West Greeley Baptist Church
August 18 2002
Philippians 1: 7-11
“Paul’s heart, Paul’s Prayer”
Pastor Mark Hensley
“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.” Philippians 1: 7-11
Introduction: NEW ORLEANS (Aug. 8) - Ten people on a behind-the-scenes tour at an aquarium plunged into a shark tank after a platform collapsed. No one was seriously injured, officials said.
Two people were taken to a hospital for minor cuts and bruises, said Melissa Lee, a spokeswoman for the Aquarium of the Americas.
The accident happened while donors to the aquarium were on an after-hours tour. The platform they were standing on is used by keepers to feed the sharks and is not usually open to the general public, Lee said.
It wasn’t immediately known what caused the steel footbridge above the tank to collapse. The 400,000-gallon tank is home to everything from a few dozen nurse and sand tiger sharks to turtles, schools of redfish and stingrays.
Dan Rooney was on the platform with his family when the platform gave way. He searched frantically for his 2-year-old grandchild before he saw someone hand the toddler to another person on the stable part of the catwalk. ’’I was just praying none of the sharks got agitated from all of the splashing and everything. I mean, they got sharks in there bigger than me,’’ he said. AP-NY-08-08-02 0639EDT
Transition: Ever been in a place you couldn’t wait to get out of? Today I am thinking of Paul in prison in Rome, remembering the church at Philippi and having those memories interrupted by the gruff taunts of his captors and the stale air….and tasteless food that he had reluctantly became accustomed too!
At least he was able to write! Sometimes God will set us down in a place somewhere where we can do more good for God’s kingdom than we ever could if left to our own desires or choices. Today from a Roman prison the Apostle Paul has a lot to pray about and a lot on his heart!
“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.” Philippians 1: 7-11
You’re not alone
You can know love
Someone’s praying for you!
I. You’re not alone “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.”
*In the midst of all this Paul is on trial in the Roman Emperors court. Paul says he is engaged in the defense and the confirmation of the Gospel (1:7). Both words are legal terms taken right from the courtroom referring to giving explanations of ones cause in a hostile situation and giving factual proofs to those who opposed or doubted your testimony.
Paul is in a place where loneliness sets in like a cold damp mist. Yet he is not alone…remember you can be lonely as a follower of Christ, but you’re never alone!
Paul writes of Prison, financial support, service to the point of death, ridicule and attack in a hostile courtroom..... Why? For the sake of the Gospel. For the joyful opportunity and solemn responsibility of proclaiming the atoning death and life-giving resurrection of Jesus.
For the message that God indeed so loved the world that He broke into human history, into sinful, death-filled human history with forgiveness of sin and eternal life in the flesh and blood of His only Son. For the good news that He has defeated sin, death and devil for all eternity.
For the declaration of the promises of God, sealed in the blood of the Savior, which are today so very precious to sinners like you and me. All hardships are worth it.... for the sake of this Gospel. *Taken from internet resource.
Paul’s focus is beyond the restrictions of his confinement too the ultimate victory and triumph we all share in the Lord Jesus Christ! It’s important that we all understand that though we suffer temporary setbacks and the inevitable reversals of life …..there will be an end to the heartache! In fact each end is in reality a glorious beginning in the Lords service!
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. He eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.
One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. It was just more than he could take. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!"
But the next day, he woke to the sound of a ship approaching the island to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" he asked in wonder.
"We saw your smoke signal," they replied.
We will not always understand, but we can always trust, that God is with us!
You’re not alone…
II. You can know love “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.
In other words, "I love you as Jesus loves you." Love is something that everyone needs, and too many don’t experience in life! Listen with your soul to the tenderness of the great Apostle Paul! “8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.”
Paul is describing not just his own desire to see the Philippians again, but he phrases it in relation to the Love of Christ! “As if the very heart of Christ dwelt in Paul” Kenneth Wuest “Word studies in the Greek New Testament” pg 34
The great Apostle lived so close to the Lord Jesus, and he had so shared in the sufferings of His Lord for righteousness sake that His heart was very tender, and beat as one with the heart of Jesus! Kenneth Wuest “Word studies in the Greek New Testament” pg 34
One night in New York, on Broadway, the great star Mary Martin was preparing to go on stage, as she had a 1000 times before, in Rodger & Hammerstein’s South Pacific. Just before she took stage a note was handed her. The letter was signed Oscar Hammerstein who was that evening on his death bed.
The note was short. It simply said:
"Dear Mary, A bell’s not a bell until you ring it. A song’s
not a song until you sing it. Love in your heart is not put there to stay. Love isn’t love till you give it away."
When the play was over the cast rushed her backstage and asked,
"What happened? We’ve never seen you perform that way before?" Mary read to them Hammerstein’s note and said, "Tonight, I gave my love away."... Gregory Dawson.
Paul was in constant communion with the Lord who gave his love away for all of us! And your heart can know the Love of God through Christ!
Am I speaking to someone today who feels unloved? You have always yearned to experience love like in the movies or novels, and your being forced to realize that sometimes the happy ending’s and white picket fences are not apart of everyone’s experience! Has that been your story?
Were you aware that there is a web-address called regret.com? An on-line place where people can post for the world to see the “regrets” of life! I read this week of a young man named J.M., 25, programmer He wrote:
I loved Jessica deeply and truly and never told her. We met as children at a small lake outside her hometown and she didn’t like me at all. We met again in college and dated briefly, but I lost interest (I still don’t know what I was thinking). We became close again while we were both seeing other people and she became my very best friend, but things between us got strange and strained and I lost her from my life completely....I still miss her. Posted by Barry Cadish on Monday, August 12, 2002
Living with regrets, I suppose we all have them…but through Jesus we all can know love!
“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.
You’re not alone
You can know love
III. Someone’s praying for you! “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.” Philippians 1: 7-11
Paul wants for the Christians then and believers now for their:
Love to abound, with knowledge depth and insight. The Greek word for love to abound literally means "to overflow, to gush out in copious amounts". Paul’s prayer for the Church was that we discover and put into practice God’s love toward one another. In our society we are conditioned to see love as an emotion, as a warm happy sensation that we express toward our family or our friends. But to God Love, AGAPE means to seek to do the highest good for that object of love. The love of God is not selfish. *Pastor D. E. Buffloe
Discernment, in order to be pure and blameless until Christ’s return. Paul prayed for such growth in Gospel partnership with the Philippians. He prays: "...that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and discernment..." (v.9).
Imagine the scene. Paul, in chains in a Roman prison is soon to be beheaded. And we find him praying for the people in Philippi. Whew! For what does he pray? For growth in love for those within and without of the church, for a knowledge and understanding of God’s Word that leads to holy living and a Gospel-example to others. To what end? "...to the glory and praise of God" (v.11). In other words, that their ongoing partnership in the Gospel would resound in glory and praise to God as more and more others hear, trust, and celebrate the good news of Jesus.
Filled with the fruit of Righteousness, that comes through Jesus Christ!
Finally he prays that his friends be filled with the fruit of righteousness. The metaphor of fruit implies that there is no instant righteousness, fruit takes time to grow! The environment that is best for us to grow into the likeness of Jesus, can best be provided by friends who give us the time to grow, and our patient while we develop in the Christian life!
Rather than judge and criticize each other, when we pray as Paul prayed we give people courage to keep on plodding on the difficult road to Christian maturity. Rev. Walt Gerber Menlo Park Presbyterian Church
950 Santa Cruz Avenue • Menlo Park • California
A. Quote from the movie Hoosiers "Forget about the crowds, the size of the school, their fancy uniforms, and remember what got you here, focus on the fundamentals we have gone over time and time again, and most importantly don’t get caught up thinking about winning or losing this game. If you put your efforts and concentration on playing to your potential, being the best you can be, I don’t care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, in my book we’re going to be winners."... Davon Huss
That’s in essence what’s on Paul’s heart and Paul’s prayer!
“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.” Philippians 1: 7-11
Remember: You’re not alone. You can know love. Someone’s praying for you!
