WWUTT 007 Pray For One Another (Philippians 1:18-26)

As fellow Christians, as brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, we need to pray for one another. How should we pray for each other? Well, we need to pray that we would be a glory to God with our whole lives, so that we might also glorify God in our death when we understand the text.

Welcome to When We Understand The Text. My name is Pastor Gabe Hughes, and it has been such a joy to be with you as we study through the book of Philippians Together, a book that talks heavily of the subject of joy.

Paul’s Joy in Philippians and the Call to Rejoice

In fact, the section that we look at today, the Apostle Paul is going to talk about how it has been his joy to minister to the Philippians. When this broadcast started, when we debuted last week, my wife and I had just celebrated an anniversary.

Our anniversary is on August 1st, by the way. And this year, we gifted one another with brand new Bibles. I bought her a study Bible because she kept running away with my study Bible. And I really liked her journaling Bible.

I loved being able to write in the margins. Well, I loved watching her write in the margins. I guess I did write in the margins sometimes. I left her little notes in there. But I wanted a Bible where I could do that same thing.

So she bought me a new journaling Bible. And one of the things that I like about this Bible, in addition to being able to write in the margins, is it has a very flexible cover. So I can bend it around to the back.

I like to bend the page that I'm not looking at around to the backside. Yeah, I'm one of those guys. So I can do that with this and not break the binding. So it has been my joy to go through Philippians with you and be able to do it in my brand new Bible.

Today, we are looking at Philippians 1, verses 18 through 26 again. We'll be there today and also again tomorrow. And today, we're actually not going to take a viewer question, though. The way that we've been doing these broadcasts is we spend the first two thirds going through the text together.

And then the last third, we take a viewer question, somebody who has seen our When We Understand the Text videos and had a question about them. And we'll play that video and take and respond to the question.

We're not going to do that today because my what video is actually going to come toward the beginning here. But you can still submit us a question and we'll get back to the questions again tomorrow. Best way to get a question to us is through our website, www .utt .com.

You'll find the email link on there. And that's the surefire way to be sure that we're going to see the question and respond to it. We'll email you back with an answer and also ask your permission to use it on this broadcast.

We love getting comments on Facebook and YouTube and Twitter, but sometimes the comments get past us because we get so many of them. So again, the best way to submit a question to it, because we'll be looking for it, is through email.

And you can find the email link at our website, www .utt .com, as well as a full list of our videos. Let's get to the text today. Philippians chapter one in verse 18, Paul says, in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed.

And in that I rejoice. Yes. And I will rejoice. For I know that through your prayers and the help of the spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not at all be ashamed, but that with full courage now, as always, Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me, yet which shall I choose? I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ for that is far better.

But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again.

Prayer, Joy, and Steadfastness in Trials

Let us come to the Lord in prayer. Our great God, as we look at this text today, I pray that you will teach us what it means to be fervent in prayer for one another. As Paul had asked for the prayers of the Philippians for him, that it would turn out for his deliverance and that he would have courage as always to obey and honor Christ in his body.

I pray that we understand what that means so that we can pray for one another that same way. Let us always be quick to come to you in prayer. And I pray that you hear our prayers, that you have renewed a right spirit within us.

You have made us worthy to worship you so that our prayer is received and it is answered. You have promised us that if we ask, it will be given to us. If we seek, we will find. If we knock, the door will be opened.

And so Lord, let us with the mind of Christ come into your throne room today. And as by your spirit, we pray in Jesus name, amen. Philippians chapter one, beginning then again in verse 18, where Paul rejoices that whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed.

In this, I rejoice. And yes, I will rejoice. That double statement of joy, we see that come up again in Philippians 4, 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice. This constant theme of joy that we see coming out of this letter.

And I hope that as we've been going through this, you're keeping that on your mind. This is for your joy. And every time we come to the text and every time we wrap up a Bible study together, you are that much more filled with joy than when you opened up the Bible.

Joy in the Lord that we are to have. God wants us to have joy in his presence. We celebrate him in all circumstances, even when things get tough. Remember what James says at the beginning of his letter, James chapter one, verse two, where he says, counted all joy.

My brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, can you imagine that? Rejoicing in any kind of trial, whether it's good or bad. And most of the time, trials don't really feel very good. We don't necessarily want a trial, at least in our flesh.

We don't, but in the spirit, we should, because we know that through these trials, through these things that we experience, it is testing our faith and producing steadfastness. James says that directly in verse three.

So let me read verses two, three, and four together. Count it all joy. My brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

It's necessary for us to remember this because that even comes up here in what Paul is stating in the section that we're reading today. But we are to count it all joy when we experience trials of many kinds.

Encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ in this same way. Now don't be insensitive about it, all right? If somebody has lost a loved one, I don't think it's necessarily very sensitive to come alongside them, put your arm around them and say, hey, count it all joy.

I don't know. Maybe you know them well enough where that sort of a statement definitely would be a benefit to them. But Romans chapter 12 tells us very directly that we need to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.

So there is a time for tears and there is a time for laughing and celebration. And in a time of sorrow, perhaps what that friend needs the most from us is just an arm around their shoulder and somebody who would weep along with them.

You know, we see this in Job chapter 2 in fact, when Job's friends come alongside them and they didn't say a word, they mourned with him. They cried tears with him. Now we know later that they weren't very good friends because they were telling Job that the reason why all this tough stuff was happening in his life was because there was sin in his life that he had not repented of yet.

And so that's why God was causing all these bad things to happen to him. And so Job rebuked them for being terrible friends. But at least for the time being and what we see in Job chapter 2, they were good friends because they just came and wept along with their friend.

And so sometimes that is the way that we need to respond to the trials that are happening in a loved one's life. We just need to come alongside them and weep. But in our circumstances, I speak to you, okay?

In all circumstances, we need to count it joy when we meet trials of various kinds. Various kinds of trials, no matter the trial, a light kind of trial, a very heavy, awful kind of trial, something that might compare with Job.

We need to still be joyful in all those things. It says in Job chapter 1 that after Job lost his family and he lost his property and he lost his servants, he fell down before the Lord and worshiped. And we need to have the kind of joy in our lives that in any and all circumstances, we are still worshiping God.

Not only when we feel good about it, but especially in those tough times, that's really when we need to worship. I love a song that was written by Stephen Curtis Chapman called Moment Made for Worshipping.

And in the first verse of that song, he talks about how, hey, he's just kind of going through the mundane, the hum drum of life, ho hum, this, that, and the other. I kissed my wife goodbye. I'm going through this daily routine that I always go through.

And as he's walking out the door, he gets to the end of that verse and he says, and now I'm left wondering if I really feel anything at all. And then right at the beginning of the chorus, he said, these are the moments made for worshiping.

Especially in those times when we've been going through the mundane and we wonder if, you know, is there any feeling in this? Am I getting any joy, any happiness out of this at all? Those especially are the moments that we need to worship God in any and all circumstances to count it all joy when we meet trials of various kinds, knowing that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness.

And Paul even speaks of this here as we've been looking at this section in Philippians chapter one. I know that through your prayers and the help of the spirit of Jesus Christ, this trial that I'm going through right now, because remember, he has been placed under house arrest for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He has been restricted to his house. He can't go anywhere, but people can still come to him and he can preach the gospel. The Philippians have sent an offering with Epaphroditus to help Paul in that ministry effort that he's doing in Rome.

But Paul writes to his Philippian brothers and he says to them, I want you to know that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. So the Philippians rejoice with Paul in that. Even as he's meeting this trial, he is continuing to rejoice in God and so do the Philippians.

For I know Paul says that through your prayers and the help of the spirit, this will turn out for my deliverance. This trial that I'm going through is going to turn out for my deliverance because of your prayers and because of the help of the spirit.

And we do need to pray for one another. We need to pray for each other's steadfastness in the faith. He is asking the Philippians here to pray for his steadfastness in the faith. This is an apostle we're talking about, but he is asking for prayer.

Praying for One Another, Confession, and Church Discipline

And we see this in a couple of, I'm going to go to Ephesians chapter six in a moment because we see the, we see the apostle Paul requests the same thing of the Ephesians. But I want to look at a couple of other places first where we see this request of prayer on behalf of another in the faith.

Okay. We just finished up studying first John at a Bible study that we've been hosting in our home. We just finished it up yesterday. As a matter of fact, because we've been meeting on Monday evenings.

And so I'm reminded of this in first John chapter five, where the apostle says this starting in verse 16, if anyone sees his brother committing a sin, not leading to death, he shall ask and God will give him life to those who commit sins that do not lead to death.

There is a sin that leads to death. I do not say that one should pray for that. And the sin that John is talking about here is the unforgivable sin. I'll explain this in a moment because every time that I read this and I talk about this, somebody inevitably raises a hand and ask the question, what is a sin that leads to death and what's a sin that doesn't lead to death?

What are we talking about there? So I'll explain that in a moment. What is the unforgivable sin? We have a what video about that? Verse 17 John says, all wrongdoing is sin, but there is a sin that does not lead to death.

We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him and the evil one does not touch him. So again, back in verse 16, if anyone sees his brother committing a sin, not leading to death, he shall ask and God will give him life.

So this is a fellow Christian seeing a brother in sin, confronting him about that sin and also praying that he would repent of that sin. So we pray for one another in these ways as we look out for each other in the body of Christ.

Now, when John is talking about a sin that leads to death, when we're talking about the unforgivable sin, what is that reference? Well, in Matthew chapter 12 verses 22 through 32, that's where Jesus talks about the unforgivable sin.

He does in Mark as well. But here in Matthew chapter 12 verses 22 through 32, you see Jesus talk about the unforgivable sin. And in 90 seconds, here's the explanation of the unforgivable sin. In Mark chapter three, the Pharisees blaspheme Jesus by saying that he's a Beelzebul and that's how he's able to cast out demons.

Jesus rebukes them, warning that they're dangerously close to committing the one sin that's unforgivable. All sins will be forgiven the children of man, he says, and whatever blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.

It's this verse that's prompted some atheists to issue what they've called the blasphemy challenge. If you truly believe there is no God, prove it, they say, by making a video of yourself denying the Holy Spirit.

Bam! You're now forever damned and can never repent. Well, while they're certainly playing with fire, blaspheming the Holy Spirit is not like taking the Lord's name in vain. That time you said holy cow or holy whatever word followed it, you didn't commit the one unforgivable sin.

See, it's through the ministry of the Holy Spirit that we can even know about the gospel of Christ. Any person who rejects that message or claims it's not of God, who refuses to turn from a life of sin and answer the call of salvation, heartening their heart against God all the way to their death, that's blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and that's what's unforgivable.

We have this life only to come to Christ and after that comes judgment. But we need to consider that no one this side of eternity is beyond the call of salvation. While Jesus was on the cross, taking upon himself the penalty that we deserve, there were people blaspheming him while he died, yet he prayed.

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Know that there is forgiveness right now and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord when we understand the text. Okay, so there's your explanation of the unforgivable sin there, right?

And when we see, related back to 1 John chapter 5, when we see a brother or a sister committing a sin, we should not think, oh no, they're sinning. They've fallen away from the faith and now they can never be rescued.

Because, as was stated in that video, we should never think that somebody is beyond the call to salvation. Everybody in this life can receive the grace that comes from our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We all need grace. That's essentially what Paul says in Romans chapter 3, as he brings all people into condemnation, Jews and Gentiles, nobody is inherently shown the favor of God because they lived righteously on their own.

We all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory and all of us need grace. That's essentially what Paul is getting at. So anybody that we see, a brother or sister that has wandered from the faith and is walking in sin, or somebody who we would think to be lost and is not a Christian at all, we should not think that a person has ever committed so many sins that they're beyond the call to salvation.

Everyone needs grace. Anyone can be saved in this lifetime if they answer the call of the Holy Spirit, if that call is upon their lives. So here, as John is stating in 1 John chapter 5, if anyone sees a brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will give him life.

To those who commit sins that do not lead to death, there is a sin that leads to death and I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

So as long as a person is in this life, they can repent and come to Christ. If a person has died in sin and has not repented, so I'm talking a person that decided to love their sin and cherish their sin in this world and not follow Christ with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, then they cannot be prayed for.

After they have died, you cannot pray for their salvation because it is appointed for a man once to die and after that comes judgment, as it says in Hebrews chapter 9. So we pray for those who in this life we know need to repent and need to hold steadfast in the faith.

As John says, 1 John 5, 18, we know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who is born of God protects him and the evil one does not touch him. So let us pray for one another that we would be steadfast in the faith.

In James chapter 5, this is a famous section that surely you know, James 5, starting in verse 13, is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. We can apply weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.

They're in that section too. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let him pray. Let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up.

And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Let us confess our sins to one another. You know, me as a pastor, I have sins that I need to confess as well. And I have men that help to hold me accountable. And so we need to confess our sins to each other so that we're able to keep one another steadfast on the path of righteousness, walking steadfast in the faith.

Verse 17, Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain. And for three years and six months, it did not rain on the earth. For what reason? So that Israel would come to repentance, right?

Verse 18, then he prayed again and heaven gave rain and the earth bore its fruit. So we pray for someone to come to repentance. We pray for one another in that way that they remain steadfast in the faith.

Verse 19, my brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Folks, we absolutely should not coddle one another in their sins. We should not ever think it too difficult a task to confront a person in their sin. We don't want to do that. We know it might make them mad and we don't want them to be mad at us.

So you know, let's just pray that God will forgive them of their sin. We should pray for them, yes, but we should also confront one another in sin. We need to have accountability in the body of Christ that is expected of us to actually have that checks and balances to call one another to repentance in the faith where necessary.

We see in Colossians chapter three, as a matter of fact, where this charge has been given specifically to the church, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

What does it mean to admonish? It means to correct or reprove another person with goodwill. All right, so it's not just correcting one another or criticizing, being critical of a person. Hey, you need to not do that.

Finger wagging at them. But with goodwill, you come to a brother or sister who is walking in sin and you call them to repentance according to the scriptures, letting the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

And if the word of Christ dwells in us, then when you call somebody out for sin and call them to repentance, they will listen to you and they will do it. Proverbs chapter 12 verse one says that a wise person loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

So we need to love correction when it is offered from the body and done so in love because we know it is for the glory of our God. It is for our joy. So let us not ever develop these hardened hearts that would prevent us from going to a brother or sister walking in sin.

They need to be called out for that sin. We need to correct one another with gentleness. Paul says also in second Thessalonians chapter five, or I'm sorry, second Thessalonians chapter three, because there's only three chapters.

But he says that when we correct one another, we don't treat each other as enemies. Second Thessalonians three 14. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person and have nothing to do with him that he may be ashamed.

Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. The instruction that we have on confronting disagreement in the body, as Jesus commands us in Matthew chapter 18 verses 15 through 20, you warn a brother once, then you warn him a second time taking two or three others along so that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

And if he does not listen to them, take it to the church. And if he does not listen to the church, treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. In other words, you would treat him as an outsider.

That's essentially what Jesus is saying there. So there's a manner in which we should be calling one another out in the faith. We need to do discipline in a right way. We need to do it with love, not treating one another as an enemy, but warning as a brother.

And if they will not repent, if they will not listen to correction, if they don't listen to knowledge, they won't listen to reproof and become stupid. We need to exclude them from the body. That is the way that church discipline should be conducted.

We are looking out for one another. We are praying for one another. The apostle Paul has asked the Philippians to pray for him. In the book of Ephesians, we see Paul ask the Ephesians for prayer. In Ephesians chapter six, verses 10 through 20, that is where we see Paul talk about putting on the whole armor of God.

And he says in verse 18, we are praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication, right? Meeting, lifting up one another's needs to the Lord. In fact, we're going to see Paul say in the book of Philippians to intercede for one another.

We'll see that come up in Philippians chapter four. So that's later on. But keep alert with all perseverance, okay? We lift up all prayers and supplications, keeping alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.

We pray for one another, all of the Christians. But then Paul goes on in verse 19 to say, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.

You know, we think of Paul as being this awesome apostle. He wrote most of the New Testament here. But this guy needs prayer also? Yes, he does. Pray that when I open my mouth, I will boldly be able to proclaim the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak.

Paul asks his Ephesian brothers to pray for him that he would have courage and he would boldly be able to declare the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we need to pray for one another that same way. Lifting up one another in prayer.

We need to pray that they would remain steadfast in righteousness, walking on the path of righteousness, steadfast in the faith. We also need to pray for one another that they would be bold to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ with courage, nothing to fear of anything in the world, because we know that the Lord our God is with us.

Be bold, be strong, be strong and courageous as God had instructed Joshua. So Paul is asking Philippians here for prayer. Pray that I would have courage. I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance.

What will turn out for his deliverance? That he will die and go to be with his Lord Jesus Christ, remain steadfast in the faith and finish strong? Yeah, I think that's what Paul is saying here. But I think there's a double meaning because he says in verse 26, I know that Christ is going to deliver me from this and I will be able to come to you again.

So he's talking about being delivered from prison and being able to spend time again with the Philippians. So he is talking about that. But I think that he is also talking about being delivered from this life, steadfast in the faith into the glory that is in Christ Jesus.

Also in context with what he says later on, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which shall I choose? I cannot tell. I'm hard pressed between the two.

My desire is to part and to be with Christ for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account because Paul continues to be with them and lead them in the scriptures, teach them, celebrate with them, enjoy.

So we see both of those things in context would apply. Being able to finish this life strong but also be delivered from prison and visit the Philippians once again. That verse, verse 21, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain, that's going to be our theme verse tomorrow.

We're going to talk more about that tomorrow. So I know that through your prayers and the help of the spirit of Jesus Christ, this will turn out for my deliverance. I will be bold to proclaim the gospel.

I will be delivered from jail to be able to come visit with you again as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not at all be ashamed. But that with full courage now as always, Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

When we commit our whole lives to Christ, all of our mind, all of our heart, then everything that we do in the way that we live becomes a glory and a testament to God. And again, we'll talk more about this tomorrow in this very thing as we go on to for me to live as Christ and to die as gain.

If we give that much of our lives to Christ, then when we die, we honor God in our death also for our testimony goes out to others. It will be said of us how we lived so much for Christ Jesus. And when we died, we went to be with him in glory.

Paul desires that for it is far better for him to be with Christ at his death. And that will be the subject of our study tomorrow. Our Lord Christ, as we've studied these things together, I pray that you continue to work this word in us and that we have seized it with joy and continue in it with joy, knowing that by the power of God, we're kept steadfast in the faith.

So let us pray for one another for that very thing, lifting up each other in prayer. I pray for this ministry, God, that we may be bold to continue to preach the gospel through this broadcast, through our videos and any other medium that is used to proclaim your truth.

It is in the name of Jesus that we pray these things. Amen.

You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabriel Hughes. Pick up his book, 40 of the Most Popular Bible Verses and What They Really Mean, either in paperback or on Amazon for your Kindle.

Order from our website when you visit www .wutt .com. Thank you for listening and please tell others about our program. Join us again tomorrow as we continue our study of Philippians, rejoicing in God's truth when we understand the text.