WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:01.760 Well, good evening. 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:07.839 I'd invite you to take your Bible and turn with me to Philippians, book of Philippians, chapter one. 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:14.160 We'll be looking at four verses this evening, verses three through six. 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:31.039 Shortly after Royal and I uh moved to the house in Maple Drive, we started to have a little bit of a difference of opinion. 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:34.799 We had the exterior painted. 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:39.039 I chose the color, and I swore it was blue. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:43.920 But Royal, when she looked at it, she said, that's not blue, that's gray. 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:52.719 And uh, we kind of left off the discussion about that just uh agreeing to disagree about what color the house actually was. 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:56.079 I still think it's blue, she still thinks it's gray. 00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:00.799 Have you ever had those moments where you see something and you've got a particular perspective about it? 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:04.799 Somebody else is looking at the exact same thing and they think differently about it. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:06.879 Well, that was one of those. 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:18.959 And there's often those optical illusions that uh sometimes you run across, uh, like the Necker's cube, which is this transparent cube, a little wire-framed cube. 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:24.640 And as it sits there, you think, well, which is the face that's actually pointing at me, right? 00:01:25.040 --> 00:01:34.879 Or are the Rubens base where if you look at it at a certain point in time, it it looks like a goblet, but when you look at it again, it looks like two faces, right? 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:39.840 So how how your brain switches from one perspective to another. 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:44.719 Well, we're gonna be looking at Philippians chapter 1, verses 3 to 6. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:58.640 And it's one of those passages that opens up very much like a conventional opening in a letter, particularly in Paul's day, with a greeting, a thanksgiving, uh, with a bit of a report, and then the body of the letter. 00:01:58.879 --> 00:02:03.439 And these verses are the the the Thanksgiving's portion of it. 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:11.280 And you would probably just read that like you might read any introduction uh to a letter. 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:21.680 For those of you that are under 20, people used to write things on paper and stick them in an envelope and put this thing called a stamp on them. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:23.759 And there's a mailbox. 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:28.879 You could actually walk to a mailbox, and three or four days later, people would get that. 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:31.120 That's it's just an amazing thing. 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:39.280 But that greeting and that first word, sometimes you think, well, those are just the perfunctory words that we we often say. 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:41.039 Do we really, really mean them? 00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:45.360 We we got to fill it in there before we get to the real stuff that we want to talk about. 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:55.439 It might be easy to look at verses three to six and think of it just like that, to read it quickly, say, look, I just want to dive into the theological stuff that's there in the book of Philippians. 00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:57.759 I want to get right into the meat of it all. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:02:59.759 I would encourage you not to do that. 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:12.000 I'd like for you to see this as more than just a perfunctory prayer or just a movement from the greetings down into the meat of it, which is going to be later in the book of Philippians. 00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:22.000 Because if you stop with this, just like you might with a Nectar's cube or Reuben's uh vase, you're gonna see it from a different perspective. 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:27.199 And if you see it from this different perspective, it's going to do two revolutionary things for you. 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:32.879 You're going to find that it gives you a theology of relationships that'll enrich your life. 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:39.199 And secondly, it will offer you a promise that can hold you through the deepest of times. 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:57.280 But in the midst of this, I want us to see how Paul lays out his relationship with the Philippian church in the middle of being in prison, where he is obviously in difficulty and his life is tenuous, and yet in the midst of it, he's a joyful person. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:02.560 And so I think here in verses three to six, we find some of that as well. 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:11.360 How we might find within our relationships opportunities to be joyful people, even if our circumstances are not good. 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:13.919 So let's read these verses together. 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:27.600 I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership and the gospel from the first day until now. 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:36.560 I'm sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:42.319 The prayer, the joy in this prayer doesn't come automatically. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:53.600 In these four verses, we see that the joy grows out of something, that it has three roots that nurture and bring about the joy that's found here. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:57.040 And this evening I want us to see where this joy comes from. 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:08.879 And it comes, first of all, from a gratitude that remembers well, and then secondly, a partnership that goes deep, and then third, a confidence that will not be moved. 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:14.480 So we're going to hang our look at joy within the context of those three thoughts. 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:22.399 And the first is this that the prayer of joy is born out of a heart of gratitude that remembers well. 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:24.959 And verses three and four give us that. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:33.279 I give thanks to my God in every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer. 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:36.720 Now, notice what Paul says there. 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:41.920 Every remembrance of you, to give thanks. 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:58.959 I have a lot of friends that I have a lot of great times with, but there are with friendships, there's always those moments where you think, I'm not sure I'm really grateful about that episode or that conversation or that moment. 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:07.920 There's always those things that you could bring into your thoughts about anyone in your life and say, that was a rough moment. 00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:12.399 That was a difficult conversation, that was that one stung. 00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:21.519 But here, Paul writes and he says, I am thankful for you in every remembrance of you. 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:33.439 Not just the good ones, not just the encouraging moments, not just the generous gifts that he had received from them, and not just the letters that had arrived just at the right time. 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:36.399 Every remembrance. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:07:09.680 In the middle of prison, in the middle of loss, in the middle of difficulty, in the middle of opposition, where his name is being sort of smeared even by people who are professing believers and preaching that they might add to his imprisonment, and to say nothing to those who are in direct opposition to him, or those who are going to stand in judgment of him. 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:14.399 And in the middle of this, you find his heart moving to gratitude. 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:18.480 The circumstances aren't dictating what's happening to his heart. 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:29.279 And then he says that this thankfulness, which moves to joy, happens in always in every prayer. 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:36.800 This is a natural expression of a relationship that runs deep. 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:44.879 This is not a spiritual discipline that he has to force himself into. 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:56.480 This is not the Philippians, sort of two-thirds of the way down a list where he kind of at after a long morning of praying just goes, uh, well, Lord, you see the rest of this, and here's these people with all their needs. 00:07:56.560 --> 00:08:01.600 Uh, please take my prayer list and do something with it, you know, like some people have done. 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:06.240 He is offering prayers for them with gratitude. 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:10.560 And whenever he prays, they come up. 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:13.360 And he mentions the joy here. 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:14.560 We saw that, right? 00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:16.399 A prayer with joy. 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:25.199 I'm gonna I'm gonna steal a little bit of uh a thought from Mike Serenano's message next week because he's gonna bring us into verse seven. 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:27.839 So I'm just gonna I'm just gonna pull in a little bit of verse seven. 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:28.800 Is that okay, Mike? 00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:29.759 Can I do that? 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:33.120 Here's here's where the gratitude comes from. 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:36.000 Here's where the remembrance comes from. 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:39.039 This is why he's always joyful in verse seven. 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:45.200 He said, It's right for me to think this way about you, because I have you in my heart. 00:08:48.720 --> 00:09:09.519 The word in Greek for heart, cardia, is not how we often think of heart, you know, like a junior high student dotting their eyes with little hearts, or um Valentine's Day with little hearts, or watching the Bugs Bunny fall in love and the hearts kind of floating up in the cartoon. 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:21.440 When we use the word cardia or heart, we're talking about the seed of consciousness, that very center of mind, of thought, of will, of emotion. 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:27.919 Um, one of my seminary professors said it's the mission control center, it's the real us. 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:32.799 And Paul is saying that the Philippians reside there. 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:36.960 And that's why he's always thankful for them. 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:40.240 And that's why he's always praying for them. 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:51.840 Because he can't step out of himself and leave them because they they are right there in the innermost part of who they are. 00:09:53.440 --> 00:10:03.519 And he's saying, I carry you with me, I think about you always, I feel for everything that you feel, I I want all that's best for you. 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:16.799 And when you hold people that way, when they're genuinely that close to who you are, thinking about them is not a duty, it's actually quite a delight. 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:22.240 And so here he is praying for them and grateful for them. 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:40.399 And this is the first root of Paul's joy, is by being in such a close-knit relationship with the Philippian church that just the very thought of them prompts and provokes a perspective of joy in his heart. 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:57.120 And that's an encouragement to us, but it perhaps could be even a challenge to us because it's easy to look at something like verse three and talk about praying for somebody, but still have them at somewhat of an emotional distance. 00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:01.200 We could even say to a stranger, I'm praying for you. 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:15.120 But Paul is saying to pray for you and to be joyful about you and to be always concerned for you and to be grateful in every moment, it's easy to do because you're right here. 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:31.279 And so, just a question to present ourselves: are we cultivating, and by we I mean each of us individually and all of us collectively, are we cultivating that kind of depth of a relationship with the Lord's people? 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:45.600 To where we might be able to say, absolutely, I have a number of people that are right there, they're in my heart, the very depth of who I am. 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:52.720 So Paul's joyful perspective flows out of a prayer of gratitude. 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:58.399 Paul's heart of joy also is born out of a deep partnership. 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:00.480 We can see this in verse five. 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:06.559 He said, Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:12.879 And he uses a word there, which we translate partnership or fellowship, koinonia. 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:16.480 And it appears in verse five, and it also appears in verse seven. 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:22.480 And Paul is using this to talk about their partnership together in the gospel. 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:30.720 When we use the word fellowship, we're often thinking about enjoying a pleasant conversation with somebody over lunch. 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:33.360 Maybe we should get lunch and have some fellowship. 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:40.799 Or even people talk about their place where they put all the banquet tables and say that's the fellowship hall, right? 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:50.080 As though fellowship was wrapped around a buffet and some good food and a sort of a small conversation around the tables. 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:54.720 Or we might think of fellowship as coffee after a church service. 00:12:55.039 --> 00:12:57.759 This is not what Paul's talking about here. 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:06.240 Paul is not saying that his joy for the Philippians is rooted in the fact that they simply have pleasant company with one another. 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:08.720 It goes way deeper than that. 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:10.559 Listen to what it says here. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:11.679 Look at what it says there. 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:20.480 It says, your partnership or your fellowship in the gospel from the first day even to now. 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:26.960 This is not pleasant company, fellowship in general. 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:36.159 This is a partnership in the gospel from the very first day that the gospel took root in Philippi. 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:43.440 Now you might remember in Acts chapter 16, the Apostle Paul is given the Macedonian call, right? 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:45.360 He was wanting to go different directions. 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:57.759 He has this dream, he needs to bring the gospel into Europe, and so he heads into Macedonia and Philippi, and he lands in this place, and he looks around, and there's no synagogue to go to. 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:01.200 This is a little different for Paul. 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:03.200 This is outside his norm. 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:08.159 And so he goes down to the river to see if perhaps there's a place of prayer there. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:15.279 In order for there to be a synagogue in any city, there had to be a minimum of ten men joined together. 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:17.679 Philippi didn't have that. 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:27.279 And so he goes there and he finds that there's a person by the name of Lydia who's a dealer in purple cloth. 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:33.679 She was a purveyor of some of the most expensive garments on earth at that time. 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:40.639 These were things that were actually banned from common folk, and only royalty could purchase these goods. 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:42.080 She's there. 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:53.759 And in Acts chapter 16 and verse 14, as Paul is there with him, it says this the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul said. 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:57.519 She believes. 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:08.240 They've been together with him. 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:11.120 They've supported him financially. 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:15.360 They've sent people to inquire about him and to help him. 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:17.279 They've prayed for him. 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:22.799 They've not been observers of Paul's ministry, they've been participants together. 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:27.360 And that's what true fellowship is. 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:33.039 It's a mutual working together for the effort of the gospel. 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:35.200 That's fellowship. 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:45.759 One way to look at how that pulls a heart together is found by a man by the name of Broughton Knox. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:56.000 And Broughton Knox was a chaplain in the British Navy, and he was part of the preparations for the D-Day invasions in Normandy. 00:16:56.240 --> 00:17:14.720 And he was saying that as the people were making their preparations, he said, during the months that were moving up to the invasion, he said, every man on board, regardless of rank, was focused on entirely on one thing, the success of the invasion. 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:17.119 They had one mission in mind. 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:21.440 Every one of them focused, zeroed in on that one thing. 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:27.920 And he said, nobody thought of their own interests, and everybody thought about how they might serve toward this shared objective. 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:33.759 And after D-Day, he lived through it, and he was reflecting on it, and this is what he said. 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:39.119 I remember noting in my mind that I had never been happier. 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:42.240 It's interesting, right? 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:51.920 But after the invasion, which was successful as we know, the ship returned to England, and he said the atmosphere on the ship changed. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:57.920 The ship was still well run, the men were still friendly, but something was gone. 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:02.000 And some of the men talked to him about it, and he said this. 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:09.279 He said, During the months that preceded and followed D-Day, our thoughts had a minimum of self-centeredness in them. 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:14.319 We gave ourselves wholly to our shared activity and objective. 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:22.240 But once the undertaking was over, we reverted to our own purposes as people naturally do. 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:39.359 So for a short little bit of time, those men on that ship got a little bit close to what it might have been like for Paul to say, we in the Philippians have a fellowship in the gospel. 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:45.680 We have a unified thought about serving the gospel. 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:55.920 And as they served the gospel together, there was a production not only of a unification of heart, but of a joy in the work itself. 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:02.559 That kind of partnership produces joy. 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:11.440 Because there's a synergy in your hearts derived by the Spirit of God who activates your service together. 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:19.359 And what a wonder it is when you see a church that's moving all in one way toward the work of the gospel. 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:21.599 It's a beautiful thing to see. 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:28.480 And what's wonderful about it is this partnership in the gospel can bring together people who have never met each other. 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:43.839 If you've been anywhere and visited churches or been in other countries and you land in a church and you don't know the language, you don't know the people, but all of a sudden you feel this immediate kinship and you recognize the gospel is a unifying factor. 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:51.680 There's a great story about a World Congress of Evangelism in 1966 that was being held in Berlin. 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:56.079 And there was one of the men from the Wolrari tribe. 00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:58.640 Is that did I say it right? 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:00.880 We used to call them the Akas. 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:08.240 He was one of the guys who was there in the killing party that killed Nate Saint and Jim Elliott and the other three. 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:10.559 And he was there with a translator. 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:32.079 And he got up and he spoke at this Congress and he talked about how they had lived in fear and in violence and tribal warfare, and how the gospel reached them through those early motions of those five men and then later their wives, as even in their grief they stayed and shared the gospel. 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:47.599 And as this man was speaking at the Congress, way back in the back of the building was a man who was brought out of tribal religion in Africa and still had some of his tribal markings on his face. 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:48.559 Of course, he would have done. 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:49.920 They would have scarred his face. 00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:56.480 And he comes running up the aisle and jumps up on the platform and hugs this guy from South America. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:21:00.720 And he realized he was speaking his heart. 00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:04.319 This is absolutely the same thing that's happened to me. 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:12.079 The gospel met me in my fear, in my anger, and in our conflict with one another, and it's transformed me. 00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:17.759 And he could hear a man who was almost halfway around the world from him saying the exact same thing. 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:19.839 And he said, Our hearts are one. 00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:21.599 Our hearts are one. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:23.519 And it brought him joy. 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:27.039 This is the koinonia, the gospel. 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:30.799 Serving the gospel, sharing the gospel together. 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:35.839 It builds within us an understanding of God's goodness and grace to us. 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:41.839 And out of that, when we see it amongst others, it brings us joy. 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:51.440 The last thing that Paul talks about that brings him joy is this prayer of joy born out of confidence. 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:53.599 And we see this in verse 6. 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:56.640 I'm sure of this. 00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:59.599 He says that he who started a good work. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:06.160 And you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:10.640 What a confident statement. 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:13.440 I am sure of this. 00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:20.000 No tentativeness, no hesitation in that language whatsoever. 00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:26.240 Paul's not expressing a hope or a wish, but he's declaring a certainty. 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:31.039 And the certainty is not based on his confidence of the Philippians and their faithfulness. 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:41.839 It's not based upon what measure of growth he expects to see out of them or what kind of track record they've had in the past that he anticipates them to continue on. 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:45.680 He says this my confidence is based on this. 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:49.920 He who began a good work in you will complete it. 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:54.559 God started it, God's going to work it. 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:56.160 God's going to finish it. 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:04.240 This good work of salvation, which brought you to faith, which is transforming your life, is going to bring you to glory. 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:08.640 And he can say with confidence, this is going to happen. 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:12.480 Because it is originated in God Himself. 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:16.559 Just think about that verse in Acts 16, 14. 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:23.039 God opened Lydia's heart to hear what Paul said. 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:36.799 This was a lady religious, well-to-do, but it took God to open her heart to hear this message of the gospel. 00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:41.920 The beginning is not the Philippians, it's God's. 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:49.440 And he will carry it on in the present until the day of Jesus Christ. 00:23:50.400 --> 00:24:00.400 The completion is not when we feel like we've grown up enough spiritually, or we might be able to say, I've been in this church for 20 years, or any of that sort of thing. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:07.759 The movement of growth is until the day of completion when we bear the very image of Christ Jesus himself. 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:13.680 And Paul says, I have no doubt that that's going to happen. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:14.960 No doubt. 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:17.279 So think about this. 00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:34.960 When Paul is talking about that completion point being the day of Christ, the day of his return, the day of the resurrection and glorification, the day when the work that was begun in grace is finished in glory, and he's saying, it's going to carry you through even when you're struggling. 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:38.799 It's going to carry you through even when you're inconsistent. 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:43.839 It's going to carry you through even when you go through the worst of seasons. 00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:59.279 It's going to carry you through even in those days, weeks, maybe even months, when it feels like your spiritual growth is invisible to everybody else, and even sometimes absent to yourself, God will carry it through. 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:01.440 And he knows this. 00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:05.279 And he writes, I am sure. 00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:16.799 And because it's locked into the character of God, he knows the outcome is certain, and therefore his joy is full. 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:22.000 It doesn't rise or fall with how the Philippians are doing. 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:27.279 Now, of course, he receives news about them and it heartens him. 00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:35.200 But even in those moments of absence, even when his curiosity can't be satisfied, he says, I'm praying for you. 00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:37.359 I'm doing so with gratitude. 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:39.440 I have you in my heart. 00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:44.799 I remember our constant partnership together in the gospel. 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:52.319 And here in this moment, I can't let go of this thought that whatever God has started in you, He's going to complete. 00:25:53.519 --> 00:26:04.160 So whether or not you're still struggling with the same sin, whether or not your faith seems to be cooling, whether or not you can see or feel any evident growth within yourself, know this. 00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:09.920 If God has started to work in you, he will perform it and he will bring it about. 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:16.000 And there he can find joy because his confidence is in God. 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:26.720 One commentator put it this way: He said, Paul's confidence rests in the Godness of God. 00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:52.640 He said, This God who is faithful to his purposes, this God who is incapable of abandoning what he's begun, this God who will complete his every promise, this God who starts everything, sustains everything, and will complete everything about your salvation. 00:26:53.119 --> 00:26:59.599 The Godness of God will bring you joy when you lock into who He is. 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:03.200 So here we are this evening. 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:06.640 Perhaps joyful, perhaps not. 00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:20.319 But one way we can understand how joy comes is by recognizing the vitality of spiritual relationships in which we hold one another deeply within our hearts. 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:34.000 It doesn't come by finding the things within ourselves so much as we find ourselves together with one another and doing so for the purpose of the furtherance and service of the gospel. 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:46.079 And in recognizing we have a God who is over us all, whether it's easy or hard, he will work his work until the day of Jesus Christ and bring it to completion. 00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:53.759 And so with that, may your hearts rise above happiness and enter into joy, the joy of the Lord. 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:55.680 Let's pray together. 00:27:57.680 --> 00:27:59.920 Father, thank you for your word. 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:33.599 A very, very short, simple prayer, the one that offers us deep understanding and insight into how our hearts might abide in the recognition that you are performing a good work and that you are shaping lives to give priority to the gospel, and that you're deepening our relationships so that we might hold those who in any other place in this world would be very different than ourselves, deep within our hearts. 00:28:35.119 --> 00:28:45.839 Here's a Jewish man speaking to those who were Gentiles and talking about just how vital they were at the very center and core of his person. 00:28:47.119 --> 00:29:11.200 So, Lord, we pray that you would increase our love for one another, that we might truly love one another sincerely from the heart, and to do so fervently, that you might increase our service together for the sake of the gospel, and that you might increase our confidence in you that supersedes whatever circumstance we might be in. 00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:15.680 And in that way, Father, securing our heart and joy. 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:17.839 And we ask this in Christ's name. 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:18.559 Amen.