TEXT: Philippians 1:3-11
TITLE: To Live: GROW
SERIES: To Live (Philippians series)
TOPIC: Spiritual Growth
OCCASION: Burnside Christian Church June 21, 2009
PROP.: We are EXPECTED to Grow. God wants us to Grow. Paul wants us to Grow.
INTRODUCTION: Good morning! We find ourselves preaching through the book of Philippians. So please be turning to chapter 1. There are two things that I would ask of you as we study this letter that was written by Paul to the Christians living in the city of Philippi:
1. Bring your Bible and a Pen
2. Read through the book of Philippians each week.
I told you last week that the purpose, the reason, that Paul is writing this book is to teach us how to live.
I think a lot of us need to learn how to live life. We’ve been getting all wrong.
That in essence what Paul is saying to us is: That life is not a problem to be solved…but a adventure to be lived!
If you weren’t here last week, we didn’t get very far. We only covered the first two verses of Philippians but from those two verses, we learned that Paul is a slave of Jesus Christ.
And because he is a slave of Jesus Christ, Paul has GRACE & PEACE. But it doesn’t stop there…he wants US to LIVE! And to live, to REALLY live, we need Grace & Peace. And we learned that we get grace and peace when we submit ourselves fully to Christ and become slaves of Him!
That was in verse two. We only got through two verses last week. I know we are going to do better this week.
Our text is Philippians 1:3-11
Let’s read:
3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
(Let’s stop there for a second. Paul starts this letter like he does so often. He starts with a greeting and then a prayer. Now Paul is sitting in Jail while he is writing this letter. So Paul has plenty of free time on his hands. So I am guessing that he spends time daily praying for all the churches he has started. You can read about Paul’s first visit to Philippi in Acts 16. And he tells the Philippians that he is always praying with joy for them.
Why is Paul joyfully praying for the Philippians?
Its there in verse 5: “because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
The new american standard reads: because of your PARTICIPATION in the gospel…
Paul is thrilled that the Philippians weren’t just sitting on the sidelines with their faith. They were involved in ministry! They were serving! They were giving! They were telling others about Jesus!
ILLUSTRATION: Share a Plate with Mark…
I feel the same way that Paul does! There are sooo many people here at Burnside Christian church who are participating in ministry! I have been on the receiving end as people have been bringing a meal to share! Linda Jacob has been lining this up and I am so thankful to her and to people who unselfishly give and prepare food! How humbling it is to be served because people love the Lord!
I want to ask…
Are you a partner in the ministry that takes place here at Burnside? Are you participating in ministry? By the way: Complaining about the ministry isn’t participating in the ministry. This has happened to me more times than I can count: I’ll be at Wal-Mart, or at a restaurant or at an area church event and I’ll see some people from other churches and ask, “How are things going?“ And the response I get is - “Well, things are going ok…BUT our youth minister isn’t doing what we think he should be doing. Or our preacher isn’t taking us in the direction we want to go. Or the elders aren’t doing their job…“
And I wonder: What are YOU doing to help the situation? You see, I think some Christians have got the complaining thing down. But not the participation thing down.
We have a desperate need of people to step up and work! To serve. To give. We need teachers. Nursery workers. VBS helpers. The list goes on and on.
I know we have so many people who ARE participating in ministry. You are faithfully serving and teaching and giving and working. Thank you! I like Paul, and joyful that you are working for Christ. But if you are not plugged into an area of ministry where you regularly work for Christ…would you consider doing so? We desperately want to partner with you in the work that is being done for the sake of Christ’s kingdom!
Let’s continue reading…verses 6 -11
6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7It 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. 8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
And here in verses 6-11 is the heart of my sermon this morning.
T.S.: Paul is saying that if you want to REALLY live, if you want to experience all that this life has to offer, then you must GROW!
ILLUSTRATION: Perhaps when you were growing up, a doorway was marked on to measure your growth. As you matured, you were able to look at that doorway and see how much you’ve grown.
The same thing is true with the Christian life. On the doorway of life, as you look back, you should be able to see how much you’ve grown. You should handle situations differently today than you did when you first became a Christian.
Your language should look a little differently today than it did when you first became a Christian.
There should be some changes!
How are you doing? Are you growing? Or are you stagnant?
T.S.: Today, I want to give you two facts about Spiritual growth…
Paul says in verse 6 that
I. God wants us to Grow (vs. 6)
Let’s read it again:
“6being confident of this, that GOD, who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
He’s doing His part to make us grow!
A. God is working in your life!
--through Bad times
God is doing good things in your life. And maybe you’re like: “yeah, right! I’m suffering. I’m hurting. I’m beaten down by life. There is NOTHING good happening in my life.”
And what I would tell you is that you need to be reminded that GOD’S PLANS ARE PERFECT! Did you ever think that God is using the ‘terrible situation’ that you are in to grow you up? To help you along and become the mature person He has wanted you to be all along?
So if you’re going through a bad time in life right now…Listen up. You need to hear this.
BAD TIMES HELP US GROW IN THREE WAYS.
Bad times in life cause us to:
Grow tougher - “knowing that the testing of your faith produces perseverance”. When you are faced with difficulties in life and then you come through them, you come out the other side tougher! And God uses YOU to help others who are going through a same or similar situation that you yourself just went through. I think of Tony Newton having to deal with taking of care of his dad. How many people has Tony been able to help as a result of experiencing the “bad time”?
Bad times also help us
Grow more dependent - upon God. Upon others! QUESTION: When are you closer to God? When things are bad or when things are perfect?
If it weren’t for the bad times in life, I submit to you that we would not be as close to God as we are now.
ILLUSTRATION: THROUGH IT ALL. It’s like Bill Gaither’s song - “Through it All” “I thank God for the Mountains…I thank God for the valleys…I have learned to trust in Jesus and I learn to trust in God!”
Grow wiser - Sometimes, bad situations are caused by our poor choices. And when we experience something bad in life - we sometimes grow wiser and learn how to avoid the bad situation happening in the future!
There are other ways we grow when something bad happens to us. If anything; this is further proof that we serve a sovereign God.
A God who can, “work all things together for good for those who love Him and for those who are called according to His purposes.” (Romans 8:28)
God can use the garbage you are going through right now to shape you into the leader and servant He wants you to be.
But God uses Good times to help us grow too!
--through Good times we:
Grow more joyful -
Grow more thankful
Grow more (you fill in the blank)
It’s the good times in life, when we are at peace, where our joy grows! Where our thanksgiving grows! Where our MINISTRY grows!
So you see, God IS working in your life and in MY life. And better than that…
B. God will continue to work until you see Christ face to face!
You see, the best news is that God is going to continue to work on you and in you and through you until Jesus Christ comes here…or you go to Jesus Christ.
God wants you to Grow. To mature. To become the person He has in mind.
That’s fact #1.
READY FOR FACT #2?
II. Paul wants us to Grow! (vs. 9 - 11)
Let’s read verses 9 - 11 again..
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
A. What does he want to grow?
--Our Love.
Paul wants our love to grow more and more!
Paul wants us to love God more and more. Paul wants us to love each other more and more!
Do you love God more today than you did yesterday? Do you love the people sitting in the pew in front of you more today than you did yesterday?
If your answer is “no” or “I’m not sure” then listen to this:
ILLUSTRATION:
Lindsay and I have known each other for nearly 15 years. I love my her more today than I did when we were first dating. You know why? Because I know her better. We have a relationship that has grown into a marriage. We have memories that have been made. If you want to love God and love people more…you need to get to know them!!!!
Read God’s word. Trust God to take care of you.
Get to know the people in your pew! If they are missing a few Sundays in a row, call them! Do it because you care!
Love is the essence of a Christian. God is love. God lives within us. Therefore, Love is our fruit! Without love, I’m useless. I’m just a noisy and annoying gong. Without love, it’s impossible for me to be a Christian.
Jesus Himself said, “people will know you are my disciples by your love.” (John 13:35)
Paul doesn’t just want our love to grow…notice what else he wants to grow..
--Depth of insight (knowledge)
Paul wants our knowledge to grow. This sounds similar to what Paul wrote to the Ephesians around the same time as this letter to the Philippians was written.
Ephesians gives us three things that Paul wants to know more and more about.
1. Know your hope!
2. Know your riches!
3. Know His great power!
Ephesians 1:17-19
17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
If you know these three things, you’ll have a better grasp on God and you wont’ soon shrink away in your relationship with him!
And then Paul gives the reason he wants us to grow…
B. Why does Paul want us to grow? (verse 10)
10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
--To discern what is best
In life, there are poor choices, good choices, and the best choices. The mature Christian chooses what is best. Not all the time. But more often than not. The mature Christian Doesn’t settle for just the good. And why do we choose the best? We choose the best so we can honor God with the BEST!
ILLUSTRATION: (LUKE 10:38FF You remember Mary & Martha don’t you? These were two sisters who were friends with Christ. One day, Jesus came to visit Mary & Martha. They were fixing a delicious meal for Jesus and His disciples. Martha was in the kitchen preparing supper while her sister Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus learning. Martha complained to Jesus and was like, “tell my sister to come help me get things ready for supper!”
Jesus responded by saying, “Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.”
Mary chose what was best! When you choose what is best, it may not always please people…but that’s ok you’re pleasing God!
We give God the best because God gives nothing but the best!
This word best is used 10 times in scripture. I want to tell you about two of those times.
In Luke 15, Jesus tells a story about this father who had two sons…the younger son runs away and lives life how HE wants to live. Eventually, this younger son comes back to his father. And what does the father do? He calls for the BEST robe to put on His son. This is a parable about how God reacts whenever one of His children come home. God gives nothing but the BEST!
Even in the small things. You remember when Jesus was turning water into wine? When the wedding guests tasted the wine Jesus had made, they were amazed. They said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine when the guests have had too much to drink…but you have saved the best till now!”
God gives nothing but the best to us…always. And when the world needed a savior…a sacrifice to erase all the sins of the world - God sent the best. His one and only son!
Another reason Paul wants us to Grow is so…
--That we may be pure and blameless
Have you ever noticed that the best choices in life are the choices that lead to our holiness?
And Paul knows that when our love for God grows more and more and when our knowledge about God grows more and more, that holiness is what will ultimately follow!
See what he says in verse 11?
“Being filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God!”
When we choose what’s best, we bring glory and praise to our Father!
THIS IS FATHER’S DAY! A time set aside when we honor and show appreciation to our earthly dad’s for raising us and loving us.
Can I encourage you this morning to Honor your heavenly father and show appreciation for loving us by choosing what’s best! Choose what’s best for HIS glory! For HIS fame!
I want to leave you with some application this morning. Some things you can take home and work on…
APPLICATION:
1. I will attempt to grow knowledge through studying my Bible. (this can be done alone or in a group)
Not sure who to read or study the Bible? It’s not hard. Read a section of scripture. Write down in your own words what was happening. Then write down what you learn from it.
That is a simple practical approach to studying and applying God’s word to your life.
2. I will endeavor to learn more about faith through regular church attendance. Being in church with other people will grow your relationship to other believers and with God!
3. I will evaluate my life over the past year and write down atleast 5 lessons I’ve learned about life, about God and about people.
TO LIVE IS TO GROW:
Grow in love. Grow in knowledge.
We come now to our time of decision…
