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JOY in GOSPEL-WORK
1. Introduction – Paul’s Gospel-Work
1.1.
Paul’s missionary calling
Today we’re going back in time, to the story of the first church that was
planted in Europe. Does anyone know which church / city that was?
Indeed, it was the church in Philippi, in the region called Macedonia, just
north east of Greece. (So you can open your bibles to Philippians 1 in
the mean time)
The missionary who took the gospel there, was Paul – and he’s writing
this letter to the church there, which he planted. Before planting the
church, he had been living in Antioch, teaching and strengthening the
believers, when the Holy Spirit directed the elders there to set him and
Barnabas aside for the work of spreading the gospel.
Acts 13:2-3
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit
said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I
have called them." 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they
placed their hands on them and sent them off.
And that WORK was the PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL, taking the
gospel to the world so that others might be saved too.
And so the 2 of them began the 1st missionary journey (Acts 13-14)
Their strategy was to visit the Jewish synagogues as they arrived in a
new town, for logical reasons – the Jews feared God, and it was a meeting
place where they would have an audience. And after spending so many
days at one place, they would move on to the next, calling people to
repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
1.2.
Trials before planting the church
As it turned out, there were mixed reactions. Sometimes the Jews would
welcome the GOSPEL (e.g. Antioch in Pisidia) but when they saw that the
gentiles were included in it, they became jealous, and roused opposition
– with all sorts of accusations against them – and would try and get them
expelled from the city. The outcome of this was that there were a band of
unbelieving Jews who followed Paul’s journeys and stirred up both Jews
and Gentiles against them.
Now when they were kicked out of Antioch Pisidia, they moved to
Iconium and preached the gospel there too (acts 14), and there many
Jews and Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews from Pisidian
Antioch stirred up those Gentiles and ‘poisoned’ their minds – until there
was a violent attempt to stone them. And so they fled to Lystra to avoid
being killed.
When they arrived in Lystra, they continued to preach the gospel (14:7).
But having healed a lame man there, they were picked up by the Gentiles
and worshiped as if they were gods! But Paul shouted out to stop them,
giving them the gospel, but they didn’t really pay much attention. Until
…
AC 14:19-20 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium
and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul… and dragged him
outside the city, thinking he was dead.
[you know what someone must look like for others to think he’s dead]
20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and
went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for
Derbe. 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had
made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to
Antioch
so they returned through all the same cities, despite the fact that there
were people there incited against them, to strengthen those who had been
saved by the gospel message. And he said to them, “We must through
many tribulations enter the kingdom of God”.
That was Paul’s first missionary journey. Missions is not romantic.
You might think one of those was enough to keep him from doing it
again. But for the sake of the gospel, which is God’s power for the
salvation of everyone who believes, Paul decided to revisit those
churches, to strengthen and encourage them. And this is where his 2nd
missionary journey began.
It was on this 2nd journey that the Philippian church was planted.
1.3.
Paul planting the church
(keep your finger in Ph, and turn to Acts 16)
Let’s read Acts 16:6-15 to see how this church plant came about:
AC 16:6 Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region
of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from
preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the
border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus
would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went
down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of
Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and
help us." 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to
leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to
preach the gospel to them.
AC 16:11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for
Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12 From there we
traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that
district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
AC 16:13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the
river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and
began to speak to the women who had gathered there.
14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in
purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God.
The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. 15 When
she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited
us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said,
"come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.
And so, the church in Philippi was planted.
However, that was not the end of Paul’s labours, or problems. And to see
this, we need to take a look at some of the events that happened between
the planting of this church, and when Paul wrote this letter (Philippians)
to them.
1.4.
His trials after planting
Even while Paul and his co-workers were still in Philippi, they came
under severe persecution again.
AC 16:16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we
were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the
future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortunetelling. 17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These
men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way
to be saved." 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul
became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In
the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that
moment the spirit left her.
AC 16:19 When the owners of the slave girl realized that their
hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and
dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They
brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are
Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating
customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice."
You see, there was a rife anti-semitism at that time, as there has always
been. And it was easy for the owners to incite the locals against Paul and
Silas (the Jewish men in Paul’s group).
And so what happened?
The magistrates tore their clothes off, gave them severe beatings (“with
many stripes” – rods bound together- multiple hits with one blow), threw
them into prison, and they told the prison keeper to make sure they were
secure. So the jailer put them in the inner section of the prison, and had
their feet put in stocks. That’s at least a couple of hours of intense
physical persecution.
Perhaps that was enough to make him give up.. but v25 tells us that
they weren’t exactly dispondent, let alone ready to throw in the towel:
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to
God, and the other prisoners were listening to them
That night, God brought an earthquake that shook the foundations,
and opened all the doors and released the chains. And in the course of
this terrifying experience, the jailer asks Paul what he must do to be
saved (obviously he had heard that salvation was necessary – Paul had
yet again been preaching the gospel in the prison), and Paul leads him
and his whole household to Christ – a dramatic conversion. And instead
of locking Paul and Silas up again, he serves them a meal, and washes
their wounds.
Philippi was a landmark in Paul’s life. But it was still only a small part of
everything he was about to experience. He later recounts his trials to the
believers in Corinth in 2 Cor 11:24-28
24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
[195 lashes] Three times I was beaten with rods [Romans], once I
was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a
day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have
been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from
my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city,
in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false
brothers. 27 I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without
sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without
food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face
daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
1.5.
Roman imprisonment
By the end of the book of Acts when Paul writes Philippians, he’s back in
prison again, this time in Rome. (In an attempt to save himself from the Jews in
Jerusalem, he appealed for a hearing by Caesar. And so he was shipped off to Rome,
and put in house arrest where he was able to receive visitors and had freedom to preach
as he awaited trial.)
All of that, for the preaching and defense of the gospel, (as he says in Ph
1:16)
2. The Philippian gospel-work
But in all this, Paul was not alone:
In PHP 1:7, he writes “you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my
imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel”
It was not only Paul working hard for the gospel but the church at
Philippi got involved in the gospel-work too, by supporting Paul in his
efforts.
They committed themselves whole-heartedly from the beginning
(4:15)
4:15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of
the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into
partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.
They were committed from the beginning, from the time Paul
brought them the gospel
They also gave him financial support not only as he left Macedonia –
it continued as he went from place to place
They supported him in Thessalonica (v16)
v16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.
and in Corinth too
2 Cor 11:9 And when I was with you and was in need, I did not
burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied
my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any
way.
The most convicting thing about their financial support was that they
gave even when their budget didn’t cover it (So their support didn’t
depend on how well they were doing and earning): and Paul writes in
2 Cor 8:1-5
2Co 8:1-5 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God
that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a
severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme
poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond
their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favour
of taking part in the relief of the saints-- and this, not as we
expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the
will of God to us.
They also gave him personal companionship
When Paul arrived under arrest in Rome, the church sent Epaphroditus
to minister to him, refresh him, because there was only so much that
money could do. (that’s a long journey! 800km as the crow flies, over the
Adriatic sea)
!! And Ephaphroditus served so hard with Paul that he became ill, and
nearly died !!
That’s why we read in Ph 2:25,29
PHP 2:25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you
Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who
is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my
needs.
29 Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honour men like
him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking
his life to make up for the help you could not give me.
3. Paul’s Joy at the Philippian Church v3-8
Now, understand from where Paul writes this letter.
Paul is shackled in Roman chains (seems he may have been shackled to
a Roman soldier). And he starts writing his letter to the Philippians.
Timothy’s there too, Paul’s faithful ‘spiritual son’, writing what Paul is
dictating because Paul’s eyes are too weak. And he looks across the room
to see the form of Epaphroditus, lying down on a mat, somewhat
recovered from his illness, but looking like death revived…seen better
days – his fellow soldier for the GOSPEL!
Perhaps the cloak Paul’s wearing is the gift brought by Epaphroditus’
own hand, those 800+kms.
The thought of all their giving and sacrifice wells up in his heart and he
begins to write…
Let’s read together from Ph 1:1-8
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the
overseers and deacons:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
PHP 1:3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 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, 6 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.
PHP 1:7 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. 8
God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ
Jesus.
What is the most striking thing about this passage?
Can you tell how un-depressed Paul is? How much JOY he has?
“I thank my God”
“I always pray with joy”
“confident of this”
“have you in my heart”
“I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus”
Philippians is known as the epistle of joy. You cannot escape this theme as you
read through it – 16 times the word joy is used.
But here Paul is, in chains, getting on for 65, with failing eyesight and a pending
trial, by unbelievers, but the joy in him cannot be suppressed. Of course, the trials
are a burden, and Paul’s body has taken a serious beating.
It’s just phenomenal that he can be so joyful. But what’s so interesting is that his
joy in this passage is seeing God’s handiwork in the Philippians – God’s
fingerprints are all over the church. And I say this because in v3 he says,
V3: “I thank my God” – GOD HAS BEEN AT WORK
There’s a lot we could learn from this interaction between Paul and the
Philippians, but what we’ll do is just consider what Paul is seeing.
Follow with me as we look at 4 “fingerprints” – signs that God has been, and is, at
work, with the church.
And hopefully we will be encouraged to see these signs in our own church, or if
not, to repent and be the church God wants us to be
4. Four signs that God at working in the church
(repeat)
4.1.
Firstly, You are partnering in the gospel
POINT
God desires partners in His gospel.
“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”
PROOF
Partnership is espoused by God. The gospel itself draws believers into
one family. A church is not 1 person. It is the collection of believers.
In one sense every believer is a “partner IN the gospel” because the
gospel has put them in partnership.
In fact, Partnership is the same word for Fellowship- every born again
person enters into this partnership of the gospel (1 Cor 1:9).
1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the
fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
But in the clearer sense, partnership in the gospel really refers to
partnership for the sake of advancing the gospel. And this is what we’ve
seen with the Philippians and Paul.
Their story isn’t just a description of what happened, it’s an exhortation
for us to do the same. God expects his people to work together for the
advancing, the communication, of his gospel. We’ve all been given the
same commission in Matt 28 to go and make disciples, and we’ve all
been given the same Spirit, who gifts us to partner in this work – some of
us are evangelists, others are endowed with blessings to give, others with
gifts of administration, others to help… service in whatever manner
John refers to this idea that the church members are fellow workers of
the gospel
3 John 1:5-8
(5) Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these
brothers, strangers as they are,(6) who testified to your love before
the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a
manner worthy of God.
(7) For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting
nothing from the Gentiles.(8) Therefore we ought to support
people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the
truth.
PRACTICE
Knysna Baptist are fellow-workers for the truth – and we have a small
number of partnerships – we give to a few missionaries, we support TWR
with their broadcasts of the gospel, we support the BU.
But I believe we can do more. It’s not just a money thing – it’s a
partnering thing – and the illustration of the Philippians support for Paul
is encouraging, isn’t it?
There is a whole town, country and world out there with others who we
should be in closer partnership with. Hopefully in the near future, we’ll
be seeing more detail on the mission board about those who we support,
so that you can be more informed, and personally involved. And our plan
here is to get more involved in outreach in this area, alongside others
who are already doing it.
Partnership in the gospel is a sign of God’s handiwork. When we entrust
the little we have into His hands, He does marvellous works with us.
4.2.
You are showing definite spiritual life
POINT
Paul sees spiritual life happening within the Philippian believers
Paul says, that he is
confident of this, that he who began a good work in [them] will
carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
The good work that Paul refers to here is the good work that God works
within every person He saves – the work of salvation. And by watching
their outward behaviour, he can discern their inward renewal.
Salvation is not a once-off event that leaves a Christian as he or she is.
The Holy Spirit is the believer’s guarantee that they will be renewed day
by day to become more like Christ. And the fruit of the Spirit is displayed
day by day,
2Co 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the
Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of
glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
And the reason Paul is so confident, is he knows that the ultimate
salvation of the Spirit-indwelt believer is guaranteed when Christ
returns:
EPH 1:14 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you
were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is
a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those
who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.
So Paul has witnessed the fruit of their salvation, the fruit of the Spirit,
the attitude of Christ in their servanthood and humility, their gladness to
give for the sake of others. And seeing that fruit, he could identify the
Spirit in them, and therefore was confident that they would be kept until
the last day in Christ’s hands.
PRACTICE
This verse is a promise to us, it is a fact! And that is great comfort. God
is not a man that He changes His mind or performs a half-work. If He
has begun that work of salvation in you, you are saved, and He will not
let you go, until He comes to fetch you!
But this is also a challenge to us: because this internal renewal has its
fruit in the outward life – attitudes, thoughts, deeds…Is your life showing
spiritual life?
We should be seeing individual spiritual progress in the members of this
congregation. And having individual progress, there should be a general
spiritual growth of the church. When God is at work, there is definite
spiritual progress. But where it is not evident, you’re resisting His will, or
where it’s nonexistent and you can’t pinpoint any spiritual growth in
your life, there is probably only spiritual death. [[[Perhaps you need to
hear the word of truth – the gospel of your salvation, repent of your sin,
and come to Jesus, and receive the promise of Eternal life.]]]
Spiritual life is a sign of God’s handiwork. When we submit to His will He
transforms us into miracles of his grace!
4.3.
You are utterly dependent on God’s grace
Not only do the Philippians partake with Paul in the gospel in v5, but
they also partake with him in God’s grace in v7, as they go through trial
after trial with Paul, trying hard to advance the gospel
PHP 1:7 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
We’ve spoken before about that equipping grace – that internal God-given
power to persevere and continue living in His will.
Something implicit in this verse is that the Philippians shared with Paul
at great cost to themselves. They gave way more than their budget
would’ve allowed – and so they must’ve had to sacrifice some of their own
necessities. The church then didn’t have a bank account from which they
could loan – the church giving was the member’s pockets. Perhaps Lydia
went without bread for a month. And look at Epaphroditus – at their own
cost, here’s a man who travelled 800km’s by foot and boat to minister to
Paul, and worked himself to death.
But why could they do it? They could do it because they knew that God’s
grace was sufficient to meet their needs. As Jesus said, (Matt 6:31)
So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we
drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all
these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all
these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own.
Dependence on God’s grace reveals that it is actually God’s power, God
Himself who is performing the ministry. The day that we start forgetting
to rely on God and ask for His grace for this ministry is the day that this
becomes a man-made project and not a God-empowered ministry.
I face this every week in seemingly small dependence: preparing the
sermon, praying for the congregation. Your ministries, like hospital
visitation and food-distribution should be done with the same
dependence. But dependence on God’s grace also means that sometimes
we’ll be called to trust in God for the really seemingly impossible tasks. I
believe this happened with the building of this church. But take a look at
the Philippians… they did that for someone else’s church! And God might
very well put us in that situation! It’s GOD’s work – and GOD will provide
the means – physical, financial, mental.
Utter dependence is a sign of God’s handiwork.
4.4.
Lastly, you have a genuine love for your fellow
believers
“God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ
Jesus”
Paul had a very deep affection for his gospel-partners, and that is a great blessing
found in doing such gospel work. The affection here is that deep emotion that
actually has physical side-effects in your stomach – something experienced only
with closest friends and special times.
Those who step out and give themselves, entrusting their livelihood to God,
experience Christ’s body – his comfort and care – through other believers who
have given themselves to partnership. And this creates an exceptionally strong
bond. If you’ve ever been in ministry and been dependant on financial support, it
is very humbling to see people contributing out of their own small change to help
you out.
There is a deep relationship here between people which wouldn’t be there
otherwise, but for their fellowship from the gospel, and their partnership for the
gospel, they find brothers and sisters who stick closer than a friend, like
Epaphroditus. And this is what Paul is referring to.
Paul calls it the affection of Christ Jesus – doesn’t that tell you something about
Christ’s affections for His brothers and sisters, the children of God?
The love that we are called to in the 2nd greatest commandment is a self-giving
sacrificial love, not an affectionate love. But I’ve observed that when enough of
that sacrificial love is poured out, this affectionate love cannot be stopped. I’m
sure when Paul arrived in Philippi the first time, he loved them sacrificially. But
after the years, the deep affection had grown too.
There’s a rich reward waiting for us if we would just be faithful to genuinely
loving our fellow believers. Both within and without these walls. Knysna Baptist
needs to love their fellow believers, in the way that Paul loved the Philippians,
and the way that Christ loved His own.