Sermon 20th April 2008
Today our Vicar, Cameron Barker, delivers a sermon based on the reading from Philipians 1: verses 1-11
One fine summer's day a senior partner, a trainee solicitor and a legal secretary took a short-cut through a park on their way to a business lunch. The trainee spotted an antique oil lamp in a bush, which the partner instantly claimed. As she began rubbing it with the secretary's scarf out popped a Genie, in a puff of smoke. “I usually only grant 3 wishes” the Genie said, “so you can each have one”.
“Me first” said the secretary. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving my own speedboat, without a care in the world”. And poof, she was gone!
“Me next”, said the trainee. “I want to be on a beach in Goa, with an endless supply of cocktails and money, and the love of my life at my side”. And poof, he was gone!
“OK your turn”, the Genie said to the partner. And she said, “What I want is for those two to be sat at the table in time for lunch”!
Now I'd best confess that that story doesn't bear too much relation to what follows. Except perhaps that we often see God's role as rather like that of the senior partner! If we're honest, we tend to think of God as a bit of a spoiler, who doesn't like us enjoying life. But nothing could be further from the truth. It was Jesus himself who said that he came to give us life – and not just any life, but life in all its fullness. And so that's precisely what we're going to be exploring from now to the summer. We're going to see how God has indeed given us life, in all its fullness. And the way we're going to do that is by working through Paul's letter to the church in ancient Philippi.
Now it could also be said that those who think of God as a spoiler often see Paul as his chief enforcer! The picture of Paul that we tend to have is of a stern kill-joy, who wouldn't know a good time if it smacked him in the face. But, as we'll see in this series, again that's far from the truth. Paul, like his Lord and Master Jesus, wanted nothing more than for people to live life to the fullest – as God intended us to live. And that fact shines through this wonderful letter that Paul wrote to people that he knew and loved dearly.
What's so amazing is that Paul wrote a letter like this from prison! There's much debate over where Paul was locked up at the time – Rome, Ephesus, or perhaps Corinth. But there's no debate about the fact that Paul wrote this, or about why he wrote. Basically Philippians is a 'thank you' letter. The church in Philippi had sent Paul a gift, and it was one that he greatly needed. In the Roman world you had to fend for yourself when you were imprisoned. You had to pay for your own food and supplies, which couldn't have been easy for travelling preacher like Paul. So these Christians sent him what he needed; both money and someone to help him.
Now this took place at least 10 years after Paul had set up the church in Philippi. Yes, he'd been back to visit them, and had kept in touch over the years. But Paul was now a long way away from them. And it's true to say that if the Philippians hadn't really liked Paul they wouldn't have bothered to support him in these very practical ways. But the reality is that they felt the same way about Paul as he clearly felt about them. That speaks volumes about Paul as a person, and what he was like. So does the rest of this letter, both because it came from Paul's heart, and because its main purpose wasn't to teach or rebuke the readers.
Now it will help to pause there, and refresh our memories about the history behind this. You'll need to re-read Acts 16 yourself for the amazing details of Paul's arrival in the key Roman city of Philippi. It's a gripping read, not least because of what happened to bring about the birth of the church in Philippi. The first member was a rich woman called Lydia, whom Paul had met by the river. But things had really taken off when Paul had cast a demon out of a fortune-telling slave girl. That had landed Paul and Silas in prison for the night – during which there was an earthquake. The Roman jailer feared that his prisoners had escaped, and was about to kill himself, until Paul stopped him. The jailer became a Christian that night instead, along with his whole family, and they then joined this remarkable church.
In many ways this, the first church on mainland Europe was a microcosm of the Roman world. Its members were rich and poor, slave and free, Roman and Greek, Jew and Gentile, male and female, and people of all ages. No wonder Paul liked it so much – even if he couldn't stay too long in Philippi because of what had happened there. But, as I say, Paul had kept in touch with this church, and he prayed for them often. And we can tell how highly he regarded them from the way he addressed them at the start of his letter. In the Greek Paul called the Philippians “saints” – and himself a “slave”, note – which isn't at all what we might expect! But, in fact, saint was just another word for Christian; because that is what we are meant to be!
And in one sense that is what we already are! Hard as it may be to believe, anyone who is 'in Jesus Christ' – which is one of Paul's favourite phrases in his letters – is a saint! It's not that we're perfect, but rather that this is part of our identity as members of God's family. You see, to be a Christian is to be one of God's holy people, and so, a saint. And here, as he often did, Paul wrote to encourage his readers to be what they already were! The difference is that here Paul wrote more as their friend than as an apostle. His appeal to the Philippians to live as what they already were in Christ was based on his own example – and that of Timothy – as willing slaves of Jesus.
Paul was usually a great one for leading by example. And that is nowhere more true than in his praying. In the rest of today's instalment of this letter, we have Paul's prayer for the Philippian Christians. This is what he wanted them to be; and so this is how he prayed for them to be! But note how he began his prayers for them with thanks and joy. And joy is another key theme of this letter, despite the dire circumstance it was written in. Note too how Paul's prayer for the Philippians was full of confidence. It wasn't confidence in any gifts or abilities that the Philippians may have had in their own right. No, his prayer expressed Paul's total confidence in God's ability to finish what he had started in them!
And that's another key theme in this letter: God's ability to finish what he starts. As Paul wrote, “He who began this good work in you will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus”. Of course Paul had good evidence to base such confidence on. There was all God had done, and was continuing to do, in his own life. There was also what God had done in the Philippian church. Over the years they had grown, in numbers and in faith, in good times and in bad. These gifts they had sent him were just another expression of the partnership that the Philippians had shared with Paul from the time that he'd set up the church.
And so Paul always thanked God for them in his prayers. He held them close to his heart for all that they had done for and with him over the years, both in good times and in bad. Paul even claimed – with God as his witness – that he loved the Philippians with the kind of love that came from Jesus himself. And, because that was so, in his prayers Paul also always trusted that God would help them to continue to grow in their faith, no matter what. In particular, Paul prayed that their own God-given love would keep on growing, or abound, more and more. And, in addition, Paul prayed that such a love would have other specific results.
We'll get to those, but 1st I'll state the obvious! When Paul prayed that the Philippians' love would keep on growing, he meant for that to be very visible! It already was visible, like in the gifts they'd sent him in prison, for example. But, as saints, as God's holy people, their job was to live out and show God's love, for God, for each other, and for God's world. And, as with all of us, there was always room for doing more of that. But, of course they – like us – had to find ways to do that appropriately. So, as part of their growing love, Paul also prayed that the Philippians would grow in true knowledge, and in depth of insight. Then they would be able to discern what was God's best at all times – and be free from blame on the Day of Judgement.
It is a truly amazing prayer. Of course any church leader shouldn't just want to pray it for their church, but should be praying it for them! So don't be too surprised to hear more about this prayer as our series unfolds. And don't be shy about praying it, for yourself and for this church either! If you do want to live to the full this abundant new life that God has given you in Christ, you saints, then pray this prayer! In effect it's a prayer for a new heart, a Godly sort of heart, the type of heart that wants to grow in faith and trust and God's kind of love in any and all circumstances. It's the sort of prayer that God longs for us to pray. And he will answer it, because “he who began this good work in you will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus”, remember.
That is what Paul believed God could, and would, do. And so that's what he prayed for this church, for these saints. He knew that this was – and is – the way to the best kind of life that anyone could ever want. Imagine having your life “filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce” – and doing it all “for the glory and praise of God”! Once again, in this area Paul led his readers by his own example, both in what they'd seen while he was with them, and in what they had heard and read since. But they knew too that Paul firmly believed that such a life was not reserved for 'special' people, like him. This was – and is – God's best for all those he has given his abundant life to.
So, this is what God wants, for you and from you. Is it what you want, though? If so, pray this prayer for God's new heart today – and then keep on listening to how Paul told these believers they could live it out. Over the coming weeks that's what we will hear: how to live God's abundant new life in Christ. As we'll see, it's a holy life; it's a life of growing love and holy repentance; it's a life of faith and trust; it's a life of giving and growing; it's a life of true knowledge and perfect judgement. It's a life filled with truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce. It's a life lived for the glory and praise of God. And there can be no better life. So lets pray that we learn to live it ...
One fine summer's day a senior partner, a trainee solicitor and a legal secretary took a short-cut through a park on their way to a business lunch. The trainee spotted an antique oil lamp in a bush, which the partner instantly claimed. As she began rubbing it with the secretary's scarf out popped a Genie, in a puff of smoke. “I usually only grant 3 wishes” the Genie said, “so you can each have one”.
“Me first” said the secretary. “I want to be in the Bahamas, driving my own speedboat, without a care in the world”. And poof, she was gone!
“Me next”, said the trainee. “I want to be on a beach in Goa, with an endless supply of cocktails and money, and the love of my life at my side”. And poof, he was gone!
“OK your turn”, the Genie said to the partner. And she said, “What I want is for those two to be sat at the table in time for lunch”!
Now I'd best confess that that story doesn't bear too much relation to what follows. Except perhaps that we often see God's role as rather like that of the senior partner! If we're honest, we tend to think of God as a bit of a spoiler, who doesn't like us enjoying life. But nothing could be further from the truth. It was Jesus himself who said that he came to give us life – and not just any life, but life in all its fullness. And so that's precisely what we're going to be exploring from now to the summer. We're going to see how God has indeed given us life, in all its fullness. And the way we're going to do that is by working through Paul's letter to the church in ancient Philippi.
Now it could also be said that those who think of God as a spoiler often see Paul as his chief enforcer! The picture of Paul that we tend to have is of a stern kill-joy, who wouldn't know a good time if it smacked him in the face. But, as we'll see in this series, again that's far from the truth. Paul, like his Lord and Master Jesus, wanted nothing more than for people to live life to the fullest – as God intended us to live. And that fact shines through this wonderful letter that Paul wrote to people that he knew and loved dearly.
What's so amazing is that Paul wrote a letter like this from prison! There's much debate over where Paul was locked up at the time – Rome, Ephesus, or perhaps Corinth. But there's no debate about the fact that Paul wrote this, or about why he wrote. Basically Philippians is a 'thank you' letter. The church in Philippi had sent Paul a gift, and it was one that he greatly needed. In the Roman world you had to fend for yourself when you were imprisoned. You had to pay for your own food and supplies, which couldn't have been easy for travelling preacher like Paul. So these Christians sent him what he needed; both money and someone to help him.
Now this took place at least 10 years after Paul had set up the church in Philippi. Yes, he'd been back to visit them, and had kept in touch over the years. But Paul was now a long way away from them. And it's true to say that if the Philippians hadn't really liked Paul they wouldn't have bothered to support him in these very practical ways. But the reality is that they felt the same way about Paul as he clearly felt about them. That speaks volumes about Paul as a person, and what he was like. So does the rest of this letter, both because it came from Paul's heart, and because its main purpose wasn't to teach or rebuke the readers.
Now it will help to pause there, and refresh our memories about the history behind this. You'll need to re-read Acts 16 yourself for the amazing details of Paul's arrival in the key Roman city of Philippi. It's a gripping read, not least because of what happened to bring about the birth of the church in Philippi. The first member was a rich woman called Lydia, whom Paul had met by the river. But things had really taken off when Paul had cast a demon out of a fortune-telling slave girl. That had landed Paul and Silas in prison for the night – during which there was an earthquake. The Roman jailer feared that his prisoners had escaped, and was about to kill himself, until Paul stopped him. The jailer became a Christian that night instead, along with his whole family, and they then joined this remarkable church.
In many ways this, the first church on mainland Europe was a microcosm of the Roman world. Its members were rich and poor, slave and free, Roman and Greek, Jew and Gentile, male and female, and people of all ages. No wonder Paul liked it so much – even if he couldn't stay too long in Philippi because of what had happened there. But, as I say, Paul had kept in touch with this church, and he prayed for them often. And we can tell how highly he regarded them from the way he addressed them at the start of his letter. In the Greek Paul called the Philippians “saints” – and himself a “slave”, note – which isn't at all what we might expect! But, in fact, saint was just another word for Christian; because that is what we are meant to be!
And in one sense that is what we already are! Hard as it may be to believe, anyone who is 'in Jesus Christ' – which is one of Paul's favourite phrases in his letters – is a saint! It's not that we're perfect, but rather that this is part of our identity as members of God's family. You see, to be a Christian is to be one of God's holy people, and so, a saint. And here, as he often did, Paul wrote to encourage his readers to be what they already were! The difference is that here Paul wrote more as their friend than as an apostle. His appeal to the Philippians to live as what they already were in Christ was based on his own example – and that of Timothy – as willing slaves of Jesus.
Paul was usually a great one for leading by example. And that is nowhere more true than in his praying. In the rest of today's instalment of this letter, we have Paul's prayer for the Philippian Christians. This is what he wanted them to be; and so this is how he prayed for them to be! But note how he began his prayers for them with thanks and joy. And joy is another key theme of this letter, despite the dire circumstance it was written in. Note too how Paul's prayer for the Philippians was full of confidence. It wasn't confidence in any gifts or abilities that the Philippians may have had in their own right. No, his prayer expressed Paul's total confidence in God's ability to finish what he had started in them!
And that's another key theme in this letter: God's ability to finish what he starts. As Paul wrote, “He who began this good work in you will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus”. Of course Paul had good evidence to base such confidence on. There was all God had done, and was continuing to do, in his own life. There was also what God had done in the Philippian church. Over the years they had grown, in numbers and in faith, in good times and in bad. These gifts they had sent him were just another expression of the partnership that the Philippians had shared with Paul from the time that he'd set up the church.
And so Paul always thanked God for them in his prayers. He held them close to his heart for all that they had done for and with him over the years, both in good times and in bad. Paul even claimed – with God as his witness – that he loved the Philippians with the kind of love that came from Jesus himself. And, because that was so, in his prayers Paul also always trusted that God would help them to continue to grow in their faith, no matter what. In particular, Paul prayed that their own God-given love would keep on growing, or abound, more and more. And, in addition, Paul prayed that such a love would have other specific results.
We'll get to those, but 1st I'll state the obvious! When Paul prayed that the Philippians' love would keep on growing, he meant for that to be very visible! It already was visible, like in the gifts they'd sent him in prison, for example. But, as saints, as God's holy people, their job was to live out and show God's love, for God, for each other, and for God's world. And, as with all of us, there was always room for doing more of that. But, of course they – like us – had to find ways to do that appropriately. So, as part of their growing love, Paul also prayed that the Philippians would grow in true knowledge, and in depth of insight. Then they would be able to discern what was God's best at all times – and be free from blame on the Day of Judgement.
It is a truly amazing prayer. Of course any church leader shouldn't just want to pray it for their church, but should be praying it for them! So don't be too surprised to hear more about this prayer as our series unfolds. And don't be shy about praying it, for yourself and for this church either! If you do want to live to the full this abundant new life that God has given you in Christ, you saints, then pray this prayer! In effect it's a prayer for a new heart, a Godly sort of heart, the type of heart that wants to grow in faith and trust and God's kind of love in any and all circumstances. It's the sort of prayer that God longs for us to pray. And he will answer it, because “he who began this good work in you will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus”, remember.
That is what Paul believed God could, and would, do. And so that's what he prayed for this church, for these saints. He knew that this was – and is – the way to the best kind of life that anyone could ever want. Imagine having your life “filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce” – and doing it all “for the glory and praise of God”! Once again, in this area Paul led his readers by his own example, both in what they'd seen while he was with them, and in what they had heard and read since. But they knew too that Paul firmly believed that such a life was not reserved for 'special' people, like him. This was – and is – God's best for all those he has given his abundant life to.
So, this is what God wants, for you and from you. Is it what you want, though? If so, pray this prayer for God's new heart today – and then keep on listening to how Paul told these believers they could live it out. Over the coming weeks that's what we will hear: how to live God's abundant new life in Christ. As we'll see, it's a holy life; it's a life of growing love and holy repentance; it's a life of faith and trust; it's a life of giving and growing; it's a life of true knowledge and perfect judgement. It's a life filled with truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce. It's a life lived for the glory and praise of God. And there can be no better life. So lets pray that we learn to live it ...
posted by Parish Administrator at 10:23 am
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