Partners In The Gospel

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I want to invite you to take your Bibles and turn to Philippians chapter 1 with me.

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

Philippians chapter 1.

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

The opening verses of the book of Philippians provide for us a preview of what will be the major thematic elements of the entire letter.

The book is often characterized as the epistle of joy, and that certainly could be true.

There's 18 different times throughout Paul's letter to the Philippian church, he uses the word joy or rejoice, 18 different times.

There's no doubt that he meant for joy to be a common theme throughout the book.

In fact, he probably meant it not just to be a comfort to them, but as you study through the book of Philippians,

you'll see that the context of joy with which Paul speaks from is almost in a way of exhortation.

That it's not just that they can experience joy, but he exhorts them to do the things that are necessary in order to have the true joy of the Lord.

It certainly is a dominant theme throughout the book.

But I think if we were to reduce the book of Philippians to a simple discussion of Christian joy,

I think that that would be a mistake for us, actually.

I think what we'll discover as we study these first 11 verses of the book,

and as it sets the tone and lays the foundation for the rest of the letter for us,

I think we'll discover that while joy is prominent, there are actually a few other perhaps greater, even deeper themes that run throughout the book.

Namely, the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

the fact that God continues an ongoing process of work through the scriptures,

through his spirit in the lives of those that believe,

and then this gospel partnership that we're going to deal with today,

that God provides for us in the church,

and in fellowship, and in friendship, and in partnership with other believers.

I think what you'll find as you study the book,

and certainly as we discover this together on Sundays,

that more common than joy are these themes of gospel,

and what God does through the gospel,

and what he gives us in partnership in the gospel with other believers.

And then running alongside of that as we study the book is this dominant element of joy.

Well, these first 11 verses contain Paul's opening greeting

to what some people consider to be his favorite congregation in the New Testament.

As we read it in just a moment,

you'll discover, maybe even look for intentionally,

a particular warmth and affection

that Paul feels for the people to which he's writing.

He communicates an endearing love for them,

a thankfulness for their partnership in the gospel,

as he refers to it in verse number five.

And it becomes clear that this is a heartfelt expression of a pastor to his people.

And so in my own study this week,

as we prepared to look at it together today,

I can't help but understand Paul's heart in that.

That as he writes this prayer of thanksgiving,

and as he expresses this love and this joy that he has found actually in the Philippian church,

and as he makes this prayer for them,

this ongoing prayer that he prays on their behalf,

we see his pastoral heart,

and it actually shows as a conviction to me as your pastor,

as someone that wants to be thankful for you

in the way that Paul was thankful for his people,

that wants to love you in the way that Paul loved them,

that wants to pray for you in the same way that Paul prayed for the Philippian church.

Let's read it together, starting at verse number one.

Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ,

to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which are at Philippi,

with the elders and deacons,

grace be unto you and peace from God our Father

and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

always in every prayer of mine for you all,

making requests with joy

for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.

And I am confident of this very thing,

that he which hath begun a good work in you

will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Even as it is meet or right is what that means.

It is right for me to think this of you all

because I have you in my heart.

Inasmuch as both in my bonds

and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel,

you are partakers of my grace.

For God is my witness, my record.

How greatly I long after you

in the bowels of Jesus Christ.

And this I pray,

that your love may abound yet more and more

in knowledge and in all judgment,

that you may approve things that are excellent,

that you may be sincere and without offense

till the day of Christ,

being filled with the fruits of righteousness,

which are by Jesus Christ,

unto the glory and praise of God.

The first thing that we notice,

if you're keeping notes as we go along

through our lesson today or our message today,

the first thing that you'd wanna write down

is Paul's joyful thanksgiving.

Paul's joyful thanksgiving.

We see this in verses three through six.

Let's read them together again.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

always in every prayer of mine for you all,

making my request, making my prayer with joy.

And this is the root and the ground

of this prayer and this thanksgiving that he's making.

It's as a result of your fellowship

or partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,

being confident of this very thing,

that he which hath begun a good work in you

will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Reminiscing from his jail cell in Rome,

Paul writes this greeting to the Philippian believers

and he opens here with a specific prayer

of thanksgiving for them.

Verse number four gives us actually the first

of 18 mentions of joy that we'll find in the letter.

And the joy that Paul has experienced

in this particular prayer in verse number four

is a direct result of his remembrance of his people.

Have you ever loved someone so much

or cared for someone so much

that every time you thought of them,

what came to your heart was joy?

We don't actually often experience that

in the same way, right?

Did you pick up on the words that Paul used here?

Always, in every prayer, making my request with joy.

There's a uniqueness to Paul's greeting here.

As he offers this thanksgiving,

thinking of even the place that he writes this greeting from,

as you study the book of Acts

and you study the tradition of Christianity

and church history, you understand that

Paul is at closing in on the tail end

of a particular imprisonment in Rome.

He's appealed at this point his case to Caesar himself

and we'll discover that as we study the book of Philippians

just a little bit further,

how that even people within Caesar's household

have become believers as a result of Paul's witness

from his jail cell, from this imprisonment

that he had in Rome.

Church history tells us that after this particular imprisonment,

he actually is released from imprisonment

before he goes back a number of years later

and is actually beheaded for his faith.

But where he finds himself at this particular moment

writing to these Philippian believers

is under 24-hour surveillance.

He's chained to a Roman guard

and they would take turns, particular watches

where every day there would be different Roman soldiers

that would come in

and they would be physically chained to Paul.

It was humiliating for him, there's no doubt.

But even in the midst of that,

what he writes to these Philippian believers

is his thoughts of joy towards them.

And as you study the remainder of the letter,

you'll see that even despite his circumstances,

that's where this joy is rooted

that no matter what's going on in his life,

even in the midst of a prison cell,

when he's awaiting what could be his death

and would eventually be his death,

he writes with such joy and such warmth

and such affection.

Well, what is this joy really about?

What is this thanksgiving about for him in this passage?

Kent Hughes wrote this,

Paul rarely thanked God for things.

Paul thanked God for people

who despite whatever trouble they may have been to him,

remained a source of joy and thanksgiving.

That really stands in contrast to the way

that we look at thanksgiving, right?

Perhaps this week, even in the thanksgiving holiday,

you had a moment like our family does

where we'll at least take a few moments

or whether it's around the dinner table,

usually it's led by my dad

when we're with my parents on Thanksgiving.

And he just begins to talk about the ways

that God has been good to him.

And we go through a whole list of things

like you probably did this week too.

Hopefully you did this week.

And we talk about all the tangible things.

We talk about the successes that the Lord has brought.

We talk about the physical blessings

that the Lord has brought.

But my dad always gets to a point

where he begins to thank God more for the people

that God has brought into his life

than he actually does the things

that God has blessed in his life.

And that's really the idea

and the picture that we get of Paul.

Of course he was thankful for things.

Of course he was thankful for the benefits

and the blessings that God brought.

But most often he was thankful for the people

that God had put in his life.

And that's the reflection that he gives us

here just now in Philippians chapter one.

There's two particular notes of this Thanksgiving

that I think would be worth you making.

The first thing that we notice

is that he was thankful

for their partnership in the gospel.

He was thankful for their partnership in the gospel.

Look with me again at verse number five.

For your fellowship in the gospel

from the first day until now.

That word fellowship is koinonia in the Greek.

It's translated various ways

throughout the New Testament.

We'll look at a couple of them today.

But it really means partnership.

When he thought and he had this memory

of the church in Philippi,

what he thought first and foremost

was the way that they had partnered with him

underneath the banner of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Well, what was it that he thought about

as he went through?

There could have been a number of things

that he thought about,

but the Bible does actually give us a glimpse

into a number of things that it could have been.

Think back to Acts chapter 16.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 16 tells us the story

Acts 16 · chapter mention

of how Paul and Silas and Timothy and Luke

started the church in Philippi.

They had made this journey there

and on their first Sabbath day

as they made their way out to the riverbank,

they found a group of women that were praying there.

And as a result of the preaching of the gospel,

a successful businesswoman named Lydia was saved.

As you study Acts 16,

you'll see not only was Lydia saved,

but she was on fire for the Lord at this point.

Her house became the place

where the missionary team lived

and we believe that her house also became the location

for the meeting place of the church.

Perhaps when Paul's writing,

I thank my God on every remembrance of you,

maybe he's thinking about Lydia

and the times and the effort and the expense

that she put into this gospel ministry in Philippi.

Maybe he thought about that slave girl

that we studied in Acts 16.

She was demon possessed.

She was being abused by her masters.

God empowered Paul to cast out this demon

and presumably she became a believer in that moment.

And he was able to witness

not only this life change for her physically,

but he was able to witness

the radical change of her eternity

as she believed in the gospel in that moment.

Maybe it was her that he thought about.

Maybe it was the Philippian jailer

that we're all familiar with, right?

Because of his work in the gospel

and the conversion of that slave girl,

Paul and Silas, as you study the chapter,

were stripped naked in front of the whole city.

They were beaten nearly to death.

They were cast into the innermost part of the prison

and they were held fast in the stocks,

awaiting what probably they thought

would be their execution the next day.

And that night, instead of complaining,

they sang praises to the Lord.

You remember what happened?

God sends an earthquake.

And then this Philippian jailer comes in

and his question is,

what do I have to do to be saved?

What do I have to do to experience this joy

that you've experienced tonight in this prison?

Perhaps as he's writing verse three,

that I thank God upon every remembrance of you,

maybe it's Lydia, maybe it's the slave girl,

maybe it's the Philippian jailer,

maybe it was all of them.

Maybe he was thinking back to what he wrote

in 2 Corinthians chapter eight.

In fact, why don't you flip there for me,

just a few pages to the left.

2 Corinthians chapter eight,

the first five verses,

Paul writing to the church of Corinth

references this church of Philippi in Macedonia

and something that they had done for him.

Verse number one,

moreover brethren,

we do you to wit of the grace of God

bestowed on the churches of Macedonia.

That's the church at Philippi.

How that in a great trial of affliction,

the abundance of their joy

and their deep poverty

abounded unto the riches of their generosity.

For to their power, I bear record,

yea, and beyond their power,

they were willing of themselves,

praying us with much entreaty

that we would receive a gift

and take upon us,

here's that word again,

the fellowship of the ministering to the saints,

the partnership of the gospel.

And this they did not as we had hoped,

but first gave their own selves to the Lord

and unto us by the will of God.

They gave generously.

Some point in Paul's missionary journeys,

this church had developed a burden

for what he was doing for the gospel

and even out of their deep poverty,

sacrificially,

they gave of themselves

in order that the work of the gospel

could be supported all across the world.

We do that in our missions giving.

In the way that we give

for particular outreach efforts

here in our community in Cornelius,

as we look to missionaries

that maybe from time to time

would come in and present their works.

When we look to things like

Marty and Fay are involved with,

with getting Bibles all across the world.

When we look to all of these things,

that's our partnership together.

This church,

when Paul thought about them,

maybe reflected on how even in their poverty,

when they had every reason in the world

to say no to an extra offering,

gave of themselves

in order that they could fellowship

with the ministering of the saints,

partner with Paul in the gospel.

And as he writes in verse three,

I thank God on every remembrance of you.

He's thinking back to the conversions

that he experienced in Acts chapter 16

Acts 16 · chapter mention

and then maybe to the particular sacrifice

and partnership in financial giving

in 2 Corinthians chapter eight.

And then back in Philippians,

if you just flip over to chapter four,

we see another glimpse of this

in verses 15 and 16.

On another occasion,

Paul is referencing here,

now you Philippians know also

that in the beginning of the gospel,

when I departed from Macedonia,

that is when he first left after Acts 16,

no church communicated with me

as concerning giving and receiving,

but you only.

For even in Thessalonica,

you sent once and again unto my necessity.

Again, verse 15,

the word communicated,

same word,

koinonia,

partnership.

When Paul thought about this people,

what he thought about

was partnership.

These people have been there for me.

They have helped me.

They have helped the gospel.

It's not just me that they care for.

It's the work of the gospel

that they care for.

And as he reflected on them,

this became an outpouring

of thanksgiving to God

on their behalf,

that as he remembered these people,

he thought to stop

and thank the Lord,

thank you for these people

that have partnered with me

in the gospel.

And I read that

and I consider the testimony

of these Philippian people

and I ask myself the question,

if I was in the Philippian church

or if I was a part

of one of these other churches

that Paul had started,

would he think on me

with the same kind of thanksgiving?

Would Paul be thankful for Jared

because of his partnership

in the gospel?

Maybe he'd be thankful for friendship

or maybe he would be thankful

for a number of things,

but would he be thankful

that I partnered with him

in the gospel?

That's a challenge to us.

How's your partnership

in the gospel?

We commit our lives

to all kinds of partnerships

all the time.

Good partnerships,

partnerships with our spouses,

partnerships with our coworkers,

partnerships that we jump into

with particular hobbies

and with particular things.

We fill our lives

with partnerships,

with endeavors,

with fellowships

and various things.

Where does your partnership

in the gospel

fit on your list of priorities?

I know that it's a priority

in some sense.

You're here today.

You're here for church

on the fourth week

of a baby church

in an elementary school gym.

There's a partnership

in the gospel

that you have here today,

even those of you

that are guests with us

and friendships that we have.

There's a partnership here,

but where does that partnership

in your mind

stack on your list of priorities?

Would you give sacrificially

to a family member

when they had a need?

Most likely, yeah.

Would you give sacrificially

to the work of the gospel

when it has a need?

I hope so.

Would you drop everything

that you're doing

in order to help somebody

that you love

or a friend

that you've grown close to?

Probably, yeah.

Would you drop everything

you're doing

in order to meet a need

and share the gospel

with somebody,

even though it's going

to take away

from something else

that you're interested in?

When Paul wrote

to these people

when he thought about them,

it was their partnership

in the gospel

that resounded

in his heart and his mind

and it became

an outbursting

of thanksgiving for them.

But it wasn't just

their partnership

in the gospel

that he was thankful for.

Secondly,

he was thankful

because he acknowledged

the true source

of their partnership.

He acknowledged

the true source

of their partnership.

Look with me

at verse six.

being confident

of this very thing

or I am sure

of this very thing,

Paul says,

that he,

being God,

that has begun

a good work in you

will perform it

until the day

of Jesus Christ.

That phrase,

will perform it,

it means will bring

to completion,

that he'll finish it.

That the work

that God had started

in the hearts

and in the lives

of these Philippian believers,

that he would never

stop that work

until that work was done.

Paul was confident

of that.

So look at the verses again.

He opens in verse three.

I thank my God.

Did you notice

who he thanked?

It's significant here.

When he thought

about these Philippian believers,

the direction

of his thanksgiving

wasn't to them.

Of course,

he was thankful for them.

Just like we're thankful

for one another,

we're thankful

for other people

in our lives.

But it wasn't just

directed to them,

his thanksgiving.

It was directed to God.

He understood

in that moment,

as I give thanks,

I'm thanking God

because I understand

the source of this partnership

is not rooted

in your love for me

and it's not rooted

in my love for you.

The source of this partnership

is rooted

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

I thank God

because he has begun

this work in us

in salvation.

For those of us

that have believed,

God has begun

this work in your heart.

And then what

encouragement we get.

As we read in verse six

and Paul says,

and I'm convinced

of this,

that the God

that has begun

this work

will finish

this work in you.

And that again

became an outpouring

of thanksgiving.

I'm thankful

for your partnership

but even more

than the partnership,

I'm thankful

for the God

that has sourced it,

for the God

that has provided it.

We take great comfort

in this verse.

Do you ever have moments

of doubt

in your walk

with Christ?

Of course.

We all do,

right?

Do you ever struggle

so much

with sinfulness

and your own

fleshly desires

in your life

that you wonder,

have I ever really

got a hold of this?

Can God really

continue on

working in me

in this way?

I keep falling

over and over again.

I'm not as committed

as this person is

or I can't seem

to get victory

in this area

or whatever it is.

Can I encourage you

with verse number six?

that he that has begun

a good work in you,

he will finish that work.

He will bring it

to completion.

Jesus said,

all that come to me

I will in no wise

cast out.

There's going to be days

that you don't feel

particularly saved.

Have days

like that.

Days

to be transparent

with you

that I follow my face

and beg God

to change my heart,

to change the way

that I think.

And I come back

to verses like this

and I take comfort

in the fact

that my Christian life,

the very fact

that I'm a Christian

has nothing to do

with me.

It has everything

to do

with God's power

in my life.

Paul recognized that

and it caused him

to offer thanksgiving

to the Lord.

We can be thankful

for that.

Thankful for one another

that as we see

each other's lives

that we're thankful

that God has promised

he will continue this work.

Thankful that

on our worst days

as believers

we can stop

and have joy

not because our circumstances

are great

or that we've gotten victory

over a particular

besetting sin

but we can stop

even in the midst of that

and we can have joy

because we understand

that God will not

let me go.

That because

he has done

this work of salvation

he will bring

this work of salvation

to completion

at the day

of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus returns

or when we die

and go to heaven.

Well not only do we see

Paul's joyful thanksgiving

but secondly

we see Paul's

supernatural love.

We see his

supernatural love.

This is in verses

seven and eight.

They express

a very warm affection

for the people here.

Let's look at them together.

It's right for me

to think this of you all

because I have you

in my heart

in as much

as both in my bonds

that is in the suffering

that he was experiencing

and also

as they defended

and confirmed the gospel.

They were partakers.

Again

koinonia

same word

partners with him

in the gospel

in his grace.

For God

is my witness

he says.

How greatly

I long for you

I yearn for you

in all the bowels

of Jesus Christ.

If you're using

a King James

that's a weird word.

In this particular context

it means

the seat of the emotions.

It's a reference

to affection.

Paul's saying here

I love you

and God is my witness

and I yearn after you

with the same affection

that Jesus Christ

yearns after you

and loves you.

It's because of his love

that I love you

and it's in that way

that I desire

to love you.

Jesus said

that our love

for one another

would be an evidence

of our genuine salvation.

Do you remember that

in John 13?

By this shall all men

know that you are

my disciples

if you have love

one to another.

Paul in another letter

to the Corinthian church

1 Corinthians chapter 13

1 Corinthians 13 · chapter mention

expressed the nature

and the superiority

of Christian love.

Maybe some of you

have this as a picture

in your house somewhere.

Love is patient

and kind.

It does not envy

or boast.

It's not arrogant

or rude.

It does not insist

on its own way.

It's not irritable

or resentful.

It doesn't rejoice

in wrongdoing

but rejoices

in the truth.

Love bears all things.

It believes all things.

It hopes all things.

It endures all things.

The scriptures teach us

that love is the

greatest of Christian virtues

and here Paul is expressing

that love that he had

for the Philippian believers.

And I think it's a particular

example for us.

An example of three ways

that we can actually

exhibit this same love

for one another

at Lakeside Bible Church.

The first way is this.

His love was born

out of personal relationships.

His love was born

out of personal relationships.

Look at verse 7.

It's right for me

to think this of you all,

to have this feeling

for you all

because I have you

in my heart.

It's an interesting,

affectionate phrase

that he has here.

He holds them dearly

in his heart.

But you cannot hold

someone dear to your heart

that you have not

taken the time to know

and understand

in time spent together.

A number of us

went to a wedding

of a mutual friend

last night in Locust.

And it reminded me

of this kind of love.

Caroline and David

were married.

Many of you know them.

Caroline and David

were both teenagers

of mine in a youth group

at Laurel

for years and years

and years.

I've known Caroline

since she was probably

10 years old,

9 or 10 years old.

Last night she got married

and that made me

feel a little bit old.

But I remember

watching their relationship.

I remember when they

first started dating.

They started dating at church.

Maybe some of you

started dating at church.

That's where you met

your spouse.

And I remember seeing them

as they progressed

through this relationship

and as they developed

and this love

in their,

and for one another,

blossomed

in their relationship.

That only blossomed

because they were committed

to one another

in personal relationship,

right?

That's where it started.

The love began

to blossom in the early days

because at some point

they spent time together.

And it began to grow

and continue

in love for one another

because they spent

more time together.

And then it blossomed

into what has been

now a covenant

of lifelong marriage

with one another

because they grew

in this fellowship together.

How can we have

this same love

for one another

that Paul had

for the Philippian church?

It starts

with personal relationships.

Your life

in and through

Lakeside Bible Church

cannot be reduced

to a 90 minute service

on Sunday morning.

It won't work.

You'll be able

to come and worship.

You'll be able

to hear the truth

of the Bible

but you will never

bear this kind of love

for the other people here

until you determine

to commit

to building

personal relationships.

And there's simple things

we can do with that.

Come a little early

to service on Sunday

and just talk to people.

Stay a little later

after the service.

We intentionally

on Sundays

we intentionally

don't start to tear

all of this stuff

back down

until 20 or 30 minutes

after the service concludes

because I want us

to spend time together.

Come to the prayer fellowships

on Wednesday nights

at mine and Julie's house.

When we have

moments of fellowship together

ask somebody

to lunch today.

Ask somebody

that maybe you haven't

got to know yet

at our church

if they want to go

have lunch today

or if they want to have

dinner tonight.

Get to know people

in the church.

Develop this love

for one another.

Spend time together.

Not only was this love

born out of personal relationships

it was born out of that

same gospel partnership.

Look at verse 7

once again.

Paul says

in as much as both

in my bonds

and in the defense

and confirmation

of the gospel

y'all are partakers

of my grace.

Their faithfulness

to boldly proclaim

and defend the gospel

along with their willingness

to partner with him

in suffering

was foundational

to the love

that he felt.

Kent Hughes

again writing about

this particular verse

said that this is

the fellowship

of compatriots

bound together

in a great cause.

Paul says

I love you

because you have

fought the fight

with me.

You have served

alongside of me.

I don't love you

because you're just like me.

They were vastly different.

It was because

they were united

under a common cause.

Many of us

don't experience

this kind of love

this supernatural

godly love

for one another

because we never

engage in the fight.

I want to encourage you

this week

engage in the fight.

We have a mission

as a church

as believers.

Our mission

is to take the gospel

that has transformed

our lives

and to tell it

to as many people

as we can.

The people you work with

the family you know

your community

your neighbors

engage in this fight

and then when we

come together

talk to one another

about the fight

pray with one another

and let's watch

the bond that

God gives us

in love for one another

through it.

Thirdly

his love was born

out of love

for Christ.

Was born out of love

for Christ.

Look at verse 8

for God is my witness

how greatly I long

after you

in the infections

of Jesus Christ.

It's possible

to experience

a form of love

without Christ

just by building

personal relationships.

Perhaps before

your own salvation

there were plenty

of people in your life

that you loved.

It's possible

to have a form

of love

in particular

partnerships

that aren't

Christian related.

we've experienced

that as well.

It's impossible

to experience

the fullness

of love

without knowing

the love

of Christ.

The love

as Philippians

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

tells us

of a mighty God

a sovereign God

the creator

of all that is

coming

and humbling

himself

and becoming

in the form

of a servant

and was made

in the likeness

of men.

Why did he do that?

out of love

John 3

16

we know well

for God

so loved

the world

that he gave

his only son.

When you come

to grips

with the true love

that's demonstrated

in the gospel

and you understand

and experience

that love

it will transform

the way you love

others.

Sure the partnership

will grow your love.

Just spending time

together will grow

your love.

But when we come

together underneath

the banner

of Christ

there is no kind

of love

that any person

can experience

that is like

that love

the fullness

of it.

Thirdly and finally

we see Paul's

pastoral prayer.

We see his

joyful thanksgiving

we see

his supernatural

love

and then we see

his pastoral prayer.

I'll leave it to you

to dig deeper

into each and every

one of these

dynamics as we go in

but I will say this

Paul's prayer here

in verses 9 through 11

stand in contrast

to many of our prayers.

Paul didn't pray here

for ease

in his suffering

and he didn't really

pray for ease

in their suffering.

Surely that was a care

and a concern of his.

But his prayer

was focused in

on the spiritual

needs of the people.

Let me just mention

to him quickly

what he prays for.

The first thing

that he prays for

is that their love

would continue.

Look at verse number 9.

This I pray

that your love

may abound

yet more and more

in knowledge

and in all judgment.

So Paul prays

it's a very pastoral prayer.

I pray God

that I'm thankful

for them

they bring me joy

but I pray that you

would help their love

to continue.

Secondly

his prayer was

that they would examine

what is best.

Look at verse 10

that you may approve

the things

that are excellent.

This is the difference

between good and best

and Paul prayed

that on this progression

that as they grew

in their knowledge

of the scriptures

and their love

for one another

that they would learn

to choose

not just good things

but the best things.

They would have discernment.

They would make wise choices

in their walk with Christ.

When John Wesley

went away to Oxford

John MacArthur writes

his mother Susanna

wisely wrote this

in one of her letters

to him.

She said

whatever weakens

your reason

impairs the tenderness

of your conscience

obscures your sense

of God

or takes off

the delight

for spiritual things

whatever increases

the authority

of your body

over your mind

that thing is sin.

I think that's

what Paul is alluding

to here.

He prays

whatever is in your life

even if it's a good thing

it's not necessarily

a bad thing

whatever in your life

pulls you away

from walking

closer with Christ

and moving

towards Christ

that thing

for you

has now become sin

and his prayer

for them

is that their love

would abound

but that as their love

abounds in knowledge

and in discernment

that they would learn

to choose

not just helpful

things in life

but they would choose

the best things

in lives

the things that would

push them further

towards God

in a walk with him.

The third element

of his prayer

was that they would

experience purity

and blamelessness

ahead of Christ's return.

Look again at verse 10

that you may be sincere

that's purity

and without offense

that's blamelessness

till the day of Christ.

He reminds them

of the reality

that Christ is

coming back

and that when he returns

or when this life

is over

we will stand

before him

as judge

and we will give

account for our lives

and so we praise

that the spirit

would continue

to work in them

to make them holy

and pure

and blameless

so that they could

stand before Christ

with joy.

Fourthly

he prays

that they would

bear the fruit

of the righteousness

of Christ.

Look at verse 11

being filled

with the fruits

of righteousness

which are by

Jesus Christ.

He tells us

in the book

of Galatians

what those fruits

begin with

love

joy

peace

long-suffering

patience

gentleness

goodness

gentleness

goodness

faith

or faithfulness

meekness

temperance

are these things

evidenced in your life

these fruits

of the spirit

these things

that God provides

as we

abound in love

and knowledge

and discernment

as we choose

what is best

and not just

what is good

as we seek

to live a pure

life

that all results

in the bearing

of Christian fruit

of the fruit

of righteousness

that God provides

to our lives.

Paul prayed

that these believers

would experience that

and it all culminates

in this last thing

and we're done.

It was a prayer

for the glory

of God.

It was a prayer

for the glory

of God.

Look at verse 11

being filled

with the fruits

of righteousness

which are by

Jesus Christ

unto what?

The glory

and praise

of God.

We make God

a man-centered God

don't we?

God certainly loves us.

We just talked about that

John 3 16

he certainly has

a tremendous amount

of love for us

but greater even

than God's love

for us

is God's concern

for his own glory.

He's more concerned

that your life

glorify him

than he is concerned

that your life

be filled

with whatever measure

of happiness

you would like

it to be filled

with.

It's why God

allows good people

believers

to go through

difficult circumstances.

It's all for the

purpose

of his glory.

Paul's writing

to a group

of believers

in Philippi

that are sharing

in his suffering.

In fact

when he gets

to the end

of chapter 1

we'll discover

it in a couple

of weeks

he commends

them to look

at their suffering

as a grace

from God

because this

grace

and suffering

is actually

for the purpose

of God's glory.

God's glory

is a difficult

thing to define.

I think the best

description

that I've heard

of him

is that it's

God's holiness

his perfection

everything in his

majesty

and his greatness

demonstrated

in us

and in the way

that we live

and in the things

that we do.

It's a manifestation

of his holiness

so that when Paul

prays for this

people

and he prays

for the fruit

of Christ's

righteousness

and their knowledge

to grow

all of these things

what he's actually

praying for

is that God

would receive

glory in them.

Can I tell you

that I pray

this prayer

for you

and I hope

you pray it

for me

and I hope

you pray it

for one another.

Miss Faith

we prayed this

morning that

you'd feel better

we know your

back's been down.

We prayed

for several of us

in our prayer

fellowship

just a couple

of Wednesdays ago

we all took

down requests

and we prayed

for one another's

physical needs

but can I tell you

I pray for those

things I care

about those

things but

more than any

of those things

what I pray

for you

is that you

will love

the Lord

that you

will love

his word

that his word

would do its

work in your

heart

in a tremendous

way so much

so that you

would bear the

fruit of Christ's

righteousness in

your life so that

you and I

together can bring

glory to God

because more than

anything else in

our lives

God is concerned

ultimately for his

own glory.

He's not a man

centered God

he's a God

centered God

and why

shouldn't he be?

He is the one

true God

he deserves

every bit of

our attention

every bit of

our affection

and so as we

begin this study

in the book of

Philippians and

we see this

preview really in

Paul's greeting

in these first

11 verses

we come to

understand that

the ultimate

purpose of

Paul's writing

and his

exhortation

is not just

that they

would experience

joy

but that the

root of that

joy would

bring glory

to God

specifically

their partnership

and I'm

thankful to you

for your

partnership

many of you

that I've

sacrificed so

much in

order to be a

part of this

church plant

I love you

not just because

you're my

friend I love

you because you

are partnering

with me in

this

we're partnering

together in

this it's not

about me

and my

hope is that

we'll pray for

one another

that we'll

glorify the

Lord and

we'll glorify

him in the

way that he

sees fit to

be glorified

whether that

be through

life or

through death

as Paul will

say next

week as we

study that

his ultimate

purpose of

glory would be

fulfilled in

us

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