Gospel Partnerships

Today is our last Sunday of the year, and it seems like an appropriate time for us as individuals, and as families, and as a church to look back on 2024 and to look forward to 2025. That being said, we’re also in the middle of a sermon series where we’re looking at the prayers of Paul in each of his epistles.

In the providence of God, both topics I think come together nicely as we come to letter of Paul to the church of the Philippians.

Unlike what we’ve done in past sermons, I’m not going to starts at the beginning of the letter. Instead, I’d like you to turn to Philippians chapter 4. This is not a direct prayer of Paul, but he is going to talk about prayer, and it’s a better known verse from the book. Philippians chapter 4, verse 6.

This is coming to the close of the letter where Paul is giving some general closing instructions. We’re not going to spend a lot of time here, but I just wanted to use it as an introduction.

This what Paul says to the church. Philippians 4:4—Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. [5] Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; [6] do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. [7] And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We have, in this section, two reminders about how we should approach life and about how we should approach pray.

On the one hand there should be joy. In verse 4, we are commanded to rejoice. I think that’s a good reminder for us as we think about our past. Regardless of the difficulties and the challenges, we need to rejoice over what God has done. As people who trust in a powerful, sovereign, wise, and good God, we should be characterized by joy.

Secondly, in addition to the joy, there should be a dependency. Choosing to rejoice doesn’t mean we’re apathetic, indifferent, or complacent. We are going to have genuine and strong concerns about the future. We should. But rather than worry, we need to go to God in prayer, which is what verse 6 says. We need to rest in Him, and allow Him, as verse 7 says, to give us a peace that surpasses understanding.

So, with that introductory reminder about prayer and how it connects to the past and to the future, I want to spend the majority of our time looking at Paul’s prayer for the Philippians in chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1, starting in verse 3.

There’s a lot good self-reflection that can happen when we consider his prayer and see what it shows us about Paul. I’m going to divide the prayer into two sections, each highlighting an important attribute we see in Paul’s life, and which we should see in our own life.

Attribute number 1 is a delight in gospel partnership. We see a delight in gospel partnership.

Here’s what the first part of the prayer says in verses 3-8.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, [4] always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, [5] because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. [6] 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. [8] For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Paul begins with a prayer of thanksgiving. But he also makes it know that that thanksgiving is constant, joyful, confident, and personal. It’s constant, joyful, confident, and personal.

We know it’s constant because he says he gives thanks “in all [his] remembrance” as well as “always in every prayer of [his].

We know it’s joyful thanksgiving because that’s what he says at the end of verse 4. He makes his prayer with joy.

Starting in verse 6, we se Paul’s confidence in his thanksgiving. The Philippians’ efforts in ministry, and their generosity toward Paul’s ministry were evidence that they really belong to Christ. Christ is working in them presently, and one day in the future, He will bring their salvation to its completion. So, Paul gives thank confidently.

Lastly, in verses 7 and 8, you can see how personal this was for Paul. This wasn’t some generic thank-you letter. Paul knew these people by name. He knew their faces. He knew their families. He says, “I hold you in my heart… I yearn for you with the affection of Christ.”

So think about this: Do you love people that much? Is this the kind of attitude you have toward others? Is this how you pray? Is that how you live? Do you find yourself constantly and joyfully and confidently, and personally giving thanks to God for other people?

If you don’t, why is that? What’s missing?

I think what’s missing is the joy of gospel partnership. Paul gave his life to preaching and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he knew that the Philippians were partners with him in that. That’s not because they travelled along with him; it’s because he saw them minister when he was there, and they contributed to his ministry.

That’s what Paul is referring to in verse 5. He gives thanks constantly and joyfully because of their partnership with him for the gospel. When Paul was there, he saw them serving Christ, seeking to bring Him glory with all of their lives. And when Paul left, they sent him money to help him. That’s how they kept contributing to the work.

If you don’t have people whom you consider gospel partners in life, either you’re not really working for Christ, or they’re not doing it, or neither of you are doing it, or you’re not doing it together.

Doing it together means there’s personal connection. There’s personal interaction. There are updates. There are prayers. There is a sharing of burdens and of joys.

If you are giving yourself to honor Christ, and there are others working alongside with you, part of the result of that is going to be constant and joyful thanksgiving. You won’t feel alone. You won’t feel detached. You’ll be part of a team moving toward its eternal reward.

And that’s why, even though Paul’s in prison as he writes, and even though the Philippians are in poverty, they can rejoice. There is joy in Paul’s heart because they’re working together.

The joy we see in Paul helps combat the false idea that some of you have bought into, that if you are just more Christlike, if we you are just more godly or religious, you’ll just automatically start feeling better about life. Your problems are going to magically fade away. That’s not going to happen most of the time.

The fruit of the gospel in the lives of the Philippians was a heart committed to ministry and to the proclamation of Christ’s message. And the fruit of that commitment was joy.

Think of it like this, who is the most Christlike person you’ve ever heard about? Obviously, that’s Jesus Christ. And yet, Isaiah prophesied He would be “despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”

Jesus was a man of sorrows, but He was also a man of service, and Hebrews says He was a man of joy. You  need to be ready to be that as well. Are you ready to suffer for the gospel? That’s the path to true joy. That’s the path to the delight we see in the Apostle Paul and to the joy he wants to be in them as well.

If you’re trying to avoid a life of sorrow, you will not have a meaningful life of service to God, and you will not have the joy Paul describes in his prayer as he sits in prison. We need to pursue the delight of God in gospel ministry and gospel partnership.

This is also wonderful reminder for us as we finish this year because it reminds us to stop and give thanks for the people God has surrounded us with for His glory. None of us is really working alone. We have people with whom our relationship is marked by prayer and edification collaboration. Give thanks for those people.

Guys, give thanks for your wife. Ladies, give thanks for your husband. I know there are plenty of things you wish were different. I know that your spouse will sometimes be a source of conflict and difficulty, but you need to give thanks for them.

There was things happening in the Philippian church that bothered Paul. He has to address it in the letter. But before all that, he starts by giving thanks. That’s such a helpful reminder.

Thank God for the people you who serve with. Give thanks for the contribution they’ve made. Paul’s thanksgiving here was meant to encourage them. And I’m sure expressing thanks to a spouse or a brother or sister in the Lord will encourage them as well.

When I see the budget numbers, and I see that God has continued to provide for us as a church, and for me as an elder on staff, I thank God. I thank God that every ministry leader gets to spend money, and that’s because of our people’s generosity.

And even though most of you aren’t church employees, or aren’t in charge of a specific ministry, those of you who are members need to maintain a mentality of gospel partnership. We’re all contributing to see Christ exalted and honored in what we do. And that will unite us, and it’ll give us joy. There is a delight in our gospel partnership, and God wants us to experience it.

A second attribute we see in Paul’s life and in Paul’s prayer is a desire for gospel partnership. First, we saw a delight in gospel partnership. Second, we see a desire for gospel partnership. There is a delight, and there is a desire.

Delight alone is not enough. You can delight in a bite of cake and then turn down the rest of the slice. But that’s not how Paul approached ministry. The delight produced a desire. There is a kind of dissatisfaction. Paul wants more. He wants the gospel partnership to continue and to grow.

Let’s read verses 9-11 as Paul continues—And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, [10] so that you may approve what is excellent, and so 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.

At first reading, it sounds like Paul is simply saying he prays for the church to be more loving. But I think there’s more there. Because of the context of this passage, because Paul is talking about gospel partnership, I think the “love” he has in mind is not just an emotional feeling they have toward one another, or even practical acts of service. I think Paul’s reference to “love” is pointing to the church’s work for the gospel in their own communities and in other parts of the Roman Empire.

As an expression of love, the people in the Philippian church give to the ministry, and they participate in ministry as well. I think that’s the “love” Paul has in mind. Gospel proclamation is an expression of our love for Christ and our love for others. And Paul prays that it will “abound more and more.”

Paul’s prayer is that gospel partnership and gospel growth would continue and flourish. And for that to happen, they need love. They also need knowledge and discernment.

What is the knowledge and discernment for? It is to have the wisdom to know what’s the best use of their time and their energy and their resources. The knowledge and the discernment is so that, as verse 10 says, they can approve what is excellent. And in pursuing those things, they can be pure and blameless when Christ comes. They can have holy lives to the glory of God.

I think what Paul expresses in this prayer is similar to what he expresses to the Ephesians when he says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

Our culture, maybe more than any other culture, needs to understand how easy it is to waste time. And if you stretch out a wasted afternoon enough, you get a wasted day, and a wasted week, and a wasted month, and a wasted year, and a wasted life.

What a tragedy it is that so many people come to Christ, and then they waste their lives. They wander around going from church to church or from Bible study to Bible study, hoping they can find some way to alleviate their loneliness and their lack of purpose and significance. But what they’re missing many times is not information; it’s participation.

If you’re not working to disciple and to evangelize others, you’re not going to experience what God intends you to experience. If you’re trying to coast spiritually, you’re going to miss out on God’s purpose for your life.

That’s not what Paul wants for the Philippians, and that’s not what Christ wants for you, and that’s not what the elders want for this church.

Some people coast spiritually by waiting for a need. They want to be a designated hitter. If an emergency comes up, call me, and I’ll be there. It’s good to serve where there’s a need. But most of the time, you need to serve more than the church needs to fill a spot. You might see people teaching or serving bread or helping an usher or with security, but doesn’t mean that there’s no room for you. Talk to someone about serving this coming year. I think it’ll unite you to others. It’ll help you work alongside them.

And the way you serve doesn’t have to be formal, either. But it can still be intentional. You can carve out a specific time of the week to meet with someone, to pray with them, to give updates and encouragement. That’s part of coming alongside someone.

Another way some people can coast spiritually is by narrowing their service to one specific expression. So, maybe there is a need for a helper in the nursery, but you say, “No. I don’t do that. That’s not for me.” Or maybe you give your offering, and you think, “That’s all. I’ve done enough. I’m paying so that someone else can do the work.”

That’s not the way we’re supposed to approach being part of the family of God. Give yourself to serve others, and God will bless you.

Paul’s prayer here, since he is being moved by the Holy Sprit is an expression of Christ’s prayers as well. Jesus wants our love toward one another and toward our community to abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment.

Part of the reason we’ve changed the Sunday morning classes a little bit is because we want to help equip our members for service. We’ve selected 12 different topics to cover over the course of 4 years or so that we think will edify you and give you a good biblical foundation in the faith. And if you want to grow, you should be here for that. And then, when those classes aren’t going on, we have other topics we cove. We let teachers pick topics that they think will be edifying for you.

Here at First Bilingual, our heart is to say that church starts at 9:00am, and it ends around 11:45am. So, if you’re a member, that’s what the elders are hoping for from you. Come for all of church. That’s how we want you to be edified and to grow in knowledge and in skill and in connection to others.

And part of that time includes about 15 minutes in the middle, not just for coffee and bread, but for connection with others. We want our church to grow in love and in knowledge and in discernment, so that we can purse that which is excellent.

When I was younger, people used to use the phrase “on fire for the Lord.” How many of you have ever heard that phrase? I don’t hear that phrase anymore.

I my academic career, I was taught that I should avoid using clichés in formal writing and speaking. So, my general practice is to avoid clichés like the plague.

Sometimes clichés get your point across, but they can also make something sound insignificant, as if it’s some kind of exaggeration. It’s only emphasized through the words, but not in practice.

I think some of that happened with the phrase “on fire.” I never liked it. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad phrase. I’m just giving my personal opinion. The phrase always sounded to me like someone who was fanatical, and maybe even a little fake or rehearsed.

I’ve never heard a guy say he’s “on fire” for a girl he intends to marry. I’ve never heard someone say that they are “on fire” for a band or a new TV show or a good restaurant.

But, whether or not you like the phrase or use the phrase, I think we all understand the idea it’s conveying. We all have things we give ourselves to, right? We invest time and energy and resources. We talk about them to others.

We use words like: passionate, or zealous, or consumed, or obsessed. Some people even use the phrase “religious,” like when they say, “I follow that team religiously” or “I exercise religiously” or “I watch that show religiously.”

Well, why don’t more people practice their religion religiously? Where is that desire to work for the glory of God? Where is that passion to see Christ lifted up?

Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Does the world see that Christ is your treasure? That Christ has your heart? It’s convicting for me as well. But that love for Christ is what drove Paul in ministry, and it’s what he produced in others.

The Philippians were saddened by the news that Paul was imprisoned, but Paul reassures them, “Things are going great! Christ is being proclaimed all the more!”

Because of Paul’s imprisonment, members of Caesar’s family, and even some soldiers, had coming to faith. More preachers had been emboldened. The gospel kept going out!

That encouragement—which is what Paul says in the verses that follow—that encouragement assumes that the proclamation of Christ is what the church valued most. Yes, they wanted Paul to be free, but more than that, they wanted Christ to be proclaimed.

There were even preachers who had bad motives to proclaim Christ, but listen to what Paul says. Jump down to verse 18. This is the last verse we’ll look at.

Philippians 1:18, and this will be familiar to many of you. Here is Paul putting together his delight in, and his desire, for Jesus Christ. Verse 18—What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, [19] for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, [20] as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. [21] For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Paul was completely devoted to serving the Lord Jesus Christ. You can see more of his heart in chapter 3 of the letter. He does everything he can to serve Christ and to know Him more.

Paul doesn’t want to get out of prison just so life can be a little more comfortable. He wants to be freed so he can continue in ministry. Since he can’t go personally, chapter 2 says he’s going to send Timothy who serves with him in the gospel.

What a great reminder and challenge as we think about the start of a new year. Let’s give thanks, let’s delight in what God has done, but let’s also pray that God would produce in us a desire for even more gospel ministry. And may that desire bear the fruit of even more joy and more love and more service and more growth for the glory of God.