An Encouraging Beginning

I do wanna invite you guys to turn in your Bibles to Philippians. I was hoping to surprise you, but Mike already gave it away, and the email I wrote yesterday, if you read it, gave it away also. but yeah, we are, beginning a study of the book of Philippians this morning, and in a sense, this is stretching out into a series on the prison epistles that Paul wrote during his first prison, Roman imprisonment. He wrote Colossians and Philemon.

And Ephesians, which we studied years ago, back when we were at Linden Street. And he also wrote the book of Philippians, that we will be looking at, today. This is the only book Paul wrote during that imprisonment that we have not yet. studied through verse by verse, so I'd like for us to do that, in the coming weeks, and the title of the message is an encouraging Start.

An encouraging start. I've mentioned this before about my dad, but my dad was a marine of 20 years, and he served 3 tours in Vietnam and, 1 tour in the Mediterranean. And, so my dad was gone for about 4 years of my life as I was growing up. And as much as I miss my dad during those times, especially when he was in Vietnam, a good memory.

That I have from those days was of my mother, receiving stacks of envelopes that were stuffed with pages that my dad had written to her. I found out later, from my dad that part of how my dad kept himself sane in Vietnam was to write letters to my mom. When the other men, soldiers were off doing the crazy stuff that soldiers do to unwind, my dad would retreat to his bunk and he would write letters to my mom. Sometimes my dad would record messages on a reel to reel, recorder.

And when the, reel would arrive. At our house, we, my mom and us 4 kids, we would sit around a pretty large recorder, the way they were back then as it played, and we would listen to our dad as he would speak to us kids. but we also as kids knew that there were parts of those reels that were for my mom's ears only. and we kids were always left imagining what kinds of personal things my dad would say to our mom that he did not want us to be hearing.

But I've been pondering that memory as we have, as I have begun studying the book of Philippians, especially the early verses. And I start on this note to say that just like my dad, the apostle Paul, evidently did a lot of letter writing during his first Roman imprisonment. As I mentioned a couple of minutes ago, as far as the ones we know about, he wrote a letter to Philemon, to the Colossians, and to the Ephesians in We know that he wrote a letter to the Philippian Church and by all accounts, every commentator will tell you this, this letter that Paul writes to the Philippians was the most personal of all the letters that Paul ever wrote to any church.

The relationship that Paul enjoyed with the Philippian Church was about as good as it gets this side of heaven.

So it'll be a special treat for us to study this very affectionate letter from the apostle Paul to a church that had such a special place in his heart. Before we get into verse one this morning, let me just give you a little bit of history, and I wanna encourage you to, keep your place here in Philippians 1, but turn as well to Acts chapter 16. Acts chapter 16, Paul's relationship with the Philippians began in Acts chapter 16 during what's called his second missionary journey.

And when Paul arrived in the city, he encountered, a woman named Lydia.

Along with some other women that he preached the gospel to and in Acts chapter 16 verse 14, we are told that the Lord opened Lydia's heart to respond to the things that were spoken by Paul. And then in the very next verse, as soon as Lydia becomes a believer in Christ, in Acts chapter 16 verse 15, look at the text, the text says, and when he, when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us saying, if you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.

And then Luke says, and she prevailed upon us. Evidently this is a strong-willed woman who doesn't take no for an answer.

This means she pleaded with them and insisted, and finally she prevailed upon them to come and stay in her house. Shortly thereafter, if you keep reading in Acts chapter 16. You learned that Paul and Silas exercised a demon from a slave girl who had been making a lot of money for her masters through fortune telling. Her masters were furious with Paul for taking away their livelihoods, so they had him and Silas arrested and beaten and thrown into prison.

But as many of, around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying, and they were singing hymns of praise to God, and evidently God must have begun singing with them because a great earthquake happened that opened the prison doors. Thinking that all of the prisoners had escaped, the Philippian jailer. Was just about to kill himself, but Paul told him he didn't need to do that because all the prisoners were still in their cells. Filled with gratitude, the jailer fell down before Paul and Silas, and in Acts chapter 16 verse 30, he says to them, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And in verse 31, Paul says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household. And that message we can declare to everyone in this room, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. And so the jailer believed, and just think about what, night this was for him. The jailer went from attempted suicide to salvation in the space of an hour.

And within the very hour of believing, Luke tells us in Acts 16 that the jailer took Paul and Silas, and he did something very practical. He washed their wounds. And after he, the jailer, and his household were baptized, he immediately brought Paul and Silas into his house and he set food. Before them So just from what we've seen here, guys, from the example of Lydia and the jailer, we see that from the get-go, this Philippian church.

Is a church that loves the apostle Paul very deeply for his bringing of the gospel of salvation to them, and they relished caring for him in practical ways that he would deeply appreciate. And here we now as we come back to Philippians chapter 1, we find ourselves about 10 to maybe 12 years after those events in Acts 16, and the Philippians have sent Paul a financial gift during this Roman imprisonment which has left Paul deeply grateful and causing him. To write this letter that we call Philippians.

Paul loved the Philippians.

He thought the world of God's work in the Philippians, and we're going to already begin to see this in our passage today. And my prayer is that the respect and the appreciation and the confidence that we're gonna see Paul expressing in our passage today. That these very things might prevail in our relationships with one another in the body of Christ. And hopefully you grabbed a hard copy of the notes, when you came in this morning, but the way we'll break down our study of verses 1 through 7 is we will observe 4 heartfelt encouragements from Paul as he begins his letter to the Philippians.

Four encouragements. And the first of these encouragements is number 1, you can fill in the blank. He recognizes. Them the Philippians as what.

As saints in Christ Jesus, he recognizes them as saints in Christ Jesus. Notice how Paul begins his letter in verse one, saying, Paul and Timothy, bond servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons. Now, if you are reading Acts 16, you'll notice that Timothy had just begun traveling with the apostle Paul. And Silas, right before Paul came to the city of Philippi.

So, the Philippians would have known Timothy very well and had precious memories of him as Paul's faithful assistant. And they'd be happy to see his name here in verse one of this letter and that Timothy is still with Paul. But what's interesting is that even though Paul was an apostle, and Timothy was his assistant, his son in the faith, here in verse one, Paul lumps himself into the same category together with Timothy and refers to them both by the same title. Look at the text, bond servants or literally slaves of Christ Jesus.

Paul is saying, I and Timothy are men who are owned and operated by Jesus, who has bought us with a price through his shed blood at the cross. Paul and Timothy were not slaves to their own appetites or to their own lust, nor were they slaves to other people's opinions of them. They were slaves of Christ Jesus. They served him.

They were his property owned by him. And being slaves of Christ Jesus, they were assured in the knowledge that Jesus takes care of his property. And that Jesus provides and cares for them as his slaves. Notice toward the second half of verse one, how Paul identifies his audience saying to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.

We saw the word saints in Philemon as well as in Colossians, and as we pointed out then. The word saints is one of Paul's favorite designations for Christians, and this word speaks of believers as ones who have been set apart by God to be a special people of his presence and who mirror the beauty of His holiness to the world. But notice here how Paul refers to his readers, not merely as saints, look at the text, but as saints in Christ Jesus. These Philippian Christians were not saints because they had earned that status, but because of their positional location.

Inside of the ultimately holy one. Who is Jesus? It is the person that they are in, and the fact that they are in him that makes these Philippian believers saints. Geographically speaking, the saints, Paul says, are located in Philippi, but what gets first mentioned from Paul is that they were located in Christ Jesus.

And today, you and I may live in Southern California, but we have opportunity to be located in Christ Jesus, just as these Philippians were, and being in Christ Jesus is what makes us saints. Amen. Among this group of saints in Philippi, Paul identifies two subsets of people. look at the text, he says, including the overseers and deacons.

The word, overseers would be the, speaking of the elders or the pastors in the church whose job it was to literally, this is what the word oversee means, to look upon the flock, to look over the flock, looking after them and leading them. You can write down the reference 1 Peter chapter 5 verses 1 and 2, where Peter speaks to elders, and he says, I exhort the elders among you, note that word elders, and then in verse 2, literally pastor the flock. Of God among you exercising oversight.

So we see elders.

Who pastor and exercise oversight. These 3 key words in these two verses in 1 Peter 5, elders. And pastor and oversight remind us that in the New Testament, an elder is a pastor, is an overseer. And we are blessed to have such men here.

At Cornerstone as well. Amen. 2. 5 years ago, I, I dropped off some, friends, at the Ontario airport and I dropped them off and I'm, I'm pulling away, from the airport and I encountered a pleasant, surprise.

I saw Frank Turri. How many of, who Frank Turk is? OK. He's a famous Christian apologist, that I is showing up on my Twitter feed, all the time, and I enjoy, watching him, but he was, coming out of the baggage claim area, and I obviously did not know this at the time, but Frank Turk would end up being 10 ft away.

From Charlie Kirk when he was shot. A couple of months ago. But upon recognizing him, I pulled over and asked him, Are you Frank Turk? And he said, yes.

And I said, where are you heading? And he told me he was, heading to a place so that a shuttle could take him to pick up his rental car. And so I offered to, take him there myself. And he replied by saying, and who are you?

And I think he was right to be cautious. I told him I was a pastor, of a church nearby and that I recognized him. So, I guess his trust was sufficiently built up and he climbed into my car and we got to have a wonderful 5 minute chat. with each other, and I had the opportunity to thank this man for his ministry, never thinking I would ever have such an opportunity.

But one thing that stands out from our brief conversation was during the conversation, he was asking me about what I did and about our church, and when I told him that our church has a board of elders that I serve with, he immediately said, oh boy, I'm gonna pray for you. And I said, actually, I love our elders. And I could not do ministry. Without them And I told him, they're all fellow pastors to me and a total blessing to me.

And Frank Turk Said, consider yourself blessed. And I appreciated those words because I do, every single day. I thank God for the elders that I have the privilege of serving with here at Cornerstone. Looking at the text.

We learned that evidently the Philippian church had elders too whom Paul calls overseers, given that overseeing is one of the key functions of elders in the church, but Paul also, as you look at the text mentions deacons here. Deacons are persons in the church who provide leadership for significant. Areas of ministry that address people's practical and spiritual needs. And Paul is including them in his address.

And I should take this opportunity to also say that we're blessed to have many wonderful deacons and deaconesses here at Cornerstone who serve our church in a variety of meaningful ways. But as for what Paul is doing here, I want you to notice how Paul talks here in verse 2. He doesn't merely refer to the overseers and deacons as As saints, but he's referring to the whole congregation as saints, and he speaks of the elders and deacons as just simply being among the saints. In Paul's theology, every Christian is a saint in Christ Jesus.

You'll also notice that Paul doesn't say the saints, and also that other group of people, the elders and the deacons. Paul does not exempt elders and deacons from sainthood. In the mind of Paul, every Christian has the privileges and responsibilities of sainthood all the way up through to the leadership of the church. Keep in mind that Paul knew that he was writing to people who were still very much imperfect.

Some of the saints in the Philippian Church have some problems that Paul is going to feel compelled to address later in this letter, but Paul calls them saints here, nonetheless. Because what made them saints was not their behavior, but their position in Christ Jesus. And it is because of their status as saints that Paul will feel so bold. As to call them all, including the leaders, to some very high standards as this letter unfolds.

But they're gonna need to be resourced to do that, and this leads us to the second heartfelt encouragement that we see from Paul as he begins his letter to the Philippians. 2, he wishes them grace and peace from God. He wishes them grace and peace from God. To these saints, Paul delivers a benediction in verse 2 saying grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we've learned before, the word grace speaks of undeserved, ill-deserved blessings from God that bring well-being, salvation, and joy. And the word peace represents the luxurious presence of all that is needful for a rich and vital relationship with God. This word speaks of a wholeness in one's spirit. A Shalom in one's spirit, and in one's relationship with God.

It's a spiritual prosperity of soul that manifests itself in one's practical life. According to Paul's wording here, this grace and this peace. Look at the text, come to us from the Father and from Jesus. In other words, from the Father as the ultimate source and from Jesus as the means through which peace comes to us from the Father.

We know this is true because of the gospel, because of the cross of Jesus, because of his death on the cross, God is no longer wrathful against us who have placed our faith in the Lord Jesus, and our hearts are no longer at enmity against God. And our conscience now has a way to be at peace. Through the blood of the Lord Jesus shed at the cross, and through the cross of Christ we as believers now have the grace and peace we need to be what God wants us to be. In fact, look at the verse again, this is why Paul says that he wants his readers to experience grace and peace from God our Father.

And the Lord Jesus Christ. In saving us, God made Himself our Father, and He made us His children. And he gives us the privilege of relating to Him as children get to relate to their Father. And he gives us His grace and peace.

Not every earthly father gives grace and peace to their children. But God the Father lavishly gives grace and peace. To his children, and he gives that grace and peace to them through. Jesus, who is the Lord and Messiah.

Paul does not wish for his readers to experience the false peace that the world gives. He wants them to experience the, peace that comes from God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ. This is a peace. That comes tied to the grace of God, and it's a peace that the world can never take away.

Paul will have some challenging things to say to the Philippians in this letter. He's gonna call them to a very high standard of unity and ethics, but here he wants them to know up front that he desires for them to have all the grace and all the peace they need to become all that God wants them to be. But the fact that Paul wishes this grace and peace upon them does not mean that he thinks that they're currently void of such things. Actually, Paul is already very much mindful of the beautiful ways that God's grace is already evident in them, and he wants them to know that.

And this brings us to the third heartfelt encouragement that Paul delivers to the Philippians as he begins his letter to them. 3, he tells them of his thankful remembrance. And joyful prayers concerning them. He tells them of his thankful remembrance and joyful prayers concerning them.

In verse 3, Paul says to his readers, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. Paul right now is over 700 miles away from the Philippians, and Paul is surrounded by his own set of troubles and ministry demands. Yet he is remembering these precious saints that are many hundreds of miles away, and it doesn't seem like he just remembers them every now and again. Look at the text, here he speaks of all my remembrance of you, indicating that Paul remembers these Philippians often and that he remembers a full range of things about them whenever he does remember them.

He remembers their conversion, he remembers his time together with them, and their growth in the Lord and in the truth. He remembers their many kindnesses to him, and he remembers the beauty of Christ in them. And when Paul does remember them and all of such things about them, he says, look at the text, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. Paul feels gratefulness whenever he remembers these Philippian saints, and the gratefulness he feels is not then directed toward the universe but toward God because Paul knows that any good thing in these saints is from God Himself.

Already you can tell and this will become more evident as the letter unfolds that these Philippian believers are a real happy place in the heart of Paul in the midst of his discouraging circumstances and trials. Paul remembers them. And his remembrance of them. He sends his heart to soaring with gratefulness and thanksgiving to God, and he tells them so.

Again, look at verse 4 and notice Paul's all encompassing language here. Saying I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. Notice that word all. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all.

Paul is later going to tell the Philippians, just a few verses from now, what he specifically prays for regarding them, but what he wants them to know right here is the fact that he is offering supplications for them, petitioning God the Father for the things that the Philippians need. But Paul wants them to know that in every single prayer that he offers up for them, he offers that prayer with joy. Paul rejoices to pray for them because partly he appreciates the fact that prayer is one of the greatest things he gets to do for them.

Prayer is not the least that you can do for people.

It's one of the greatest things you can do for people, and Paul knows that God delights to answer the prayers of his people and that God is doing much in the Philippians through Paul's prayers for them. But part of why Paul prayed for these Philippians with joy, he says, is because he found so much joy in them personally. Why? In verse 5, he says, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.

The word that is translated participation is the Greek word for fellowship, koinonia. And what Paul is savoring here is the fact that these Philippian Christians were fellowshipping with him and with one another in the gospel. But what are they doing with the gospel? Literally, Paul is saying.

That he's speaking here of your participation into the gospel, your fellowship into the gospel from the first day until now. And to be sure, part of what Paul is talking about here is how these Philippians participated with him in his gospel ministry. Laboring alongside of him when he was in the city of Philippi, continuing the work that he started after he left them, and generously supporting his gospel work through their prayers, through their labors, and even through their financial gifts.

But Paul is especially appreciating here how these saints in Philippi partook of the good of the gospel as he preached it to them.

They believe the gospel. They understood the unbelievable good that was in the gospel, and they drilled deep into the gospel and partook of it together with Paul and together with one another. And you'll notice here in this verse that they didn't just partake of that good of the gospel on the day of their conversion, nor merely in the early weeks or months of their Christian walk. No, they partook of the good of the gospel.

From the first day until now, 10 to 12 years into their Christian walk. To their credit, these Philippian Christians never ceased participating in the riches of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So I would ask you Christians here this morning, are you still partaking of the gospel? Or did you just do that on the day of your conversion and now you're trying to move on to other things.

We learn in Romans chapter one and 1 Corinthians one that the gospel is the power of God into salvation to everyone who is believing. And we learn here that the, Christians that Paul rejoices in, and thus the, Christians that God the Father rejoices in, are those who partake of the gospel from the first day of their Christian life and every other day thereafter. This is why we preach the gospel to ourselves. This is why we keep reminding ourselves of the good.

The the message of the gospel and the promises and the consolations of the gospel, and we traffic in these things from the first day until now, every day of our Christian life. Paul is rejoicing in this about the Philippians. We see this joy in Paul who tells the Philippians that when he gazes upon their participation in the gospel from the first day until now, he finds himself feeling so much joy as he prays for them. And to touch on what I've already touched on a little bit, part of Paul's point is to express the joy he feels over the fact that these Philippian Christians are still participants in the gospel with him.

After all these years. After all, Paul is a prisoner right now because he got into trouble with the law for preaching this gospel. Even in this very letter, we're gonna learn about some Christians who were in the grip of selfish ambition and trying to actually get a dig in at Paul and to cause him distress in his imprisonment. From other epistles, we learned that Paul had his share of critics both inside and outside the church, but through all of these criticisms and accusations, these Philippians stayed loyal to Paul in his gospel ministry.

They kept participating with Paul in the gospel and supporting his ministry, even sending him a financial gift of support that then served as the catalyst for this very letter that Paul is writing to them. And it is because of this gospel partnership from the first day until now, and because of his joyful prayers for them that emerge from that, that Paul can confidently deliver the next encouragement. And this brings us to the 4th heartfelt encouragement that Paul delivers to the Philippians as he begins his letter to them.

Number 4, he declares his confidence regarding the work of God in them.

He declares his confidence regarding the work of God in them. In verse 6, Paul says to them, for I am confident. Literally, I am persuaded. Of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

What a statement Paul is saying several things here. First, he's expressing his deep persuasion that God has indeed begun a good work in them, in saving them. Second, he's persuaded that God will keep on working in them, doing that good work in them. And third, Paul is fully persuaded that God will keep on perfecting that work all the way up to the day of Christ Jesus.

When their ultimate glorification is going to happen. Paul has all this confidence regarding these Philippian Christians, and he's declaring that to them out loud. I should say here that the day of Christ Jesus refers to the future coming of Christ, the coming that begins with the rapture of the church and is followed by his second coming. When he comes to judge the wicked and to establish his righteous kingdom on the earth.

For us as Christians, our ultimate moment. A perfection will come when Christ raptures the church and resurrects all of those who have died in Christ. In that moment, God will glorify us body, soul, and spirit. Ridding us of any remnants of indwelling sin and any effects of the curse of sin.

I can't wait for that day. Can you? But here's the thing, we all know about the amazing transformation. And the total change that is going to come to us on that amazing day of resurrection.

But Paul's focus here in this verse is on the fact. That God will keep performing His work in us in the here and now up until. That moment. According to Paul's words here, we don't have to wait until glory.

We don't have to wait until the day of resurrection. We don't have to wait until our full glorification happens instantaneously for God to do a great work in us. Evidently he's doing that good work even now. He started that work and he is continuing to do that good work in us.

Up until that day of complete transformation. Notice that Paul doesn't say in this verse, you. Have begun a good work in yourselves. And I believe you will complete it.

Paul also doesn't say, I began a good work in you and I will complete it. Paul doesn't talk this way. Instead, he speaks of God and says, He who began a good work in you will complete that work. Later in this chapter, Paul acknowledges that his own ministry to them is beneficial.

To the Philippians, but here he makes it clear that he is not the doer, the ultimate doer of any good work in them. God is. God is the one who saved them. God is the one who works in them both to desire and to do of His good pleasure, and God is the one who will complete His work in them.

Yes, God may work through others, but God is the ultimate doer of the good work in us. And the good work in those we minister to and who minister to us. I think this is part of why Paul is OK being in prison hundreds of miles away from the Philippines. This is why Cornerstone would be OK.

If God removed me from being one of your pastors here at Cornerstone. Because it is God. Who works in you. And he who began a good work in you is going to perfect that work until the day of Christ Jesus.

With or without me I should point out here that Paul's language here in verse 6. Indicates something really precious that when Paul looks at the Philippians, he does not just see them as they are right now. He sees them for what they are becoming. And he sees them as they will be in glory in the day of Christ Jesus.

In the here and now, there are indeed defects in their lives that Paul is going to have to deal with in chapters 2 and 3, but despite these imperfections, Paul never loses sight of what these Philippians are going to look like in glory. As Timothy Keller says, Paul knows that anything bad in these Philippian saints is merely temporary and will not be a part of their future glorified self. And Paul also knows that anything good that already exists in them is part of their permanent future self.

And will be in full flower within them when they stand before Christ in glory.

And Paul is able to see that in his mind's eye even now as he thinks about the Philippians and looks upon them in his mind's eye. I remember about a decade ago. Hearing a a famous pastor say to his congregation. And I'll quote what he said to them.

He said, You're gonna have to pardon me if I don't recognize you in heaven. Because you're gonna be spiritually mature in heaven. Thankfully, his congregation laughed at that. I think they took it in, in a good spirit.

But when I heard that, like, I, I suspect Paul would never speak that way. Based on this verse here, I think Paul would say to the Philippians. I'll have no trouble recognizing you in heaven. Because I already see right now what you're going to look like then.

And when Paul does see the Philippians in heavenly splendor. I can hear him saying to them, I knew it. I knew you were going to look like this. This is the way Paul speaks to his Christian readers in the Philippian Church, and it's the way we need to look at each other.

Even in the here and now. And if we have this, confidence regarding each other now, we can then not turn a blind eye to the brokenness. It's this confidence that gives us the courage to lean into each other's brokenness in the here and now, and to help one another. As partners to one another in our journey to this glory.

And as we think about what Paul says in verse 6, I, I do wanna caution you to be very careful not to over-individualize Paul's words of confidence here. For Paul is not merely expressing his confidence about God's work in each individual Christian's life. He is also expressing his confidence in the work that God is doing in them as a whole, in their relationships with one another, in fashioning them into a unified whole with a unity of love that will be completed in glory. As the commentator William Hendrickson says, and I quote, it takes all God's ransom children to make one ransom child complete.

And let me read that again. It takes all God's ransom children to make one ransom child complete. Does that make sense to you? It's worth thinking about.

Hendrickson goes on to illustrate his point by talking about how a single brick. May have the appearance of a finished product and in a sense it is, it's a completed brick. But Hendrickson points out that such a brick will look rather forlorn if it's just sitting by itself. But you take that brick and attach it to another brick and then another until you end up with a beautiful temple.

It is then that you will see that single brick achieving its full purpose and the larger. Thing that God was building. And the same is true for us. He who began a good work in each one of us.

And in us as a whole body, we'll keep on perfecting that work until the day of Christ, and it is then that we will see our individual place in the larger bride of Christ, and we will experience a unity with one another that will be dazzling and refreshing in every way. With absolutely zero conflict anymore. You are a part of something larger that you don't see yet. It involves people of every tribe and tongue and nation.

And a day is coming when you will find yourself in heaven situated amongst this larger work that God has been up to. This most beautiful thing ever created by God. And you will see your place in that larger, beautiful thing, the bride of Christ. And then you will see.

That not just individually. But in the larger thing that God was doing, his good work has been completed. Before we move on, I should say one more thing about this promise in verse 6. we, we all love this promise, right?

And this is probably many of your favorite, one of your favorite, verses. but we should, hear this as a warning too. Right? And the warning is that he who began a good work in you.

He's gonna keep at that work. Even when you might want him to back off and leave you alone for a spell. And he's gonna work on you in areas where you would rather he just leave you alone. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you've learned that God is fiercely committed to your sanctification.

And he will persist in doing his good work in you. Even when the blade of his scalpel Makes you bleed Even when the fiery trial of affliction melts you down and makes you more pliable in his hands. I think sometimes we, we get saved, we grow a little bit, and But I think sometimes we love just being comfortable and would be happy enough to just plateau at a certain point of our Christian journey. And think we've, we've gone far enough.

We're doing well enough and Lord, I think this is time for you to now focus on everyone else around me. And completing the work you need to do in all of them. Because they're really being a bother to me, and I see that your work in them is not finished. And so we then try to help these poor people around us, but we speak to them and try to minister to them from a position of arrival, like we've arrived and let me help you.

But, what? God loves you too much to let you get by with that. There's a warning here in verse 6, but the encouragement we can always have is that. Even in our trials.

Even in the disciplines that God sends our way, our loving God is at work and he's doing a good work, seeking to produce the fruit of holiness in us. In verse 6, let's read this one more time. Paul says, for I am confident of this very thing that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. God's never gonna stop doing this good work in you.

How does Paul justify this confidence? Where does it come from? Well, first, he justifies his confidence regarding the Philippians by saying in verse 7, for it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, and we're expecting some big theological explanation, and Paul says, because I have you in my heart. The word translated feel here is the Greek word that includes like a person's thinking and their attitude towards someone that touches on their feelings toward that person.

And Paul is saying here, it's only right for me to feel this way about you, to have this, confidence that I've just described because I have you in my heart. What an interesting reason. It's so subjective. God has so put the Philippian Christians in Paul's heart that he knows with certainty that God has begun a good work in them and that God will complete that work in them that he has started all the way until the day of Christ.

This should not be the only thing we say to people, but I have spoken this way to others as well, saying to them, I know God loves you. And I know he is and will be doing great things in you because I have you in my heart. Thankfully, Paul doesn't stop there. Why does he have the Philippians in his heart?

He has them in his heart in this way. Look at verse 7. Since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partakers of grace with me. And the Greek word that is translated partakers with is the same word translated participation up in verse 5, only this time it's the word koinonia combined with the word together or with.

Paul is saying I have you in my heart because you guys are fellowshippers together with me of God's grace. Paul has found himself in many situations over the years of his ministry. Currently he is in prison for preaching the gospel, but this is not the first time, nor will it be the last when Paul has had to defend the gospel from its detractors, seeking to remove people's doubts and their suspicions. About the gospel, and in doing this, apologetics, literally, based on the wording Paul uses here, Paul often succeeded in confirming the gospel and convincing people to believe in it and to experience its saving power.

And Paul is saying to the Philippian Christians here, whether I've been in prison as I am now and having to defend the gospel. Or anywhere else doing apologetics in response to attacks against the gospel or succeeding in vindicating the truth and power of the gospel, you guys have through all of that remained steady partners and partakers of the grace of the gospel with me. For the Philippians to be partakers of grace means that they understood that the blessings of the gospel are undeserved.

Yet they're not ashamed to partake of these undeserved blessings from God.

They know they don't deserve the forgiveness of God. They know they don't deserve relationship with God as their father, yet they have freely received these graces, and they now traffic in them freely. And they're not ashamed to be right alongside of the apostle Paul, partaking of this very grace of salvation right alongside of him. This is what Paul observes in them from the first day until now.

That persuades him that God has indeed begun a good and awesome work in them. This is why Paul has called them saints in Christ Jesus, why he has spoken this benediction of grace and peace upon them, and why he has expressed his thankfulness and joy in them. And why he is so confident that God has started a good work in them and will complete that work. Until the day of Christ.

There's more encouraging goodness to come in chapter one, but we will stop here for today and just savor. A few things. first of all, I love how Paul begins his letter with so much encouragement. Paul will have some challenges for his readers later, but he begins with these encouragements for them.

From him we learn to encourage first. Criticized later. We also learned from Paul that it is good to find enjoyment in others. Other believers and to tell them so just as Paul does the Philippians, and I encourage you to do the same, cultivate the habit of remembering your fellow Christians before God with joy and if even the remembrance of them ministers encouragement to you, tell them so.

And tell them why. And let the sharing of your gratefulness and affirmation of the evidences of God's grace in them strengthen your bond of unity with them and encourage them. And their walk with the Lord. To be sure, it's going to be very easy to find enjoyment in your fellow Christians when they are fully perfected in the day of Christ.

Right? But Paul's example shows that you can actually enjoy them even now. Even while their brokenness lingers. As you see the beginnings of God's good work in them.

The question is, do you have the eyes to notice the brush strokes of God's artistry? And your brothers and sisters, even though his work in them is not yet finished. To be honest with you guys, I don't know why God takes so long to do what he does in our lives. I don't know why God takes so long to do many things that we see in the Bible.

Saint Augustine had a whole lot of trouble taking the Genesis one creation account literally. Because Augustine could not comprehend why it would take God a full 6 days. To do all that creating rather than just right away because he had the power to do that if he wanted. I don't know why God promised Eve that He would send a champion from her seed to crush the head of the serpent and then took many thousands of years to bring that champion into the world.

I don't know why God chooses to take decades to do his good work and us in this slow motion miracle that we call sanctification. But this is how God chooses to work, and the question. For you is, are, are you noticing what he's doing? Are you noticing the brush strokes of his artistry in your brothers and sisters' lives, even though the work isn't finished?

When I was back in Indiana back in September, I found myself at a restaurant. Where there was a television on and the, the TV was showing a painter starting with a blank canvas, and then just over the next, like, 30 minutes doing this beautiful painting. And watching the process of that painting unfold gave me a very different, appreciation. Of the finished product more than I would have ever had if I had only seen the finished product.

There were times I'd watched the painter, it's like, oh, I think I know what he's doing, and he wasn't doing what I thought at all. And so there were surprises along the way. And if, when I then looked at the finished product, and I had the history of the journey to that product fresh in my mind, I savored that painting in a way I never would have been able to. If I didn't get to watch the painter do that work.

Over the previous 30 minutes. And I wonder maybe if God. Wants us to experience that same dynamic. To cultivate in us the same appreciation as we see his handiwork.

In the lives of our brothers and sisters step by step. And boy will we appreciate the finished product. Right. Perhaps even more.

The question is, do you have the eyes to see what God is up to in your brothers and sisters, and are you ready to celebrate it, or are you standing there with your arms folded and your brow furrowed, waiting until God is done? As Pastor Mark Lauterbach says, and I quote, It takes no advanced degree to find fault with another man. But it takes much grace to see God at work in a fellow redeemed sinner whose life is still marred by sin, yet marked by grace. It takes grace to see it and to strengthen it.

It takes grace to encourage them in a way that glorifies God and strengthens faith. Well, Paul had that grace, and it shows in our passage today, and may God give to all of us this same grace to see. His good work and others. We also learned from Paul's example here to have confidence in the work of God in yourself, confidence in the work of God in others, and to speak that confidence out loud, and then to minister to others.

And let them minister to you from that place of confidence. And hope. And God's work in them and in you. This, confidence.

It is not arrogance. It's good and wholesome so long as our confidence is in God, not in ourselves. And finally, I would ask you this morning, have you received grace? And peace From God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you haven't, God would like to give you that grace and that peace this morning if you would take it. If you're here this morning and you're looking for peace, you can have this peace that God gives to you through his son. The world will not and cannot give you this piece. Money will never give you this piece.

Alcohol, marijuana will never give you this piece. Relationships will never in and of themselves give you this peace. Achievement won't give you this peace. But God can give you this peace through His Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus came into this world and he died on the cross to bear the wrath of God that all of us have deserved for our sins, so that he might then be able to be the means through which God gives to us His peace. That comes when we receive the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus. And this peace can come to you today. If you call upon Jesus and believe in Him.

I would also ask you, do you want a relationship with someone whom, will never give up on you? We live in a society of so much dysfunction. And people just walking away from others because I'm done with you. But if you believe in Christ, you can have the, relationship with God.

In which he never gives up on you, but he loves you enough to work on you day by day. And to stick with that work all the way up until the day of Christ, and He will see that you get there. Other people may give up on you, but God never will. As Max Lucado says, God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you so much that he cannot let you stay that way.

And Paul would only add, and he will stick with you until he finishes. The work that he started in you. All the way to the day of Christ Jesus. And what is not to love about a god.

Like that Let's pray together Lord, we are thankful for. Your word, we're thankful for this text. We're thankful for the encouragements and. The challenge is that.

Come to us from this text. A passage like this is part of the riches of the gospel that. As as we see it coming out of Paul's heart and in his words as he interfaces with these Philippian believers. I pray that his posture here, his encouragement, the truth that is here.

Would Prevail amongst us here at Cornerstone. May we drill deep and partake. Of the grace of the gospel, not just in isolation, but together with one another. Together with the elders and the deacons of this church that we together in community with one another are fellowshippers together of this ginormous beautiful.

Gospel of Jesus Christ through which we're saved and nurtured. and fed and encouraged. And transformed. We pray that you would.

Help us individually and as a whole become the church that you are doing a good work in order to make us be. And we look forward to the day, Lord, when we are in glory. And your work is completed and we will just stand amazed. At the goodness of it all.

And we'll probably then look back to these days now and say, man, I wish I would have seen things this way then. Well, you've given us the equipment to do that and to have an eye. For each other in a way that is colored by what we each are becoming. And may that give us confidence and encouragement.

In our own walk with you and in our ministry to one another as we serve to partner with one another. In our collective journey to your throne. We ask all of these things, Lord, in the mighty name of Jesus, and all God's people said.