Deep Joy: The Message of Philippians #2: "The Joy of Pursuing Gospel Partnership" (Phil 1:3-11)

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Philippians chapter 1, Philippians chapter 1, and we're going to be in verses 3 through 11 this afternoon.
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Philippians chapter 1 and verses 3 through 11.
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If you grabbed one of the red Bibles that we give away, that should be page, I believe it's page 1011.
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Page 1011 in those red Bibles that we give away. Oh, 1040, page 1040,
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Philippians chapter 1. Actually, we'll read from verse 1 through to verse 11 just to keep the context.
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So, Philippians chapter 1 and verses 1 through 11. If you're able to do so, can I invite you to stand with me out of reverence for God's word as we begin our time in the
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Scriptures. Philippians chapter 1, beginning in verse 1.
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Brothers and sisters, these are God's words. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.
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Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my
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God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer.
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Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I'm sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
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Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you because I have you in my heart and you are all partners with me in grace.
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Both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
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For God is my witness how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this, that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and with every kind of discernment.
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So that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ.
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Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God.
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Father, we ask that you would bless your word as we come to it now. We pray that as we open up the scriptures and we hear you speak to us as your people.
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We ask that you would be gracious to us, that you would grant us illumination, shine light upon the word.
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So that we may understand the things that you have for us in this passage. Father, as we pray for our time together, we take a moment to pray for our friends at Applegate Community Church.
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Especially in this season that they're in. We pray for Pastor Will up there as he wraps up his time in pastoring that church.
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And pray for them as they begin the process of looking for a new under -shepherd who will lead and care for.
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And most importantly, feed that congregation with the word of God. Pray that the search goes well.
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Pray that you would bring them the man that they need for the work that you have called them to do. And Father, we pray for their witness in the
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Applegate Valley. That you would continue to grant them great grace and great favor. That in your goodness, people would come to know you through that church.
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And people would be built up and equipped and prepared to serve you in every area of life.
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Father, we pray that for them and we pray that for us even now as we come to this portion of your word. For we ask it in Jesus' name and for his sake.
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Amen. Eddie, would you mind turning me down just a little bit on the board? It's sounding a bit ringy.
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Thank you. Well, this afternoon we, in essence, really begin our study in Philippians that we've entitled
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Deep Joy. Last week was an introduction. We kind of got the lie of the land and got a sense of what was happening in the letter to the
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Philippians. Well, we start to jump into the letter this afternoon as we come to verses 3 through 11.
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I've referred to this section as the
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Joy of Pursuing Gospel Partnership. The Joy of Pursuing Gospel Partnership.
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For a moment, I want you to consider two fictional churches with me. Two fictional churches.
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About average size, which if you didn't know statistically, the average church in America is about 70 people.
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So, let's go for the high. We'll say 70. So, they're about average size. Both churches are in a small to medium -sized town, not too dissimilar to Medford, just to make it as generic as possible.
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Let's call the place Anytown, USA. You won't even pick a state. It's just called Anytown. Both churches are theologically orthodox.
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Both churches would affirm the importance of what we're doing right now, biblical exposition, working our way through books of the
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Bible. Both would even claim theologically we're both reformed. So, to begin with, it sounds like these two churches are not all that different.
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But, you probably guessed it, that's where the similarities end. The first church, we'll call that church
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Fellowship A in Anytown, USA. Fellowship A is beset with problems.
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The members are at odds with each other for the dumbest possible reasons. Well, there are odds with each other when they actually see each other.
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Gathering together as often as possible is not exactly a high priority. So, Sunday, yeah, everything else, optional.
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Since they don't like each other, of course they don't gather to pray together, because I don't like you enough to talk to you, much less talk to God about you.
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The relational issues are bad, but they are dwarfed by the missional problems, if you will.
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Because no one likes each other, and because the church is in so many problems, the church has turned so insular, it rivals that fiberglass insulation that we put in walls.
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And, of course, no Christian workers, vocational or otherwise, are being trained up, and the pastor there is not really sure what the church is doing anymore.
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So that's Fellowship A. Not exactly the picture of spiritual health, if you will.
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Let's talk about church number two. That church we'll call B Bible Church.
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They're in Anytown as well, other side of town. Again, equally sized, but the picture there is very, very different once you get to know them.
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Sure, the members have their issues, they're humans after all, and all humans will have their moments where they butt heads and they clash, that happens.
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But they really and genuinely love each other. Their gatherings together are characterized by warmth and vibrancy.
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Their gospel witness is strong in their community, and they are fervent in equipping and training up leaders.
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Sure, they love being together, and there's a clear love for the people who call that church their home, but that love exudes even in how they treat visitors and outsiders.
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And as you look at this church, there is a real sense of kinship at this church, which we've called
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B Bible Church. Like I said, neither of those churches are real.
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These are composites of churches that we have more or less put together for the purpose of this message.
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But you probably have guessed that I'm doing something with this little thought experiment I've asked you to engage with me in.
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You probably guessed the question that lies at the heart of it. Why is Fellowship A struggling and B Bible Church thriving?
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When we started on paper, everything should be the same. Same theological commitments, same commitments in terms of philosophy of ministry, same town even.
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And yet one church is struggling and one church is thriving. It's not like Church B, B Bible Church, has perfect people who make up its membership because no church is perfect.
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What's the saying? No church is perfect, and even if there was a perfect church, if you joined it, it wouldn't be perfect.
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So clearly they're not perfect, but why is one church healthy and thriving and one kind of languishing, and if it's not careful?
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As we come to our text this afternoon, that thought experiment started running in my mind as I was studying this.
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Because really what you see with the church in Philippi is a church that is thriving and doing well.
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I think I said this last week, Philippians is one of the few letters where Paul really doesn't have any rebuke for the people he's writing to.
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We all know Paul is good for it, just read Corinth, well the first letter to Corinth, and the letter to the churches in Galatia.
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Paul has no problem in calling out people when they deserve it. And it comes to this church, he has very little to call out.
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Yes, he will deal with false teachers, but those are people from the outside in chapter 3, and he'll deal with some internal conflicts.
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But even then, he doesn't really rebuke anyone, he just kind of, well let me not spoil that, we'll get to that when we get to chapter 4.
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Suffice it to say, this church seems to be doing pretty well. Did you get that sense as we read this section?
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That this is a church that Paul is genuinely thankful for. Okay, what does this have to do with your thought experiment?
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Well, very simple. Might I suggest that the difference between those two churches that I just described to you, the difference between those is the absence or presence of the kind of joy that the letter to the
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Philippians defines and describes. Remember what my definition of joy was last week?
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Joy is a supernatural delight in the person, plans, people, and purposes of God.
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Well, it would seem from reading this that Paul and the Philippians knew that kind of joy.
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And it manifested itself in very particular ways. And so, come back to, we'll leave our two fictional churches, let's come back to our very real church.
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If we would want to experience such joy as a church, we might do well to eavesdrop a little bit on this divinely inspired conversation that we see in our text.
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Really, today's message is sponsored by two words. I will say them a lot. I think I counted them in my sermon, 16 times.
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The two words are very simple. Gospel partnership. Gospel partnership.
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As you read this passage, it is very clear that the church in Philippi were gospel partners with Paul in his ministry.
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And as a result, joy was experienced by this body of believers.
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And so, I simply ask to us this afternoon, do we want to experience that kind of joy?
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Do those of us who call this church our home, let's get personal for a moment. For those of us who call this church our home, do we want that for this church?
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Well, in one sense, whether you answer yes or no doesn't really change the issue, because the pursuit of the kind of gospel partnership that Paul describes in these verses, this isn't an option, brothers and sisters.
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This isn't, well, some churches can do all that. We need to do, no. This isn't an option for healthy churches.
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It's a critical imperative for every church that wants to pursue deep joy.
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And so this afternoon, we're going to take some time really to ask the question, why should we pursue gospel partnership as God's people?
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Why should we care about gospel partnership? It would appear my slides didn't make it into our software this week, so you have to do your best to listen with me.
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Here's my big idea. My central theme for this message. Very simply, God blesses genuine gospel partnership with deepening love and joy.
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Why should we want to pursue gospel partnership? Very simply, God blesses genuine gospel partnership with deepening love and joy.
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For the rest of our time, I want to consider two portraits that reflect the heart of this kind of genuine gospel partnership.
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You see them right here in our text, verses 3 through 11. Two portraits, and by the way, this might go a little long.
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I apologize in advance, but there's a lot here to cover. So warning, this might be a long message.
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Strap in, get some caffeinated beverage if you need that. Do whatever you need to do so that you can stay locked in. Two portraits that reflect the heart of genuine gospel partnership.
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First of all, would you consider with me, number one there, the Philippians' reputation as gospel partners.
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The Philippians' reputation as gospel partners, verses 3 through 8.
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The Philippians' reputation as gospel partners. Technically, what you're seeing here in verses 3 through 11 is what is common to lots of Paul's letters.
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It's his opening thanksgiving for the church he writes to. In every letter he writes, exception of one.
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Anybody know what the exception is? Galatians. Thirteen New Testament letters written by Paul, and only one doesn't have a greeting.
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It's Galatians. If you read Galatians, it becomes very apparent why there isn't a section of thanksgiving. But in every, even
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Corinth, as bad as they were, Paul had good things to say about them. He had things to be thankful for. And that's what you're reading, really, here in verses 3 through 8.
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But everybody who studies this passage, all the commentators I've read this week, all point out the same thing.
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That what is most unique about this expression of thanksgiving versus all of Paul's other ones is just how warm and how personal it is.
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Even the grammar of this. Paul kind of breaks the walls of grammar repeatedly in the original language with this.
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Why? Because now he's not writing with just his head. He's writing with his heart.
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No doubt due to the very intense nature of the love that he had for them.
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And as you look at these verses, verses 3 through 8, they form something of Paul's perspective on the growth of the
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Philippians. And in particular, this growth that they showed through their partnership in the gospel.
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In fact, the reputation of the Philippians, the work that they were doing, the way in which they carried themselves as a body, elicited three responses from Paul.
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Three responses from Paul. Letter A there in your study guide. Firstly, there's the joy of gospel partnership in verses 3 through 5.
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There's the joy of gospel partnership verses 3 through 5.
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So look at verse 3 with me. I give thanks to my
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God for every remembrance of you. Excuse me. Always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
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In verse 4, did you catch the comprehensive nature of this joy that Paul has? Verse 4, it says, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer.
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In our English translations, we kind of lose this. All three words there come from the same family of word for everything.
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It's a comprehensive term. Paul says, every time
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I think of you, I pray. But he doesn't just pray. He says, I pray with joy for all of you every single time.
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Like I said, Philippians is one of the few churches where Paul has nothing bad to say about them.
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And know why he is able to give thanks on every remembrance of them. Oh, that's part of that word family too.
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Why? Verse 5, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
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Paul was moved to thanksgiving at the thought of the Philippians and their partnership in the gospel.
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So we might want to pause for a moment and define just what partnership means in this passage.
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I think it's going to be pretty important for us to get a handle on this. If I'm going to spend most of the message on this one point, everything else will be very quickly in comparison.
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Because if we get this right, the rest of this passage makes some sense. So partnership, what does
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Paul mean when he says partnership here? Well, the word that's translated partnership here is a word that we actually use a lot in church life.
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If you come to this church in particular, you should be very familiar with it. It's in our name.
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It's the exact same word that's translated everywhere else.
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In fact, I did the work this week, 18 out of 20 times the word is translated fellowship, except here.
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One of the places translated as sharing in or partaking in the rest of the time, the
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Bible uses this term. Most of our English translations always translate this word as fellowship, except here.
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Why? Long time Redeemer folks, you know my mission to get rid of churchy words.
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I feel like I've made some headway in the two years I've been preaching here regularly, I hope. If you have no idea what
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I mean, there are certain words we use in church life. I'm not trying to get rid of the word so much as much as the bad definitions we give to those words.
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So I call them churchy definitions, you know, words that we've used in church for so long that they've kind of lost all meaning and are in danger of becoming unfit for the purpose that they were actually given.
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And part of my, again, long time folks that are probably tuning in are like, here he goes again.
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Well, part of my long war on such definitions flows from the fact that we often use words like this for so long that, what's the adage?
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Familiarity breeds contempt. Well, maybe not contempt, maybe that's too strong a word.
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Maybe in this instance it's not familiarity breeds contempt as much as it breeds complacency. I know what that means,
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I don't have to think about that. I'm going to say let's pause for a moment and let's actually ask the question, what does this word mean?
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When the Bible uses this word fellowship, or in this case partnership, exactly the same word, what does it mean?
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Well, for a moment, let's start with how we often use this term. Hope I don't tread on any toes in the process, but here goes.
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Two Christians get together and they grab coffee. Regardless of what they talk about, how many times have you heard people describe that as fellowship?
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A group of Christian men get together to watch a game. Watching a game is fun, we should do that more often.
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I've lost track of how many times in church people have referred to that as fellowship. I moved here in 2017.
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I've noticed that since I moved here, food and fellowship seem to be very closely linked in American culture in a way that it's not where I come from.
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In fact, that room over there on the other side of the hall, what do we call it? The Y. Some of you know
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I worked in marketing before I moved stateside. I really don't like misinformation in my advertising. And I'd like to suggest that the way that we often use this word, we, and I say we as in the church of Jesus Christ, might be guilty of misinformation in advertising the way we use it.
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Because, you see, when you read the New Testament, this word is much more concrete and much simpler than we often make it.
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D .A. Carson, excellent New Testament scholar, recently retired, in his commentary on Philippians called
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Basics for Believers. This is the definition that he gives. He says, in the first century, the word for fellowship or partnership commonly had not religious but commercial overtones.
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So, for example, if John and Harry buy a boat and start a fishing business, they have entered into a fellowship, a partnership.
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Intriguingly, even in the New Testament, the word is often tied to financial matters. Thus, when the
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Macedonian Christians send money to help the poor Christians in Jerusalem, Romans 15, 26 says, they are entering into fellowship with them.
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The heart of true fellowship is, this is the definition he gives us, which I think is a good one, self -sacrificing conformity to a shared vision.
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I'm going to read that again. This is his definition of fellowship. Self -sacrificing conformity to a shared vision.
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Returning to our earlier illustration, both John and Harry put their savings into the fishing boat.
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Now they share the vision that will put the fledgling company on its feet.
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When applied to Christian fellowship, Christian fellowship then is self -sacrificing conformity to the gospel.
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There may be overtones of warmth and intimacy, but the heart of the matter is this shared vision of what is of transcendent importance.
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A vision that calls forth our commitment. So when Paul says,
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I'm thankful, verse five, for your partnership in the gospel, he means a little bit more than we had some meals and we had some good times.
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And maybe it might be good for us for whenever we see that word fellowship in our New Testament, to maybe always translate it as partnership.
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Because it might get a little bit closer to the New Testament vision for what fellowship is.
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It's hand in hand, joining together based not on us and not on what unites us in terms of culture or background or shared interests.
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No, it's hand in hand, joining together based in the realities of the gospel.
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In your study guide, do you see that little box that says the believers fellowship in Christ? In my study this week,
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I came across a definition of this term for fellowship that was just incredibly rich.
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You all know I love Matthew Henry. My other favorite commentator of all time is a
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Dutch American guy called William Hendrickson. Some of you will know the name. If you find his commentaries, sell some stuff and buy them.
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They're very, very good. I highly recommend them for your Bible study library. In his commentary on Philippians, he didn't do the whole
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New Testament. He did most of it. And he did do Philippians. In his commentary on Philippians, Hendrickson kind of looks at the use of this term fellowship across the
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New Testament, and he boils it down to eight definitions. If you want the full thing, those of you who have our church app, you can actually download the full.
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I copied the full section into a PDF. You can download that and read it in your own time. For now, I'm just going to kind of fly through these definitions he gives, because, again,
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I think it helps us to get tight in our minds what fellowship truly is. So, number one,
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Hendrickson says that the believers' fellowship in Christ, and believers is all believers, the believers' fellowship in Christ is a fellowship in grace, number one.
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A fellowship in grace. What he means by that is very simple.
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Men can't create this, and they can't sustain it. Hendrickson says this, it is not a natural or platonic fellowship, nor is it man -made, that is, called into being or organized by men, like a club or a society.
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It is not even merited by men. It is sovereignly affected by Jesus Christ.
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That's why Paul can say, if you're taking notes, 1 Corinthians 1, 9, God is faithful, who called you into fellowship, into partnership with his
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Son. He says it's sovereignly affected by Jesus Christ, and it is the gift of the
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Spirit. In fact, Paul's going to say that in Philippians 2, 1. We'll get there in a few weeks, where he says, if there is any fellowship with the
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Spirit, it is all three members of the triune God who bring about fellowship.
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So, our fellowship, first of all, is a fellowship in grace. Secondly, it's a fellowship in faith. Not only is it a fellowship in grace, it's a fellowship in faith.
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Hendrickson again, just as Christ draws sinners to himself through his redemptive acts revealed to them by the
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Word and applied by the Spirit, so they approach and embrace Christ through a living,
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Spirit -given faith. It's a fellowship in grace.
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It's a fellowship in faith. Third, it's a fellowship in prayer and thanksgiving.
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And really, this kind of flows out of the last point. The faith that we have, this faith that is living and Spirit -given, it expresses itself in talking to God and in giving him thanks.
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If I can turn on some toes for a moment, that's why a church that says that it wants more fellowship but won't gather to praise,
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I think, deluding itself. Because the reality is, part of how fellowship manifests itself is we come together not just to talk to one another but to talk to God.
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It's like the president of the Christian Union in the college I went to, Woody, Tom Woodbridge, he used to say that, yes, we talk to one another about God.
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We talk to God about people. We talk to people about God, excuse me, but we also talk to God about people.
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A fellowship in grace, a fellowship in faith, a fellowship in prayer and thanksgiving. Fourthly, it's a fellowship in love for one another, in love for one another.
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Sixty -three times in your New Testament, you will see this phrase, one another, attached to some sort of command. So much so that some have called them simply the one another's.
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My late mentor used to call it the honor code of the royal family of God. How is it that God's people conduct themselves?
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All of those one another's you read in your New Testament. Hendrickson again, he says, Jesus Christ, the magnet who draws us to himself, draws us to one another in love.
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Number five, so a fellowship in grace, a fellowship in faith, a fellowship in prayer and thanksgiving.
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Number five, it's a fellowship in contributing to each other's needs. Number five, it's a fellowship in contributing to each other's needs.
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So Galatians 6 .10, therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially those who belong to the household of faith.
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Christians, true gospel partners are not the kind of people who say my resources, me and mine, ignoring the needs of others.
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No, we care for the needs of one another. We partake. Again, we read that. Well, we alluded to it from Romans.
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Churches in Jerusalem had problems. So the Macedonian Christians. Oh, by the way, the Philippians would have been one of those. They partnered.
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They fellowshiped, if you will, in meeting their needs. Number six, it's a fellowship in promoting the work of the gospel, a fellowship in promoting the work of the gospel.
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Hendrickson once again, it is an active cooperation in gospel activity. Those who are in this joint participation are brothers, are brothers who give each other the right hand of fellowship with a view to hearty cooperation in gospel work.
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Gospel partnership is partnership in the trenches as we seek to get the gospel out there to a world who needs it.
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As we seek to support those who have given their lives to see this gospel go out to others. It's not by accident that you look at all the healthy churches in the history of God's people and every healthy church has an outward focus.
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Why? It's like my pastor back in London used to say. It's a hard heart that has time to fight the saints when the world needs evangelizing.
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Number seven, it's a fellowship against the world. It's a fellowship against the world coming into partnership with the
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Lord Jesus Christ, which also means partnership with his people means you can no longer be in partnership with the world.
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Believers are those who have sworn allegiance to the lamb who is king of kings. There is no neutrality here.
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A fellowship in grace, a fellowship in faith, a fellowship in prayer and thanksgiving, a fellowship in love for one another, a fellowship in contributing to each other's needs, a fellowship in promoting the work of the gospel, a fellowship against the world.
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And finally, makes sense from number seven. It's a fellowship in arms, Hendrickson says. It's a fellowship in arms.
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In a couple of weeks, we'll get to verses 27 to 30, where he uses this language of striving together. It's a military term.
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It's going on the offensive. You'll pick up this language again in chapter two and verse 25 that the believer comes into fellowship and the fellowship is not passive.
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It is active, not just in proclaiming the gospel, but in waging war against that which comes against the gospel.
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I told you this is going to be a longer point compared to the rest of the sermon.
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I've labored this one point, and I feel like I've labored it. I labored this one point precisely because this is an area where if churches are not careful, they can become prone to weakness in this area.
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Our church, if we're not careful, can become weak in this area.
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If we are not, this is how I put it down in my notes, ruthlessly objective about what's true fellowship, or better yet, partnership.
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What true fellowship or partnership actually is, and not just knowing what it is. I think in our circles, we love teaching the
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Bible. We love building up our knowledge of God's word. Great and wonderful. I'm going to say more about that later, but sometimes it stops there.
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And so it's not enough for us to know what fellowship is. We also need to be able to ask the tough question, well, how are we doing on this front?
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Might I suggest that Paul could have joy at the thought of the Philippians, even from house arrest, because all he had to do was to cast his mind back to their shared participation in the gospel and just joy welled up in his heart.
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Even in the most difficult circumstances, Paul had supernatural delight in the people and purposes of God as he saw those purposes lived out in the
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Philippians. And because there was the joy of gospel partnership, there was, let it be there in your study guide, confidence in the power of God.
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Confidence in the power of God. So there's joy of gospel partnership in verses three through five, and then confidence in the power of God, verse six.
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Confidence in the power of God. Philippians 1 .6
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is one of those really endearing verses that people just know and love. It's a coffee mug verse.
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You know what I mean when I say that kind of verse that's inspirational enough, it's sweet enough that you can put it on a coffee mug.
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And rightfully so. This is one of those, some of you know I have an issue with some of those verses that we put on coffee mugs out of context.
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This is one of them you can actually put on a coffee mug and it's fine. It holds a dear place in many believers hearts and it rightfully so.
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It should. It should. It's a wonderful verse. But it's even more glorious,
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I would argue, when you understand these words in their context. And this is where I think some of our
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English translations don't help. In fact, most of them don't. Even the one I use doesn't. All of our
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English translations, the only one this week in my study I found that got this right, in my opinion, surprisingly, was the
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King James Version. All of them start this as a new sentence. So in the
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Christian Standard Bible, which is what we preach out of here, it says, I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
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Yes, they keep the connection by saying, I am sure of this, which means you have to read backwards. But technically, that's not what
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Paul says here. It's great grammar in terms of English readability, but it's poor when it comes to actually helping us to understand
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Paul's point. What I did this week was I translated the passage just as it was.
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Didn't clean it up and do what you're supposed to do. I just kind of translated it how it would be. If you do a rough translation, it sounds something like this.
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So let's read verse five in the CSB, and then I'm going to flip into my translation. So verse five, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, verse six, being persuaded of this.
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He who began a good work in you will complete it in the day of Christ Jesus. The sentence continues, it doesn't,
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Paul hasn't started a new sentence when you get to verse six. He's still talking about their partnership in the gospel.
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You see, because there was the fruit of gospel partnership in the lives of the
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Philippians. Paul knew where this fruit came from. He could see the fruit. And so he says,
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I know why this is happening. I know why this is happening. This was the result of God's persevering grace in the lives of his people.
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Paul could have confidence because he knew that what God starts in the lives of his people, he finishes in the lives of his people.
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Our church believes in the doctrine known as the perseverance of the saints. As our fathers in the faith put it, those that God has accepted in the beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his spirit and give him the precious faith of his elect.
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These can neither totally nor finally fall from a state of grace. They will certainly persevere in grace to the end and be eternally saved.
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The Philippians knew this by their own experience. Think about it. We talked about this last week, how the church in Philippi started.
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Remember how Lydia came to faith? We alluded to it last week. If you didn't read it, Acts 16, it says that the
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Lord opened her heart so she heard the things that were being said by Paul. Remember how the
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Philippian jailer came to faith? This was not somebody who had been in an evangelistic meeting for weeks on end and they kind of beat him down and he finally decided to make a decision.
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He was on the job. In fact, he was going to kill himself on the job. And yet God saved them.
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God had saved them. And he who started that work would be faithful to bring it into completion, which is why they were partners with Paul in his ministry.
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Because this was another manifestation of the work of God in their lives. And let that comfort you,
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Christian. Has God begun a good work in you? If you're sitting here and you know Lord Jesus, he's begun a good work in you.
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Has he begun a good work in you? Has he saved you? Has he united you to Christ? If that's the case, then know this.
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That no matter how rough the road of life gets and no matter how choppy the waters are, the good news for the
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Christian is this. That the grace that saved you is the same grace that will bring you all the way home.
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And so Paul could reflect on that reality.
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This is why I always say when people say theology is not practical, I'm like, what are you talking about? It is infinitely practical.
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Knowing the reality that our salvation cannot be lost should give us confidence in the face of life.
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And so Paul could have joy in his partnership with the Philippians, confidence in God's power to keep the
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Philippians as partners in the gospel. And let us see there, he also had affection for God's people.
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Affection for God's people, verses 7 and 8. So verse 7 and 8. Indeed, it is right for me to think this way.
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What way? What he just described in verses 3 through 6. It's indeed right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart and you are all partners with me in grace.
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Both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how deeply
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I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. Did you notice just all the ways that Paul is very evidently speaking from his heart in verses 7 and 8?
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It's right for me to think this way. I have you in my heart. How deeply
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I miss all of you. The affection of Christ Jesus. In fact, that's the one
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I want to park on for a moment. This language of the affection of Christ Jesus. The word for affection here is actually from the
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Greek word for your bowels. Because in fact, some of your translations will say bowels of mercy in translating this.
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Because in the understanding of the ancient world, where your emotions were seated, we often say the heart.
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The heart is more like your brain. Actually, in the ancient world, your affections, your emotions were seated, they thought, in the most lower part of your body, your kidneys.
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Anatomy lesson over. There was such a deep affection on the part of Paul because of the partnership he shared with these saints.
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Note that he says that you are partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
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It's interesting. He considers his imprisonment to be a grace. That's a whole other sermon for another time. But he says both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
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I take that to be a phrase referring to his ministry of the gospel at large. He says, whether I'm in prison or I'm on the streets proclaiming the gospel, you have been partners with me in grace.
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And as a result, it's only right that I think of you with affection.
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And interestingly, he says that this is the affection of Christ.
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Jesus, the affection that belongs to Christ. Jesus, this wasn't Paul had a warm feeling down inside that he generates.
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No, this was the kind of love that only Christ, if I can park the preaching bus for a moment.
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Let's get practical here. Listen to this description in verses seven and eight and ask yourself.
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Is this the kind of affection that I have? Is this the kind of affection that you have?
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For other believers. In fact, for a moment, stop looking at me for a second.
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Look around this room. Actually, look around this room for a moment. Look at your brothers and sisters in the room. Do you feel affection for those brothers and sisters you just looked at?
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I remember I was sharing on this in another church, a different passage. And someone came up to me, said, well, I've been coming to church for years, but I just don't know the people in the church like that.
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And my response was, well, if you've been coming for a while, seems to me you have all the motivation in the world to start.
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I mean, you're believers and you go to the same church and maybe you should get to know them. Common objection that gets raised at this point as well.
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Kofi, I'm in a church where they don't value fellowship. I used to hear that a lot.
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I hope my pastor in London is not listening to this. But. I remember very early on in the life of our church, people used to complain about that a lot, which wasn't true in my opinion.
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But people used to complain, oh, we don't have enough fellowship. And then when you ask them, you all know me, I'm going to ask uncomfortable questions.
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So I'll ask. And what usually brought down to was the church doesn't do enough events. Can I just pause on popular opinion?
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I don't think that's the church's job. Yes, the church should be a place that fosters fellowship.
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But it's also on individual members. First Peter 4 10 show hospitality to one another. If you need an event to do that, not that again, we have a potluck once a month, we're going to have it next week.
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It's a great time. I'm not saying we should not do that. I'm glad we do that. But if it boils down to what the church has to organize something for me to fellowship with my brothers and sisters.
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Can I put it to you that maybe you don't have the kind of affection for your spiritual family that you should.
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Perhaps we opt for the great value version of fellowship. Shout out to Walmart. Perhaps we opt for that great value version of fellowship, just Christianized hanging out.
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Because the effort it would require to truly partner in the lives of one another for gospel advance.
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Maybe deep down is how we know this might cost me something. And that's not soft perilous.
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It's indeed costly. But do you get the sense from Paul that, yeah, it's costly, but it's also worth it.
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As you can tell, there's a lot that can be said under this first heading. I told you I was going to spend most of my time here.
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There's so much more I wish I could say. Time isn't on my side. But Paul doesn't just talk about the reputation of the
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Philippian Christians. He doesn't just talk about the Philippian Christians. He talks to God about the
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Philippian Christians. Not only does this passage teach us about the Philippians reputation as gospel partners, but we also learn, heading number two there,
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Paul's response of gospel empowered prayer. Paul's response of gospel empowered prayer.
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By all accounts, these precious people were doing all right. Not everyone
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Paul ministered to. Again, I talked to you for Galatians. You can listen to all of that now in our church app. Those of you who were here when we studied
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Galatians, remember just how frustrated Paul is in the early chapters? I know this isn't politically correct to say, but if he were an
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African man, he's looking to slap people upside the head. He's not very happy in Galatians.
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That's not the tone you get here. These are believers who are doing well, so much so they could elicit joy, confidence and affection from him.
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So here comes the thing. What do you pray for folks who are already growing and are already showing signs of faithful gospel partnership?
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They're doing all right. What do you need to pray for them for? Paul would say there's some things you can still pray for.
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He prays for two things. Firstly, he prays. Letter A there in your study guide. Lord, grow them in love.
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Lord, grow them in love. Verses nine and ten. The Philippians were already a loving people.
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That's why they partnered with Paul in the first place. But think back to last week. Remember we said that last week one of the big themes in the lesson to the
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Philippians is this theme of progress? The fact that we can never, as it were, just rest on our laurels and say,
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I've arrived. There's always progress to be made. Well, here's the reality. Think about this with me.
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Even love can become stale and stagnant. Think back to our two churches we started with.
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Remember Fellowship A, B Bible Church? Do you think Fellowship A started off hating each other?
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Probably not. I mean, if they did, that's a whole other set of problems. Most cases, no.
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But what happens? Love doesn't make progress. Love doesn't grow. Love doesn't mature. And so it ends up becoming stale and stagnant.
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And here's the thing. That problem, which is a danger to any church, is even a danger to our church if we're not careful.
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That danger doesn't just cure itself. So what does
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Paul pray for? Look at verses 9 and 10. He says, and I pray this, that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment so that you may approve the things that are superior.
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Paul essentially says, I pray that you have grown up kind of love. Or better yet, maybe not grown up, growing up kind.
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And he says that growing up love, grown up love is marked by two things.
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You see it there in verse 9? That your love will keep on growing in knowledge, every kind of discernment.
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The word for knowledge here is a simple term. It just means the knowledge of the things of God or knowledge of God's truth. Often in our culture, love and knowledge are pitted against each other.
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Actually, I do remember who said that song, but wasn't there a song aeons ago, Crazy in Love?
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That's how our culture generally thinks of love. Love is an insanity that comes on you. You know, knowledge is up here, but knowledge is not quite as important as what happens down here.
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Wasn't it the Beatles who had that song, All You Need Is Love? And our culture won't quite say it like this, but when you kind of boil it down, essentially we kind of think love is ignorant.
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And the more ignorant love chooses to be, the better that love is. Not according to Paul.
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Tony Merida mentioned this commentary last week. He says this, love is not blind. Love is biblically informed.
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As we know Christ more and more through his word, he who humbled himself and went to the cross for us, we will be transformed into compassionate people.
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Growth in knowing the truth. You often hear people kind of pit this, you know, you can be really gracious or you can really love the truth.
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Almost as though you can't do both. Not according to Paul. Paul says, I actually pray that your love would grow and grow in knowledge.
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That's why the equipping and teaching ministries in the church are so important. As you learn the word of God, it doesn't just inform our minds as good and as necessary as that is.
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But as it's informing our mind, the spirit of God is using that to also inform our hearts. So grown up love is love that has knowledge, but grown up love or better yet, growing up love.
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It also needs, what does he describe it as? All kinds of discernment. If knowledge asks what is right and what is true, discernment asks what is best.
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How do we apply the knowledge that we have in the best possible way? Let me say that again. If knowledge asks what is right and what is true, discernment asks what is best.
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How do we best apply the knowledge that we have? Knowledge asks what is truest, discernment asks what is most practical in light of what is true.
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My historical hero Charles Spurgeon said that discernment is not the difference between right and wrong. The discernment is the difference between right and almost right.
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And as we think about this theme of gospel partnership, could anything be more critical?
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You see, can I give you a very practical example? You see this need for discernment often when a church needs to make a decision.
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I'm a pastor's kid. My dad is a pastor still. Seen it multiple times.
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We need to make a decision. Some people in the church think X is a priority. This is the thing we need to focus on.
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Then you've got another group who think X is I, it's okay, but actually
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Y needs to be the priority. And sometimes the options are very simple.
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For example, you don't need a committee on carpet color. Just pick one. They all look the same. Mostly. But other times you've got two options and they're both good options.
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There would be no sitting and partaking of either of them. But only one of them is the best.
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How does Paul describe it? So that you may approve the things that are superior. Love for one another and love for Christ means that we should want to make the best choice.
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And you can't just go on love. You also need discernment. And so both of these qualities, knowledge and discernment, the knowledge of God's word and the knowledge of how to apply it in the best possible way.
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Both of them ends at the middle of verse 10. Being able to prove the things that are superior.
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To understand what is best for the situation. Now there's some more meat on the bone you need to do there.
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I understand the Central Point group isn't meeting for the summer. We in Medford decided to continue. So if you want to come discuss this, come join us on Wednesday.
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But the reality is, if we're going to grow in love, love needs two things.
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It needs knowledge and discernment and then that flower will grow. So Paul prays for growing love, but he also prays, let it be there.
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Not just Lord grow them in love, but Lord develop their character. Lord develop their character. Because you see, it's not enough to just know the right things.
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See, gospel partnership is not just about knowing the right things. It's not about, oh, I've mastered this
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Bible and I know everything that's in it. And I know how to wage war with those folks who get it all wrong.
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No, gospel partnership is not just about knowing the right things. It's also about being the right kind of people.
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Isn't that so much of the case with the Christian life? That it's not really about how much you know, as important as that is. As much as how what you know makes you the right kind of person.
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Remember years ago, listening to a series on relationships. I was not a fan of relationship series at that point, but my pastor swore up and down.
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It'd be a good one for me to listen to. So I did. And I realized it was a good sermon when he said, I'm not going to, I'm not going to sit here and talk to you about dating or marriage or whether you should do courtship or traditional dating.
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I'm not going to talk about any of that. He said, this series, I'm simply going to focus on what kind of person do you need to be so that you can be in a godly relationship?
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I was like, yeah, this guy knows what he's talking about. You see, it's not just knowing the right things.
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It's being the right kind of people. So what makes someone the right kind of person for gospel partnership?
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Firstly, gospel partners are people with end time perspective. Number one, they're people with an end time perspective.
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So look at end of verse 10. So that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ.
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The day of Christ hasn't happened yet. The day of Christ is still future, but gospel partners live in light of that day.
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In the here and now. Paul was no sinless perfectionist. You ever met someone who's a sinless perfectionist?
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Believe that they have achieved perfection in this life. They are some of the most irritating people on the planet to deal with.
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I've mentioned Spurgeon a couple of times. There's a story of Spurgeon when a man came to him and said he was a sinless perfectionist.
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He said, I have not sinned, I forget another thing, something like 17 years. And apparently Spurgeon didn't say a word.
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He grabbed his water glass and threw it on the man. And of course, the man cussed him out. And Mr.
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Spurgeon apparently just said, tell me more. Well, Paul maybe wouldn't grab a glass and throw it on someone, but Paul was no sinless perfectionist.
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He understood that, yes, we have been saved from the penalty of sin when we believe the good news of salvation in Christ.
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He understood that we are being saved from the power of sin. And that is a progressive thing that God does in us. But he also understood that there is a day coming.
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It hasn't arrived. It's coming. When we will be saved from the very presence and power of sin.
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When, as he describes it, we will be pure and blameless. Can I put it to you that a joyful Christian is the one who has realized that their journey in the grace of God is lifelong.
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And that it will end in the presence of God being pure. A gospel partnering people are a people with an end time perspective.
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But also there are people marked by the fruit of righteousness. A people marked by the fruit of righteousness.
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So verse 11, he says, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God.
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Paul doesn't have a bunker mentality. Well, just wait until the end. No, he recognizes that God is working in the here and now.
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That God is making us a people who are filled with the fruit of righteousness. That the people who have received a alien righteousness, a righteousness that is not their own because we've been declared righteous.
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That righteousness then produces fruit in the lives of God's people. The Christ who gives pardon to his people also gives power to his people.
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The kind of power that I need and you need and every Christian needs to live the kind of life that gives
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God glory. Which is actually where this passage ends. So he says there are people with an end time perspective.
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People marked by the fruit of righteousness. Thirdly, there are people pursuing God's glory. Simple enough. End of verse 11. All of this is to the glory and praise of God.
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I know this is a lot. Everything I've just said. It sounds weighty. When you really start to think about how you apply this in your own life, it can really get weighty.
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It's a tall order. Now, let me be clear. Does any of this make you more saved?
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If you say, you know what, I believe in the Lord Jesus. He's forgiven me of all my sins.
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I just, I can't do more than this. Are you less saved because you don't think about gospel partnership in the way that Paul describes?
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In a sense, no, you're not any less saved.
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Your salvation is not contingent on how well you partner for the gospel. Neither is your sanctification. That's a work of God too.
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As one of my friends says, let's work hard to keep the gospel gospel. It's good news.
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But, okay, if that's the case, well, why should I pursue any of this? Why should
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I care about gospel partnership? Can't I just be a nice moral person? You know, be my Bible in the morning or at night, pray with my family, be nice to people, turn up to church.
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Well, you should do all of those things. But before you think, you know what, why can't I just book a one -way ticket on easy street? Do I really have to do all this?
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Again, look at the end of verse 11. Filled with the fruits of righteousness that comes through Christ Jesus to the glory and praise of God.
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As a wise man once said in the final analysis, gospel partnership. The kind of partnership we see between Paul and the
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Philippians. The kind that has characterized faithful churches and ministries since the days of the book of Acts. The kind that has planted churches, trained men, and sent missionaries the world over.
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And unfortunately, the kind that sometimes is just missing from church life. This kind of gospel partnership, ultimately, brothers and sisters, is all for the glory of God.
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And so I simply ask, are we convinced that gospel partnership is worth it? That it is worth the challenge?
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It is worth the sacrifices? It is worth reorienting our time, our talents, and our treasure?
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Are we convinced that for all it will cost us, that if we live in the 1
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Corinthians 10 .31 kind of way. Remember 1 Corinthians 10 .31? Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything to the glory of God.
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Are we convinced if we live in that kind of way, that there is true joy to be found on the other side?
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As I close, those of you who grabbed the study guide, and if you don't, it's on our church app. You can download it there. Bottom of the page there, you see
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I put a little box there that says deep joy challenge. One thing I want you to do each week as we work our way through Philippians for the summer. I know the temptation when it comes to preaching, especially when you hear sermons with regularity.
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The temptation can often be to hear a sermon that goes in one ear, out another. So each week, we normally have the minding the message page and all of that, that's fine.
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But if you don't do any of that, I'm going to encourage you, there's a discussion question that will be there at the end of each week's study.
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Sometime in your personal devotions or in your family worship this week, I want you to take some time and discuss that question. And can
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I encourage you, don't talk in generics, don't church speak it. If you've been around church, you know what I mean. Be honest and pray over that particular question.
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Because here's the reality, I'm pretty much done. I believe it was the missionary
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C .T. Studd who said that there is only one life. It will soon be past.
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Only what's done for Christ will last. That's not to say that there is no value to be found in all kinds of other things.
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I'm not saying that, please do not hear me as saying that. But, if the
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Lord has saved us and he has left us here, think about it, when you got saved, you didn't get beamed up to heaven. He left you here.
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There must be something he desires for us to do for him while we're here. And so I leave you simply with this.
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Is this kind of gospel partnership worth it? Is it worth it?
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Well, Father, we ask that as we've heard your word and we've heard you explain the necessity and the blessing of this kind of partnership in the gospel.
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Father, I ask that you would give us a heart that desires this. And a heart that desires it for the right motivation.
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That recognizes that this is an outflow of the grace that you have shown to us. The fact that you have begun a good work in us in salvation.
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And now you are bringing that work to pass in the fruit of righteousness that we see in our lives.
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Father, it may be said of Redeemer Bible Fellowship that that was a church that partnered together. One and all.
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For the sake of the gospel. A church that had affection for one another.
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A church that said, I will give of my time and my talents and my treasure for the good of my brother and sister.
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And for the good of those who don't know Jesus so that they can come to know him. Father, you know my heart for this church.
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Make us a church of gospel partnering. All of us hand in hand, side by side.
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Laboring for ultimately. We ask these things in Jesus name and for his sake.