Sunday, January 17, 2016

God is always at work in you!

God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose
  
They were an interesting mix of people.  And quite some mix!  Lydia had built up quite a business for herself, travelling extensively, dealing in one of the most sought after commodities in the really Roman bits of the Roman Empire.  And Philippi was one of those really, really Roman bits of the Roman Empire.  A hundred years before it had been the site of a battle that paved the way for the creation of the Roman Empire itself.  The first Emperor gave it a very special status … Roman soldiers when they came to the end of a life time of service would find a home there and live in the kind of luxury they might have expected in Rome itself.  Even the language they spoke was different from the local language too.

Her name was Lydia.  She and other women had become fascinated about a God that gave them a sense of meaning in their lives, a God they could pray to, a God they could worship.  And so long as they kept outside the city itself, they were free to worship him as much as they liked.

When Paul, Timothy and Silas  arrived and began to tell the story of Jesus, the one who in a sense put a human face on this God, it made sense of all they had come to believe – their prayers became more real, their worship more alive, their lives were different.  And they began to meet with different people too.  There was the girl who had been treated so harshly as a slave who would speak of the way she had been set free by this Jesus.  And they weren’t just women meeting together any more either.  There was the gaoler and his family.  They had their moments but as they gathered in Lydia’s house something very special was in the air.

Time passed, the years rolled on and then they heard some pretty tough news.  It shocked them when they heard it.  They wondered what they should do.  Paul had been imprisoned.  Paul of all people.  They had every hope he would get out and carry on his miniostry.  But they couldn’t be sure.   What could they do?  He had helped them.  They decided they would send one of their own – his name was Epaphroditus.  They hoped he would be a practical help to Paul and they also sent money and other things to help Paul to make sure he was all right.

Word had come to them that Epaphroditus had made it to Rome and had handed over the gifts but he had been taken ill.  They wondered what news there could be.  And then one day out of the blue they received a letter.  They gathered around to read it … and somehow it was very special.

It was From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus — To all God's people in Philippi who are in union with Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and helpers:
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

It was wonderful to hear from Paul and Timothy and the others.  It brought back wonderful memories.

3 I thank my God for you every time I think of you;
4 and every time I pray for you all, I pray with joy
5 because of the way in which you have helped me in the work of the gospel from the very first day until now.
6 And so I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.
7 You are always in my heart! And so it is only right for me to feel as I do about you. For you have all shared with me in this privilege that God has given me, both now that I am in prison and also while I was free to defend the gospel and establish it firmly.

It had worried them to think Paul was in prison.  It still worried them.  But wonderful to know he had not forgotten them.  Wonderful to know Paul was thinking of them.  But worrying to think what might lie in store for him.

8 God is my witness that I am telling the truth when I say that my deep feeling for you all comes from the heart of Christ Jesus himself.
9 I pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgement,
10 so that you will be able to choose what is best. Then you will be free from all impurity and blame on the Day of Christ.
11 Your lives will be filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce, for the glory and praise of God.
It’s a letter to real people in a real place at a real time long ago.  But in some ways it could be written to us.  We too need to keep going in our faith.  And sometimes we are conscious of setbacks.  We hear of people imprisoned for their faith – churches facing persecution.  Troubles that come to people we had high regard for in the faith. Surely that couldn’t happen to someone of such strong faith … but things go wrong for everyone.

In a perverse way adversity can sometimes be a source of strength.

12 I want you to know, my brothers and sisters, that the things that have happened to me have really helped the progress of the gospel.
13 As a result, the whole palace guard and all the others here know that I am in prison because I am a servant of Christ.
14 And my being in prison has given most of the brothers and sisters more confidence in the Lord, so that they grow bolder all the time to preach the message fearlessly.
15 Of course some of them preach Christ because they are jealous and quarrelsome, but others from genuine goodwill.

You can almost hear the smile and the chortles from those people gathered together in Lydia’s house.  They knew what it was like to fall out with each other.

16 These do so from love, because they know that God has given me the work of defending the gospel.
17 The others do not proclaim Christ sincerely, but from a spirit of selfish ambition; they think that they will make more trouble for me while I am in prison.
18 It does not matter! I am happy about it — so long as Christ is preached in every way possible, whether from wrong or right motives. And I will continue to be happy,
19 because I know that by means of your prayers and the help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ I shall be set free.
20 My deep desire and hope is that I shall never fail in my duty, but that at all times, and especially just now, I shall be full of courage, so that with my whole being I shall bring honour to Christ, whether I live or die.

Talk of living and dying makes you think.  Sometimes things happen that make you think what is the purpose of it all. What is the point?

21 For what is life? To me, it is Christ. Death, then, will bring more.
22 But if by continuing to live I can do more worthwhile work, then I am not sure which I should choose.
23 I am pulled in two directions. I want very much to leave this life and be with Christ, which is a far better thing;
24 but for your sake it is much more important that I remain alive.
25 I am sure of this, and so I know that I will stay. I will stay on with you all, to add to your progress and joy in the faith,
26 so that when I am with you again, you will have even more reason to be proud of me in your life in union with Christ Jesus.

Words worth remembering – there is still more work to be done.  More to do now and here … wherever we are.

27 Now, the important thing is that your way of life should be as the gospel of Christ requires, so that, whether or not I am able to go and see you, I will hear that you are standing firm with one common purpose and that with only one desire you are fighting together for the faith of the gospel.
28 Don't be afraid of your enemies; always be courageous, and this will prove to them that they will lose and that you will win, because it is God who gives you the victory.
29 For you have been given the privilege of serving Christ, not only by believing in him, but also by suffering for him.
30 Now you can take part with me in the battle. It is the same battle you saw me fighting in the past, and as you hear, the one I am fighting still.

Stirring words from Paul and Timothy.  Words for us to take to hear too.  We need to keep at it.  Persevere in the faith.  Continue in what we are called to do.
How would you sum up what it takes to be part of this movement.  To be the people of Christ in what can sometimes feel like a hostile world.  What are the values that are important in the living of our lives?  How would you sum them up?

Pause to share with someone beside you – important values for us as followers of Christ.

 Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another.2 I urge you, then, to make me completely happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind.3 Don't do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble towards one another, always considering others better than yourselves.4 And look out for one another's interests, not just for your own.5 The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had:

Maybe we can all join together in reading the next words … they focus us on Jesus …

Christ Jesus always had the nature of God,
but he did not think that by force
he should try to remain equal with God.
7 Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had,
and took the nature of a servant.
He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness.
 8 He was humble and walked the path of obedience
all the way to death — his death on the cross.

9 For this reason God raised him to the highest place above
and gave him the name that is greater than any other name.
 10 And so, in honour of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven,
on earth, and in the world below
will fall on their knees,
11 and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

What’s important is that we who are part of Christ’s body should shine as lights in the world making Christ’s presence real in the lives of many people.

So then, dear friends, as you always obeyed me when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey me now while I am away from you. Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation,
13 because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose.
14 Do everything without complaining or arguing,
15 so that you may be innocent and pure as God's perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and sinful people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky,
16 as you offer them the message of life. If you do so, I shall have reason to be proud of you on the Day of Christ, because it will show that all my effort and work have not been wasted.
17 Perhaps my life's blood is to be poured out like an offering on the sacrifice that your faith offers to God. If that is so, I am glad and share my joy with you all.
18 In the same way, you too must be glad and share your joy with me.

Wonderful words of confident hope – how do we shine as stars in a dark night sky?

We too need support.

Those people in Philippi were pleased to hear that they were not alone – Paul was thinking of them, and Paul was sending them a couple of people to help …

19 If it is the Lord's will, I hope that I will be able to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be encouraged by news about you.
20 He is the only one who shares my feelings and who really cares about you.
21 All the others are concerned only with their own affairs, not with the cause of Jesus Christ.
22 And you yourselves know how he has proved his worth, how he and I, like a son and his father, have worked together for the sake of the gospel.
23 So I hope to send him to you as soon as I know how things are going to turn out for me.
24 And I trust in the Lord that I myself will be able to come to you soon.

They looked forward to seeing Paul … but Epaphroditus was actually there in front of their eyes – he was the one bringing the letter to them.  He had returned.  He had been the Philippians’ messenger, their angel in all the help he had given to Paul.

25 I have thought it necessary to send you our brother Epaphroditus, who has worked and fought by my side and who has served as your messenger in helping me.
26 He is anxious to see you all and is very upset because you had heard that he was ill.
27 Indeed he was ill and almost died. But God had pity on him, and not only on him but on me, too, and spared me an even greater sorrow.
28 I am all the more eager, then, to send him to you, so that you will be glad again when you see him, and my own sorrow will disappear.
29 Receive him, then, with joy, as a brother in the Lord. Show respect to all such people as he,
30 because he risked his life and nearly died for the sake of the work of Christ, in order to give me the help that you yourselves could not give.

And in all that we share one thing to take away today.

 You can’t do it alone – you can’t do it in your own strength.

Take heart.  Philippians 2:13

God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose

God is always at work in you.

What a wonderful verse to take with us into the week that lies ahead.

Return to those words from Philippians this week – and take them to heart.


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