Love for the Lord's Work

Besides Christ, name the top 3 most influential men from the Bible in your opinion. Paul, Abraham, Moses. (Peter will be 4)

Philippians 1:1-2 “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.”

A little background about Paul here. Before Paul was Paul his name was Saul, and he used to be one of Christ’s greatest enemy’s on earth. He was Jew of all Jews, he called himself the Hebrew of Hebrews, as we will see as we dig deeper into Philippians, but Saul would travel around the middle east capturing and killing Christians under the banner of religious purging. That is until he had an encounter with Christ. On his way to Damascus, Syria, with papers in hand to arrest more Christians, the glory of God shown down from heaven and blinded Saul. Jesus asked him “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Dumbfounded, Saul listened to the God he was persecuting, and shortly after he became God’s #1 offensive threat.

Here is a quick bit of new information for you guys. Saul had two names at birth because he had two nationalities. I will give anyone a dollar who can tell me which nationalities, and another dollar if someone can tell me why he was two nationalities. He was a Roman and a Jew, and this is because he was born in the Roman territory of Tarsus. Its just like being born on American soil grants you U.S. citizenship. So Saul was his Jewish name, and Paul was his Roman name

He used the name Paul because Christ commissioned him to bring the message of the gospel to the gentiles. The Roman people. Timothy was similar to Paul. Timothy had a Jewish mother and a Greek father, so his background was diverse, but his faith in god was strong. Paul chose Timothy as a protege, and he took him along on his missionary journeys until he was sent off to pastor the church of Ephesus.

The church of Philippi was the first church in Europe that Paul established, and he is now writing a letter of encouragement to them. He reminds them in his opening greeting of the grace that was extended to them through Christ Jesus, and the peace that comes from the father in salvation. Then he jumps into his letter.

Philippians 1:3-11 “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.”

Paul is a heavy hitter in the Christian faith. Probably one of the greatest names known of all when we think of Christianity today. He is the one who brought Christianity to the gentiles. He is the one who established churches outside of Asia Minor that eventually spread far and wide across Europe. He is the reason for the Christian religion becoming the most massive religion of all time across the globe, and he is the reason why you and I are sitting here tonight.

So how do you get an honorable mention from Paul in his daily prayers? What made this godly man thank God on the Philippians behalf? They partnered with Paul.

Partnered with Paul: Partnership can also be translated “fellowship” or “participation”

The Philippians supported Paul financially. Mission journeys cost money. Paul had to have lodging, which he could have done with fellow Christians but I am sure in some situations he had to have room and board. Paul had to get on a ship a few times and travel abroad which would have cost money. He would have needed food along his way, and he would have taken care of some needs of saints that he saw were struggling. All good ministers look to protect God’s money. We are stewards of the people, as well as stewards of the portion of God’s money bag that has been alloted to us. Even I will ration out our pennies. This is why I have you guys pay for some of the outings, and why we do fund raisers. But any way you cut it life costs money to carry on. The church at Philipi would have given funds to Paul just as we send funds to our missionaries in the BMA. Essential the money is sent to him, the missionary, and he is able to further the name of Christ in the world. We partner for the kingdom from a distance. Digging our heels in here within our community, while our brothers and sisters sow the seed abroad.

This is one of the ways that Philippi partnered with Paul which merited a plea on their behalf in Paul’s prayer life.

The Philippians also supported Paul in prayer. People will say that praying for someone else is one of the easiest things to do, but in reality most peoples prayer lives are in taters, so financially supporting someone becomes a persons easiest mode of assistance. But prayer is essential to a persons spiritual vitality. Think of a relationship. If you are in a relationship with someone, but you never speak to them, how well will your relationship hold up? Not very. Now think about who God is. Give me some of His attributes. His characteristics. Explain who God is. All Powerful. All Knowing. Creator of all things. Sustainer of all things. He is the One who makes things happen. So if you want something done, who are you going to talk to? God of course. Now if we believe that, why do we not do it? The church at Philippi was full of the Holy Spirit, and they knew how important it was to talk to the Father. They knew that He controlled the outcome of Paul’s journey’s. They knew that He watched over Paul and was ultimately in control of his safety. They knew that Paul would not reach a single lost soul if the Spirit was not involved. So they begged earnestly. Remember that they were once lost not long prior to this letter. They remember their spiritual state. They remembered where they were headed if the spirit had not been brought to them, and they did not want that for those around the world. The pleaded for the Spirit to fill Paul and that through his efforts the lost would be saved, and lives would be transformed. The Philippians partnered with Paul in the most powerful way that anyone possibly could. They called upon God for His Spirit to be at work in Paul’s life. Always keep this in mind. Spiritual change will not take place where the Holy Spirit is not present. Only God can change people, and we must be asking God to intervene.

Are you personally praying for those around you? Are you praying that they will come to the knowledge of our Lord and Savior? Are you praying that their lives will be changed? Are you praying for your enemy? Are you praying that you will be used mightily for the Lord? And are you taking steps to be a warrior for God.

The final way they supported Paul was living in a way that supported the word of God.

The Philippians were once lost pagans, until the Lord arrived in their city. Then they became fervent, God fearing Christians that sat a fire in the hearts of the communities around them. They were changed people. That is what Christ does. You see, we are not any different from the Philippians. We glorify athletes, we glorify politicians, we glorify movie stars, singers, and influential people. We glorify people that we find attractive, and we glorify significant others. We even glorify ourselves. But when Christ makes a change in us, we glorify Him above all. Come what may, we put Him first. Verse 6 tells us “…He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” This means that when you are saved Jesus begins a change within you. He works on your thoughts and your thought processes, He works on your speech, He works on your actions, He works on your outlooks. He completely revolutionizes your way of life. It does not happen overnight though. It is a slow, day by day process called sanctification. The process of becoming more like Him day by day. Dying to self, and living to the Lord. By the time you leave this world, you will look night and day different from the way you entered this world.

The change that God began within you will surely bring it to completion in His followers.

Wanna partner in the efforts for the Lord? Give to His cause. You wanna join hands with the Spirit in the lives of others around the globe? Pray for the Spirit to be active in the missionaries AND WITHIN YOU! Want to support God’s work in your community? Live out His word in your life. Show the world that submission to God’s word is attractive by following Him and being the example to those around you.

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