Philip. 1:1-14 (KJV)
Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in
Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: [2]
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus
Christ. [3] I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, [4] Always in
every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, [5] For your
fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; [6] Being confident
of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform
it until the day of Jesus Christ: [7] Even as it is meet for me to think
this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my
bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers
of my grace. [8] For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all
in the bowels of Jesus Christ. [9] And this I pray, that your love may
abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; [10] That ye
may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without
offence till the day of Christ; [11] Being filled with the fruits of righteousness,
which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Paul remembers the sweet fellowship of EVERY saint in his work and ministry at Phillipi… Has no favorites – ALL are special, leadership and lay people! **(Acts 10:34)
Even as a prisoner, Paul watches over the development and progression of believers!
Vs. 1-6 – “I HAVE YOU IN MY MIND”
Though in bonds, Paul wasn’t thinking of himself! Saintly memories are sweet comfort. In recalling this body of believers, the apostle induced joy in his heart. In the Lord, “out of sight” does not have to mean “out of mind”! Paul was a thoughtful Christian and held a good opinion of the saints.
What attitude typically “flavors” the thoughts you coddle toward the individual members of your church? Do you think ill or well of the people you attend church with on a weekly basis? Are you confident of their desire to obey God?
Vs. 7-8 – “I HAVE YOU IN MY HEART”
Paul greatly longed after their fellowship – testimony of sincere love for the brethren. The apostle goes on to state that God knows how he feels inside about his brothers and sisters in the Lord. (Have we forgotten that fact, ladies??) You can say what you want, but the way you express yourself makes your true feelings perfectly clear to others!
Does your heart soften or harden toward persons within your congregation? ? Are you genuinely thankful for having made their acquaintance? In spite of the fact that you “joined” the church, are you equally united in force, focus, fruit, and fellowship?
Vs. 9-11 – “I HAVE YOU IN MY PRAYERS”
Paul prayed that his brethren might live a FULL life. He wanted them to be upright, discerning people, fruitful, useful, and without offence, always aiming for the glory of God. Hence, he devoted his prayer life to their maturity.
How faithfully do you watch and pray for your church family, petitioning God on their behalf, one by one in name? What is the focal point of your heavenly conversations pertaining to your brothers and sisters in the Lord? Is there anything that would block you from praying for each person’s advancement?
GRACE GENERATES THOUGHT, CONCERN, AND PRAYER FOR OTHERS, ALL OF WHICH EQUALS DEVOTION TO GOD AND THE GOSPEL
If you were imprisoned in like fashion to Paul, what might your outlook be concerning your local church? What warm and affectionate memories could you call to mind of laboring together with and for your brothers and sisters in Christ? To the ladies in our church I ask, with what sentiment would you echo in your writings should you mail a letter to the membership of New Beginnings? Would you long to return to this fellowship should distance come between you and your church family? How often do you suppose you would think of each one of us and concern yourself with our welfare? Do you believe you would bother to pray for the saints on an individual basis or would you be all consumed with your prison experience?
Listen, ladies, I have to tell you that it’s more than just your body that should be involved in your church experience – it’s also your heart and mind and prayers! Many Christians are unable to write a letter such as this to the church they are currently attending or have only just exited. In fact, it would be quite the opposite in content! Using Paul’s letter as a guide, I am going to compose a reverse example to illustrate how countless believers feel about their local church should they put a pen to paper and spill their guts…
“I am writing this letter to the cliques and authorities in the church. I hope God punishes you for the way you treated me while I was there. I despise every memory I have of that place and the people in it. I am sorry I ever met any of you and can’t believe I decided to join the membership of your church. None of your ministries is worth anything and I knew they weren’t being run right from the minute I arrived, but you wouldn’t listen. Don’t expect me to pray for you in any way except that you get what I think you deserve. It’s obvious that none of you care about God and I wouldn’t be surprised if He didn’t give up on every one of you. I am just standing by, waiting and watching for your church to fall, and I would only be too happy if the doors of your church would close for good. I hope I never see any of you again. I, on the other hand, have gone on to serve the Lord in a greater capacity and in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Taking into consideration both letters above, we see that one writer is a prisoner of the Lord and the other is a prisoner of his own pride. How could the last letter be avoided? I’ll tell you… If you’ll go back to Phillipians 1:1, you would see that Paul entered that assembly of Christians in Philipi as a servant – with no other purpose than to be a blessing. He submitted himself to the needs of the brethren and the bishops and deacons for the sake of the Lord’s work there. Hence, Paul’s memories were strongly influenced by his own conduct while he was a part of that body of believers! Notice too, that Paul used the language of a team player all throughout his letter, not a rival for first place. In fact, there isn’t an ounce of bitterness or resentment in Paul’s letter, in spite of the fact that his church family was comprised of persons at different levels of maturity. Certainly the apostle had been exposed to the faults of his brethren over time, but the love of God covers a multitude of sins! As a result, the reason many Christians don’t have fonder memories of their time as members in good, Bible believing churches is because more likely than not they didn’t enter as servants – in a spirit of humility. Instead, these miserable saints enter the church to correct, criticize, and create a pedestal for themselves, and soon leave disheartened by their own poor manners...
2 Cor. 4:5 (KJV)
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves
your servants for Jesus' sake.
Ladies, your church experience would be a whole lot better if you didn’t try to be the lord of the church! That’s Jesus Christ’s job, not yours. If you made yourself a servant of others for Jesus sake, I believe you’d find that your attitude would greatly improve toward all the saints with the bishops and deacons. Before you compose a letter as a prisoner of your own pride, why don’t you put down your pen, and practice humility?
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60: 1&2
Copyright 2004 Pamela A. Iannello
