Thanksgiving And Prayer

Starting at verse 11, if you've got a page number.

All the ones, four ones.

So Acts chapter 16, starting at verse 11, and it's on page 1111.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

Let's hear God's word.

From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis.

From there we travelled to Philippi, a Roman colony, and the leading city of that district of Macedonia.

And we stayed there several days.

On the Sabbath, we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer.

We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.

One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshipper of God.

The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.

When she and the members of her household were baptised, she invited us to her home.

If you consider me a believer in the Lord, she said, come and stay at my house.

And she persuaded us.

I'm going to invite Jonathan, who's going to come and speak this morning.

Thanks, Jonathan.

If you still have Acts chapter 16 open, please keep your finger on it.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

But at the same time, with your other hand, turn to Philippians, which if you're using the Red Bible is on page 1178.

And we're going to read the first 11 verses of that as our text this morning.

Starting in verse 1.

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.

To all saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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,

I've been confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

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

For whether I am in chains, or defending, or confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.

God can testify how I long for you all 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.

Let's just commit our time to the Lord in prayer.

Father, as we have read your word, we are excited at the thought of what you will teach us through it.

Father, we want to become students of your word, people who put your word into practice in our lives.

We thank you for Jesus.

We thank you for our salvation.

And we thank you that we can grow in our salvation by learning about you through your word.

We do want to commit this time to you.

Open up our hearts, I pray, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Has this ever happened to you?

You want to send a greeting card to someone.

So you go down to the shop, and you start picking through the cards to say exactly what you want to say.

So you pick up a card, and you read it, and you think,

that sounds all right, but it's not really what you want to say.

So you pick up another one, and you think, well,

most definitely I'm not going to send that to my loved one.

And eventually you go through all the cards,

and at the end you find there's nothing in any of these cards that I really want to say to my loved one.

So you decide you're going to buy a card with a blank message.

So you take it on home, you sit down at the table,

and you start writing a personal message.

For after all, what you want to say to your loved one is something that you have in your own heart to say,

rather than some standard message that is on a card.

But excitedly, you put it back in the envelope,

you either post it or hand it to whoever you want to give it to,

they open it, and they're so excited,

because do you know what?

It was exactly the message that they wanted to hear.

So the message you wanted to say to them was exactly what they wanted to hear.

Well, in Paul's time there was no hallmark, there was no card shops,

but he had a very personal message that he wanted to say to the people of Philippi.

He didn't want to say something standard or just write down some standard comments,

send it off, and thinking, yeah, they'll be happy with that.

No.

When he wrote his letters to the Philippians,

he had this personal message of joy.

And as we read the letter, you'll actually see that coming through the letter.

He's so joyful and so happy to be writing to these Philippians.

For the next eight weeks, we'll be going through the book of Philippians,

and I would encourage you to read it.

Perhaps this week, find the time to read the book,

the letter, so that you're familiar with it before each sermon.

A few minutes ago, we were reading from Acts.

And the reason we start there is because that is where Paul came across the Philippians.

You might wonder, where is Philippi?

After all, it's not a name that perhaps we're familiar with.

Well, just looking at the map here,

you'll see that Philippi is right here in northern Greece.

Many of us have been on holidays in Italy or in south Greece,

but Philippi was over here.

So we could turn to Acts 16, where we had started from verse 5.

We see that Paul was on his second missionary journey.

And Paul had this idea.

He wanted to travel all around Asia and up here into Asia.

But something happened to him.

If we start in reading from verse 1,

we'll find he was prevented from going into Asia.

He wasn't actually sure what he was supposed to do.

And one night, he had a vision.

He had a vision of a man from Macedonia,

which is our area here,

which said, and the man said to him,

come over to Macedonia and help us.

Paul, the very next day, thought,

you know, this is where God wants us to preach the gospel.

So the gospel started coming into Europe for the first time.

Now we read in verse 5 that from there we travel to Philippi,

a Roman colony and leading city of that district of Macedonia.

Now, if you're interested in history,

you might have heard of Alexander the Great.

He was this great king of the Greek Empire.

Well, his father's name was Philip, King Philip.

And he founded this city called Philippi.

Now you might think, well, he must like the place.

Well, it's more to do with the fact that there was gold around it.

So he named it after himself, Philippi, Philip.

But as what happens in the ancient kingdoms,

it was taken over by another kingdom.

And this kingdom was the Roman Empire.

So they took over Philippi and they made it into a Roman colony.

Well, what does that mean?

Well, it means that Philippi was like a mini Rome.

The people living there considered themselves as Romans.

They had the rights of Roman citizens.

And they were very proud of that citizenship.

They also, it was also on the way to Rome.

So it's a very important place.

And as we read through Philippians,

you'll actually find different references that make sense of that very fact.

And we'll see some references to Rome are the way the culture think at the time.

So just looking at Acts,

we find that he stayed there a few days from verse 12.

And on the Sabbath, he went down to find a place of prayer.

And he met some women there.

And he preached to them.

They heard his message and believed.

And a woman named Lydia and all her family were baptized.

And he invited, they invited Paul and his friends to their house.

And if we continued reading in Acts,

we'd find the very famous story of the Philippian jailer.

And by the end of the chapter, we find that there were different brothers there.

So the colony of believers was now formed in Philippi.

There was a church, a community of believers was being built there.

And Paul, as he was on a journey, moved on and left them.

And if we continue to read in Acts,

we'd find that he'd visited Philippi at least once, if not twice.

So before we look at what Paul had to say to them,

let's just take a big picture approach.

And just to see exactly why Paul wrote the letter.

Well, first of all, he wanted to give his gratitude to the people.

You see, by the time we get to chapter four, we read that the people in Philippi had not forgotten Paul.

Even though he wasn't there for very long, they had sent him gifts when he was in need.

When he was in Macedonia, they'd sent him gifts.

And now that he was in prison in Rome, they'd also send him gifts.

But not only that, but they'd also send a man by the name of Epaphroditus to him

to give him the gifts and to take care of his needs.

But unfortunately, Epaphroditus got sick and he was sending him back to the Philippines.

And he wanted to say, you welcome this man back because he was somebody who served God well.

But Paul also wanted to give spiritual guidance to the church.

And as we, over the next few weeks, we will see that Paul wants to encourage them in the whole area of unity,

of imitating Christ and also growing in their spiritual lives.

And thirdly, Paul writes this letter because he wants to give them a spirit of joy and gladness.

Not a false joy or pretending, oh, I'm happy all the time, but a joy that comes from the Lord.

He'll say to them, rejoice in the Lord.

So with that in mind, let's turn to the first two verses of Philippians.

And here we read the standard opening of Paul's letters.

You'll see that Paul uses the convention of his day, who wrote the letter, who it was to, and a greeting.

And first of all, we read in verse one, Paul and Timothy.

Now you might think, oh, well, maybe Paul and Timothy wrote the letter together.

Well, as we read the letter, you'll notice that Paul always uses the first person.

So if you look down in verse three, he says, I thank my God.

And in verse four, in all my prayers.

So it's Paul himself is doing the speaking.

In fact, by the time we get to chapter two, he refers to Timothy when he says to send Timothy to you soon.

So Timothy couldn't have written the letter, but he was a companion of Paul.

In fact, in Acts chapter 16, we have it recorded that this is where just before he went to Philippi,

Acts 16 · chapter mention

he'd met Timothy and Timothy joined him on his travels.

So after Paul introduces himself as the writer, he then describes himself as a servant of Christ Jesus,

or in some translations, it will say a slave.

Now you might think to yourself, well, why would you write to these Roman citizens and call yourselves a slave?

After all, in Roman thinking, privilege and status was very important.

So you always want to build yourself up and you certainly wouldn't want to describe yourself as a slave or a servant.

But you see that Paul wanted to show the people what his position in life was.

And that was as a servant of Jesus Christ.

He wanted to exalt Jesus, whereas bringing himself down to state where his true position was.

And then he writes, to all the saints in Christ Jesus.

And we think of the word saints.

Obviously, we have this concept in everyday language of someone special or holy or someone privileged.

After all, when we think of the different names of schools or hospitals, we think of St. Luke's or St. John's or St. Mary's.

In fact, what we might say is, well, maybe the modern way of writing it would have been

St. Paul to all of the Christians who lived in Philippi, rather than saying slave Paul to all the saints.

But that doesn't accord with the biblical meaning of the word saints.

Some translations will say to the holy people of Philippi.

And that's what saints means.

Those who were set apart for God.

When Paul wrote to the Romans, he spoke of those who are loved by God and called to be saints.

So saints were those who were loved by God.

And when he wrote to the Ephesians, he said, described them as those who are faithful in Christ Jesus.

In fact, actually, the word saints is used over 60 times in the New Testament and always refers to believers.

So when Paul says to all the saints in Christ Jesus, he was referring to them as believers, as holy people.

But notice that they're not holy in their own right.

They didn't just become holy because of their good living.

It was because of Jesus Christ.

Just like Paul, they were believers.

Let's just pause there for a moment because it's very easy for us to read over a verse like that and pass over.

I'm thinking too much about it.

He says, to all the saints in Christ Jesus.

And wherever we see in Christ Jesus or of Christ Jesus or from Christ Jesus,

we should really pause to think, what is actually Paul trying to say?

After all, when we think of some of the great truths of Scripture,

it refers to them as being in Christ.

In Christ means a union with Christ.

Just like Paul, the Philippians had a union with Christ.

If you think of some of the great truths that we hold dear,

you think of Romans chapter 8, verse 1.

Romans 8:1

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

Or in Ephesians, when he spoke to them about spiritual blessings,

he said, believers have every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus.

Or in Corinthians, when he wrote to them, he said,

if you are anyone who is in Christ, it's a new creation.

So what Paul was trying to get across here was,

these Philippians, they are defined not by the fact that they're nice people

or they're people that he met on his journey,

but instead by the fact that they're believers in Jesus Christ.

In verse 2, he then gives them a greeting.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace is that foundation of our faith.

For it is by grace we are being saved through faith.

That's what starts off our faith.

And one of the first fruits of grace, of salvation, is peace.

After all, when we are saved, we are freed from the penalty of sin

and we have peace with God.

But it's more and deeper than that, in that we now in our very lives

have a peace that can only come from knowing Christ.

So what's Paul saying here?

Is he saying, oh, well, I'd like you all to be saved and Christians again

because that would be a good thing.

Well, no, I think what he's doing is he's trying to remind them

that God hasn't changed, that grace and peace still comes from God.

And note that it comes from God and the Lord Jesus.

He then gets into the meat of his passage in verse 3.

Let's just read that section again.

And as we read it, note the number of references that Paul makes

to his affection or love for the Philippians.

He says in verse 3,

In verse 7 he says,

It is right for me to feel this way about you all.

And verse 8 he says,

Notice how in verse 3 he says,

every time he remembers the Philippians,

what's his reaction?

To thank God.

So you can imagine Paul, here he is.

He's travelling throughout Europe,

preaching the gospel,

but he still remembers this group of believers

that he met on his way into Europe.

He said, I thank my God every time.

So each time he remembers them, he's thankful to them.

And then in verse 4 it tells us that

he prays for them in all my prayers for you.

Now you might think, well,

perhaps his prayers are built out of a sense of, say, frustration,

or perhaps he's crossed with them,

or he really wants to teach them something.

But no, his prayers, as he says,

is always praying with joy.

When he prays for the Philippians,

it's a joyful prayer.

That's what he,

that's his uttermost feeling when he thinks about them.

So why was he joyful?

Well, he tells us in verse 5,

it is because of your partnership,

or fellowship in the gospel,

from the first day until now.

So even though the Philippians were over here,

and Paul was now in a jail in Rome,

they still shared with him,

even though they were so far away.

Well, how do we know that?

Well, we know it because they gave to him financially.

As he said, that was recorded in verse 4.

However, they continued their concern for him,

even though they were so far away.

But not only were they willing to write a check to him,

or pass on gifts,

but they were also willing to give of themselves

by sending one of their own.

And isn't that a lovely picture

of partnering with someone in the gospel?

For when we start supporting people,

or supporting or having concern

for those who are preaching the gospel,

it's very easy for us to,

well, I'll write a check,

and I won't feel guilty anymore,

and I just send off the check,

and then don't think about them again

until we get another prayer letter,

or when they visit the church, or whatever.

But instead, we get a beautiful picture

of the Philippians partnering with Paul.

So even though they are far away,

they still are concerned with Paul,

concerned about the gospel,

and they want to support him

by not just giving him of their gifts,

but also sending one of their own

to give support to him.

They have this desire to support him

and see the gospel continue to be spread.

And in verse 7, we see that Paul says

it is right for him to feel this way.

It's right for him to be thankful

and to be joyful,

because he has them in his heart.

And whether he's in chains,

which he is at the moment,

or whether he's outside defending the gospel

against those who would dispute with him,

he knows that they all share in God's grace with them.

He knows that they are with him.

As fellow believers,

they are with him,

even though they're very far away.

And verse 8, concluding that section,

says, God can testify, calls on God,

how I long for you all

with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And this longing that Paul has,

he just doesn't say this at the start of the letter,

he also says it in chapter 2,

where he again repeats

that he'd like to be with them,

and he longs for them

with the affection of Christ Jesus.

In other words,

he wants to imitate Christ's love

for the people in his own life.

But have we missed something?

I mean, after all,

we've just read a number of verses

that speak about his affection for the Philippians,

about his love for them,

and his long for them,

and the reason for that

is their partnership in the gospel with them.

But did we miss something in verse 6

that is on a deeper level,

something that really is a foundation

for Paul's joy for the Philippians?

Let's read verse 6 again.

He says,

Being confident of this,

that he, being God,

who began a good work in you,

will carry it on to completion

until the day of Christ.

Now remember,

Paul was there when the church was founded.

He saw the first believers

opened up to the message about Jesus.

And what he's saying is,

I am confident that it was God

who began the work of salvation in their lives.

And we see a beautiful picture

back in Acts chapter 16 of that.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

Do you remember when we read about Lydia?

Well, Paul went out into the riverside,

he started preaching the gospel of Jesus

to the people,

and Lydia heard the message.

But did you notice when we were reading it,

who caused Lydia to believe?

It says that the Lord opened up Lydia's heart

to hear the gospel.

So even though it was Paul preaching,

and it was Lydia listening,

it was actually God started the work

of salvation in their lives.

I think that's a beautiful picture

of what God does.

He says,

I am confident that he who began a good work in you,

and Paul could testify that,

because he saw the work that was began.

And for us as believers,

it was God started that work in us.

He was the one who chose us,

and we believed.

It wasn't that there was anything in ourselves,

or because of our cleverness,

or whatever.

It was because of God.

But Paul is not only confident

that God was the one who initially saved them,

but he's also the one

who's going to continuously sustain them.

Listen to what he says.

He who began a good work in you

will carry it onto completion.

In other words,

these believers in Philippi

are still in the hands of the Lord,

and they will be right up until the end.

He speaks of the day of Christ Jesus.

We live in a very privileged time.

We live in between the first coming of Christ

and the second coming of Christ.

You might remember a few years ago,

we were looking at Thessalonians,

and that was encouraging us

to look ahead to the day of the Lord.

And what Paul is saying is,

I am confident with you, Philippians,

that God, who started the work in you,

will carry it onto completion,

and by the time Christ comes back

and you receive the full,

all the full promises of your salvation

will all be fulfilled,

that God is the one who will do that.

You might even remember

the verses that were up on the screen

right when we came in first,

that Johnny preached from,

or Johnny referred to,

John chapter 10,

John 10 · chapter mention

that when we are in the Lord's hands,

nobody can take us out.

And Paul was confident of that.

So when Paul is saying that he is joyful

and thankful for the Philippians,

yes, he is thankful for the immediate reason

being that they're partners within the gospel,

but also because he's a deep confidence

that it's God who's doing the work in them.

They're not false Christians.

They are God's people,

and God will take care of them.

So you might think,

well, if God is the one who starts salvation,

and God is the one who continues it,

and God is the one who finishes it,

maybe we could all sit back and do nothing.

After all, if it's all of God,

it's nothing to do with us.

But I think we'll find,

when by the time Paul gets down to his prayer

in verses 9 to 11,

that we also have a part to play.

So let's move to verse 9.

And this is my prayer.

Now, Paul is after already telling them

that he's praying for him.

Back up in verse 4, he says,

in all my prayers for all of you.

It's nice when people tell us

that they're praying for us.

We don't always know what they're praying for us,

but here, Paul is specifically telling the Philippians

what he is praying for.

He says, in verse 9,

that your love may abound more and more

in knowledge and depth of insight.

Abound more and more,

meaning to increase.

But what love is he talking about?

Is he talking about brotherly love?

Is he talking about loving Paul more?

Or is he talking about loving God more?

Well, initially the context might suggest

a brotherly love loving one another,

and it certainly doesn't exclude loving God.

But I don't think the love that he is talking about

stops there.

It's a love that he wants to grow more and more

in knowledge and depth of insight.

When he wrote to the Thessalonians,

Paul said that he wants their love to increase

so that it would overflow.

But I don't think the love that he's talking about

is kind of a blind love

or a sentimental love

or a love if we look at the culture around us

and their definition of love.

I don't think that's what he is actually saying.

And I think the word knowledge

helps us in understanding what that love is.

For those who have understood Greek,

when it's talking about knowledge,

it's talking about a deep or intensive spiritual knowledge,

the knowledge of God and of Jesus.

It's used over 20 times in Scripture,

and it's always used in connection

with the things of God.

When Paul wrote to the Colossians,

he said to them that he wanted them

to have the full riches of complete understanding

so that they might know the mystery of God in Christ.

Or when he wrote to the Ephesians,

he said, speaking about the body of Christ,

he said,

until all reach unity in the faith

and in the knowledge of the Son of God

and become mature.

What Paul is saying is,

I want you Philippians to grow in your love

as you grow in the knowledge of God

and the things of God.

He wants them almost to become Bible students,

learning more about God

and growing in maturity from that.

And you might think,

well, you know,

we could all grow in knowledge

and it's great to have knowledge,

but what about putting it into practice?

But I think Paul is actually referring to that as well.

When he says,

in knowledge and depth of insight,

the whole idea of depth of insight

comes from a word that refers to putting into practice.

It's used,

a variant of it is used in Hebrews

and the writer was talking about solid food.

He was talking about growing as a believer.

And he says that solid food is for the mature,

who by constant use

have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

In other words,

they were using the solid food of God's word to grow.

So they were able to discern

the difference between good and evil.

So they could choose,

they could make moral decisions.

They were putting into practice

what they were learning.

So I think what Paul is saying is,

yes, Philippians,

I want you to grow in your knowledge,

but it's to have a practical benefit.

And verse 10 he says,

so that you may be able to discern what is best

and may be pure and blameless.

Discern what is best.

There's many good things.

If we think about how we spend our time

or our thinking,

there's so many good things

that we can do in our lives.

We can think of many things

that we're involved in.

But sometimes should we take a step back

and ask,

are they the best things?

Do we have our priorities right?

Are we prioritizing God

and the things of God?

And yes, we might even still be doing things,

but are they the best?

And I think what Paul is saying is,

choose what is best.

Look for the priorities.

What and what are the priorities?

And they will always have to do

with the things of God.

And he then says,

so that you may be pure and blameless

until the day of Christ.

Now, I'm rather hoping that he's not saying

that everyone has to be pure and blameless

as a believer in this life,

because I know for myself

that I am not pure

and I am not blameless.

What he's saying is

that they would be continuously changing.

They would be leaving aside

some of their old habits,

their old ways,

and becoming more pure

and more blameless

as we work toward

the day of Christ returning.

If you can think of the word pure,

often we use that word

in connection with a precious metal.

Do you know when they find metal,

it's got all these bits of dirt

and dross in it.

So what you have to do

is you heat it up slowly

and gradually all that dirt

and dross comes out.

But it happens over time.

That's like us as believers.

We become believers.

We grow in our knowledge of God.

But it takes us a while

to mature, to grow.

And we still get caught up

in different things we shouldn't.

We still think things we shouldn't.

But over time,

we begin to change,

to become more like Christ.

I think that's what Paul is saying.

He's not saying,

well, you've got to be perfect now

because he himself wasn't perfect.

The Philippians weren't.

And we certainly aren't.

And verse 11, he says,

filled with the fruit of righteousness

that comes through Jesus Christ.

And we think of the word fruit.

Well, you can't have fruit

unless there's a seed.

And that seed was planted at salvation.

And that seed grew and grew

until it bears fruit.

And what Paul wants is

for the believers to start

to show fruit in their lives.

Well, what fruit is he talking about?

Well, we can think immediately

of what he wrote to the Galatians

when he spoke about

the fruit of the Spirit.

He spoke about love,

joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness,

and self-control.

And as we grow in our faith,

we should be showing

these different things in our lives.

Now, you might think to yourself,

well, I'm not patient.

I never have been and never will be.

But I'm pretty good at loving people.

And I'm pretty good at kindness.

Or you might say,

well, I'm not very peaceful

and not very self-controlled

because I lose my temper a bit.

But I'm pretty good at the rest.

But you notice that Paul says

fruit of righteousness.

He doesn't say fruits, plural.

You see, the fruit all come together.

So it doesn't work like that.

Well, we can be this or that,

or we can choose how we grow.

It's all together.

As we grow, we are joyful.

We are peaceful, patient, kind,

good, faithful, gentle,

and self-controlled.

And that will grow in us all.

And sometimes in our Christian lives,

we don't see it.

Other people might see it.

Perhaps you haven't seen somebody for a while.

And all of a sudden you realize,

wow, they're more peaceful than before.

They're more patient.

They mightn't see it themselves,

but they are changing

because they are showing fruit in their lives

as they grow in the knowledge of God,

as their love increases.

So as we look back

and take a step back

from our verses that we've read,

what is actually Paul saying?

Well, he started off by stating

who the Philippians were.

They are in Christ.

They were believers.

We have learned that they were partners of his

in the gospel.

And we've also learned

that he had great confidence

that it was God

who started that work in their lives.

And then we see

that he was praying for them

and he wanted them to grow,

to mature in their lives.

But for us,

what did that mean for us?

What can we take from it?

After all,

Paul was thankful for them

and he loved them.

But what was his major reaction

to the Philippians?

As we look back,

it was actually

that he was driven to prayer.

Do you notice that he prayed

because he was thankful for them?

He loved them

and he prayed that he wanted them

to mature in their faith.

So what about us?

Is there anything we can take from that?

Well,

when we think about us

as a family here,

we're a community of believers.

We come

and we spend time together

in church

on a Sunday morning.

We do things together

as a family,

as believers

wanting to share

the gospel around.

When we think of other people,

other believers,

what's our initial reaction?

I'm not looking for any answers,

but how do you react

when you think of

this person

or that person

or that group of people

or that family?

Are you driven

to wanting to thank God

for them?

Do you consider

people in the church

are a partner

with you in the gospel

as the gospel

is going out

from this church?

Do you consider

them partners in that?

Do you consider,

do others consider

you a partner

in the gospel?

What about our prayer life?

What do we pray

for one another?

When we think about

each other during the week,

what do we think of?

Very often,

if we think about

our own prayers,

and I include myself

in this,

we pray for a lot

of physical needs

for people.

We pray for jobs,

for accommodation,

for health,

and these are excellent

things to be praying for,

and we should pray

for these things.

We also pray

for people's salvation,

that they will come

to know Jesus,

that they will have

that assurance

of salvation

from the Lord.

But do we pray

for people's maturity

in the faith?

When we think of

other people in the church,

do we pray

that their love

would increase

more and more?

Do we pray

that they would grow

in the knowledge

of the things of God?

Do we pray

that there would be

fruit in their lives?

Do people pray

for us?

This whole idea

of partnering

in the gospel,

there's many activities

of the church.

We all can't be involved

in everything.

We all can't be involved

in Sunday school,

or we can't all be involved

in the rock.

But for those

who are involved

in these things,

do they consider you

or me part of that,

even though we're not there

on a Sunday morning

up in the room,

or we're not there

on a Saturday

at the rock,

or on polo

on a Thursday,

do they still consider us

part of the partnership

in the gospel?

I mean,

when we go out

on Wednesday

to give out

the magazines,

the For You magazines,

some people are not

able to come.

But for those

who are going out,

do they still feel

that they have partners

in the gospel

because there's other people

behind them,

praying for them,

thinking about them,

being thankful for them?

I think there's much

that we can take

from the first

11 verses of this.

And it is a terrific

introduction

to the rest of the book

because we will see

continued love

for the Philippians.

We'll see that

Paul continuously

wants to see them

grow.

He doesn't want them

to stand still

in their faith.

And for us

as believers,

we shouldn't want

to see others

stand still

in their faith either.

So maybe

when we go out

from here,

we would be

encouraged

to remember

each other

in prayer,

to be thankful,

to consider each other

partners,

but also

desiring

to see other people

grow.

And we can do that.

We have opportunities

to do that.

We have a tea and coffee

halfway through the service.

And it is a time

to encourage

one another

to see

things changing

in our lives.

A number of weeks ago,

we were speaking

about gifts

of the Holy Spirit.

We can encourage

people to use

their gifts

for the church

so that people

are growing

and they are fruit.

And what we will see

is over time

that the fruit

of the Spirit

will be more evident

in our lives.

And what a joyful

thing that is.

Let's pray.

Father, we do

thank you for your word.

We thank you

for this group

of believers

that is recorded

for us.

We thank you

for the beginning

of their faith.

We thank you

that at a point

in history

you decided

that the gospel

was going to go

into Europe

and those different

ones were saved

because they heard

your message.

We thank you

for Paul

and his desire

to see people

grow,

not to leave them

stand still

in their faith

but to see

their love

grow more and more

to become

more mature.

We thank you

for the truths

in this passage.

We thank you

for the confidence

that we can have

as believers

in you

that it was

you started

the work.

It is you

who continue it

and it is you

who will bring it

to completion

at the end.

We thank you

for our family

of believers

here in Carragoline.

we pray

that indeed

we would be

an example

of a loving

people,

a people

who remember

each other

fondly

and desire

to pray

for one another.

I pray

for each one

for myself

that we would

all grow

in our knowledge

of you,

that we would

become more

mature,

that our desire

would be to know

and understand

more of the

salvation

that you have

graciously given us.

We pray

that there might

be fruit

evident in our lives

but that this fruit

it wouldn't be

for our glory

but as the passage

says that it is

to the glory

and praise

of God

and may that

be our desire

to see you

glorified,

to see you

praised

and as we

go out

from here today

may our desire

be to continue

to read

in Philippians

to be able

to learn,

to be able

to read

in advance

so that we

could be able

to discern

what you

would have us

learn.

May our hearts

be continuously

open to your

word.

In Jesus'

name,

Amen.