What a joy it is to sing to our risen and ascended King Jesus. Isn't it, church? Well, if you would take the text of Scripture and open to Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1. This is the second installment in a series through Paul's letter to the Philippians. We're walking through this text together. As a bit of an aside, before I have you stand in just a moment in observance to the word of the living God, I noticed before I got up to preach, if you'll just turn around and look up, can you see that clock up there at the top? So as I understand it, I have about five hours to preach the word of God. It's no problem, because I do have a cell phone. So I made sure to grab that before I got up. And some of you are thinking amen, but you're not saying it. That's OK. We'll grow more comfortable with one another, and you will say it eventually, I'm sure. Well, Philippians chapter 1, and we're going to read together verses 3 through 8, if you would, because you are the people of God, and this is the word of God. Would you please stand? Paul the Apostle writes, as he's carried along by the Spirit, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. Always, in every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness. how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. Our Heavenly Father, sanctify us this morning together as a congregation. In the truth, your word is truth. You may be seated. Well, we are two weeks into this relationship together, aren't we? I have the privilege of serving as a senior pastor with all of you, and it is a tremendous joy, but I thought it was time already for you really to get to know who I am. And if you stay, this is evidence of God's grace in your life. I am like the rest of you who treasure Jesus Christ. I am a sinner saved by grace alone, through faith alone. in Christ alone. That's who I am. And you'll come to know that more and more. I struggle, among other things, I struggle with the sin of grumbling and complaining. You don't, I know. is why I'm here. I'm here to learn from you. But I struggle with the sin of grumbling and complaining. Perhaps you could say the sin of discontentment. If you need testimony to confirm this, you could ask my wife Tana. She's here to stage left here to my left. If you need corroborating evidence so that by the testimony of two or three the issue may be established, you could ask my children. I think you could receive four pieces of evidence, four testimonies concerning my particular struggle. My thankfulness, to be honest, my thankfulness is often fleeting. My contentment comes and it goes like the wind. Like the grass withers, my gratitude withers oftentimes and that's shameful. This is oftentimes the case because it is rooted and grounded in circumstances. And we all know this, don't we? Circumstances change. They change daily. They change by the hour, even by the minute, even by the second at times, don't they? And so if my thankfulness is predicated upon comfort in a particular set of circumstances, it comes and it goes. Philippians chapter one verses three through eight is an invitation to a deeper thankfulness than the thankfulness that oftentimes characterizes my life. And if I could be frank with you for just a moment, I'm being frank already, right? Let's continue to be frank. I've learned as a pastor, as someone who exposes the word of God week in, week out, I've learned that oftentimes what you're going to be teaching in scripture is not necessarily what you've learned, it's what you're learning. Pastors will oftentimes say something like, it's the pastor himself that needs the most refining when he comes to bring the word of God to bear on the lives of God's people. And I experienced that time and time and time again. This morning, my wife doesn't know this yet. We came two different cars, I wanted to get her a little bit earlier, so pray for me. She doesn't know this just yet. But I got in my Dodge Journey, a vehicle that I drive oftentimes, and I usually back into the driving spot There's a reason for that because when I get in the car, I can see everything and then out I go. When I got in my Dodge Journey, I didn't back into the driving spot. Yesterday, I pulled in. My wife is now staring at me wondering what's about to take place. God is good, babe. All the time. And all the time, God is good. See, they said it too. And so I get in my Dodge's journey to back out and I've got a number of things going through my mind, you know, and I'm about to gather with God's people on the Lord's day and open up God's word. And I remember what I just said, the pastor oftentimes has to learn what he's preaching. It is this morning to be thankful in spite of circumstances and I go to back up and I forgot that there was a tree behind me. And I found out, I remembered there was a tree behind me, but I only remembered after the fact. when I met the tree with the rear end of my car. And I drove away. I got out and looked at the car and everything's okay. The car still functions. That wasn't for you all. You know what's happening right now, okay? Everything still functions. I pulled away and I thought to myself, Perry, you had to preach on thankfulness this morning. I had to preach on gratitude, so please understand that everything I'm preaching this morning, I need to hear with you. I hope that's okay to say. Everything. Philippians chapter 1 verses 3 through 8 reminds us our thankfulness, our gratitude, our joy is not predicated upon circumstances that are fleeting, that are transitory, that are changing. It is here where we find both the nature and the reasons for Christian thankfulness, or we could say Christian joy. I'm gonna use these terms synonymously, I think, this morning. Paul uses both terms in the text. My aim this morning is actually to unpack Christian thankfulness together by asking and answering three questions. And if you have our notes, you know these three questions. Let me mention them to you. The first question is what. The second question is why. The third question is how. What, why, and how. What is Paul doing in the text? Or what does Paul do in the text? He's actually doing something right when we begin Philippians chapter 1 verse 3. What is he doing? We've said this, but we're going to say it again, accentuated a bit more. Secondly, why? Why is he doing this? Or we could even say, why should he be doing this? And then third, after asking, what is Paul doing? Secondly, why is he doing this? Third, how does all of this inform our faith and lives as followers of Jesus Christ in the 21st century here at First Baptist Powell, okay? What, why, and how? Well, let's begin by looking together at the first couple of verses, Philippians 1, 3, and 4. Look at the text with me if you would. Verse 3, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, you hear the emphasis, making my prayer with joy. What does Paul do in the text? Paul offers thanks to God. It's that simple. That's what Paul is doing. He offers thanks to God, and that's the primary verb. It occurs in verse three, I thank my God always. And we could translate this, by the way, on account of the present tense and really the context. It's more merely than the tense of the verb. We could translate this, I continually give thanks. Paul actually goes on to tell us that. Always in my remembrance of you, making my prayer for you all with joy. The understanding here is I am consistently giving thanks to God. for you all. And notice that Paul's thankfulness to God manifests itself in joyful prayer to God. Did you see that? That's the expression of thankfulness. That's the expression of gratitude, isn't it, as Christians? When we are thankful to God for what he has done for us and who he is for us and on our behalf, we offer that thankfulness to God in joyful prayer. And that's precisely what the apostle Paul is doing. in the text. Isn't it true, parents, grandparents, you know this, great-grandparents? This is one of the reasons why we teach our children to say thank you when they receive a gift. When someone gives them something for which they should be thankful or grateful, we teach them at a very early age, turn to them, look at them, and tell them thank you. Moreover, the absence of a thank you, we interpret as the absence of gratitude, the absence of thankfulness. And so it is in relationship to God. It's nonsense to talk about how thankful we are for God and to God without actually expressing that thankfulness to God in prayer. The kind of joyous thankfulness that we are talking about in this text, not, two things, it is not situational. That's not Christian thankfulness. That's not Christian joy. It's not situational and it is not superficial. We could say it this way, it's not situational therefore it's not superficial. What do we mean by this? It is not situational in that various and changing circumstances and situations do not grant to us or rob from us this joy. So our circumstances cannot give us this joy, nor can they take this joy away from us. This is the kind of thankfulness that oftentimes, in confession to you all, as my church family, I struggle with. When I backed out into that tree this morning, I was reminded Christian thankfulness would not be shaken. Christian joy would endure through this particular situation. Do you remember from where Paul is writing Philippians? Do you know this? From jail. That's right, Jim. Paul is writing the letter to the Philippians, along with other letters, three other letters in particular, from jail, likely in Rome, though we can't be sure of this. but likely in Rome. And so as he's in jail, he's talking about the degree to which he is grateful to God. Christian thankfulness is not situational. Why is that? Because it's grounded. It's grounded in the gospel. And therefore it endures through trials rather than in the absence of those trials, okay? So that's a sense of Christian thankfulness. It's not situational. Secondly, I mentioned to you, it's not superficial. That is, it's not just surface level. It's not an inch deep. You ever get that impression sometimes when you interact with Christians? I do. We can say this, we're Christians. We can make fun of us. It's okay. And I got this impression early on as a Christian. I got this impression when I came to know Jesus Christ when I was about 16 years old. I was almost 17 years old. I got the impression that Christians have to walk around all the time with a really big cheesy smile on their face. Now smiles are good, okay? All right, don't worry, be happy. That's good. Great message as far as it goes. But that's not Christian joy. That's superficial. And Christian thankfulness, Christian joy is not superficial. It's not a kind of fake it till you make it. approach to life. It's not the kind of naive optimism, even blind optimism about the world around us that results in a happiness that really is an inch deep and the world knows it. This is, by the way, saints, this is one of the reasons why the world around us does criticize us as followers of Jesus. I've heard things like this, Christians don't know how to mourn. Now, what does Paul say? We don't grieve as people who have no hope, but he doesn't say we don't grieve. Moreover, we could say that Christians' grief is deeper at times than the non-Christians' grief because we know the severity of our sins. We know what caused that death. Jesus Christ in John 11. What does he do, of course, when he hears Lazarus has died? Of course, he takes his disciples. In some sense, he says, I'm glad that this happened for your sake. Then he comes up and he begins to interact with Martha and then eventually Mary. But one of the texts there, one of the verses there tells us Jesus wept. The Lord of life and death, about to raise Lazarus from the dead, actually weeps. Now, I take it there that there's something remarkable taking place. And it's not merely a grief that, you know, kind of a weeping. It's almost an angered grief. Jesus is, I think, angry in the text. That's the way the verb reads. But he understands a grief that the unbeliever can't even quite understand. And so this is oftentimes a criticism of Christians. You know, put another way, Christian thankfulness is not merely feeling like, what does that song say from a few years ago? A room without a roof. You know, I'm happy. Or that happiness is the truth. It's beyond the instruction, don't worry about a thing, because every little thing gonna be all right. Bob Marley. You're too spiritual to know those kinds of things, I know. I'm in process, you're not. It is richer and more robust than merely to put on a happy face. That went way back, didn't it? It's more than that. It's not superficial. It's not an inch deep. Its root system reaches into the inner recesses of our souls. In fact, Christian thankfulness and joy may actually be experienced while grieving. That's ironic, isn't it? We can be experiencing Christian thankfulness and joy in the midst of tears. And it is, of course, that the root system reaches below the levels grief can actually touch us. It's deeper than that. It exists, as it were, on a different plane altogether. Christian thankfulness in relationship to grief. Because we know grief is temporary. We know that a day is coming when every tear will be wiped away from our eyes. By the way, the image tells us something, doesn't it? It says that every tear will be wiped away, assuming the presence of tears. The glory of the gospel is not that we have no reason to cry. The glory of the gospel is that all the promises in Christ that have been embodied and fulfilled eclipse any grief this life can bring. So what does Paul do in the text? Just by way of summary, he offers thanks to God, and let's add this, in joyful prayer. That's what he's doing. What is Paul doing? He offers thanks to God in joyful prayer. Secondly, notice verse five. So he says here, of course, I thank God in joyful prayer, just summarizing those first couple of verses. Verse five, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Why is Paul offering thanks to God in joyful prayer? Let me give you two reasons, okay? If you're taking notes or keeping along here in our notes, two reasons Paul offers thanks to God in joyful prayer. First, he is thankful for their partnership with him in the gospel. The Apostle Paul is thankful for their partnership with him in the gospel. The word the Spirit of God uses here is really somewhat well-known among evangelical Christians. It is the Greek term koinonia. You've heard of this term? Anybody heard of this term, koinonia? It's not quite as popular as it used to be. Good, some of you? What do we think of when we think of koinonia? What's the word we use? You remember this? I think I heard it. Fellowship, that's exactly right. We oftentimes, I've even seen koinonia church, you know, it's on, it's in the title of particular churches. Koinonia is a popular Greek term among evangelical Christians, and we oftentimes think of the translation fellowship when we hear of the word koinonia. Especially, by the way, as Baptists, we may be tempted to think of some gathering of Christians that includes food. I mean, it's not really a fellowship unless food is present, amen? A potluck. That's fellowship. That's why we do it. We're obeying Jesus. We may be tempted to think of this to such a degree that D.A. Carson actually says, he once said, I heard him say that when we have an unbeliever over for a tea, I don't know. Of course in East Tennessee it would be sweet tea. I understand that. So let's insert that into the A. Carson statement here. We understand that we have an unbeliever over for sweet tea. We call it having sweet tea. When we have a Christian over for the same or a similar cup, sweet tea, we call it fellowship. But this really is a misunderstanding of the idea of fellowship in Scripture. It's different. than this betrays. It's deeper than this. The idea is more closely akin to partnership, and this is why the English Standard Version translates it in this way. It translates the word koinonia as partnership, or we could say participation. This is investment. The idea of active investment is inherent in the concept of koinonia. It can even refer to financial partnership. It does this throughout Philippians, and we'll see this as we move through the text, but in Romans chapter 15, verse 26, the Apostle Paul writes, for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make, get this, to make some koinonia, or to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. And so here koinonia is actually a financial partnership, a contribution. It's getting some skin in the game, you see. That's koinonia. It's putting myself actively in partnership with other followers of Jesus Christ. And that may mean financial partnership, but it extends, of course, beyond financial partnership. Church, Paul is thankful to God because these Christians have actively partnered with him in spreading the gospel to others. That's the idea. He is thankful to God for their partnership in the gospel. or for the gospel, or with the gospel. It is that these Christians actually have given expression to their faith by investing in the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are a part of this ministry. They've supported Paul in his imprisonments. his chains. But even more than that, the gospel is going forth through the Philippians. This is partnership. This is participation. This is fellowship. This is koinonia. And it is for this reason the Apostle Paul is thankful to God in joyful prayer. He says something about this as well in verse seven. Look briefly there at verse seven. I think the same idea really is being repeated. It is right for me to feel this way about you all because I hold you in my heart for you are all, here's the same word being used here, you are all partakers with me of grace. It's a cognate, related term. You are all partakers with me of grace, or we could translate this, of the grace. And I think the idea here is of the gospel, same idea. You partake with me in the gospel, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These Christians, we've said it before, we'll say it again, over and over and over again, we've got to understand this. These Christians in Philippi and even throughout the rest of the New Testament, these Christians are involved and actively spreading the gospel of grace to others. They don't have a category of Christian called clergy. for whom the responsibility of spreading the gospel or upon whom the responsibility of spreading the gospel falls. It's the privilege of every Christian saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to participate and partner in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is, by the way, one of the reasons why I love being an evangelical Christian, because I do think this is an emphasis in evangelicalism, but it is lost oftentimes. We're tempted, aren't we, week after week to just kind of show up to church as spectators, not as participants. We're tempted to kind of show up and watch the show, potentially be entertained, and we would even go so far as to say, at least implicitly in the words that we communicate, that we pick our churches oftentimes on the basis of the degree to which they entertain us. This is not partnership in the gospel of Jesus Christ. You're called to so much deeper, brother and sister. It's okay, of course, for our time of worship together, our times of worship together to encourage us through a degree of appeal, that's okay. It's okay for the pastor to preach the word of God in such a way that it's winsome, more palatable potentially for the follower of Jesus Christ, that's okay. It's okay, for example, for the church not to allow me to have a microphone and sing. That's okay. But more fundamentally, we have the privilege not of being entertained, not of being spectators of the gospel, but of being recipients and partners in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen, church? Now, I wanna do something. Oh, we fixed that time. We didn't fix that time. Thank you, brother. It is fixed. It's solved. So we may get out of here on time today, we'll see. I want to do something briefly before we move on to Paul's second reason for being thankful to God in joyful prayer. I want to rehearse something. We use this term gospel in our Christianese, don't we? All the time. We're gospel-centered Christians. We love the gospel. We believe the gospel. We sing the gospel. We say the gospel. So on and so forth. I've got a question, church. This isn't rhetorical. Let's do this together. What is the gospel? I'm sure you're doing a fantastic job, I just can't hear you. I'm so sure that you've just shared the gospel, but I just didn't hear it. So I need you to help me. What is the gospel? Let's start at the beginning. Let's do this briefly, come on. Don, was it you, Don? What'd you say, brother? Virgin birth, excellent. Yeah, that's a part of this, isn't it? The incarnation of Christ. God the Son becomes human by means of the virgin birth. The Spirit of God comes upon Mary, and here comes God the Son incarnate. Amen. Yeah, what else? Yes, this Christ grew up Living a sinless life. Sin free. This gospel is good news. I heard that over here. That's what the word means. Amen. This gospel is good news. Keep going. Say that again, Clayton. Unmerited favor is intrinsic to the gospel, isn't it? It's intrinsic to coming to know the living God. This is good news. You can't merit it. It's given to you freely. Now keep going with this. Jesus, of course, is growing up. He's living a sinless life. Come on, walk with me. He died on the cross in our place for our sins. He bore the punishment reserved for us. He became a curse for us, didn't he, Jim? He, God, of course, made him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Glorious news. At the center of our faith, the center of our gospel is the cross, which is why the Apostle Paul can say, I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Is that the end? That's right. Three days later, Jesus Christ was raised. I'm probably getting too far, aren't I? Am I out of the picture? How does that work? Okay. All right. Sorry about that. If you're watching via live stream, I really appreciate your patience. I'll get used to this. On the third day, Jesus Christ is raised in glorious power from the dead. So he is installed as God's king in Zion. The holy mountain, to use Psalm 2 language. He reigns over sin, death, and hell. Resurrection, through the resurrection, the Apostle Paul will say Jesus Christ was declared to be the Son of God in power by the resurrection from the dead. We don't just serve, as it were, the God-man who died. We serve the God-man who died and came out on the other side, conquering sin, death, and hell. Is that the end of the story? No, I can't keep moving, okay? So let's just pretend like I can't. What happens next? He's going to come back. Let me get you there. Jesus is raised. He appears to many. He ascends into heaven. Now he's seated, as it were, at the right hand of the Father. He's praying on behalf of his people. Why? The people for whom he died are the people for whom he prays. He is the great high priest. And so now he's praying on our behalf. As he told the apostle Peter, right, Satan desires to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you. In other words, he can't have you. Come on, that's good news. Then, it's on set. He's not gonna stay up there. He's coming back. Physically, bodily, when he comes back, what's gonna happen? We're raised, we can get into a lot of specifics here, can't we, but let's not do that. We're raised to new life. I'm gonna summarize a lot. We're raised bodily to new life. And in the end, we are forever with the Lord. He'll judge all disobedience, all sin, all wickedness. He'll establish justice, equity on the earth. God will be all and in all. Not a fairy tale. That's the gospel. Moreover, I've really got to move on, but how do you move on? How do you move on from this? Every good story, do you know this? Every good story, if it's worthy of the title good, every good movie, whatever, every good book, I don't care, every good story is good only insofar as it conforms to this great story. That's why it's good. So someone says, this is a great story, I'm looking for gospel. because it all mirrors in some form or fashion, doesn't it? It mirrors the gospel, even in subtle ways. This is the gospel and this is the message you're called to participate and partner in. What a joy it is. And so when the world around us has increasing trouble, finding what it is that grants us hope, You've got it, right? You've got it, Zane. It's yours, brother. Share the gospel with him. Partner in the gospel. Christ, his person, his work, this is the content of the gospel. Okay, we're gonna speed up now a little bit. You'll bear with me. Second reason, second reason why the Apostle Paul is thankful to God in joyful prayer In addition, of course, of these Christians' partnership in the gospel, now he's thankful for God's perseverance. The Christians' partnership, but God's perseverance to finish the good work he began in Christians. This is the reason for which Paul is thankful to God in joyful prayer. God is a persevering God, a persistent God, a tenacious God. What he begins, he completes. Look with me at verse six. I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ, amen? God isn't half-hearted in his approach to saving his people. So what is, by the way, what is the good work to which the apostle Paul refers here? Salvation, that's right, Jim. This is salvation. The one who began a good work in you, Christian, is faithful to complete it. That's Paul's hope. That's the foundation for Paul's gratitude. It's the foundation for our gratitude. You may have noticed, by the way, that the title of this message, if you have our notes, is A Reason to Remain Thankful. I didn't say reasons. And the reason I said A Reason to Remain Thankful is because it's God's perseverance in us that actually motivates us and makes it possible for us to partner in the gospel. This is really the reason. The reason to remain thankful in spite of all circumstances, in spite of all the changing situations in which we find ourselves, the reason to remain thankful is that the God who began a good work in us through Jesus Christ is faithful to complete that good work on the day of Jesus Christ. That is when he returns. It is the Lord who begins the work of salvation within us. It is the Lord who will finish or complete this work. This is why, of course, Jesus is referred to as the author and perfecter of our faith. This Jesus who for, remember the context, Hebrews 12, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. Concerning Lydia in Acts chapter 16 verse 14, we read, the Lord opened up her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. How is it that Lydia came to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ? The Lord opened her heart. This is the activity of God the Spirit. Working as it were in a morgue to raise the dead. to new life in Christ. That's what happens in Acts 16 and throughout the New Testament this must be the case because as Jesus says in John chapter 6 verse 65, no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by my Father. The sinner can continue to sin. and reject the living God, unless, of course, God grants new life by the work of His Spirit and the gospel of His Son. So the work of salvation is from beginning to end the work of God. Another way to say this is to say that God's faithfulness in us is what drives our faithfulness to God. And Alec Monteir, I quoted him last week, Alec Monteir, who's with the Lord now, He writes, the perseverance of the saints rests on the, rather, the perseverance of the saints, excuse me, rests on the perseverance of God with the saints. Beautiful concept. We persevere because God perseveres in us. That's why we persevere. We endure because God endures in us and for us. Now this truth of verse six has another facet for us this morning, I think, a facet that's comforting to us, and that is to say that the good work that God has begun in you will not be complete until Jesus Christ returns. How is this good news? The good news is you know the truth about yourself, don't you? You know you are not yet complete. Now again, if you feel that you are complete, you know, if you feel that you're without sin now, Pastor Phil is here, you can grab him after the service and talk with him, okay? You know this isn't true, don't you? You know you're not complete. God has begun a good work in you if you've trusted in Jesus Christ, if you treasure Jesus Christ, but that work is yet to be completed. There are no perfected saints in this life. We are, together, works in progress. That is also why I think oftentimes the church has been referred to as a hospital for sinners rather than a club for saints. You may have heard this language. The church is the place where sinners are rehabilitated. We are being transformed by the grace of God. We saw this last Lord's Day. God's grace is transformative. So we are authentically being transformed by the grace of Christ. However, we are in process of being transformed. We're able to say on the one hand with the Apostle Paul, by the grace of God, I am what I am. 1 Corinthians 15. I am being changed. I am a new creation, a new creature in Christ Jesus. On the other hand, we're able to say with the Apostle Paul, as we'll get to actually, in Philippians chapter 3, not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own. Because Christ Jesus has made me his own. We're already saints. We're not yet saints. That's the language that some scholars have chosen to use over the years. It's a reality in Christ Jesus and we are authentically being changed, but it's not yet complete. And that's comforting to me. It's comforting to me as a Christian to know when I back my car up into a tree and my immediate response isn't one that brings honor and glory to Jesus Christ, it doesn't mean somehow I've fallen from grace. It's comforting for me to know that when I struggle battling pride, Lust, dishonesty, self-exaltation, various forms of idolatry. It's comforting for me to know that though God's grace is effective in changing me, the presence of that struggle isn't necessarily indication of the absence of grace. In fact, in fact, the presence of the struggle Hear me, the presence of the struggle is evidence of the presence of grace. That is, when I am at war with my sin, even when I'm taking a few shots on the chin, I am at war with sin because Christ Jesus has succeeded in war for me. And now he's working that victory in me and through me. Amen, church? Look down at verse eight with me. If you would, please. We're gonna wrap this up shortly. I've got one more question to answer, how? But look at verse eight. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ. Not to belabor a point that we're going to revisit, not just throughout Philippians, but throughout all of scripture. Those who have been transformed by the grace of God actually experience not merely a change in behavior, they experience a change of affection. Isn't it true? That when I came to know Jesus Christ, when you came to know Jesus Christ, you begin to hate the things you once loved, And you may have begun to love the things you once hated. Or being conformed to the image of Christ Jesus by the Father. And so the Apostle Paul is able to say, I yearn for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. That is to say, Christ is the source for the yearning. I find myself sinning against my Father, but you know what the reality is? I hate that. I hate it. And I can't wait for the day when sin is no longer present with me. I can't wait for the day, church, to hear those words, well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master. Additionally, the reason why I'm a pastor, The reason why I love doing what I do is because my love for Jesus Christ has blossomed into a love for the people of Christ. That's the heart of the Christian, not just the pastor. That's the message of 1 John chapter 4. God is love. Whoever loves, abide in God and God in him. In fact, you can't say, I love God and hate my brother. For the one who hates his brother whom he sees cannot love God whom he has not seen. That's the idea here Paul yearns, longs for, has great affection for Christians because of the work of Christ in Paul. Okay. What does Paul do in the text? He gives thanks to God in joyful prayer. Secondly, why does he do this? First of all, because of their partnership in the gospel. They partner with him in the gospel. Secondly, because of God's perseverance in them for salvation. Finally, how? This will be brief. I've said that, what, five times now? How? How does this inform our faith and lives? I'm going to just mention three, okay? And if you're in a community group, you can talk about these in community group. If you're not in a community group, consider joining one. It's a wonderful opportunity to discuss the word of God and discuss the sermon for that particular morning. Three exhortations that summarize how we should respond, I think. First of all, receive lasting joy in the gospel. receive lasting joy in the gospel. If you don't know Jesus Christ this morning, don't leave here without experiencing the lasting joy that Jesus Christ has to offer you, a joy that cannot be fractured by the presence of any changing circumstances. We shared the gospel a moment ago together as a church. If you've not come to trust and treasure that gospel, then please, for heaven's sake, Repent and believe in Jesus Christ this morning. And receive lasting gratitude and joy. And if that's where you are this morning, then please grab someone, talk to someone. You can grab me afterward. I'll make my way out and stand out in the breeze away there. You can grab me and talk to me. You can contact the church. You can get online, our website. Contact us. Let us know that's where you are so we can come alongside of you and you come alongside of us as we learn to fight for a lasting joy that Jesus Christ has secured in the gospel. Secondly, in addition to receiving lasting joy in the gospel, partner with us in the gospel. Christian, partner with us in the gospel. Don't be a mere observer. Partner in Christ Jesus with us. There are a number of ways to do this. You can do this in prayer. COVID-19 has presented some challenges, right? We know that. But the gospel hasn't ceased. We may have to take a bit of a different path. It's the same gospel that endures through all circumstances and situations. Partner with us in the gospel. You can do this financially, of course. This is a partnership. You can do this in prayer. You can do this with your feet and going with the gospel. You can talk to Pastor Tim, for example. Ask him about ways in which you can get involved in partnership with us, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pastor Rick. These brothers, Pastor Darren, so many others that are working in gospel ministry, different facets of ministry in the church, join with us, partner with us in the gospel of Christ Jesus. Ask yourself today, don't let the day conclude without asking yourself, how am I partnering in the gospel? Third, in addition to receiving lasting joy and partnering with us in the gospel, third, rest in God's promise to finish what He began in you. Rest in it. There's tremendous solace and peace in the gospel of Christ that promises that the work that God has begun in us, He is faithful to complete. There are many unknowns, aren't there? But you can hang your hat on the security of Christ. There have been times when I looked at Madeline, Titus, or Micah, my three kiddos, and I've said something like this to them. There is nothing in the world you could do to place you outside of a relationship with me as your father. Nothing. What that does is not give a license to disregard what I tell them. No, in fact, it buttresses their desire to please their father. Who wants to serve a father who is quick to cast us aside when things get tough? Now the promise of the gospel is there is nothing Nothing you can do to work your way out of my favor. I started this work in you, I will complete it. You didn't begin it, right? You didn't start this work. It's not yours to secure, it's Christ's to secure. This is why, by the way, the church has sung for many years, in the form of God's promise to us, these words, the soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes. That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake. Let's pray together, Church. Father in heaven, it is a joy to receive lasting joy in the gospel of your Son, to have the privilege of partnership in the gospel with Christ Jesus and with one another, and to rest and find peace in your promise to finish what you began in us. Oh God, be faithful to make good on your promises. We pray these things in the name and authority and security of Jesus our Savior and all God's people said together, amen. Well, in just a moment, the ushers are going to come forward and they're going to dismiss you by rows. I would encourage you, if you would, when they do that, make your way all the way out the door, and then go ahead and make that turn. Make your way all the way out the doors into the breezeway. We love enjoying a time of conversation, but they've got to clean in here, and there are a number of things to consider with social distancing and wanting to be faithful to love other brothers and sisters, and I'll be faithful to do that as well, okay? I'll make my way out there and maybe get to visit with some of you. There are restrooms, I should have said that, so you're welcome to do that first, but you get the idea, all right? Would you please stand for our benediction? Church family, may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ grant you through Christ by the Spirit this week security, rest, peace, endurance in his promise that the one who began a good work in you will be faithful indeed to complete it at the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.