A Thankful Life

An introduction to the Book of Philippians

Philippi was a Roman colony and leading city in the district of Macedonia.

The planting of this church can be seen in Acts 16 starting in verse 11.

Lydia was the first person that we see converted “A purple cloth dealer” and she and her household were baptized. She allowed them to stay at her house.

Paul cast out a demon that got him thrown in jail.

They were delivered by stayed in Jail. The jailer was then saved along with his household.

Philippians 1:1–11 ESV

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 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.

Our Thanksgiving Comes From God’

God has blessed us through the a relationship with Jesus.

The Gospel creates a relationship with Jesus.

All of the people that are involved in this letter are involved because of their relationship with Jesus Christ.

Paul, Timothy, and all the saints.

We are here today because of the Gospel. Because of what Jesus has done for us.

This is the most important relationship that we can have.

You have heard the adage, “it isn’t a religion, it is a relationship.”

This is a true statement. It isn’t about what we do, but what he has done, and the relationship that we have with God because of this.

We must always remember that this relationship was initiated by God!

We often like to hear and share stories about the beginning of relationship. Who talked to who first. Who expressed first interest.

This relationship was initiated by Christ.

Romans 5:8 CSB

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

He who began a good work… will carry it on to completion.

We know that God will remain faithful in this relationship.

God will not leave us or forsake us.

Temporary nature of human relationships. It can be strange to look back through your life and see all of the relationships that you have had. To see the people who you have been close to, the people you have struggled with, the people who have hurt you. So many times people that play a major role in our lives for a season, then are suddenly no longer in our lives. We do not have this worry with God.

God will always be with us.

This is a relationship that can and should change all of your future relationships.

Like marriage, or a best friend, all relationships that come after are forever altered because of this.

What do a Jewish Pharisee, a half-greek half-jewish boy, and a bunch of people in a coastal city in Greece have in common? Jesus.

God has bless us through the people in our lives.

Family Relationships

Friends

We should thank God for these people.

God blesses us through Gospel partnership with those people in our lives.

The Gospel creates a relationship among believers.

These believers then have a common bond that should surpass other bonds in the world.

The way they have partnered in the Gospel. He thanks God because of their partnership in the Gospel.

He has them in his heart because they are partners with Him in grace because of his imprisonment and defending and confirming the Gospel.

It is not just that we are on the same team, it is that we are actively working together to a common goal. This action causes a deep and abiding affection between believers.

Our Thanksgiving Leads to Obedience

God has given us work to accomplish

Sharing the Gospel with others.

We partner with God through our obedience.

We have the work of the Gospel that is to be engaged in.

The beautiful thing about the Gospel, is that God chooses to use us to proclaim the good news of salvation to the world.

2 Corinthians 5:20 CSB

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”

When we are obedient in living and sharing our faith, we partner with God to present the Gospel to a lost and dying world.

God is the one who convicts, God is the one who saves, but he has partnered with us in that he convicts when His people proclaim the truth about Him.

Defending and confirming the Gospel.

Working together not against one another.

Our work has a lasting impact.

Eternal results

Results years later.

Kyler

Our Thanksgiving leads to Life Change

We should grow in knowledge and discernment.

Should be closer to God now than we were before

We should Grow in Christlikeness

We are being brought to a place where we must come to look more like Christ.

This means turning from the sin in our lives.

The more you follow God, the more aware you become of your sin.

Imaging a huge warehouse. You walk in and it is completely dark.

When you come into his light, the dark places you have are revealed.

The process of becoming more like Christ never ends.

We cannot rest in our pursuit of holiness until our holiness matches Christ’s… and that will not happen in this lifetime.

A part of this understanding of who we are in relation to God is that we will see how we have allowed the actions of others to shape us.

A part of this process is allowing God to heal you as well.

A part of the transformation that is found in the Gospel is that we are healed from the hurt that we have encountered as well.

We must forgive those who have hurt us.