Doing Faith Together

Philippians 1:1-11 ‘Doing faith together; a study in Philippians.’

1.     Own sainthood.  You are forgiven by faith; called to serve Christ and be a grace giver. It is not your grace or mine – it comes from the expansive heart of our risen Savior.   We simply don’t obstruct it. God is able to complete the work he began in another. It is a powerful gift to give another undeserving sinner grace and the peace that comes with it. So stop holding back!

2.     Ooze thankfulness.  Maximize, don’t criticize.  There is a place for tough love but we only go there as a last resort.  We can thank God no matter what because we have confidence that ‘He who began a good work in you, is able to complete it.’ (Phil1:6)  We are not his ‘enforcer’.  Our primary job is to ooze the affection that Christ has for others onto them. (1:8) God’s grace is spilling from our hearts onto those around us. And we are on this mission together.

3.     Breathe prayer.  When Paul prays that ‘your love may abound still more and more’ (1:9-11) keep this in mind:  The end that he is praying for is ‘the praise and glory of God’.  That is the end of all true praying.  Secondly (and here is where I get messed up) he’s not praying that you will overflow emotionally with very strong feelings of love for one another. Love is to overflow in ‘real knowledge and all discernment’.  Paul is careful to direct us (by using ‘real’ and ‘all’) to wisdom.  Wisdom is what happens when I put God’s truth to work in my life. Love is a sacrificial attitude towards my neighbor. ‘Looking to their interests’ is how Philippians 2:4 puts it - the same attitude Jesus had. Paul’s prayer (and so should ours be) is a petition for real service, real concern, real fruit for the glory of God – especially in the lives of our fellow saints at AspenRidge Church.

Call me an idealist. This is my idea of the heart of a good church. This is how we do faith together.

Pastor Dean