all of us who have seen our sin for what it is and put our trust in the Lord Jesus

Christ, well you can be as certain of heaven as though you were already there because it's

God's work.

That's the joy of our salvation.

And we can pray in any circumstance with great joy because it's God who is at work and because

of the cross, because of that moment in history, we know that we have a God who finishes what

he starts.

It's like the Philippian jailer who asked Paul and Silas, what must I do to be saved?

Well they replied, believe in the Lord Jesus and you'll be saved, you and your household.

When I ask of you this morning, have you called upon the name of the Lord?

Paul is so thankful that what God had began, he will complete in these dear brothers and

sisters that he had in Philippi.

And thankful that they all partake in the work of the gospel in their lives.

That's why he has so much joy, but also so much love in his heart for these dear people,

for his dear spiritual brothers and sisters as we see here in verses seven and eight.

It's right for me to feel this way about you since I have you in my heart, whether I'm

in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you sharing God's grace with

me.

I testify how I long for you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

The King James says in the boughs of the Lord, it's like he loves them so much, his guts,

they turn.

What a beautiful picture of friendship and relationship that we all have in Christ in

the church.

It's a beautiful love letter from Paul to these special people, from a man who's invested

so much into their lives, so much time before the throne of grace on their behalf.

But it's here that Paul actually shifts.

He shifts from telling them how much he loves them and the hope that they have, to now telling

them the details of what he prays for them.

Look with me at verses nine through to 11.

This is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

so that you may be able to discern what's best and may be pure and blameless for the

day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory

and praise of God.

Now we could spend an entire sermon just looking at Paul's prayer, but for the sake of time,

I've broken it down into three easy things for you note takers out there, and we're going

to move through them relatively quickly.

If you have any questions, then please come and see me after the service.

So the first thing, first of all, Paul prays that their love may abound more and more in

knowledge and depth of insight.

That's what we see in verse nine.

What does he mean by that?

Well, you'll notice that Paul doesn't specify the object in which their love should be growing

on.

But let's have a think about the immediate context here.

Paul has just been telling them how much love that he has for them and that this love comes

from a great joyous knowledge that they're all partakers of the same grace of God revealed

in and by the gospel.

And so I think it would be fair to understand that this love that he's talking about here

is about growing in love for one another in the church.

So his very first prayer for them is that they will grow in love more and more with

each other.

But I want to say this, I want to say something else.

Love for fellow believers, well it grows as a fruit of a deepening love for God.

We see it right here in the very same verse with the language around knowledge and insight.

I mean, as Paul reflects on the work of the gospel in his chains for these fellow believers,

these affections for these people, well they grow all the more, which means a deepening

love for others is always the result of a deeper knowledge and insight of the gospel.

Let me say it like this, where there is true knowledge of Christ, where there's an apprehension

of the grace of God towards us in the Lord Jesus Christ, there will always be love towards

others, always.

The apostle John, he puts it like this, we love because he first loved us.

And as we see in the gospel, Jesus repeatedly affirmed to his disciples that no one can

say that they love God who doesn't have love for brother or sister.

And so love is a result, if you will, of the true knowledge of God, of the experience of

his grace, of the experience of his love.

Church, if you have really come to know God's radical life transforming love, you will manifest

something of that love in your life towards others in your relationships.

It's the overflow.

And so the apostle Paul's first prayer for the Philippians and by implication for you

and me would be that we abound in love as we know the truth of the gospel, as we know

our Lord and savior, as we know our creator more and more.

However, I want to be clear here, this doesn't mean that love trumps knowledge, not in any

way.

In fact, just the opposite.

What Paul is bringing out here is that the more we know the truth and understand God

through the gospel, the more we'll be able to love others.

The two aren't mutually exclusive.

This isn't Paul saying just go with your gut and love people in any which way because love

is love kind of thing.

No, he's saying that as you grow in the knowledge and insight of God, that the overflow of that

will have to be an authentic selfless biblical love.

That's the kind of love that can really meet the needs of other people.

To put it simply, Paul isn't praying that the Philippians would become smarter.

He's praying that they would become wiser in their love and care for one another.

He prays that their spiritual insight would cause them to know how to best love others

in a godly manner.

Second, Paul wants them to have this knowledge and insight so they might be able to better

discern what it is best.

And we see that in verse 10.

I've heard it said like this, wisdom is the application of knowledge.

And I think that's exactly what Paul is praying for, for these people to have here.

Wisdom in being able to differentiate between all the options on the table and apply knowledge

and insight that they have to whatever situation that might be at hand.

It is a matter of fact that every single spirit-filled community on the face of the planet has a plethora

of things that they have to deal with if they are gospel-centric.

If a church is doing its job right, there is a spiritual enemy out there in the world

that doesn't leave those churches to just go about being the light and the salt of the

world, winning people for Christ.

And we know that the schemes of the enemy will come in various forms and ways to try

and stop that work from happening.

As we'll see with the Philippian Church, they had it externally from persecution and as

we'll see in the coming weeks, they had some things going on internally with something

that threatened to rip the church apart and mar their witness to the world.

Let me say this, not everything that happens in and around the church is because there's

a so-called devil hiding behind the bush.

We live in a fallen world with people who are dealing with all sorts of pressures and

problems, dealing with personality clashes, false persuasions and pestilences.

The key to all of this isn't to say the devil made them do it, the devil made me do it,

but nor is it to say there is no spiritual force at play at all.

The key is that we know the truth and as we have a greater insight into the knowledge

of God, then we'll be able to proceed with wisdom and discernment, choosing those things

that are best, choosing those things which cause the love of God, the gospel to be exalted

among his people.

So that as Paul says here, we may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.

Brothers and sisters, if we have a greater knowledge and insight into the word of God,

if we grow in our love for one another, then corporately and individually, we will grow

in wisdom and discernment so that we might choose what's best, what's most beneficial

and what will glorify God the most, not just in our lives, but in the lives of those around

us.

And we all have access to that by the grace of God in the gospel, a life of sincerity

and integrity, not just in public view, but in private as well, a life where we will seek

to honor God in all that we do.

Third, Paul prays that these dear Christians would be filled with the fruit of righteousness

that comes through Jesus Christ.

This is our last point, and it goes back to that central understanding of Paul's great

joy for these people and for you and me who have put our trust in Jesus in this room this

morning.

That all this love, knowledge, insight, discernment, purity and fruit as he talks about here, well

it doesn't come about all by our feeble efforts.

None of this should be understood as Paul saying, just try harder.

This doesn't come about by ourselves, nor, sorry, no, it comes by what Paul says clearly

here.

It comes through Jesus Christ.

We see this in verse 11.

That is the hope of the gospel.

The supernatural fruit, the supernatural life of Christ, the pure and blameless life before

God can only be lived out by believers because there has been first a supernatural work in

us by the grace of God through the gospel.

Paul makes this clear to the church in Galatia by saying, you, my brothers and sisters, were

called to be free.

Don't use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather serve one another humbly in love.

The entire law is fulfilled by this one command, love your neighbour as yourself.

So I say, walk by the spirit and you won't gratify the desires of the flesh and the fruit

of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,

self-control.

Against these, there is no law.

Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

So since we live by the spirit, let us keep in step with the spirit, Galatians 5.

So as we finish our time in this incredible text this morning, you might see that we are

getting a glimpse of Paul's heart for these people, which we're going to dig into more

and more through the weeks.

But I want to end on saying this.

Paul concludes this opening section of his letter by expressing his greatest desire for

the lives of these people.

You see, he wants all of this for these people so much so that he goes to the throne room

of grace every time he remembers them to intercede for them and praise for them so that they

will grow more and more and more in their love for one another.

And as they grow, that their lives would rise to the highest possible point and that's that

they would live in such a way that their lives will give glory to God, verse 11.

Give glory and praise to God.

And isn't that the goal of every single Christian in this world?

To live in such a way that we give glory and praise to God in the way that we live.

Well church, might I say a church that's growing in love for God and others will bring glory

and praise to God.

You see, God alone is worthy of all praise and honor.

He alone is worthy of all glory and we should never show the world by the way that we live

that we are not about promoting that glory.

Now you might be thinking to yourself, that's an impossible standard Michael.

What a high and impossible calling for the church.

Well to that I would say yes, in our own feeble efforts and earthly wisdom it will be impossible.

It will be, but this is the thing.

We're not left alone in any of this.

That's why we don't see Paul writing this letter saying that I just love you so much,

I miss you so much, thank you for sending that guy to me.

He writes to them to tell them that even though they have God, and more importantly as we've

seen in our text this morning, that God has them, that he's praying for them.

He's praying for them and that is key.

Christians must pray for one another.

And so by way of application dear ones, let me just say that if Paul saw the great need

to be praying for these wonderful people, for all intents and purposes who were a growing

and obedient church, surely we here in Armidale need to be praying prayers like we have seen

this morning for one another.

That we would abound in love and grow in knowledge and increase in discernment and choose what's

excellent and continue in integrity and sincerity and to live in fruitful righteousness all

for the glory of God.

So can I encourage you this morning?

Can I encourage you my dear brothers and sisters, this week take some time to grab this passage,

reflect on what we have looked at this morning and pray for your brothers and sisters in

the faith.

It might not need to be here in Armidale, it could be the wider body, it could be for

those in other countries, but might I encourage you as you go into your week, don't just brush

aside thoughts and feelings of those who pop into your head, but take some time to pray

for those people.

Intercede for them.

Like I said, there is real benefit in getting involved in the lives of your spiritual brothers

and sisters in the local church and all of us, no matter who you are, well you can pray

for others in whatever situation you find yourselves in.

Let's pray together now.

Father, we thank you for these wonderful words from Paul and we thank you that they are so

encouraging that you are the one who is doing the work in us.

That you are causing us to respond in obedience, in faithfulness, in wanting to follow you.

That by your spirit you have done an incredible awakening, a regenerating, a circumcising

of the heart, a giving of a heart of flesh and not of stone, all because of your totally

undeserved favour.

And so I ask Lord God that this week, as all of us go into this week and we have various

people pop into our minds for all sorts of situations, maybe not even, we have joyous

memories of these people.

Father, would you please help us to pray?

Would you help us to be faithful in the prayer room?

Father, would you help us to see the benefits of interceding and loving your church and

serving in this way?

I ask for this in Jesus' name, Amen.