September 5 2021, "Philippians: Thanksgiving and Prayer" - Philippians 1:3-11

I invite you to stand for the reading and hearing of God’s Word this morning:

Philippians 1:3-11 (NIV)

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 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.

7 It is 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. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

And may glory be to God for the reading and the hearing of God’s Word this morning, Thanks be to God.

Paul founded the Church at Philippi on his second missionary journey, probably around 50 CE.

He crossed the Agean Sea from Troas in modern day western Turkey to Neapolis in Macedonia and on to the nearby Philippi. He went there in response to a nighttime vision he had at Troas, which was recorded in Acts 16:9-10. Silas, Timothy, and possibly Luke were with him. Philippi had been built in the 4th century BC by Philip II, Alexander the Great’s dad. In 168 BC, it became a part of the Roman empire. The religions of the city were many as there were those who worshipped Roman, Greek, and Thracian gods and goddesses, deities from Phrygia and Egypt, and the Hebrew God we call Yahweh.

The first convert at Philippi was Lydia who was a seller of purple dyed cloth. She offered her home as a place of residence and gathering for the first church of Philippi. Women played a big role in the political, religious, and social landscapes of Macedonia.

Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke probably stayed a few weeks on their first trip. They raised up a vigorous church at Philippi, one that that Paul was very proud of. It included amongst it initial members a converted jailer and his family, Epaphroditus, Eudia, Syntyche, and Clement. Most of the Christian converts were Gentiles.

Paul did not start off with the easiest of stories in Philippi because he performed an exorcism that cost the local slave owners money which led to Paul’s hearing before the magistrates and a subsequent beating and imprisonment. The Philippians charged the Jewish missionaries with being troublemakers who were unlawfully promoting un-Roman customs. Paul chose to be quiet about his Roman citizenship. Even with all of that history, he chose to put it all behind him in order that he see the Kingdom of God Built in Philippi.

It takes all kinds of people to build God’s church.

That’s why Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” in Matthew 5:44. The World English Bible provides a parallel account of this that says, “But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you.”

Paul was a living paradox. The very people that he once persecuted were the people whom he now worked with to build the Kingdom of God. If that were not enough, the very people that the Jews once saw as alien to their faith were now the ones that Paul and his crew were now offering salvation in Jesus Christ! Whoa.

The widow of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the commander of Japanese forces in Iwo Jima when the US forces landed, said in 1995 of the fierce WWII enemies, “Former Enemies are Now Friends.”

While not all former WWII enemies were comfortable crossing the aisle and shaking hands with those they fought, there are those who led the way in extending their hands and sought to develop friendship. One Iwo Jima survivor tells the story of how in 1988 his son married the daughter of a former Japanese Kamikaze pilot. Jerry Yellin tells the story of how his son’s marriage took him from hatred to love of family. In 2015 at age 91, he said that he wants his grandchildren “to know that their [respective] grandparents served their countries with honor. We are all human beings who deserve the same thing.”

He is so right. We are all human beings who are children of God.

Everyone deserves to hear the lifesaving message of Jesus Christ. As Christians, we have a responsibility to be Jesus to all who we meet. And, it’s important for us to cross the figurative aisles of our lives.

FORMER ENEMIES, NOW FRIENDS.

A fellow preacher once told me that some people in his church were “EGR’s”. I asked, “What’s an “EGR”? He said, “Extra Grace Required!” We all know a person or three like that don’t we?! Paul had a lot of EGR’s in the Philippi Church!

Jesus had a lot of EGR’s! But, the easiest way for Jesus to make believers out of tax collectors and sinners was to build a relationship with them around the dinner table.

In today’s Scripture, Paul thanks God for the Philippian church and the relationships that he has developed with them. And the glue that held it all together was the common bond they now shared in Jesus Christ.

We cannot be Jesus to people when we either keep them at arms length or do not talk to them, even when they may be radically different from us.

Erin and I took the boys to Univeral Studio’s water park on Friday. A wonderful time was had by all! While I was standing at the edge of the wave pool looking for my family, a man standing near me started talking to me. It became very clear very quickly that I did not speak his language and he did not speak mine. He started motioning to his family. There must have been five or six of them altogether sitting in the edge of the water. The older gentleman said, “I’m so glad to be here.” I was thinking, “Me too!” So I kept it simple and said back, “I’m glad to be here too.” Then he said more emphatically, “We’re so glad to be here!” He and his family had an almost dear in the headlights look. Realizing that something wasn’t quite adding up I said, “I’m glad you’re here too!” As I looked at them it dawned on me that they looked to be from an area around the Middle East. I thought to myself, “What if these folks were Afghan refugees who went in a few short weeks from the shear desperation of the Kabul airport experience to now sitting in the edge of a wave pool as they were wearing tropical clothes? This must be an unbelievable change of circumstances in a very short period of time.

While I never got to confirm their circumstances because of the language barrier and needing to tend to my own family, I continued to think about the family throughout the day. I hoped that I had said enough to be Jesus to them in that moment. Maybe I did not share the entirety of the Gospel message, but I gave the man a kind word even as he was trying to make sense of this new circumstance in which he and his family found themselves. Part of the problem might have been that someone was seeking to impose American relaxation standards to people who were just glad to be out of harm’s way. Putting them in front of all of those strangers probably was a little unsettling as well.

I was left to wrestle with that experience throughout the rest of the day and weekend. It is my belief that God put them in my path for a reason. I hope I did my part. I am reminded of the simple yet profound passage that says "Lord, when did we see you?” God was surely saying in that moment, “I was in the edge of a swimming pool, unable to speak a word of English, and you welcomed me. Truly I tell you that what you have done unto the least of these, you did unto me.” I only wish I could have done even more.

I prayerfully thank my God for each remembrance of you.

It leads me to two challenges for us today.

Who are the people whom we are not so close to that with God’s help via prayer can become our friends this week? Who are your EGR’s? Paul surely did not like all of what they did to him, but he wanted them to know Jesus intimately and for these people to experience salvation in our Lord. It could not happen unless Paul built relationships with others who were not already Christians, and who probably were very different than him. It all began with prayer! Pray for God to show you EGR’s that God wants you to bring into your sphere of influence so that you can be Jesus to them. It does not matter how they respond to you as long as you make the effort! Even people that haven’t been saved yet are children of God. Leave the 99 to look for the 1 and bring them in.

Ask yourself, “Am I uplifting prayers of thanksgiving for all the people in my life?” It’s hard to dislike someone when you are praying prayers of thanksgiving for them! I invite you to try it! “Lord, I really am having a hard time with such and such. But I know that you can help me overcome an obstacle I may face. Help me to be Jesus to them always and in everything as I show them a love that can only be found in you.” The familiar words of the Greatest Commandments comes to mind. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” And the second is like it— “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

v. 9 today says, “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”

Our ability to pray prayers of thanksgiving for all people… sometimes in spite of how we feel about them comes back to having a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ...

“Jesus you died upon the cross…And rose again to save the lost. Forgive me now of all my sins, come be my Savior, Lord and friend. Change my Life and make it new. And help me Lord to live for you.”

If you prayed that prayer today....

Holy Communion