Prayers of Paul

Wise Love: The Heart Beat of Christian Living

As we continue to look into looking at the Prayers of Paul through out the New Testiment. Paul is writing to the church in Philippi. A place that he visited on his second mission. I think I can say a place close to the heart of Paul. But as he is writing this letter and praying for the people in Philippi, he is in prison, dare I say again. Probably in Ephesus. The man has spent his share of time in custody as he has gone on his missions. He was writing to thank the people of Philippi for sending him money while he was in prison. Back in Pauls time the prison did not feed the prisoners so this was a litteral life line. The philippians would have to gather the money together then send someone on the dangerous trip to where Paul was inprisoned. It was not a place or process that we can even understand how harse it was, when all we have to compare it with is our system now. So I don’t think it would be a stretch to say he is he is being sentimental about Philippi. Some argue that Philippi of all of the churches Paul founded was the one who gave him most joy. It shows in his prayer.

Philippians 1:1–11 NLT

This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and deacons. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

I know that I have some favorite places that I have been, that I get very sentimental about. Either for the people or the experiences that I have had there. My very first holiday to a warm place was Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. I remember the air getting off of the plane in Feburary, feeling like someone had thrown a wet hot blanket on top of me. The resort, a visual painting of everything I pictured the Carribean being, the colors of the buildings, the white sand beach and hearing Spanish everywhere. Walking into the ocean that was a color I won’t forget, felt like getting into a warm bath. The people were so nice the food so good. I remember the impression it made on me. The nervousness of going to a new country for the first time giving way to being overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and tastes of a different place. I came back from there saying that I loved Punta Cana. I have traveled to a few warms spots in the winter but Punta Cana has a special place for me alway because it was so amazing different then I had experienced up to that time in my life. I don’t think this is what Paul is being sentimental about in this letter but there is no questions that the place holds a special spot for him. Actually Paul and Silas ended up in Jail and were beaten for throwing out a demon out of a slave girl. Then the Holy Spirit miraculously broke them out of prison with an earthquake so they saved their Jailer from killing himself and brought him and his familty to Jesus Act 16 . Not exactly a beach holiday. But an extrodinary mission trip and church planting.

I gave my life to Jesus in a small town in Mexico on a missions trip. I can honestly say that the experiences and the people that I met down there have my heart. But it was the extrordinary work of the Holy Spirit In breaking down my walls in a time of crisis to show me the life that I would have as a follower of Christ. I will be eternally greatful, Literally, for the people who shared the love of Christ with me that changed my life. Their actions, prayers and time that was poured out on me as I thought I was just down there to help them build something. That is the connection that Paul has with the people of Philippi. In the first few lines that becomes very clear.

Philippians 1:1–2 (NLT)

This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and deacons.

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

There is a strong kinship with them as he uses the word holy meaning set apart. And uses this opening of the prayer to build the foundation of wise love. Wow, that is how I feel about everyone down in Mexico that poared into me, when I thought I was serving others. It was life changing but more than that, I see it was through Jesus following people, who shared the gospel with me, that I was able to become a brother with them. That holds a special part of my heart everytime I think about it.

I hope that each of us can experience that level of connection with others. That brother, sister relationship with shared experiences both in good times and bad, that allows our trust grow with each other. The Philippeans, Paul was so connected with, they were there for him in his time of need. He was confident in his relationship with them even from a far off land that he wanted to continue to pray for them. Remember he was the one in prison. I hope you feel that with people here. I see it, I see the relationships the community and the connections that are growing here. I can see the support between people in the church but I know with the Holy Spirit it will grow. Paul felt the same with the Philippeans he praying for and knew that Holy Spirit and the Gospel of Jesus Christ would see the life changing connection, go beyond just one of an experience. Do you feel that as well? How do we, as a group of people, grow as a faith filled people together? Are we growing together?

Paul had message of love for other churches as well.

Ephesians 4:16 (NLT)

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 (NLT)

As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth.

Paul beleived that through Jesus we and the Holy Spirit we would continue to grow in love. But it was never intended to be done in solitude. It was to be done with brothers and sisters In community. So that we can grow together with Christ. Because of his sacrifice and his great love for us.

There is something else we do in Community to remember what Christ has done for us. If you are a follower of Christ you are welcome to take communion with us. Jesus through his love for us paid the price for our sins on the cross. As we take communion together, it is a reflection of the love of Jesus for us and the defeat of death with reserection. It was through the reserection and the spreading of the Good News that Jesus died for our sins so we can have eternal life with God the Father. That started people gathering with each other in love to share the gospel with people and like the apostles gather together.

Matthew 26:26–28 NLT

As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.

Paul continues his prayer for the church and in verse 7 he again points out that they have a special place in his heart. But in Verse 9 he starts to pray that there heart will overflow but will also grow in Knowledge and understanding. This is not what we usually think of as qualities of love. We tend to look at the romantic or sentimental love that is all emotion. But Paul is praying that the love he wants for them is more than emotion. It is one that is growing in what truely it means to love so that it really matters.

God is wanting us to look to Jesus and his life, to grow in our love, as Jesus had for us . I have no doubt that Jesus had emotional love but it was more than that. He could not have done all that he did if it was just for his pure emotion. He lived a perfect life that could we could also live a life that was more like him. A life that our heart and our head are both involved in love. A life that focused on our love of God so that we live a life of repentance and purification. To not just, not sin but to walk away from our sinful nature. God wants us to not only fully live a life knowing what God has designed for us but to be able to share that with everyone.

A Holy Spirit driven life that includes listening to the Holy Spirit on all of the issues we face not allowing them to be confusing or unclear. But not to live this kind of life by ourselves but live it with each other. Helping each other with clarity on every issue that comes up. That we are true brothers and sisters that share when we are struggling with something in our lives or need clarity on what we should do in each situation.

Philippians 1:9–11 (NLT)

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.

For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.

May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

Wise Love: The Heartbeat of Christian Living

This prayer points us to being Christians who embody a love that is not only genuine but also wise. One that discerns truth and seeks the best for others. This will ultimately help us to navigate relationships with in the church. Reach out to our community with the grace that Jesus Christ demonstrated. But more than that we can foster a unity and a deeper connection with Christ with our brothers and sisters.

What happens if this doesn’t happen. I know that no one wants to go here but wisdom states we should. We were just talking about this at the men’s group, that Sunday is a time for us to get filled but that is useless if we are not prepared to pour out. We sometimes feel that we don’t know enough to be able to share the gospel with people. But please also see that we have questions inside the building as well. If we don’t get messy and live a life together we are not able to be the most prepared to reach the unreached as a church. It is sometimes hard to open up to others when we are struggling but it is impossible if no one asks you how are you doing.

Wisdom without love pushes people away. Yes we all need wisdom but unless the relationship is not there then the wisdom can come as judgement. If we don’t know the heart of the person sharing wisdom then we can’t trust that it is coming from the right place. I have, too many times, been so excited with the things that I Just learned that I did not think about the person I was sharing with. I learned the hard way that without intending to do any harm, the person I was sharing with was taking it completely wrong. My thoughts were on what I knew with no consideration what was best to share for the person.

But Love without Wisdom can keep people in bad places. Love only, doesn’t allow us to speak directlty to the problem. We can worry about the relationship more than what is best for the person. It can place the focus on the persons feeling and not on the Christ like path. God calls us to love each other enough to point out the things He has designed for eternal life. Can you do that for others? And if not can you guarentee that you can stay good on you own. I don’t want to find out. Wise love sounds almost a contradiction but both words together make sure that our love, is the love that is best received by others.

As we wrap up, can you imagine a church that everyone is invited into each others lives. That true celebration or heart ache are carried by all in this church. Where people are drawn into this community of believers because they want the life that we have. Where we are never left wondering what someone meant about what they said. Where the Holy Spirit was so present that it was palpable.

The church where everyone in our community pointed to, when someone needed help. Further more everyone knew where we were because we touched so many people in the community with our events that we were a landmark of the city. I think we have started but I want us to make it so much better.

Imagine Everyone who walked through the doors had a group of people within no time that were friends, mentors and where they learned the love of Jesus Christ. Where everyone was able to find a group of people to study the bible and learn together. Where kids had more Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents then they could have ever imagined.

I am not saying that we don’t have this now, But like Paul he knew that with the prayer and the partnership in the gospel, the church in Philippi would grow. But just like Paul,we as a church, need to prayerfully challenge ourselves and our church, to grow in our love for one another but make sure that it is wrapped in knowledge and spiritual discernment.

If we are able as a church to keep this prayer as our goal as a church. We will be truely reflecting Jesus Christ’s love for us and showing the City the transformative power of Jesus Christ.

Benediction

Philippians 1:11 NLT

May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

Bible Passage: Philippians 1:1-11

Summary: In this passage, Paul expresses his deep affection for the Philippians, highlighting the importance of love that is rooted in knowledge and discernment. His prayer for them emphasizes growth in love and the pursuit of righteousness, ultimately reflecting the transformative power of love in the life of believers.

Application: This passage encourages Christians to embody a love that is not only genuine but also wise—one that discerns truth and seeks the best for others. This can help individuals navigate their relationships and communities with grace, fostering unity and a deeper connection with Christ.

Teaching: The sermon teaches that wise love involves a balance of affection and insight. It challenges believers to grow in their love for one another, ensuring it is informed by knowledge and spiritual discernment, as demonstrated in Paul’s relationship with the Philippians.

How this passage could point to Christ: In the context of Scripture, this passage foreshadows the ultimate love of Christ, who embodies perfect wisdom and love in His relationship with humanity. Just as Paul loves the Philippians, Christ loves His church with a sacrificial love that seeks our flourishing.

Big Idea: The sermon communicates that wise love, characterized by depth of insight and sincere affection, is essential for building a healthy Christian community and exemplifying Christ’s love in the world.

Recommended Study: As you prepare this sermon, consider exploring the themes of love and discernment further in Logos. You might focus on the original Greek terms used by Paul to enhance your understanding of 'knowledge' and 'discernment.' Examining commentaries on Philippians can also reveal exegetical insights that illuminate how Paul's affection was uniquely expressed to the Philippians, providing a richer context for your sermon.

1. Warm Welcome of Grace

Philippians 1:1-2

You could begin by highlighting Paul's opening greeting to the Philippians, emphasizing his deep-rooted love for them as brothers and sisters in Christ. This provides a foundation for understanding wise love. Paul's greeting underscores the significance of relational warmth and mutual respect in a Christian community. Perhaps mention how this Pauline greeting sets a tone of grace and peace, reflecting Christ’s love and unity that believers should embody.

2. Confident Community Bonds

Philippians 1:3-6

Perhaps focus on the joy and confidence Paul expresses in the Philippians due to their partnership in the gospel. This section illustrates wise love as confident and encouraging in communal bonds. You might explore how encouragement and shared purpose invigorate faith communities, reflecting Christ's zeal for His people. Acknowledge the assurance Paul holds in God’s continuing work in believers, aiming to reassure individuals of God's unwavering love and purpose in their lives.

3. Heartfelt Yearning

Philippians 1:7-8

Consider discussing Paul’s affectionate yearning for the Philippians, which resonates with his sincere love rooted in Christ. This part of the passage can highlight wise love's depth—drawn from the heart—and empowers believers to express compassion. Explore how Paul’s emotional expression is not mere sentiment but a reflection of Christ-like love that draws us closer in genuine relationships. This ties into building a community where heart-led actions and empathy resemble Christ’s love.

4. Abundant Love with Insight

Philippians 1:9-11

Perhaps delve into Paul's prayer for the Philippians that their love may abound more and more in knowledge and discernment. This final section explicitly defines wise love, combining affection with insight. Highlight how Paul's prayer encourages believers to cultivate a love that discerns God's desires and righteousness. Emphasize the importance of nurturing determining wisdom in love through spiritual sources, aiming towards purity for Christ’s glory—a love rooted in profound understanding.