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This past week, my family and I drove north to Vermont to see snow because it’s a real thing and we want our kids to know that!

On our way up, we stopped in a town called Stowe, Vermont. Maybe some of you have been there.

We walked around the town, went into many different shops, sight-seeing.

Nearing the end of our sight-seeing, my wife wanted to walk down to the end of the street to see another store. I didn’t really want to walk any further with three kids but I’m glad we did because I would have missed something important.

There are at the end of the street stands a big rock that has an anonymous inscription on it. The inscription says, “To live in love and serve one’s community.”

I was blown away by it. What an idea?! What a great purpose statement! What a great philosophy of life! To live your life in love and to serve your community.

Those two ideas aren’t new. We’re going to hear those two ideas this morning when reading the Bible. Those two ideas form the heart of today’s message.

Introduce Series

Title

We’re beginning a six-week series called A Life Surrendered to the Gospel. A study of the book of Philippians. When the gospel owns every part of your life.

Background

Saul violently persecuted the church, seeking to destroy it every chance he got.

But everything in Saul’s life changed when Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus.

Paul, as he became known from that moment forward, surrendered his life to the gospel, so much so that he was willing to be thrown in jail because of the gospel.

The Surprise Factor

Paul wrote a letter to the Christians at Philippi from a jail cell with chains around his hands and feet.

What’s surprising is that had Paul not said so in his letter, no one would be able to tell.

That’s because Paul’s letter to Christians at Philippi is filled with a sense of hope and optimism, characteristics that seem contrary to being falsely imprisoned.

Taking a Deeper Look

When we take a deeper look at this letter, we can discern at least six characteristics of Paul’s life.

These characteristics define a life surrendered to the gospel.

Plan of the Series

Using Paul, then, as our example, the plan of this series is to read through the entire letter to highlight the six characteristics that defined his life.

These aren’t the only characteristics that defined Paul’s life, nor are they the only characteristics of a life surrendered by the gospel, but they are six characteristics that every Christian should cultivate in his or her own life.

Each week, this series will focus on one characteristic that defines a life surrendered to the gospel and one practical way to cultivate that characteristic in your life.

Because it can be overwhelming to focus on many things at once, we encourage you to pick one characteristic to cultivate throughout this series and coming months.

The Six Characteristics

The six characteristics that define a life surrendered to the gospel are: Love, Perspective, Unselfishness, Humility, Focus, and Joy.

Message Title

A Life Surrendered to the Gospel Radically Love Others.

Exegesis of Philippians 1:3-11

Historical Context

Philippi was originally a Greek city that was established around 360BC.

To put that into comparison with the events of the Bible, Philippi was established about 75 years after Nehemiah worked to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem.

In 43 BC, the Roman assassin Marcus Brutus was defeated at the battle of Philippi by Marc Antony and Octavian.

Philippi is on the world stage.

Church Context

We know from the book of Acts that Paul, Silas, and Timothy planted a church in Philippi in 49 AD.

The church faced opposition from a group of Jewish religious leaders who promoted a works-based salvation.

We also know that when Paul wrote this letter he was in jail!

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. 7 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. 9 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 Thanks God vv. 1-6

Paul thanks God for the Christians at Philippi every time he thinks of them.

He thanks God joyfully because of their partnership in the gospel.

He thanks for God confidently because he knows that God will finish what he started in them.

Paul Is Morally Justified vv. 7-8

It is ‘right’ morally for Paul to have the feelings/thoughts that he has for the Christians at Philippi because they are partners, members, participants, teammates, of the same grace, same cause, same gospel, share in, associate with, the same tasks, identity, emotions, even the same imprisonment.

If anyone doubts the way Paul feels about them, he doesn’t care because God is a witness to his emotions.

That’s something important for us to consider: God is a witness to our emotions. He’s a witness to our thoughts. He’s a witness to our true intentions. Things may be hidden in the dark for this lifetime, but they will be exposed in the life to come.

Paul Prays to God vv. 9-11

Paul prays to God that their love for God would overflow, not in gooey emotions, but in knowledge and all moral discernment.

Paul makes this direct connection between our Love for God and our knowledge of God and knowledge of good and evil.

Paul prays this so that

4. A life surrendered to the gospel radically loves others.

What makes this love radical is that loves others as it loves itself. It sees others as itself.

The Tension that needs an explanation. Paul is overjoyed because of what’s going on in their lives and they are saddened by what’s going on in his life. Paul is in chains but he’s joyful. They are free but they’re burdened. A love for others because they satisfy my own desires or a love for others because I see them as another self.

It is morally correct for Paul to feel this way. It is morally incorrect for Paul to feel the opposite way.

a. By Thanking God for Teammates support

b. By Praying to God for Teammates continued development

c. Because my good is interwoven with their good.

5. An Individualistic Society Must Be Retrained To Think Collectively.

a. Illustrations:

i. Chain Links

1. Only as strong as the weakest link

ii. Sports Team

1. Miracle on Ice, all star teams fail.

iii. Communities

1. Depend on one another

b. Analogy:

i. The Body of Christ

1. Many Members, Depend on one another

6. Application

a. Start Seeing Your Good as Interwoven with the good of others.

b. Pray for Spouse, Children, One other Person in this church body.

7. Closing

a.