What assurance do I have?

Stuck with you

Have you had a toy that has stuck with throughout the years? Something that no matter how dirty, tattered, ripped, smelly, or otherwise it is you will just never let it go. It doesn’t matter what it looks like because you love that toy or blanket. You have always known it and it has a place in your heart because of what it means to you. Now what it means to you may be different to someone else. Another person may see it and throw it in the trash because of its condition, but you could never throw it away even if you tried.

Paul’s words at the beginning of Philippians tells us about God’s love for us and Paul’s love for the people in Philippi. It draws a picture for us of God who, in His grace, will bring us through all of life’s journeys. And of Paul who, through all of his journeys, has remembered these people in his own heart. These show us 2 things.

Our need for God to sustain us.

Our need for the encouragement of others.

Our Need for God to Sustain us

(Finding Nemo “Trust me” scene)

What we see about God is that he can have assurance in our faith that He will complete the work that He has started in us. In this scene Marlin needed to trust that Dory’s plan would work to completion in order to find his son but he had a hard time trusting. He had fear. But the only way for him to escape the whale was for him to trust that the work would carry it out to completion. The way he saw his options was 1. Be eaten by a whale or 2. Stay where he was and live, but his current situation was trapped and lost in the ocean. His real options were 1. Stay lost without any help or 2. Take the leap of faith

What Paul tells us in v. 6 is that only God alone can finish the work in us. Notice here are two things that are assumed. That God planned the work of salvation in us and that it is a good work. But we know that God had planned for our salvation, He had prepared us to believe in Him.

Ephesians 1:4–5 CSB

For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Romans 8:28–35 CSB

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

See, our only hope of salvation is in Christ and for us to receive the Gospel. God has prepared our hearts to receive it and now we must accept it. And so we know that if God has started to work of our salvation in Him that He will not stop, that it will continue on. And we now, from Paul’s circumstances that no one can stop this work. No human, no sin, no circumstance, not even ourselves, can keep God’s plan from working in our life. Have you ever thought about that? No matter how much you screw up that it doesn’t change God’s plan for you?

Our need for the encouragement of others

Then Paul talks about another way we can feel confident in our faith? Because He has given us others as a reminder of our faith. That each of one of us is a reminder to one another that God is completing His work in us.

There are two ways we can be encouraged by others. Paul in v. 3 shows us the first way. We are encouraged by the way that others stay faithful in their Christian walk. Paul gives thanks that he can remember that those in Philippi have stayed true to the Gospel. He is encouraged by their walk. He is thankful that God has brought them into his life, he has joy in seeing how they have matured as believers.

But their walk has done more than just encourage him, it has brought him joy. Have you ever had joy over the success of another person? Maybe a sibling? A friend? A family member? You can find joy in the success of others when they are close to you. In some way you feel connected to their success. You can think of your grandparents. You may wonder why they are so interested in your lives. Your grades, your friends, your athletic or musical activities, or anything that you do. They feel invested in your life, they find joy in your success.

How many of you watched the Olympics? What are your favorite sports in the Olympics? Who do you cheer for in the Olympics? You probably cheer for America right? Now are you rooting for Americans to fail? No! Does it matter to you that they are better than you at something? No! In fact, you find excitement in just how good some of these athletes are at what they do. And you enjoy when they win because they are representing your country. When other believers succeed, when they grow, when they are good at something. We aren’t upset at it, we encourage one another to use our gifts! I will also say, if any of you has a gift and want to use it with our youth group, let me know! I want you all to use your gifts to God’s glory!

But He also prays for them and encourages them to continue in the Gospel. He tells them to continue the good work, He prays that God would carry this on in them. His prayer goes to God, but he tells them this as an encouragement, to let them know that he cares about their wellbeing and their faith.

Notice the circumstances with which Paul finds joy, in prison. He is excited for how the Philippians have grown even in difficult circumstances. Has your sibling ever gotten to do something that you didn’t get to do? What do you usually say? “It’s no fair!” We are so stuck on what we aren’t able to do that we can’t be happy for them. But it can also go the other way around, “oh yeah, well I got to go on the big roller coaster and you didn’t!” It is always trying to “one up” each other and make ourselves feel more important. But Paul is happy because they are succeeding even in the midst of his own troubles.

Is there someone that you would want to fail? That you find joy in their misery? But what does Paul teach us here? That he praise for the success of others, he prayers that they may be filled with joy.

Our confidence in God’s promise and our encouragement of one another allows us to grow Spiritually.

So what is spiritual growth? What does it mean for us to look more lie Christ? It says that we can approve good things and discern what are the wrong things. We can approve and discern. As we grow older we are able to learn how to better choose the right path. We must grow in the knowledge of the truth. By reading God’s Word, by have older people in our lives who give us good advice, by spending time in Bible study and in church on Sunday. Each of you must seek to be a student of God’s Word. Think about what it means that you are a student at school. What comes with being a student? Time every day learning, homework afterwards, be involved in activities outside of just your classes with other students. Being a student impacts everything about your life. How does your being a student of God’s Word impact your life?

We are also able to love others better because we realize just how incredible Christ’s love for us is. The love of Christ is what binds us and is what impacts how we view others. If love and affection in Christ is what leads the way than we won’t assume others are out to get us, we are able to mend relationship with others and seek forgiveness, we are able to trust better, we seek to get along with others rather than assume that we won’t.