Asbury Free Methodist – January 2, 2022
By Rev. Dr. Brent Russett
Philippians 1:1-11
CONNECT – Happy New Year
Today I’m starting a new series titled “A Walk Through Philippians.” We are going to spend the next couple of months walking through the New Testament book of Philippians. I chose this book for a few reasons; Philippians is a very encouraging book, and I want you to be encouraged. It is also an especially helpful book in that it tells us how to live the Christian life well. I want to encourage you to live out the fullness of the grace that has been given to you.
One of the challenges of preaching through a book like Philippians is that I could take two or three years rather than two or three months to preach through the book because it is so rich. Today we are looking at Philippians chapter one, verses 1 to 11. I could focus on the fact that Paul calls you a saint, but I am not going to do that. I could focus on partnering in the gospel. But I am not going to do that. I could focus on Paul’s pastoral heart, but I am not going to do that, Because I only have two or three months rather than two or three years. So, please excuse me if I fail to tackle the verses that you are interested in.
If you want to get the most out of this series, then I would encourage you to read through the book of Philippians five or six times. You could read through it every day for the next week. It is not a long book. Or you could read through it once a week over the next month or two. The more you put into it, the more you will get out of it.
Before we get into our text today, let me give you some background. The book of Philippians was written to the church in Philippi. Philippi was a city of about 15,000 people. Probably about 40% of the population were Roman citizens. The other 60% would be made up of slaves, peasant farmers, or service providers.
The primary religion in the city was the worship of false God’s but the worship of Caesar was also on the rise. About 10 years before this letter was written, Paul visited Philippi with Silas. You may remember the story found in Acts 16.
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It was the Sabbath day, so Paul and Silas went to look for a quiet place to pray and worship. They thought they might find such a place down by the river.
On the way to prayer, they ran into Lydia, a businesswoman. Paul struck up a conversation with her and her family, and he found that Lydia’s heart was open. She and her whole family gave her heart to the Lord. That was the start of the Philippian church.
Lydia insisted that Paul and Silas come and live at her place. They did and made Lydia’s home their mission base. Day after day, they would leave the house and pray and then go into the market and speak to people about Jesus. One day while they were going to pray, a girl who was a slave started to follow them.
This girl was demon-possessed. Because of this possession, she was a remarkably accurate fortune teller. Because she was a slave, all the money she made from this endeavour, and it was a substantial amount, went to her owners.
This slave girl started to follow Paul and Silas, and then she started to shout at them, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” This went on day after day. “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”
Now I don’t know whether it was the yelling or the fact that they were being followed by a crazy woman or that the demons were speaking the truth, but this girl really troubled Paul. One day he had had enough. The girl was shouting at him, and he turned around and said, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her.” The demon left, and she was delivered. It doesn’t tell us, but this slave girl may have been the second member of the church of Philippi.
The problem was that the slave girl’s owners were none too happy. They were making big money off her fortune-telling, and now that source of income had dried up. No demon, no fortune-telling, no fortune.
So, they decided to stir up the crowd against Paul and Silas. They lied, and their lies caused a riot. The town officials had to respond. But they had this policy, whip people first, ask question’s later. So, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison.
Paul and Silas decided that instead of feeling sorry for themselves, they would sing hymns and pray. In the middle of this impromptu worship service, there was a big earthquake. All the doors in the prison swung open, and everyone’s chains fell loose. The jailer woke up. Saw the doors of the prison open. He knew that the magistrates of the city would kill him anyway, so he thought he would beat them to the punch and was just about to commit suicide. But Paul stopped him. He said, “we are all here, don’t kill yourself.”
It was an incredible moment. The fact that they could have escaped and didn’t. The fact that Paul and Silas had chosen to save his life rather than take their freedom got to the guy. He said, what must I do to be saved.
They told him about faith in Christ. So that night, the jailor and his whole household came to know Christ. So, his family was the third set of people to become members of the church at Philippi.
Paul and Silas had to leave town then. But the church had been started by a businesswoman, a slave, and a jailor and a few other people who responded to the gospel of Jesus.
Ten years have now passed. Paul is sitting in another prison, this time in Rome. It is during this prison time that he writes this letter. He gives the standard introduction: Who is writing, who is being written to and a greeting. Then he says this
Philippians 1:3–6 (NIV)
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.
Can you hear Paul’s affection for the people in Philippi? He loves these people. He has seen the gospel take root in these people. He has seen these people grow and mature. Things are not perfect, but they are good.
Paul says this.
Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
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.
Paul says I am confident, the Greek word has the underlying meaning of “certainty.” I confident, I am certain that he who began a good work –
That is God the Father, who drew each person to himself and called them by name. That is God the Son who paid the price for our salvation. This is God the Holy Spirit who applied the work of the Father and the Son to their lives. Paul has confidence that God, who began a work in each person in the Philippian church, will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. That is the day that either Jesus comes back to take us to be with him or the day that you die and meet him face to face.
You will notice where Paul’s confidence lies. Paul loves the people of Philippi. Paul is so thankful for the work that God has done in their life. But Paul’s confidence is not in them, Paul’s confidence is in God. God is going to do the work. It is going to be an ongoing work – it is going to take place from now until Christ comes back, or they die. God is going to continue to work in their lives.
That is not just a promise for the Philippian people; This is a promise for you. You can be certain that God, being who he is, is going to keep on working in your life until he comes again or calls you home. You, of course, can thwart the work of God. You can hold up a stop sign to God.
I have noticed that a lot of people get to a certain place in their lives, and they stop God from doing what he wants to do. They say, Lord, you can go this far and no further, and they plateau in their spiritual lives. Some of you may have been plateaued for so long that you wonder if God still wants to work.
That is why Paul’s confidence is in God, not the Philippian people. Here is what I want you to know. God is faithful. God is still working towards completing his work in you.
Seniors, some of you have been walking in the faith for sixty or seventy years. God has a work that he still wants to do in you. He wants to carry on his work in you and bring it to completion. You may be shut-in, you may not be mobile, but God has a work that he wants to do in you.
Younger Keenagers, You are retired, but you are still active. The world would tell you that it is time to do what you want. But God’s word declares that God has a work to do in you. Some of you are active in your kids’ and grandkids’ lives. You are busy with all sorts of things. Your stresses are different, but they are real. God’s word declares that he wants to carry on his work within you. Don’t put God on hold.
Mid Career people Latter Career people. God wants to carry on his work in you. You have settled into a routine. You are busy. But in many ways, you are comfortable. It would be very easy for you to only give token worship to God. I want you to know that it is God’s plan for you to carry on his work in you.
Young Married’s and Young Adults. Many of you are trying to get a career off the ground. God has started a good work in you. His plan is to carry it on. As you go to school, as you start a career, as you look for direction. He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.
High School Students. You who have begun with him. God is going to work with you. He is going to do his work in you. Be confident of God’s ability to work out his plan in your life. And that is true of those of you who have not quite made it to high school.
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. This is true, despite the obstacles you face. This is true despite the stress you are under. This is true, no matter your track record, no matter your abilities. God’s plan is to finish what he started.
Please hear me, those of you who are struggling with wholeness in your life. What God started; God will finish. Those of you who are struggling with living a holy life. What God started; God will finish. Those of you who are struggling with character flaws. What God started; He will finish.
Our confidence is not in ourselves. Our confidence is in God. But you can trust him because he is faithful, and he is good.
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One of the ways we partner with God in what he wants to do in our lives is we pray for ourselves, and we pray for each other. Here is Paul’s prayer for the believers in Philippi.
Philippians 1:9–11 (NIV)
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.
If you want to know how to pray for yourself or for other people, this prayer is a good template. You will notice that Paul only prays for one thing in this prayer. He prays that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Everything that comes after is a result of your love abounding more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.
So, it might be worth reflecting deeply on what that means. It is obvious that the love that he is talking about is a love for God, but we know from other places in scripture that a true love for God will result in a love for other people.
It is Paul’s expectation that your love can abound more and more. It can continue to grow. It can continue to expand. I believe that these words were inspired by God, which means that it is not only possible but expected that your love will abound more and more.
What this means is that your love for God should be more now than it was at the beginning of 2021. It is God’s expectation that your love will abound more at the start of 2023 than it is now. So, how does that happen?
Well, he tells us where to put our effort. Philippians 1:9 (NIV)
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
Knowledge and depth of insight. As we read this in 2022, it is really to misinterpret what Paul is saying. Remember when this was written, there were no Christian books or podcasts. There were no seminaries or systematic theology that you could study. Only about half of the New Testament has been written. Not only that, but this was a Roman city. As the story is told in Acts 16, there weren’t even enough Jews in the city to create a synagogue. So, the Philippi church would not have access to the Old Testament.
When he says that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, he was not talking about hitting the books to gain that knowledge.
So, how do you gain that knowledge and depth of insight? Here is what they did have. They had the gospel and the story of Jesus. They had some spiritually mature people who Paul calls the overseers and the deacons. But more than anything else, what they have is the Holy Spirit indwelling them of whom Jesus said, “He will lead you into all truth.”
The primary way that Paul expects for their love to abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight is by spending time listening to the Holy Spirit.
How does that work? It is a little easier to understand when you know that the word “knowledge” in Greek covers not only intellectual understanding but also personal experience and emotion and even personal relationships. So, when you take all the aspects of your life and talk, contemplate them in the presence of the Holy Spirit, and you ask Him what do you want to say to me about that – he has a way of teaching you and giving you real knowledge and depth of insight.
If you do that, look at what is going to happen.
Philippians 1:10–11 (NIV)
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.
“So that you may be able to discern what is best.” Wouldn’t you like to know what is best? That comes from abounding more and more in love with God. The way to live well is to choose to do what is not only good but what is best.
Paul goes on to say that you will be pure and blameless when you meet Jesus. That does not mean that you will be perfect. But you will walk in such a way where you are doing the things that you know to do are right and staying away from the things that you know to do are wrong and confessing your sin quickly when you mess up. That comes from abounding in love more and more.
Paul also says that when you are abounding in love in knowledge and depth of insight, you will be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ. It is Christ who forgives your sins and makes you righteous. It is through Christ that you bear the fruit of righteousness.
The fruit of righteousness is a life that is changed to be like Jesus. It is a life where we reflect Christ in what we do and say. It is a life filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is a life as Paul says at the end of this verse, that results in God being glorified and praised.
This all comes out of your love abounding more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.
What a prayer to begin 2022 with. I pray that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Are you willing to regularly come before God and bring all of the day that has passed and examine it in the light of his presence? Are you willing to regularly come before God and bring all of the day to come and commit it into his hands? If you are, your love will abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight – and a lot of good things will follow.
What I am talking about is simply another aspect of abiding in Christ. He is the vine, and we are the branches.
How about you. Are you willing to make the effort to live your life in the light of a loving God? If you are, you will find that he is on your side and cheering you on. You will find your love abounding more and more because you will see who you are and who he is.
We have just walked into 2022. I am confident that he who began a good work will be faithful to complete it.
Philippians 1:9–11 (NIV)
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.
Pray it.
Sermon Questions – Confidence and prayer
January 2, 2022 – Philippians 1:1-11
Introduction
1. What was your best experience over the past Christmas/New Years’ season?
2. What was your biggest challenge over that same time period?
Digging in
1. Read Philippians 1:1-11, remembering that Paul wrote this from a Roman Prison to a church that was started about 10 years before this letter. (You can see that story in Acts 16:11-40)
2. Re-read Philippians 1:3-8 – What is Paul feeling towards the Philippian church? How does he express these feelings? How does he act on his feelings?
3. In verse 6, Paul tells us about his confidence in Christ? What does he believe God is going to do? What does this actually mean?
4. What is “the day of Christ Jesus?” How does verse 6 apply to us now?
5. Read Philippians 1:9-11. What is Paul’s one big request? If Paul’s prayer was answered in your life in 2022, what are some of the things that you would expect to see happen in your life?
6. If the Philippians were going to gain “knowledge and depth of insight,” how could they go about it given the limitations of living in a Roman Colony in the first century? What can we learn about our lives from this?
7. Paul says that if our love abounds more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, four things are going to happen. What are these four things, and what would be the practical outworking of them in a person’s life? (verses 10-11)
Application
8. Take some time to pray this prayer (verses 9-11) for each other