April 23, 2006
"Oh Brother, How Art Thou?"
"God's Not Finished With You Yet"—Part 1
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
—Philippians 1:21
How to strengthen your spiritual health:
1. Think of others as more important than yourself.
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 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.
—Philippians 1:3-6
Question: What were Paul's memories of the Philippians?
"Koinonia"—partnership, fellowship, to have in common
God's threefold work:
- The work God does for us—salvation. (Titus 3:4)
- The work God does in us—sanctification. (Philippians 2:12-13)
- The work God does through us—service. (Ephesians 2:10)
God's work will continue until we see Jesus.
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
—1 John 3:2
2. Love one another deeply from the heart.
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. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 1:7-8
Love is the evidence of salvation.
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
—1 John 3:14
Question: How can we tell if we really love other Christians?
- We go above and beyond to help them. (Philippians 2:4)
- We are concerned for them. (1 Corinthians 12:25-26)
- We are willing to forgive them. (1 Corinthians 13:5)
3. Carry one another before God in prayer.
And this is my prayer [for you]: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God.
—Philippians 1:9-11
The common character of prayer and encouragement: Both should be sincere, personal and specific.
Lifework
I would like to challenge you to a greater depth of fellowship.
Step 1—The first step toward fellowship is accepting Jesus Christ as Savior. It is God's Spirit in us that gives to us a spiritual connection.
Step 2—The second step toward Christian fellowship is getting involved with other Christians through church and in a small group. Taking Class 101 (June 11) or Class 201 (next week) is a great way to get started.
Step 3—The third step is to make more personal connections by expanding your sphere of relationships. If you are a member of Grace church, my challenge is for you to take the church directory, find the letter of your last name, and pray for the other people who are on the same page as you. I also want to encourage you to meet them, find out how you can personally pray for them, and I would like to ask you to send them a note of encouragement and prayer.
"God is Not Finished With You Yet"
Personal and Small Group Study
Getting Started
- What mail gets opened first at your house? What mail gets "round-filed" immediately? When you care for someone, are you more likely to send a funny card or a touching one?
- Choose one: How have your circumstances affected your joy this week? Describe your week in terms of a weather forecast. What has given you the most joy this year?
Digging Deeper: Read Philippians 1:1-11
- Paul often greets his readers with the words "grace" and "peace." What does that say about Paul? What does that say about he gospel? What in your life illustrates what grace and peace feel like?
- Describe Paul's feeling for this church. What do you know of Paul's experience while in Philippi? (Look at Acts 16:11-40.)
- When Paul speaks of partnership in the gospel, what is he talking about? What various kinds of partnership with Paul did this church have?
- Paul is confident of God's continuing work in the lives of the Philippian believers. Is that because of something special about them?
- What scriptures give you confidence that God is not going to give up on you? What gives you confidence that God will bring your faith on to completion? What does completion of a person's faith look like? (See 1 John 3:1-3.)
- What does Paul ask God to accomplish in the lives of the Philippians as he prays (verses 9-11)?
- Paul's prayers often give strong clues about what the rest of his letter will be about. Read verses 9-11 again. What do you think the rest of Paul's letter will be about based on this prayer?
Applying It To My Life
- Take a few moments and re-write Paul's prayer applying it to your church family or small group.
- In what ways do you have a partnership in the gospel with your church? Who else do you have a partnership in the gospel with?