permission to fraternize

I've shared before that one of my favorite images of the creation of humanity is the idea of multiple chairs open for someone to set in and a fellowship in this image comes from Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 and 27 where the creation of humanity plural language is used when God refers to himself. He's talking about the father Son and Holy Spirit and so he says let us create Humanity human beings in our own image. And the idea revealed in that image is that at the heart of the universe is this love relationship between the father Son and Holy Spirit and the creation of humanity is this overflow of that existing Fellowship in love of the Father Son and Holy Spirit to say, let's expand the circle to create other beings and say pull up a sheer and and and and know this Fellowship know this love you you see that theme repeated again and again in the profits when when the prophets speak on behalf of God through Jose ever examples, look I don't do I don't desire sacrifices in routine and ritual what I want is your love when Jesus when he's with his disciples in John 15 in his last time with him. He talks about look the father and I have this love relationship and I want you guys to have the same sort of Love relationship not only with me and the father but also with one another now, I know I've used this illustration many times before my goal is to use it so much. Eventually one day I walk into Walmart and I see been talking to somebody about Jesus and he pulled up chairs and he's sitting down and he's explained to them. Look God is good and loving and out of the Overflow of his heart. He created humanity and bites us back to that Fellowship that relationship. Also wanted to reuse it again today to emphasize a different aspect because traditionally whatever size is that the father Son and Holy Spirit invited us into fellowship and relationship with them. But as I alluded to a moment ago and John 15, Jesus also shares that is not only love and fellowship with God the father and with him that the gospel is about it's about love and fellowship with one another That we would love one another so it's not just Fellowship of the Father Son and Holy Spirit, but it's Fellowship between Christians Between Brothers and Sisters in Christ and between those inside the kingdom and outside the kingdom in the sense that we should have and I like that Good Samaritan looking for those that we can minister to wear The Prodigal Son looking to call them back. It's that sort of Fellowship. We've been talkin about the book of Philippians this week. Here's that passage in John don't want to read before we jump into flipping. Jesus says in John 15 as the father has loved me. So that's that love relationship from the very beginning between the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit. So have I loved you. So the love that Jesus directed to us is based on the love. He has between him and the father and the Holy Spirit. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. It's interesting that Joy is injected into that theme because we find it throughout Philippians 2 and we'll we'll focus on Joy and There Sunday when we're on a pathogen Philippians that talks about that. I told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete my command. Is this love each other as I have loved you? That's what Jesus unpacks this model in that short little verse hate the father love me. We have this love relationship and that love is what I've directed to you. And I want you to love each other the way I have loved you and look at how we see these things and what Paul is talking about in Philippians last week. We talked about Philippians chapter 1 and we focused on verse 6 and this week. I want to focus on the first date versus as a whole and we'll touch on verse 6 again, but beginning of verse 3 Paul says, I thank my God every time I remember you speaking to those to whom he's riding the church in Philippi and all of my prayer and all my prayers for all of you. I always pray with Joyce and are things that Joe is injected right off the bat and just like the verses from Jesus because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now by the way, it's interesting in the original Greek when he says I thank my God every time I remember you you can twist it around and he could be saying I thank my For all the times you remembered me and and that would potentially fit Philippians 2 because the letter is a hole is a letter of thanks from Paul to his friends and Phillipi who supported him multiple times, but he says I thank my God every time I remember you in prayer and he says because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now being confident of this that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus and he of course refers to God until Paul is saying think about these things the one who began a good work you work in you will bring it to completion. It's right for me. He continues and this is what I want to focus on this morning. It's right for me to feel this way about all of you since I have you in my heart and whether I am in Chains or defending and confirming the gospel all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. Now there's some history to this passage and we talked about it last week a little bit. Let me just do a real quick review Paul and Timothy the first verse in Philippians clippings 11 begins this way. It's from Paul and Timothy the identify them as Servants of Christ. Jesus to All God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi together with overseers and deacons Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ now, he writes as a friend so he could have pulled out his credentials as an apostle. He could have talked about. I'm an apostle. I've been called by God. I'm a prisoner on behalf of the Gospel. He could have introduced himself that way but he introduces himself simply as Paul and as a slave or a servant of God and other letters he brings his authority out. First is Paul an apostle in the letter to the Philippians. It's him riding to friends. And he says look, I'm not an apostle. He's not announcing himself that way as if you separate or above them he sang. I am a fellow slave of Christ and I'm riding you as a fellow follower a fellow servant of Christ. He rides as a friend with a shared history of God's grace extended in the gospel of Christ that first day he refers to I'm confident. He says in Philippians 1:6. I'm confident of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in that verse he talks about from the first day until the day of Christ's return that first day for Paul and the church in Philippi is recorded for us and acts 16-6 through 40. If you were here last week I said, that's one of the best things you can write in your margin. If you like to take notes in your Bible when you're in Philippians 1 be sure and read Acts chapter 16 verses 6 through 40 because it tells the story of that first day of Paul's arrival in Phillipi, which was a god-ordained arrival. He was heading somewhere else in a vision sent him to fill a pie. Those who converted a Paul's imprisonment an earthquake that freed him all the miraculous events that began the church at flip. I ever recorded in Acts 16 Paul founded the church and part of his confidence. We talked about this last week when he says I'm confident that the one who began this good work in you will be faithful to bring it to completion. I think he's reminding them we were all there weren't. We he sang Remember God began this good work. Remember I I came into town. I was heading somewhere else and God gave me a vision and called me into town and then Lydia converted and then we cast a demon out of that slave girl and then the Roman official when he saw the earthquake and that's free and it's praising God he converted Play God was working from that very first day and and that confidence that memory that he's calling up in their mind was part of what would show up their confidence that he's going to continue to work now and work in the future and last week your application besides look at acts 16 or relation to Philippians 1 your homework was to make a list of the ways that God has worked in your life so far sometimes like I said last week we stand and say well I'm so far from where I need to be every now and then it's worth saying where am I compared to where I was 20 years ago. What has God done in my life? And what do I have to thank him for what is the history of his work in my life that should shore up and build up my own faith in him my confidence in him. That's the mark of Christians is confidence in God this belief. This faith is trust that God is who he says he is and a rewards those who seek him as the writer of Hebrews says that's what that first day. Is that history they have together of God's work in and among them and that's part of his confidence Philippians 1 5 and 6. Now, let's continue to what we want to talk about more this morning. He talks about the partnership in the gospel from the first day until now being confident of this that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion which we just talked about and then in the next verse he says it's right for me to feel this way about all of you. And if I was just talking about how they're in his heart and we're tempted to say isn't that loving poetic language Paul really loves those employed by the let's get on to some Doctrine. Let's get down to some meteor portions of flipping but in the original Greek he sang it. He's kind of thing before we move on. I want your attention. I want you to listen to what I'm saying. I pondered it. I've reflected upon it I thought about it and this is not a personal this is this is the way I feel about it. You can feel about it differently what he saying to them is this is the way we should see and understand the relationships. We have among one another and so he's saying it's right for me to feel this way about you meaning right in the sense of this is the Christian way to understand our history and our relationships, even right now as I write you as a friend to update you to pray for you and ask for your prayers and assistance with me. He's giving them and see What about this is how we should think about our relationship and it's also part of the confidence that he has when he says I'm confident this he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete. It is comforting because of what they all saying God do he's also confident because he looks at them and he knows they are followers of God. He knows there are dedicated to him every time I pray I thank God for you and I'm sure of this. I always know and remember your partnership in the gospel with me. It's it's spread throughout our history and and is right for me to feel this way because I see your commitment to God. I see your ear in my heart. We have this shared grace of God. He says the next verse and it's not shared Grace in the sense of we all received it. It's that but it's also more it's shared Grace of serving as those who are extending the gospel since I have you in my heart. He continues whether I'm in Chains or defending And confirming the gospel all of you share in God's grace with me and this reference he keeps coming back to in the letter will keep looking at it, but it's more than just we've all been saved by God. It's also that we're all experiencing God's grace in terms of serving him and so in terms of advancing the gospel and Paul would say even in prison experiencing God's grace cuz he talks about how being changed and we'll get to this another sermon, but he was change a different guards and they would rotate shifts because one guard couldn't stay change them 24/7 and so every time a new guard was chained to him he would witness to them at and he saw that as part of God's grace that even in prison the gospels being shared even the guard here are hearing the gospel as I preach it. So he he song God's grace. Not just the original Grace we received when we convert but also the ongoing Grace to be able to be Servants of the most high. So we can't in use. Inverse 8. Can testify how long how I longed for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus? And this is another emphasis. This is why I couldn't just skip 2 verse 9 and 9 to 12 which will talk about next week which when you're ready to Philippians 1 you're tempted to say yeah. Yeah Paul I wasn't very much. Let's jump up to these next vs. Cuz they feel more meaty more doctor. Oh, but when you read this in the original he's going out of his way to say to the original readers or hears. Don't just skim over this. I'm telling you I thought about it. I reflected upon it and this is the way all of us should understand our relationship with one another is this common Grace from God that binds us together. You're in my very heart and then he goes out of his way in this last first another emphasis to say look if what I'm saying isn't the gospel truth. God can tell you that. I'm like, this is like I got can test about how I long for you one early commentator was funny and early church father was writing about this and he said, I don't know why Paul would say that he said that's a Dangerous thing I mean, why you why are you putting what you're what you're saying as an oath before God, that's what it would have been heard in that culture. He sang. Look I swear before they got to have it in one since he's putting it all out there. He's extending this early, Taylor said that's dangerous and less it's true. And that's Paul's Point. That's why I was using that language. He sang. This is true. As God is my witness. You are in my heart. We share the sort of bond together because of Christ shared experience and expression of God's compassion given in Christ Mark R relationships. This is the police that Paul is presenting to the church early on in this letter in Philippine that we talked last week about the mark of a Christian is to have confidence in God. Absolutely. Yes. Amen Faith but it's not just that one thing. It's more than just that one thing I think about how radical that is to a certain extent because we live in a very individualistic culture and we're tempted to think in terms of look. It's just all about me and God. I have my faith in God, so I'm good to go. It's just my individual decision to trust God to choose God to place my faith in him. That's 99.9% of my relationship of God. I make this individual decision. I trust him I go to church. I read my Bible. I pray me and God are good. Scripture does not support that understanding.

It is not one thing only. It's 100% of two things. It's not one thing only shared experience and expression of God's compassion. So the shared experience we have of God's compassion and Grace toward us and the expression of God's compassion and Grace for us that should Mark our relationship that what that's what people should see when they peek inside the church when they peek inside our homes when they peek inside a relationship this sort of compassion that we've received and shared Paul says that this way elsewhere and Colossians, he says therefore since you are God's chosen people, holy people like the saints that he addresses those envelope. I in Philippians 1. Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved clothe yourselves with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience now think about it for a moment are those virtues any good if I don't have any relationships with other people

You see how how illogical it is to think in terms of isolation? You can go through all the scripture and you will keep biting up against the idea that it won't work. You cannot live your faith out in isolation. The reason he wants us to have these qualities is because of our interaction with one another and with others. So therefore as God's chosen people holy and dearly loved clothe yourself with compassion kindness humility gentleness and patience bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone forgive as the Lord forgave you

Those are challenging words, aren't they? And they are marks of what it means to be a Christian. And they're Inseparable from what it means to be a Christian the same way we see pretty clearly confidence in God is a mark of what it means to be a Christian. I placed my faith in I have confidence in God Paul in the New Testament writers. Don't let us ice like that and separated as a as a one thing instead, they constantly connected to our relationships with one another and that our relationship of God automatically organically inseparably should have implications and impact on our relationship with one another. Amen. Does that sound like it's too radical but Jimmy Thompson the church at church will be divided. They'll be factions within a church. They'll be parties within a church. They'll be people who work against the very Church. They're attending. because of a lack of forgiveness don't let person said that thing to me that one day and I just didn't so ever since then. I'm just not I mean I'm violent and and stuff but We slipped into living in the Christian Community in a non-Christian way. We're missing out on the blessings that God has designed for us. So bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone forgive as the Lord has forgiven you and over all these virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity. And so Christian Community Christian relationship should model a sort of love and compassion and forgiveness. And I for one am so thankful for the grace of God and the Forgiveness of God in my life because I fell at this frequently. I fell out it in my relationship with my children with my wife with others. Anybody relate to that have you ever had a season or time of not forgiving your spouse? We're just mad at each other and you just decide you're going to punish them by being mad at each other for however long it takes to feel like one person the other kind of paid their due. Or have your children ever kind of failed you and you can't help but kind of have an asterisk beside that area of their life. They're great. They're awesome. Awesome, but I really can't trust them in this area. So you really don't forgive? Because you keep that astric there at every point. and the way we talk about people reveals this we say all Ben's a great guy great guy don't give a damn is a great guy, but Which means 95% of my experience of being may be awesome, but I'm tempted at times to say but there was just one thing. He was late to pick me up. And so he's just not like a punctual kind of guy 99% experience can be good. But we take one little thing and put that elastic in it and it kind of dominates. My church is awesome. I mean, they love the Lord and their biblical and all those things. But if we're not careful, we just let that Astrid kind of shape the way we do things when his dad work and courage from scripture to forgive one another to be gracious and kind and compassionate to put love on above all else. Shared experience and expression of God's compassion given to us in Christ should Mark our relationships. Which means you have permission to fraternize.

That's the invitation for you this morning. Jesus never lets us divide. And even when that lawyer came to him and said, what's the greatest commandment hilarious that Jesus didn't give him an answer to that. He didn't give him a single command that lawyer wanted a single commandment. What is the greatest commandment love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength. Okay. I'm done. Let me run away real quick. Hold up and love your neighbor as yourself. It is a two-part formula one hundred percent of both parts where we are called to love God to have confidence in God, but we're also called to have our relationships marked by compassion The Compassion we've received should be the compassion weeks then two others. That's how you do it. By the way, you know, we sure if our confidence by reminding ourselves of what God has done and our faith is increased. How do how do we increase our compassion to others? We make our model for relating to others the model of how Jesus relates to us in that exactly what he said in John 15 to his disciples the way I have loved you. I want you to love one another so we have to let go of the standards of our culture that says I've got to protect myself that person, you know, they were against me at work. I got to make sure I don't threaten eyes with them. I got to make sure I let you know. I don't want to be vulnerable and be their friend because I got to protect my job or my promotion of this that or the other or my neighbor is a Louisville fan, you know and thigh. That's fine with her. I'm going to run off the block I think but I'm not invited them over for a cookout and they'll bring a red cooler over when this is blue country. Right and so or a my case, it might be a volnation right? Is there a wildcat Nation here in Lexington and Knoxville? And there's a gator Nation down in Florida, but Christianity calls us. To have Christ be our ultimate loyalty. how to be a Christian Nation to know that our citizenship is in heaven and a practice our relationships not based on what the culture around us tells us to do but the practice it based on what Christ has done which is insane when you think about it graciousness forgiving one another are we supposed to kind of keep a tab only do those sorts of things. We keep parts of our heart away from God and we miss out on what he wants to do in our life. It's a Paul is inviting us to know that sort of Fellowship that sort of fraternity with one another again. So here's your homework this week and I'll invite the worship team to come forward. Is last week's homework was to build our confidence in God by reviewing the things he's done for us than this week's homework is to fraternize. Okay, you have permission to fraternize this week spend some time with Brothers and Sisters in Christ or those who are not yet Brothers and Sisters in Christ spend some time extending the compassion and grace of God to another Okay. Take somebody to lunch. Take them to dinner. Mow their yard. If it's if it needs mowing this early in the year probably not do something for someone else to extend the grace of God one of the best ways if I hear struggle with only thinking about yourself.

Not the only one man then when I need to sit down and some of you need to get up and preach. Never never struggle with selfishness. I know you're trying to be a disciple. But then sometimes you just catch yourself right in the middle of something. You're like, I've only been thinking about myself the whole way. I framed this conflict or this frustration or disagreements with my wife with my kid with whatever. However I'm thinking about my needs or wants or why I'm happy or unhappy suddenly you realize it's like I'm not even factored in God in the midst of this. I've just thought only about myself you want to know a simple cure to that sort of selfishness when you can't get your mind off of yourself here is a simple cured of that put your mind on someone else. If you're struggling with day-to-day discipleship Moment by moment discipleship, then intentionally put your mind on someone else think about them. Think about their issues or their struggles and reach out to them with compassion and Grace. Say when I say Pratt nice, I mean christ-centered relationships that are packed full of his compassion and Grace that he extends to us. There's nobody who's off limits. Do you realize that there's no place that's off limits? The Jesus in the gospels function as if there were some people that were off-limits and then he function as if there were some places that were off-limits know he went about fraternizing with everybody. And what did he extend to him at every Point Grace and Love The Gospel the good news of those chairs with an empty seats and guess what your father who made you invite you to this circle to sit down and fellowship with him. So that's that's your homework this week that you're fraternizing you may scripture commands us to do this. You may know that somebody has something against you or you have something against someone in scripture says to get that cleared up or I'll mess with your worship. So you're at your friend Isaac, maybe somebody that you know very well that you need to re-establish fellowship with. Or or maybe it'll be a perfect stranger that God just open your eyes to somebody and you can reach out to them and care for them and listen. Don't miss this and will end on this the way in which God works in our life. Absolutely indispensable e includes obedience taking steps in areas that we're not yet sure of Do you understand the logic of that? We're too offensive. Look I get what you're saying Robbie, but I need to learn more about evangelism. I need to learn more about the issues in our culture. I need to improve my relationship skills. I can't just step out there and start Breton Isaac with somebody or have dinner with somebody or I'm not even sure that person that I've got a grudge against in the church and I'm not sure I'm ready for that. Listen the way in which God will start to work in that area in your life is when you take that step of Faith one of the devil's biggest tricks is to get us to think we have to wait until we are fully absolutely prepared before we take a step of faith. That is one of his biggest lies and he will keep us idling for decades. Anybody got a lot of things on your someday maybe list. Right someday. Maybe I'm going to resolve that relationship. Someday, maybe I'm going to take a mission trip. Someday, maybe I'm going to really understand the Book of Revelation. someday, Maybe that's one of his biggest victories over icy prevents us from taking that first step while Jesus is saying look if you'll just take the first step. I'll come right alongside you he won't violate our Free Will and force us to obey him. But as soon as we take a step in that direction, he will come around alongside and help us to take that step. So you can tell your friends and family. I've been given permission to Fright Nights this week. You should some of you should be someplace that somebody will call you about later today. I saw you. What are you doing talking to those people and they look they were they were Tennessee fans, but they still need the gospel, but they still need Jesus graphic probably more so than us Wildcat folks, right? We should we should get in trouble every now and then like Jesus somebody to pull us aside. So, what are you doing? Hanging out at those places.

Or maybe somebody should call us this week at site. I saw you eating lunch with someone so I thought you and We were but Jesus is helping me take those steps take those steps. So that we are a light into this world that is full of broken relationships and struggle and Grudge and hardship so that we become a city on a hill and a light of God's love and work in our own lives. Let's pray. Father we pray that you would work in our own hearts that we would follow Paul's example of allowing others deep into his own heart.

And father that you would help us commit to building deep relationships with one another based on your compassion and Grace and love that's the only way deep relationships will be accomplished among a bunch of imperfect People Like Us. And so give us the wisdom to forgive as you have forgiven us to love as you have loved us. We pray that those relationships will be centered around Christ would be sent around the gospel itself.

Or we we thank you that you invite us of all people. To be your servants in to advance the gospel and to be part of the light that is fraying this world from Darkness.

We are grateful father that you allow us to be your servants and we pray that we would listen and obey. Let me pray father that our faith in you would increase as we look at the history of the way in which you blessed us and work in our lives.

And we pray father that are love and compassion for others would increase as we allow your love to cover our own Hearts our own Sans and flow through us to others. In your name we pray.