Philippians 1:9-11

Philippians 1:9-11

By: Samuel Sorenson

6/24/2022

How to Pray for Your Church.

Introduction

If we were to look at the history of how new lands were conquered, of how cities were built, of how freedoms were achieved, would it be true to say that it was not achieved without massive trials and tribulations that had to be overcome? If we look at how missionaries went overseas and took the gospel to the masses, there were great barriers that had to be overcome within that vessel that God was using to bring the gospel to the people.

One illustration I would like to look at is of a missionary named Adoniram Judson who took the gospel to the Burmese people in the 1800s. He was a missionary in Burma for 40 years. He translated the bible from Greek and Hebrew into Burmese. While he was a missionary in Burma, he lost two wives to illness and lost 3 out of the 8 children that he had.

He also was imprisoned for 17 months in a Burmese prison during the war between the Burmese and the English. Despite all that he successfully brought the gospel to the Burmese people and was well received by them. He endured so much heartache, but his vision for the great commission was not hindered. Because of his obedience to the Lord many Burmese were saved and today there are still Christians in Burma.

Today he is the missionary that is studied by many missionaries and students who are seeking to take the gospel to the nations. It is worth taking note the cost that comes with progress.

Judson was used mightily by God, but it came with a great cost. The Apostle Paul was used mightily by God, and it came with great cost. There is no easy version of true Christianity.

Jesus states in Luke 14:26-33, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you who does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

You see brothers and sisters whoever speaks truth to you is one who is sent by God. It is not always easy to hear truth. In fact, many times it is extremely painful to hear the truth and be able to take it in with the right spirit. Today, I want to challenge you to display grace and love towards those who are willing to obey God and speak truth into your life. Because it is for your good and His glory that you receive His word with open hearts and minds. Conviction from the Holy Spirit is painful, but it is necessaryfor spiritual maturity.

Text

Today’s scripture is found in Philippians 1:9-11, please turn there with me now if you have your bible. If you don’t have your bible we have it on the screen for you to follow along.

9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Purpose Statement: My purpose in speaking to you today is for you to see the importance of having a strong prayer life, and to be in prayer for God’s church and for His kingdom. In having a strong prayer life, you will begin to see God’s hand at work.

Context

Paul was receiving letters from different churches about the fruits of his obedience of taking the gospel to the nations. The Philippians were one of the most supportive churches that Paul had planted. He had experienced every high and low a person could have experienced. Being whipped, put in stocks, stoned three times and left for dead, shipwrecked, and rejected by many, yet still many were receptive to the message that he brought of the good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul’s vision for the early church never wavered. He was never afraid of what man would do to him. He did everything for the high calling of God.

Look at Paul’s conviction as he speaks about his calling in Philippians 3:13-14, “13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Paul was seeing with eternal eyes what God’s vision was. He was living out God’s plan and purpose for his life. And now he is enjoying the fruit of his labor. He is able to look back at a life with satisfaction. A life well lived.

I’m sure that there are a few in here today who can say they have lived a life that is well lived. Even though Paul was getting towards the end of his life and his physical body was decaying. His inner being was growing more and more into the image of Christ. His prayer life and his relationship with Christ was deeper and more satisfying than it had ever been.

You see friends the Lord is much more interested in building the inner man than He is about building the outer man. He is interested in seeing His image reflected back at Him. He wants you to come to Him and ask Him for help. He wants you to acknowledge Him when you do not have the answer. He wants you to live a life that is well pleasing to Him and that is not full of regret.

Let me ask you all this, how many times in your life has someone spoke to you in a way that inspired, motivated, and drove you to maximize your potential? I can remember some of the best leaders I have listened to who had a genuine desire to see and bring about a vision. Their vision was dynamic, they had carefully thought through every detail, and they were unmoved by any barrier that came across their path.

Jesus knew better than any living man what His purpose for coming into this world was. When He spoke big things happened, when He prayed big things happened, and when He died the forgiveness of sins happened for those who believed on Him, and when He was resurrected, He had defeated death.

In looking at what motivated the Apostle Paul, what gave him the joy to continue on was seeing his prayers answered. Was seeing God’s promises fulfilled.

Let me ask you this have you ever prayed for something and even though you did not fully understand the outcome you kept praying about it? And then the Holy Spirit puts something on your heart that you are to pray about. It’s something that may have a cost associated to it. For the new Christian it may be a loss of friends, for the Christian who has a strong calling to go out on the mission field it may be the loss of a career. However, the cost of not doing what the Holy Spirit is asking you to do is greater than the loss of losing temporary things of this world.

Because you see friends God wants you to have eternal rewards not just earthly riches. Matthew 5:12-13 states, “12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

Prayer is the tool that God uses that will bring about spiritual fruit. And there was a lot of prayer that went into building the early church.

PNP:

Today I want to look at 3 ways to pray for your Church.

4 things Paul prays for

1. Knowledge

2. Discernment

3. Excellence

4. Sincerity

Let’s look at the first way to pray for your church

Pray that your love may abound in all knowledge and discernment. (9)

Look with me at the text, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment.”

Paul is passionate about the church in Philippians, he wants to see the church thrive. He is aware of what is required for the church to survive. He knows that Satan will attack the church and divide it if possible.

Paul’s prayer is that the Philippians love may abound, that their knowledge and discernment would increase.

It’s important to understand that as Christians we need to have a lot of grace and love for one another. Because we all have difficulties in life, we all have needs and wants that we would like to see happen.

The challenge is this, are we seeking our own glory and our own agenda or are we seeking God’s glory and God’s agenda.

If we are told no and scripture supports that, how do we respond? If we do not get our way do, we chose not to love?

Being a leader and making and tough decisions is difficult. It’s important to love those who are praying for you, and who are seeking your good and God’s will for His church.

Christ told His disciples that if they wanted to be His disciple that they needed to forsake all that they have for the sake of the gospel.

In studying this passage, I found this explanation helpful, “Paul wrote in Christian terms. The love and judgment he espoused were those seen in Christ and consistent with Scripture. While the words sometimes occur in secular contexts discussing general morality, Paul certainly rooted his prayers in Christ and the resources which come from the Holy Spirit. The Philippians would realize, therefore, that in disclosing his prayer for them, Paul called them to the highest and best of Christian qualities and growth. These two terms love and judgement, provide a collective environment which fosters growth. If either is lacking, love will not grow. In this, Paul’s expression is consistent with his Jewish-Christian ethical background. Knowing and living go hand in hand. Failure to grow in the knowledge God expects of Christians hinders love. Similarly, failure to discipline the moral life hinders love. Attention to both of these realms promotes a healthy and positive Christian life.[1]

Let’s look at a second way Paul prays for the Philippians. (V10a)

Pray that you may approve of the things that are excellent.

Did you know that God desires excellence? He is the only one who can define excellence, because He is excellent. In fact, He is perfect.

The word approved means to test or to put through a trial to see if it holds up. The Word of God is excellent because it holds up under scrutiny, prayers are answered, souls are saved, and spiritual fruit happens.

Parents teach your kids to be committed to excellence. Let them know that you are praying for them to have a character of excellence. Not necessarily in the report card but excellence in character.

If they say that they are going to do something they need to be committed to doing it. Not this half-baked mindset.

Young people today, if you say you are going to do something you better do it. The book of James gives a serious warning to not being committed to your word. James 5:12 states, “12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.”

You do not want a reputation of being someone who does not keep their word. You will soon be the talk of the town for saying one thing and doing another and many people do not want to do business or be in a relationship with someone like that.

Now let’s look at the last way to pray for your church.

Pray that you may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ. (V 10b)

The Word “sincere” means to have purity in motive. To be authentic and without an ulterior motive.

Friends pray that we do not have an ulterior motive and that we can be open and honest with each other. Pray that we can share our hearts with one another, and that love may abound in doing that.

“Without Offense,” It means blameless, living a life that does not cause other Christians to stumble.

The quickest way to ruin a relationship is to gossip. We need to be about building relationships and not taring them apart.

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (V 11)

Friends everything God creates, He empowers to grow and bare fruit. When you became a Christian He empowered you with His Spirit to bring about spiritual fruit. To have lasting relationships, to build bridges and community, to be fruitful and multiply.

He wanted to empower you to have success in sharing your testimony with others and seeing others come to Him. That is what it means to be filled with the fruits of righteousness.

Close

This last week we had a history making moment when the United States Supreme Court reversed the ruling of Roe v. Wade. For those who have been praying to see this day it is a tremendous answer to prayer. Over 63 million babies have been slaughtered in the womb since Roe v. Wade was enacted back in 1973. On June 24, 2022 the Supreme Court overturned that ruling. Now it goes back to the states to rule on whether abortion is legal or not.

Brothers and sisters it is important to understand that God see’s the unborn He hears their cries, and He is an advocate for them. You see there are certain sins that God hates, and the shedding of innocent blood is one of them.

This ruling gives me great hope that God is not through with our nation yet.

Today Christian I want to encourage you. To encourage means to instill courage. I want to instill courage to pray that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and discernment. To pray that you may approve of the things that are excellent, and finally to pray that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.

Today if there is unconfessed sin and you are hesitant to ask God for forgiveness, I want you to raise your hand and say please pray for me Pastor.

Today if you are not a Christian and you do not know if you were to die today and go to heaven, I want you to raise your hand and silently say to yourself please pray for me Pastor. If you do not know the Lord, I would love to speak to you following the end the of the service.

Let’s close in a word of prayer.

[1]Melick, R. R. (1991). Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (Vol. 32, p. 65). Broadman & Holman Publishers.