A Precious Partnership

Philippians 1:1-11

The Joy Series

Bowe Gardens Baptist Church

Sunday morning service

October 2nd, 2022

Good morning church family! It’s a great day to be in the house of the Lord amen? Before we begin, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to bless our time together. Let us pray. In Jesus name, amen. I invite you to turn in your Bibles this morning to the book of Philippians. We will be in Philippians chapter 1 and will be examining verses 1-11. Philippians 1:1-11. This morning we are beginning a new sermon series called: The Joy Series. One of the main themes throughout this book is Joy. Finding joy even in the midst of difficulties. The writer of the book of Philippians is none other than the apostle Paul. Paul’s purpose in writing this letter to the church at Philippi was to thank them for their generous gift, to explain why he was sending Epaphroditus back to them, inform them of his circumstances and to warn them about the danger of false teachers. He wrote this letter from prison in Rome. The title of this morning’s message is: A Precious Partnership. I invite you to follow along with me as I read aloud Philippians 1:1-11.

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” There are three key things I want you to take note of in these verses and they are what I call the 3 P’s… and they are your fill in the blanks on your notes. The first is…

The Prayer. Look with me at verses 1-4: “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy. “ Paul had great joy in his remembrance of the Philippian church. A joyful heart is engaged in prayer. Prayer is vital. Paul lifted them up in prayer and in the same way we are to pray for His will to be done and for each other. We are to also pray for other churches in Brevard County and beyond. Prayer is key to the success of any church. Paul understood this. He intentionally made it a point to pray for the churches. Let’s do the same. Let us not just pray for each other and our church here at Bowe gardens,but let us also make it a point to pray for all of the other churches all around us. In the midst of Paul’s difficulties, reflecting on the faithfulness of the Philippians brought him joy. Pray for each other. Pray for the other churches. Pray for the lost to be saved. May we be a praying church. Prayer was a huge priority to the apostle Paul. Prayer must also be a major priority for us as well. There is joy in praying to the Lord and in praying for others. Paul was loving God and he was loving the Philippians by praying for them continually. Paul was thanking God for the Philippians ‘ partnership which leads us to the second P this morning and your fill in the blank…

2. The Partnership. Let’s take a look now at verses 5-8: “Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.” In verses 5-8 we see the reason Paul made his prayer with joy for the Philippians, because of their continued partnership in the gospel. The Philippians were committed to the cause. Paul is grateful to the Philippians for their continued faithfulness and commitment to the gospel. Could the same be said for us? If the apostle Paul were to write a letter to the church at Bowe Gardens, to all the saints at Bowe Gardens in Melbourne Florida, what would he say? Would he be overjoyed by our partnership in the gospel? We are to partner with other churches in this area to reach the world for Jesus Christ with his glorious Gospel. That is to be our mission! That is to be our mandate! That is to be our main objective! Paul is confident that the good work that God began in the lives of the Philippians that He would bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. In verse 7 Paul says the Philippians are partakers with him of grace. The church at Philippi was a church full of God’s grace, His truth, and His joy which is the main theme of the whole book. Paul was joyful in prayer for the Philippians, he was joyful in their steadfast commitment to the gospel, and he was joyful and thankful in their prayers for him on his behalf. The church at Philippi understood the value and power of prayer. They committed to the cause of Christ by joining together with Paul to be partakers with him of grace. It was indeed a precious partnership. How about us this morning? Could the same be said for our church? Are we partakers of His grace? Are we walking in His love? Are we praying for others? Are we committed to the glorious gospel? To the cause of Christ? May we be, every single day! The Prayer, The Partnership,and this leads us to our third fill in the blank this morning and the third and final P....

3. The Purpose. Check out verses 9-11: “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” God’s design and purpose for His Church is that her love for her Lord would abound more and more and that His Church would grow in knowledge and discernment. Paul’s desire for the Philippians is that they would grow more and more in Christlikeness. His prayer is that they would be filled with the fruit of righteousness. God’s desire is that we as His church would glorify Him. That is the purpose of the church: To glorify Christ and to be His hands and feet in a lost world that desperately needs to know Him.

May we be thankful, and pray for a continued focus and dedication to the cause of Christ as Paul prayed for the Philippians. May we, like the church at Philippi, stay committed to the cause. Prayer is vital. Our partnership in the gospel is key, and remembering our purpose, why we are here, why we exist as the church of Jesus Christ is essential to being a successful church.

Conclusion/Time of Invitation: Maybe you are here this morning and you have never made the decision to place your faith and your trust in Christ alone. I pray this morning will be the morning of your salvation. The Bible says in John 3:16- “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. “ The Bible also says in Acts 4:12- “Salvation is found in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. “ It is only through Jesus Christ that one can be saved. Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost and perishing.

The Bible makes it clear that upon a person’s death, they will either go to Heaven or to Hell. Hell is eternal separation from the Lord. It is a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.Choosing to reject Jesus Christ as one’s personal Lord and Savior results in an eternity separated from His presence forever. Because of our sin, we all deserve death in Hell. However, because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross of Calvary, He made a way for us to know God. He took our sin upon Himself, He took our place on the cross. Isaiah chapter 53 verses 4-5 say: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned- every one- to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. “

Jesus Christ paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it, white as snow.