Monday Night @ First B Aug 15th (The book of Philipians)
August 16, 2021 · Carl · Philippians
Scripture referenced 4 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Philippians 1:1-11 primary text read aloud and expounded throughout the sermon
1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ; To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and servants:
2 Grace to you, and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God whenever I remember you,
4 always in every request of mine on behalf of you all, making my requests with joy,
5 for your partnership in furtherance of the Good News from the first day until now;
6 being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
7 It is even right for me to think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart, because, both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, you all are partakers with me of grace.
8 For God is my witness, how I long after all of you in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus.
9 This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment;
10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ;
11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse
Luke 12:7
quoted to show God knows us by name and we are more valuable than sparrows
7 But the very hairs of your head are all counted. Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Colossians 3:14-15
closing words spoken about clothing yourselves with love and letting the peace of Christ rule
14 Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Philippians 4:6
congregation member referenced it from memory as be anxious for nothing but with prayer and supplication
6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Carl opened the first night of a Monday-evening series through Philippians by working through the letter's opening eleven verses. His central question was simple: what is joy, where does it come from, and why does Paul have so much of it while writing from prison? The answer he kept returning to was that joy is not happiness tied to circumstances, but the conscious awareness of God's grace and presence in a person's life.
What was said
Paul's greeting in verse two, "grace and peace," set the tone for the whole evening. Pastor Carl pointed out that for Paul these were not generic pleasantries. Grace, as he described it, is the awareness that we are deeply loved by God and have done nothing to earn or deserve it. Peace is God's gift of wholeness regardless of circumstances, the same wholeness Horatio Spafford was reaching for when he wrote "It Is Well with My Soul" out of devastating personal loss.
The thanksgiving section that follows, verses three through five, shows Paul giving thanks and praying with joy even from prison. Pastor Carl drew a simple application from that: there is always something to be thankful for, and it is often in the hardest moments that we see most clearly what those things are. Paul's specific gratitude was for his partners in spreading the good news, and that theme of partnership ran through the rest of the teaching.
Verse six was the anchor of the evening. "I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day that Jesus returns." Pastor Carl came back to this verse more than once, pressing the congregation to be genuinely assured by it rather than just familiar with it. He noted that God works through every circumstance, the good and the bad, and even works in spite of us when we are not cooperating, the way he kept working even through Jonah.
Verses seven and eight shifted into personal affection. Paul tells the church in Philippi they have a special place in his heart. Pastor Carl said the same to First B directly, and tied it to the larger point: Paul's joy is so full that it keeps spilling out, first onto his circumstances, then onto his prayers, and now onto his love for the people he is writing to.
The prayer in verses nine through eleven pulled everything together. Pastor Carl explained that the knowledge Paul prays for is not information but firsthand relational experience of Jesus, and that understanding means discernment, being able to see through the haze and recognize what actually matters. What actually matters, he said, is a relationship with Jesus, because it is only his righteousness credited to us that can make anyone pure and blameless. The fruit of salvation in verse eleven is the righteous character of Jesus being produced in a believer's life.
He closed his remarks by framing the whole introduction this way: happiness depends on happenings and we spend our days chasing it, but joy runs deeper. Joy is the presence of Jesus, and Philippians shows that it is possible to have that deep, settled joy in the worst of times because it does not depend on where you are or what is happening to you. Paul writing from a Roman prison and overflowing with joy onto every page of the letter was, for Pastor Carl, the clearest possible proof of that.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Carl defined joy as 'the quiet, confident assurance of God's love and work in our lives that he will be here no matter what,' and said joy is not the absence of pain but the presence of Jesus. How does that sit with you compared to how you normally think about joy?
- Paul wrote from prison that he gave thanks to God every time he thought of the church in Philippi. Carl asked whether there is always something to be thankful for even in hard circumstances. Where have you found that to be true, or where do you struggle to believe it?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 6,122 words
Alright. I think good evening, everybody. Glad to see you. Really glad to see you. Yeah.
I'm I'm thankful to be here, and welcome to another Monday night. And can we give Naomi a big hand for man. That's seriously, Naomi, that was so awesome. And there is a lot of leftovers, and there are leftover boxes. Would you please take some home for lunch tomorrow?
Please, please, please. Those salads are great. They remind me of Minnesota at home. I like it. So we're starting the book of Philippians on Monday night.
My favorite book of the Bible right now. It was Colossians. Now it's Philippians, and it is conversation style. And this room is a perfect sized room for the conversation part of it at the end. So if there's a favorite verse, a little word of encouragement, small word testimony relating to to Philippians tonight, Please take a mental note of it so that we can, you know, we can have we can encourage one another here at the end.
But before we get there, what do you say we we worship in song together? One announcement. Thank you, Blake. I've almost forgot this is Nancy Tirasiano has set up this dinner and a movie on Friday nights. You can read it.
I won't. But just know that this this is happening here, and I think it'll be a sweet time. You can't go wrong with the the chosen series. It is it is really, really good, and it's well done. The best I've seen.
So should we stand and sing together? Always. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God, it is indeed. I think of that verse often.
It says, even when we are faith faithless, you are faith full. God, thank you for your faithfulness, true, your loving kindness, the that you know us by name. God, thank you for your presence here with us too. I think of Philippians tonight and just what where is it that we find true joy? And it's knowing you.
It's it's in your presence is where we find true joy. So, God, would we have a a greater awareness of your presence? And as we worship you, God, that we would be, just free from any hindrances that that would, would would cause us, to not to not come to you just with with all of who we are, everything. In Jesus' name. Amen.
So, I love Jesus as the good shepherd. That's always always resonated with me. But I want you to hear this from from Jesus and Luke. He says, and the very hairs on your head are numbered. He knows exactly.
Some more than others. Right? But he says, don't be afraid for you are far more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows, he says to us. And I thank you for your loving care, your kindness, and your generosity toward us, your mercy, your grace, your favor in our direction. Again, Lord, I the word joy just keeps coming up over and over and over again in my mind that it's it's it's not it's it's not happiness where it depends on our happenings.
Joy depends on on knowing you and having a relationship with you. Amen. Amen. Let's sing one more song. Amen.
You can have a seat here for a moment. I I got just a little introduction video I wanna share.
How do we grow? By strength or resolve? Can we make it so? Can we shape the course of our lives according to our purpose and designs? Or add a single hour to the measure of our time?
How can we ever venture into what is unknown when we are incapable of the smallest change on our own? Looking back over the span of our lives, are one who can do do it. Do the Lord has also watered and will refine every part. It is his intention to give it growth. Until it comes to fruition, he has sealed it with his hope that he who began this good work in you will see it through.
In this lies our hope, not in what we do. But we do not grow alone. Our roots are intertwined one with another so that your strength is mine. While we wait in expectation, no growth can be seen. The tender shoots that so quickly spring up must grow strong, lest they remain frail and green.
Would we be overwhelmed by perils in store that his timing seeks to prepare us for? Let us endure our trials with patience, for it's in his goodness that we trust and hold fast to our commitment, resting in his faithfulness to us. His goal is for our good. On this, our assurance falls that he who began this good work will surely make it grow tall.
I really like that poem that she that she read, and I let me just read part of it again. She she said, how do we grow? By our own strength and resolve, can we make it so? Can we shape the course of our lives according to our purpose and designs. Looking back over the span of our lives, we can see the marks that testify to how far we've come, to how far we've grown, how much of his grace we've been shown.
The seed that he's planted in our heart, the Lord has also watered, and he will refine every part. He who began the good work will surely make it grow tall. I just think that's that is well well written, well said. One of the key verses from Philippians tonight is, I am certain, this is Paul speaking, I'm certain that God who began the good work within you will continue his work until it is finally finished when Jesus comes again. So I wanna say, let's be assured, church, of this, that God has began the good work in us.
God is continuing the good, ongoing, work in progress, the good work. And he's going to finish that good work when Jesus returns. No doubt about it. God is working in all things, in all places, in every circumstances, the good and the bad. The good and the bad.
And what Philippians shows us is that we can have here it is. We can have real joy in all of it. And that might sound absurd, but it's absolutely true. We can have joy in suffering. We can have joy in serving.
We can have joy in believing. We can have joy in giving. Philippians is a book about joy. And real quick, because joy comes up so much in in this book, a quick definition, okay, is the awareness of God's grace, his favor. K?
It is grace recognized. That's what joy is. When we recognize, experience the grace of God, that's joy. That's where joy comes from. Here's here's another way to say it right here.
Joy is the quiet, confident assurance of God's love and work in our lives that he will be here no matter what. Okay? And here's even another way to say it right here. Whereas happiness depends on happenings, joy depends on Christ. And I I've just been thinking about this all day today.
What is joy? What is joy? Where does it come from? And joy is not the absence of pain or suffering. Joy is the presence of Jesus.
And that's what I keep seeing in Philippians over and over again because Paul's writing from prison. Like, in that in prisons, they're they're not they're not they weren't great. It wasn't a great place to go to be, but even so, he had this confident assurance, and you can see it all throughout the letter. It's written all over those pages of God's love and work in his life, and then that God would do the same in that church in Philippi. And I might add that God is doing the same here at first b.
This is present and ongoing. Here here's another little quote Tim said. Paul saw his life as a reenactment of Jesus' story. His awareness of Jesus' love and presence gave him hope and humility, knowing Jesus is deeply personal and transformative. I think that's a really good summary of Philippians.
You go, what is the book of really of Philippians all about? It's it's really there. That's a fantastic summary. And my hope for me as we as we go through this book is that it would show us, we too. Put your name in there.
You know, Carl too. You too can have the quiet, confident assurance of God's love and his work in our lives that he is with us no matter what, and the good stuff and the bad stuff. So that being said, I'd like to read just the first 11 verses. It's Paul's greeting, thanksgiving, and prayer. It's just the intro.
I'd like to read it through, share a few thoughts of my own, and then open it up for conversation. So, again, take note of any verse, little word of encouragement, something that has spoke to you, maybe a little word of testimony that that that you thought of as you as you hear these verses. So here's what it says. This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Jesus of Christ Jesus. I'm writing to all of God's holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and the deacons.
Okay? May God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make requests for, for you with joy. For you've been my partners in spreading the good news about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.
Key verse here. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day that Jesus returns. Verse seven. So it's right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the good news.
God knows how much I love you, and I long for you with the tender compassion of Jesus. Verse nine. I pray that your love will overflow more and more and that you'll keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. Verse 11.
May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation, the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus, for this will bring much glory and praise to God. So there's the introduction. I'm gonna stop there for now, pray, share a few thoughts, and then open it up. Okay? God, thank you for this book.
I I know I need to hear it right now. And I pray that you would speak to us in a way that, would would reach each each one of us. And that might be in in different ways, but you're saying the same thing here in in Philippians to all of us. And I pray that it would break through, that it would capture our hearts, that it would capture our minds. In Jesus' name, amen.
So what really struck me in this intro to Philippians this time around studied the book before, but I see different things. And this time was that joy, that recognition of God's love and work in Paul's life, it's just spilling out all over the pages. That's what really caught my attention. I thought, this guy's joy from prison is spilling out all over the pages of this book. And so what that tells me is that joy doesn't depend on circumstances.
That's what it tells me. Joy doesn't depend on circumstances, good or bad. It depends on a relationship with Jesus. That I mean, it's just pouring out. It's spilling over.
I think verse 11 makes, these these verse these 11 verses make a great case for it. So starting with verse two, here here's his intro. May God our father, Lord Jesus Christ, give you grace and peace, and we thank. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. I heard that before in your other letters. No. I know I talk about grace a lot, but it is so important. So Brennan Manning has this quote right here, and it says, for grace proclaims the awesome truth that all is a gift.
All that is good is ours, not by right, but by the sheer bounty of a gracious God. My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus, and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it. Feel like that is a beautiful definition of grace. Paul's saying, church in Philippi. I'm a say church in in at first break first b.
May God give us more of that, the awareness that we are deeply loved by God, and we've done nothing to earn it or deserve it. Just by sheer bounty and goodness. He loves us. Period. Then peace, God's gift of wholeness no matter the circumstances, good or bad.
That's part of the greeting. Peace is God's gift of wholeness. That makes us whole. You've heard the the hymn, it is well with my soul. Listen to these lyrics again.
When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot just think about that for a second. Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well. It's well with my soul. Horatio Spafford wrote those words out of deep anguish and loss and trial and hardship and pain. It was an awful time.
When Paul leads off with grace and peace, just let's know this is more than just a generic greeting, that he really found this himself in Christ. In his own life, he knew this very, very well, the grace of God and the peace of God, and now it's just spilling out onto that church. Verse three, next, he gives thanks. Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. What I love about this is he's in prison.
Even from there, he's he's thankful. He's finding a reason to be thankful. Real life application. There's always something to be thankful for. There's always something to be thankful for.
Even in trials, even in hardship, even in pain, there's something to be thankful for. In fact and you found this to be true. I know that you have, and I have too. It's those trials that often help us to see more clearly what we're actually thankful for. So I'd like to pray just on that that thought for just a moment if if I if we could, God, that we would be thankful.
I know that in this room right now, there are things that are happening in our lives. They think, how could I possibly be thankful for that? It doesn't mean we're thankful that that's that thing, whatever that is, is happening, but we can be thankful in that situation. Not for it, but in it. We can be thankful.
God, would you give us the presence of mind to recognize your grace, to recognize your favor, to recognize what we can be thankful for. In Jesus' name. Amen. So verse four, and when he prayed, he made his request with joy, it says. Again, he is so filled up.
This is what I'm seeing in Philippians today. He is so filled up with Jesus that joy came spilling out. It's just like he couldn't help it even from there. Joy runs so much deeper. That's what I'm seeing in here.
Joy runs so much deeper than just happiness. And what is he thankful for? Verse five. He's thankful for his partners in spreading the good news about Jesus. Here's a thought.
Isn't it good to know that we are not in this alone? I think that every time I step foot in this church and we and and we congregate together, I I I think to myself, we're partners. We're partners. I'm not doing this alone. We are collecting collectively doing this together.
And it gives me the the courage to be able to keep showing up and showing up because it can be a discouraging thing sometimes to be a believer in Jesus. Right? And you think, why does it you know, that person doesn't care, and they don't care, and this is no. We're not alone. We're these little lights.
And the more we move together, the brighter we get. It's pretty awesome. And I just wanna tell you, I'm I'm thankful for you. And I'm thankful for how God has wired each and every one of you uniquely with different gifts on purpose so that then we would use them together as the body. The church is a beautiful thing.
Thank the Lord they're not all my personality. That'd be just awful to me, I think. There's there should not be a lot of Carls in the church. You know? One is enough, and I'm really thankful for each one of your gifts and how you contribute to the body.
I just wanna tell you that. Verse six, key verse tonight. I'm certain that God who began the good work within you will continue his work until it's finally finished on the day that Jesus returns. And I just wanna say again, be assured of it. God has begun the good work.
God is continuing the good work that he's doing in you, in me, present, ongoing, and he is going to finish that work when Jesus comes again. I don't know about for you, but for me, I find a lot of comfort in that verse, that God is writing the story of our lives. He's writing it. And you know what? In the good and the bad, he's writing it.
He's working through us. God's even working in spite of us when we're when we're like, Jonah, no thanks. I'm not going there. I don't wanna join you in what you're doing. God still works.
He's still working it out, and he's gonna finish it. I wanna pray and and just pause on that verse as well, God, that we would join that we would join you in the work that you are doing. You are using all of our life experiences, every one of them. The tragic, the hard, the annoying, the good, every bit of it. You don't waste anything, and I'm thankful that you don't.
I thank for you thank you, God, for the way that you repair and restore. You bring us and you draw us back to yourself even when we wander away. God, that we would trust that you are doing the work in us, that you are continuing the work in us, and that you will finish the work in us. But, God, that we would be instruments in your hands. Amen.
Then verses seven and eight. This is this is just where he gets very, very personal. He shares how much he loves them. He's saying, church, I love you. You have a very, very special place in my heart.
And I say the same right here to you at first speaks. You have a very special place in my heart. Again, this joy of Paul's is just spilling on over. Then nine through 11, here's his pray for his prayer for them. That their love their love, God's self giving, others focused love, preferring what God prefers, would overflow more and more.
Just like Paul's love is overflowing onto them, he's saying that your love would overflow more and more and that they'll keep on growing in knowledge. What is knowledge? Knowledge is firsthand experience. It's firsthand experience of a relationship with Jesus. That's the kind of knowledge he's telling them to grow in or praying that they would grow in.
Their firsthand knowledge of knowing Jesus and understanding. Well, what's understanding? That's discernment. Being able to see through the haze that they could see clearly, size things up, that they could see what God intended them to see. So knowledge, love, knowledge, understanding.
Why does he pray this? Check out verse 10. It's because he wants them to understand what really matters. And what really matters? It's having a relationship with Jesus.
That's what really matters. Believing in his life, his death, his resurrection, his ascension, but also following after him, trusting that work. That is the only thing that can make us pure and blameless. Because we look at that and go, pure and blameless? Really?
Really? At least I do. I look at that and go, I'm anything but pure and blameless. Just follow me around for a day. No.
The only thing that can make us pure and blameless in the sight of God when Jesus returns is knowing Jesus, is believing in his work, his life, his death, his resurrection, his ascension, that we are forgiven in him. That's his righteousness. That's how we can be righteous. Ending with verse 11. Here's the last verse here.
May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation. Okay. What does that mean? It means this. It's the righteous character of Jesus.
The righteous character produced in our lives by Jesus. That's the fruit of our salvation. So in other words, let me just I I wanna simplify because I need it simplified for me. He's saying, be filled with him. Look to him.
Love like him. Grow in your knowledge and understanding of him. He's the one who makes you righteous. That's where true and that's where true joy is found. Again, this really hit me square that happiness depends on happenings.
And we chase it. Right? We chase it all day. But joy, deep down, in your recognizing God's favor in our lives, joy. That depends on Jesus.
And be assured, just bringing it full circle, one more slide here, that God who began the good work in us, he's continuing that work, and he's going to finish it until Jesus comes when Jesus comes again. Whatever and wherever that work is, and the really hard stuff and the really good stuff and all of it, we can have joy. It is possible to have joy. We can recognize the grace of God as we grow in the knowledge and understanding of him, and we're being filled with his righteous character. So that's the introduction to Philippians.
For me, it's and I'll and I I just wanna speak personally. For me, it's beginning to it's beginning to form a view of joy that I didn't have before. I think I always kinda thought of joy as happiness. That is just and it really did depend on on happenings. So if things were good, then I feel happy.
I feel joy. But what I see in here is we can actually have a deep down in your gut kind of joy even in the worst of times because we are consciously aware and present in Jesus. It let me let me say that again. We can have joy because we know Jesus' presence in our lives. Thanks.
So I'm gonna stop for right there for now, and I wanna hear your thoughts on it too. If there is a verse from Philippians one one through 11, little word of encouragement, or even a short testimony of how these verses relate to your life, I'd love for you to share it and just encourage the church here. But before you do, I'd like to to pray first. God, I thank you again for showing us that true joy depends on you, depends on knowing you, Jesus. And I wanna pray as Paul did for first b, that our love here at first b would overflow more and more, that we'll keep on growing in knowledge and understanding, that we would be filled with the righteous character produced in our lives by Jesus.
But all of this, really, Lord, it depends on knowing you, walking with you, having a relationship with you. And you are approachable. Don't let us forget it. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Alright. So would anybody like to share just a a little a verse, a word of encouragement, or a verse that that stuck out, to them from the from Philippians one through 11? You don't have to. It it it speaks for itself. We could just read it and go home.
But if there was, I'd love for you to be able to share it. Blake's got a microphone. It's just for those who are who are listening at home.
Carl, I like this verse that you have up here. But even before that, the song that we were singing, I see the evidence of your goodness all over all over my life, and it really struck me because you said a verse that stuck with you or a little bit of a testimony. So I'll I'll give a little bit of both. But right now, there's so much change in my life, and it's hard. And there's moments that are really tough lately.
And I come into this service and I hear those lyrics. I see the evidence of your goodness all over my life, and it's almost can can bring me to tears, and it's overwhelming because, gosh, there's some big upheaval and change in my life, and everybody has it in their life. But there sure is a lot of blessings and a lot of goodness that I don't deserve, and I see that evidence all over my life. And it's amazing to be reminded of it every once in a while. And then going into this verse that you have here, I'm certain that God who began the good work within you, and that's not evidence.
God has began the work. There's evidence of it and blessings throughout my life. And then the encouragement through those hard times is the second part of that verse. You'll continue he will continue those blessings, that good work, that love, that grace, until it's finally finished. And that's the other part of that song too.
I see the evidence of your goodness all over my life. You're still gonna have hard times. And then the next part is what is that? I see the promises of fulfillment. Yep.
So evidence of your goodness is that good work that he began. Promises of fulfillment is that he will finish his work. Amen. Thank you, Blake. That's encouraging.
Appreciate that. Any others? Any others from Philippians?
The whole book, it's dear to me, honestly. When I was young and I used to memorize the the whole book. I love this book so much. I don't remember much now. I'm getting old.
I really love verse 11. The hope as I said, the whole book, it's good. But verse 11 to me, love it. May you always be filled with the fruit of salvation, the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ. For this will bring much glory and and praise to God.
Although Paul is in prison right now at the time he's writing this, he he's more concerned about the people that they would understand the love of God, that they would understand that beautiful, relationship with Christ, which is, as pastor Carl said, it doesn't matter the circumstances where we are, but what really matter is that that understanding, that clear mind, clear work of the Holy Spirit that happens in our lives, when that happens, then we can understand the thankfulness that comes from Jesus Christ. And only only through Jesus we can be filled with the righteous, the righteous character produced in your life, and this will be much glory this will bring much glory and praise to God. May we be those beautiful instruments in this world, in this community, at work, whenever we are, that we understand that the the work of the Holy Spirit, not only that it's for our benefit first, that we we get to experience Christ in our life, but also we can show others around us that Christ is real in our lives. Our testimony is so important to to that level where we can reach others, and we can say Christ is the way, the truth, the life.
And because what is happening in my life, that's happening because he does the work in my life. Amen. Amen. Yeah. Yeah.
That was so good. And that to me, that was really convicting, Florian, that, you know, everything was outwardly focused in this letter. You know, whereas I tend to do this and look at my belly button. He's looking out. Well, he's first looking up, and then he's looking out toward the church too.
And I thought, oh, I've got a long way to go here, but that's that's where he's at. And I think that's the goal. Yep. To get there, where we're looking up and we're looking out rather than just in that prison or whatever it is that we're in right now. Amen.
Yep. I don't remember the the quote exactly, but that quote that you put over there, that Paul really took that serious call that he said, I'm continuous work of what Christ did in my life.
He's doing the same work through me now. Right. If we get that level of understanding that, Lord, whatever is happening in my life, it can be effective in your kingdom of God right now to those around me, I think that's when the the power of the Holy Spirit can be fruitful in our lives. Mhmm.
You know? Any other comments? Any other comments?
So what stood out to me was verse three. Mhmm. And I thank God every time I remember you, and it just made me think of how often do I thank God for the people he brings into my life Yeah. In different seasons. The last few years, I've kind of been moving around a lot.
So in all those seasons, though, I've had a really great community supporting me where I was, and God obviously brought that to me. So it just made me think to be thankful for the people that he puts in your life
Amen. At different times. Yep. That's that's a great comment and so important too, Connie. Just this week, I heard from, you know, Paco and Didi.
Paco and Didi. And I I thought of that verse as I thought of them that when I make my requests for you, they're with joy because I think of them. And just to think of them and knowing them, it gives me it gives me joy. And then he was able to tell me specifically, what to pray for, which was, they don't have a a church just in their in their community. And that's hard for us to imagine.
We've got all sorts of churches here, great churches here. And and I think there's not even there's not even one or a good friend and a good mentor. In fact, I'd like to pray for them right now, if I may. God, we do pray for Paco and Didi and Elijah and, their community that they're, that they're in right now. They are starving, God, for commit the spiritual community and encouragement.
What we have right here, that's what they really want there. And we pray that you would supply those others those other believers that you would connect them together so that they can have that sweet, rich fellowship that we get to have right here in this room. In Jesus' name. Amen. Yeah.
Any others? Any others? Have you got one, Judy?
And You're on. I just what I struggle with lately is just worrying about everybody else Uh-huh. To the point of it just being ridiculous. Yeah. I mean, my family, my kids, my grandkids.
Sure. And it's just so this is just such a good reminder. And then I know soon in Philippians, it'll be be anxious for nothing but with everything. My parents' supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And we just have to trust God Yeah.
More. I mean, because we it doesn't do us any good to worry about things. Yeah. But that's what I struggle with. And I it's a terrible thing.
Hope I get over Listen. I can relate 100%.
I hope I get over it someday. I'm getting pretty old.
Blake and I got to have a little bike ride today today together, and you you brought up the the verse, Blake, where Jesus says, why why worry about tomorrow? You know, what will worrying about tomorrow accomplish? Today has enough worry of its own. Any others?
Just to follow-up on the last two comments about praying for others and praying for your community. I think praying the scriptures is also really important in verse nine. I pray this for my family. And verse nine says, and this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment.
I mean, isn't it great that when I go, I don't even know what to pray for. It gives us exactly what to pray for. Pray for love and the knowledge and discernment. So good. Thank you for the conversation tonight.
I appreciate Andrew, you got a comment too. Thank you. I think what resonated with me the most is that no no matter where we are in our faith journey, in our journey to Christ and to God, is that God's always working in us is never gonna give up on us. Right. And if we have a bad week of of faith and really feeling down and not reading our bibles and and and not really connecting, he's still gonna be there for us to pick up the pieces and and to to believe in us and and continue to to push forward.
Yep. And so and and I think it was verse six where it says, he's working in you. He's gonna continue to work in you until Christ returns, I think, is ultimate encouragement for us to push forward no matter where we are in our journey. Amen. I agree.
I agree. And I think what struck me this week is that he's working he's working in us and even in spite of us when when we check out or we're not we're not walking in obedience and we're not yielding our will. He's still working. So good night, Joni. Love you.
She's gotta catch a bus. Well, thanks. Should we should we end in, one more song together? In fact, let's let's call an audible here and evidence, I think. I'd love to end with the song evidence again because I feel like that one's really fitting.
Alright. You wanna stand with me? We'll sing it. God, you have shown your faithfulness in our lives up to this point. Why should we not believe that you wouldn't carry us this all the way through until it is complete when you return?
Thank you, God, that we are a work in progress. Would you remind us that of would you remind us of that this week as we go along, that you are absolutely with us, that you are absolutely working, that you began the work, that you're continuing that work, that you are going to finish that good work. And when we get discouraged, Holy Spirit, I pray that you would fill us up again with your presence so that we would experience real joy, and that's knowing you. In Jesus' name, amen. Above all, clothe yourselves with love.
It binds us together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body, we're called to live in peace and always be thankful. Amen. And please grab some food on the way out.
We've got to go boxes, and there's lots of Stromboli and salad, and, I'd love for you to take some home.
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