What are you thankful for? According to readers digest’s Anne O. Kubitsky who started the “Look for the Good Project” Anne asked people for postcards with their answer, to what people were thankful for. She got thousands of responses from around the globe.[1] One of these postcards from Judith Barbour Osborne simply reads a thankfulness for life. Here’s how she described it:
“Art, poetry, friends, health, freedom, peace, seasons, wisdom, beauty, joy, spiritual inspiration, family, love, creativity, harmony, nature, generosity, simplicity, energy, joy, and more joy.” —Judith Barbour Osborne
Today we start a series looking at Paul letter to the Philippian Church. This is a letter about having a courageous faith in the midst of trouble; having a certain hope in the midst of uncertainty, and having an unshakable faith that understands God’s compassionate grace love and mercy. The question is what are you thankful for?
By way of background when Paul writes Philippians he’s in jail. He most likely either in Rome or Ephesus awaiting sentencing and the trouble is he isn’t too sure if he’s about to face the death penalty or release. Paul is in chains for the sake of the gospel is a point he’ll draw out more than once in this letter. What we know about the church at Philippi, is that Paul himself planted it on his second missionary journey back in Acts 16. When traveling from Neapolis on his way to Athens,
Paul and Silas & Luke (and others) go to a river outside the city gate where they meet some women praying; and when Paul speaks Lydia a merchant who dealt in purple cloth she responds to the gospel message preached. Lydia and her entire household are baptized as she then convinces Paul to stay a while. It is While in Philippi that Paul and Silas cast out the evil spirits of a women who was used by her masters to tell people’s future’s for money and in response to this Paul & Silas are beaten and put in prison. It is while in prison there is an earthquake that opens up the jail door, but they don’t escape. It is this event that leads to the conversion of the jailor and his family so that the foundations of this new church in Philippi is comprised of a wealthy linen trader, a jailer, and a slave girl recently healed and delivered from demonic possession. This is not the sort of people we’d usually set as the foundation members of a church plant today, and yet each one of them had been changed by Jesus, all because of the gospel to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. Paul is clear that change is only possible with the “help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ”. Jesus is the root of all change. There is need for courage to step out and try to change. We can become paralyzed by the fear of trying, especially if we have tried in the past and failed dismally. From the start Paul has a great affection for these Philippian Christians and it is evident in this letter as again and again Paul speaks about his love for them. Paul now draws us to consider how the cross of Christ is our only means for forgiveness, and how the resurrection of Jesus that is the power of God to give life. There is one word that Paul uses continuously throughout this letter, joy
time and again Paul refer to his joy with theirs, or the joy we share in Christ as he speaks about the joy he also shares with them. This is where suffering fits into all of this for the follower of Jesus about having a courageous faith, we find this right across this letter as Paul’s puts the gospel at the centre of everything he does. Here in Philippians chapter 1 he begins by starting to pray. There are two prayers he thanks God for them and as he seeks to continually pray on their behalf bringing their needs to God. In chapter 2 he shifts attention to address the situation he saw the Philippian church facing, issues of unity against opposition from outside forces the church were facing to conform to the world or face persecution; along with internal issues of unity from division within. in chapter 3 Paul writes against errors that were entering into the church through some false teachers turning up to church. The errors taught by these two pressure groups the first called Judaisers
who were teaching that true followers of Jesus had to turn back to all of the Jewish practices and customs like circumcision for boys and food laws. The other group called the perfectionists were teaching that believers had already attained perfection already. It was like they were building a heaven on earth, and they said you could do what you like, you were free from restrictions, as it had no consequences at all. This is why he’s so sharp in calling them enemies of the cross of Christ (3:18). Finally, in the last chapter of this letter he makes one final plea for unity amongst the members of the church. This is where two of the churches foundation members Euodia & Syntyche are called to set aside their differences for the sake of the gospel before he closes with his wonderful prayer that expresses his joy and gratitude to God “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19. That is a short tour of the letter, and so now let’s drill down into Philippians 1. As we read in verse 1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons. Paul’s greeting is a powerful reminder that he skips the small talk getting right to the point of why he’s writing to these Philippian Christians. From his opening address Paul introduces himself and Timothy as servants of Jesus. In the ancient world the idea of a servant isn’t the same as today’s servant’s of the first century were slaves, you’re not your own master we are slaves for Christ. That is slaves not in the sense of those oppressed beaten servants going about their masters business with a dull sense of servitude
slaves here who serve with joy because of the freedom they have found in submitting their lives to God. Please notice who Paul singles out in writing this letter
he’s writing to all of them, to the saints, the overseers, the deacons the elders & leaders and the members. These saints aren’t images we might think of those etched in stained glass window, as these saints are the flesh and blood believers of Philippi who had exercised personal saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and who Paul says have been set aside to bear the fruit of God in their lives. Paul prays that these Philippian Christians would bear a fruit of righteousness, which is like a fruit tree that bears a fruit called ‘righteousness’ in their lives. This is a fruit tree only God can graft onto their hearts, verse 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. There is another fruit we can grow in the heat of life. It is the thorns and bad root fruit where we are always reacting to the heat of life that reflect our thoughts and motives of our hearts. What we start noticing is that bitterness comes from displeasure in God
not trusting that he intends us good and not evil. Paul prays for us to bear good fruit which only comes about by having a relationship with Jesus in the first place
an astonishing thing to be praying for us especially when we remember Paul writes from prison. It would be easy for Paul to look at the situation he’s in and be bitter
why God did you do this? Why has God placed him in prison when there’s so much good I could be doing outside of here. Instead what does he pray? verse 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. Usually when someone’s in prison we’re the ones sending letters in
to help keep their courage up; and yet here’s Paul doing the reverse sending the letter out to encourage the church at Philippi, as he wants them to bear fruit for the gospel. He reminds them to be encouraged prayerful faithful followers of Christ. Paul’s prayer reveals his heart is not so much about where he is but is about being used by God, verse 4-5 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. This is a prayer we can now link up with verse 9-11 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 until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. What a beautiful prayer, like we’re to imagine a flowing river that is flowing in love for these Philippians to grow more and more, overflowing as it pours down. A river held by two riverbanks that hem the water in as the riverbanks of knowledge and depth of insight guiding and directing its course; and so our thankfulness to God flows out of the righteousness of God, that is the riches of his love to us is all about who God is. The question is what do we fill our minds and our lives with as we sit down to speak to God about what are our prayers filled with? Prayer is where we get to speak and listen to God; where we can pray for our real needs and for others for God to give us hearts like Jesus. As Paul shows us how courageous are our prayers? Do we have a confidence that God intends good for you or do you pray that he would bless others and name them? When we pray will we dare pray for one another, with a challenge in mind that at TCPC we would be a praying community as Paul prayed …”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 until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. (vs 9b-11)
Let’s pray…
David Hassan @ Tamworth Community Presbyterian Church 4/11/18
[1] https://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/thankful-for-creative-answers/