Well, if you could turn to Philippians, this is our second message in the book of Philippians. If you weren't here a couple of weeks ago, I preached for the first time in Philippians, and I'm going to be going through this for the next 30 plus times that I teach, Lord willing. And if you were here last time, we first started out, we looked in Acts 16. In Acts 16, you see where this church started. You see the beginning of it. And so we looked at that, and then we went to Philippians, and we looked at the very first verse. And what I put forward to you was that the book of Philippians is a book that is about the life of joy. And the only life of joy is that for the true Christian, right? There's no other life you can live on this earth that's going to have true joy except that of the Christian. Because true joy only comes from Jesus Christ. And we looked at verse 1. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi. And we observed first that a true Christian is a servant. And the word there means slave. The true Christian is a slave of Jesus Christ. All his rights are surrendered to Christ. He has no life of his own, no purpose of his own, no plan of his own. All is subjected to the Master Christ. And Paul says in verse 2, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Master. And the master of his life was Christ. That was the first thing we looked at of what a true Christian is. They're a slave of Christ. The next thing we looked at is a true Christian is a saint. They're not called a sinner. They're called a saint. They're a holy one. They're someone who's set apart. And they're set apart how? The text says, in Christ Jesus. And we looked, that's referring to Christ is the Christian's legal representative, like we find in Romans chapter 5. A Christian is no longer an Adam who died, but there in Christ, in whom all will be made alive. And throughout the whole New Testament, we find this phrase, in Christ, in Christ. And Christ is our representative. He's why we're not going to be legally condemned before God on Judgment Day, because He's our lawyer, and He's paid the price that God's justice demanded, and He did it by shedding His own blood. So, that's what we looked at last time. We looked at last time how the book of Philippians, 104 verses are in the book. And out of 50 of those verses, Christ is referred to. Either by Christ Jesus, Jesus Christ, or Him or He. 50 verses. Almost every other verse in this book refers to Christ. It's a very Christ-centered book. That's what we saw in the book of Philippians. And so that was the first message. Philippians 1, and we're going to read up to the start of verse 9. Paul and Timothy, servants, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints, the holy ones, who are in Christ Jesus, who are at Philippi with the overseers and deacons. He puts the two offices in the church. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He goes on, "'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.'" Verse 7, 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. And it is my prayer." And we'll stop right there. Today, I believe the next point Paul is trying to bring across to us that we're going to look at in Philippians, is we're going to look at Paul's attitude in prayer towards those who are at Philippi. And if you look at the text, verse 3 and 4, he puts forward his attitude towards them. Verse 5, it starts with, because he starts giving some reasons. And he interjects, he puts in here this famous verse that we all know, Philippians 1.6, I'm sure of this, He began a good work in you, will bring it to completion. But that's not the thrust of this passage right here. He goes on in verse 7, I believe he keeps giving more reasons for why he's praying with thankfulness and joy. And then in verse 9, we actually see Paul's prayer. towards them. So my hope today is to look at Paul's attitude towards those at Philippi. It's an attitude of joyfulness and thanksgiving. That's how he prayed. And I want to look at why did Paul have that attitude towards them. The next time, we'll look at v. 6 and the doctrine found there. And then the next time, we'll look at v. 9 and see what was Paul actually praying for them, which he says clearly right there. So, that's where we're going to go today. We're going to look at that. So to start, let's look at verse 3 and 4, and let's look at what is Paul's attitude. towards them as he prays. So verse 3, we start out and he says, I thank my God. So clearly we see thankfulness, gratitude right there at the beginning. I thank my God in all my remembrance of You. So one, he's thanking God in remembering. Well, we're going to look at that. Why? And then always in every prayer of mine. So he's thanking God in remembrance and in every prayer. And then he says he's making his prayer with joy. with joy. And remember, I'm convinced the book's theme is the life of joy, and the only life of joy is the life of the true Christian. The person here who surrendered all their rights, all their will to the Lord Jesus Christ. You think about joy. Joy, like we said, is not an experience that comes from favorable circumstances. You know, if Jeremy's team wins the best thing in the soccer league, they're going to have a feeling of joy. But that joy is nothing compared to the true joy that comes from knowing Christ. The true joy from heaven. It says in Luke 15, 7, there's going to be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. Now, they need repentance. They're just too proud and they're unwilling to repent. They don't see their need of a Savior. But that's where true joy comes from. From people being reconciled to God. From the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, question, why does looking at Paul's attitude of gratitude and joy matter to us? Why should we look at his prayers and see why he prayed with joy in every prayer? Why he prayed with thankfulness in every prayer? Why does that matter to me and you here today? One first thing I want to put forward, it matters because whatever reasons he's praying with joy, it reveals to us the source of joy, of true joy. So as we look at why Paul had joy as he thought about those at Philippi, whatever the reason he had joy in regards to them, whatever they were doing, that's where you find true joy in this life. So that's the first reason it matters. That's where we're going to find true joy as we trace down what motivated Paul to have this attitude. Another thing, it's a challenge to the believer. Do we think this well of others when we remember them? You know, can I say to every one of you, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. If I can't, is it because of some selfishness and pride in my own heart and I'm unloving? Or if I can't, secondly, we should ask as Christians, is there any reason in my life that I'm causing one of my leaders or someone in the church to be here and make them groan? Remember Tim Priest in Hebrews 13, we don't want to make our leaders groan, we want to make them have joy as they lead over us for our own good. So do we deserve and give reason for others to think thankful and joyful thoughts when they remember us? You know, and a big reason we're going to look at this, Paul, in a sense, was like a pastor to them. He was there when God gave birth to them and they were saved. And so it's amazing, ten years later, remember, this is ten years later that Paul is writing this letter back to a church that he helped start. through the power of God and the gospel. And he has joy and thanksgiving when he remembers them. You know, that matters to us because we want our leaders to have joy and thanksgiving when they remember us. So, those are some of the reasons Paul's attitude matters that we look at it this morning. You know, what are some opposite attitudes? of what Paul felt. Remember, Paul felt thankful in all remembrance of them. Paul had joy in every prayer towards them. Now, the church at Philippi, he was gushing with love for them. But look at what he said to some other churches. To those at Corinthians, he said, I thank God. What did he thank God for? That I baptized none of you. We don't want someone thanking God that they didn't baptize any of us because we're trying to take, you know, they baptized me, look at that, a famous person baptized me, the Apostle Paul, and we're trying to get money out of it, or we're trying to gain man's approval because of that. Paul was thanking God he wasn't deeply associated with many of them through their baptism. We don't want them thinking like that about us. Another was with the church at Galatia. He called them, O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? We don't want people thinking that in regards to us. Right? Could anyone say to me, oh foolish James, who has bewitched you? You got deceived into thinking you needed to add circumcision as something to be justified before God. You're denying the grace of the Lord. So, let's look now at the reasons we find in the text of why Paul thanked my God in all remembrance of them. You look at v. 3 again. I thank my God. And the first thing we find out is, in all my remembrance of you. In remembrance. So we've got to think here, what was Paul remembering about them? What came to his mind? This is past tense. What in the past made Paul thankful? And it says in Acts 16, you don't need to turn it, I'll just read these off. Paul was probably thinking about the vision that came to him. The Macedonian call. And he was called to go and preach the gospel. He was just probably thinking, I'm thankful when I remember you that God even called me to go and preach to you guys. Next thing he's probably thinking about, I'm thankful that God even brought me down to that river where the women were praying and God opened the heart of Lydia. He's just remembering how the Word was made effectual and Lydia was saved. Paul, he's remembering in the jail. They're singing and praising the Lord. And then what happens? Who sent an earthquake? God did. And God sent this earthquake, and the Philippian jailer was about to commit suicide and kill himself. He had such fear that the Roman Empire, they're going to find out. These prisoners escaped. They're going to kill me anyways. I should just kill myself. And yet, Paul and Silas, they're still in there. And he saw them. They came to him and he said, what must I do to be saved? And think of Paul remembering that happening. A man about to kill himself believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and is saved. And it says in the very next verse, he was rejoicing greatly. So Paul, you know, he's got joy remembering a man who's about to commit suicide was left rejoicing greatly because of the power of the gospel and his sins being paid for. So those are some things, you know, Paul's remembering. You know, he was remembering what's the next reason. Let's look at verse 5. Verse 3, I thank my God in all remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy. Why, Paul? And he says right here, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And what is the partnership in the Gospel? First, that word partnership there, it's the same word Tim's been dealing with in 1 John. It's fellowship. Koinonia. That's what he's saying. I thank God in all my remembrance of the fellowship we've had in the Gospel. Now what's that mean? Fellowship. It's a state of shared interest. What was their shared interest? What did Paul and the church at Philippi have a shared interest in? Jesus Christ in the Gospel. Fellowship is to have mutual experiences. What did they all have a mutual experience in? Conversion. They had all become new creations in Christ. They had come, all those who were truly saved in the church, they had come to see the beauty of Jesus Christ as more precious than anything. Fellowship. Partnership in the Gospel. It meant mutual activities. And the mutual activities we find in verse 7, we'll look at later, it says, in defense and confirmation of the Gospel. And so Paul's remembering how they've been by him in defense of the Gospel. Paul's remembering how they've been by him in the confirmation and the going forth of the Gospel. He's thankful just remembering what they've been to him for ten years. as they've pressed on with Him. You think about partnership in the Gospel. The only way you'll have true, genuine fellowship in the Gospel, even with us here today, is if you yourself have come to be saved and to know Christ. I mean, you think about a man who has cancer. I've never had cancer. It's going to be hard for me to have real communion with that person who's had cancer because I've never had it. But a person who's had their sins forgiven, a person who puts no confidence in the flesh, when they meet another person who puts no confidence in the flesh and boasts in Christ, it's so easy to have real fellowship with them. I mean, you think about how we go on a plane, and you meet a true Christian on a plane, and you feel like you've known him for a year. Or different people that stay with me at my house, I've known them for a couple hours, and I already feel like I've known them for a month. Why? Real fellowship around the activities, the mutual interest in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Christian can say, I don't put confidence in my flesh. Circumcision doesn't count for anything. Even uncircumcision doesn't count for anything. But a new creation, being in Christ. The Christian can say like Paul, for me to live is Christ, to die is gain. The Christian can say like Paul, I count all things as loss. I look at all my religious life. I look at all these things I did. It's done. It's loss. Done. It's excrement. It's worthless compared to having Christ. The Christian can say, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can endure any circumstance because God's on my side. I have the right man, Jesus Christ, interceding for me. The Christian can say, I won't have to pay the penalty of eternal destruction. You know, if you go to a lost person and you talk about having the penalty of eternal destruction, as it says in 2 Thessalonians 1-9, that it's been paid. The true Christian, they know exactly what you mean. They know that it's been paid by Christ dying for me. The unbeliever, you don't have any fellowship with them there. They scratch their head. They're confused. So, what I'm putting forward, my present understanding of partnership in the Gospel, fellowship in the Gospel, is just having mutual interest around the things of Christ, around the good news of Christ dying and paying our sin debt for us. Now, Paul was thankful and joyful because of this partnership. So remember, as we think of these things, why does this matter to me? This shows us what's going to make your leaders, me being one of them, what's going to make us most joyful. It's having you partnering with us around the things of the gospel. That's where the greatest joy is going to be in our prayers for you, and the greatest thankfulness in our remembrance of you. Now another thing partnership in the gospel meant, turn to chapter 4, a couple pages over, verse 15. He says right here, And you Philippians, yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only. So one thing in Paul's mind clearly about fellowship in the gospel, and confirming the gospel and bringing it out, there's financial support. And Paul is joyful and thankful to remember their loving heart to give money to him that he could go and preach the gospel and go on missionary journeys. So he was thankful for that. He was remembering that. So ask yourself, is the main thing that knits you together with others? Is it fellowship around the gospel? Is that the main thing? When you think about your relationships, can you think, you know what? My greatest mutual interest, my greatest communion, my greatest relationship with this individual is centered around the good news of Christ. As we'll look at defending it, confirming it. Loving the gospel of Jesus Christ. Can you look at your relationships and say, you know what, that's true? Or do your relationships involve around, say, homeschooling? Is that the main reason I've got fellowship with certain people? Because they homeschool and I homeschool? Or is it because of the gospel? Is the main reason I've got fellowship with certain people? Is it because we like a certain type of music? Is that really what knits us together? Or is it, I've got a certain group and we dislike a certain type of music? Is that what knits us together? Or am I being knit together with mutual interest around the things of Jesus Christ and the gospel? You know, if what unites this church is the gospel, anyone can walk in this door, no matter their background. And if what their love and their life is for is Christ, then they can easily come into fellowship with us. But if someone comes in the door and fellowship and partnership in the gospel with us is not their main thing, it's not going to work out. Because that's our main thing. And they're going to find out that our interests aren't their interests. But no matter what side things people have, Whether it's certain type of music or whether it's homeschooling or non-homeschooling, if their fellowship is all about the gospel, then we can have real fellowship with them. And if we can't, it's just because we're unloving. You think about the Christian. One of the questions I find me having in conversations with you all is, you know, what is the Lord teaching you? I mean, that's real fellowship. You know, Richard would say, what's the Lord been teaching him the month he's been in Laredo? That gets deep. I get real fellowship about the gospel. About the good news. Remember, the good news isn't just how our sins are put away. The good news is how the Lord's going to get us to the end. And a lot of that is about sanctification. Having the mind of Christ, as Paul talks about later in this book. And so we talk, you know, how are you more like Jesus Christ today than yesterday? So, why is Paul thankful in remembrance of them? Always in every prayer. Why is Paul making his prayer with joy? He says here, because of your partnership in the Gospel. And then he says next, from the first day until now. Paul wasn't just thankful for a past partnership. He was thankful for an enduring partnership in the Gospel. When you think about Charles Leiter and Dick Oaks, they're about to be at 40 years of being co-pastors. 40 years of partnering in the gospel and laboring as pastors in a church. Thank God that until now they've had this partnership in the gospel. I mean, endurance in our partnership and fellowship around the things of Christ is huge. It's not just we want to have good fellowship for three years, we want to have it for thirty years. We want to be able to say, like Paul, thank God from the first day in Acts 16, ten to twelve years ago, and thank God until now, twelve years later. I'm so thankful as I remember the last 12 years of our partnership. They stuck with it. They persevered in their relationships. To persevere in our relationships, we've got to love each other in the midst of our differences and continue to seek to maintain unity. And that is a blessed thing to the Lord. Unity, unity. So, Paul says that from the first day until now. And you know, he's thinking, until now, and he goes on in verse 6, you know, it's not just until now, Philippians. I'm sure of it. I'm confident. He who began this good work in you ten, twelve years ago, for some of you, he's going to bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. In verse 6, think of the joy that we can look at those we have partnership in the gospel, and we can joyfully explain like Paul, that I'm sure he who began it is going to bring it to completion. Paul, part of his remembrance and being thankful, it's all about what God has done. God started the work, God's going to see the work to the end. And so I think verse 6 is right there in the flow of verse 3 and 4. Next time, I want to pick it apart word by word and look at what's really being taught there. But right now, my point that I believe is right there. Paul is thankful that he remembers them and realizes what God began. God's going to complete it. Now let's look at the next verse. It is right for me to feel this way about you all." When I first read this, I thought, okay, it's right for me to feel this way, and I circled a line to verse 6, I am sure of this. And I thought, okay, he's saying, why do I have such confident assurance that he who began a good work is going to bring it to completion? And then he goes into saying, it's right for me to feel sure that you're going to make it to the end. Now, in part, it may be referring to verse 6. I think it is in part. But I think the main thrust of verse 7 isn't Paul saying, it's right for me to feel confident you're going to make it to the end. But what does he say next? Because I hold you in my heart. And he goes on. In a way, he repeats what he said about the partnership and the gospel. And then he says in verse 8, God is my witness, I will yearn for you all. And then in verse 9, he says his prayer. The thrust of verses 3-8 is Paul's prayer for them. He's saying, this is my attitude, joyful, thankful. These are my reasons. And verse 6 is one of the reasons he can have joy in his prayer for them, and he gives some doctrine there. And then verse 7, he's just going at it again, giving more reasons why in his remembrance of them he's thankful, and in every prayer he's joyful in regards to them. You know, Paul, look at verse 7, he talks a lot about himself. Verse 6, about perseverance of the saints, he's sure about God. Verse 7, he says, it's 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 defense of the gospel. God is my witness. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. So let's think about this really quick. This reason of why he says it's right for me to feel this way about you all. And part of it, Paul is adding into the loop here, it's right for me to feel this way. What way? Joyful, thankful, and confident. Because he just mentions this thought of assurity and confidence because of what God began God's going to complete. And so he's adding in there, I think, in part, this attitude. It's right for me to feel joyful, thankful, and confident. when I think about you all, when I remember you." So he says right here, because I hold you in my heart. Because I hold you in my heart. The idea there is I carry you. I support you in my heart. You're near to me. And that verse is a challenge to me. I say things like that to my wife. I don't say things like that enough to you all in the church. Why is that? I mean, I guess a saying like that, I hold you in my heart, we don't really talk like that. And maybe that's why it feels subtly foreign to me. Maybe I just need more growth. But you know, it means support you in my heart, and I do support you all in my heart, so I do feel it in part. But it's something you want more of. I mean, you read that verse and it's like, I want more of that. To be able to say, I hold you Philippians, I hold you Grace Communions in my heart. I want more of that. We should want more of that. Now why? Why does He hold them in His heart? He says, because. And what reason does He give? I hold you in My heart for you are all partakers with Me of grace. Now what does He mean? Partakers with You of grace. One brother said it well, partakers of grace, you're partakers with me of grace, and grace is undeserved strength from God to carry on the work of the Lord in the face of severe opposition. You catch that? It's undeserved grace and power to carry on the work in the midst of severe opposition. And so Paul's saying to them, I hold you in my heart. Why? Look at this. You guys have been partakers with me of undeserved power from God. And then he gives some reasons. He gives some situations in which they were. And these situations made Paul joyful and thankful when he thought about them. And so what were those circumstances? The first one he mentions is what? In my imprisonment. You guys are partakers with me of the undeserved power of God in my imprisonment. Look at 1 verse 30. He mentions suffering for the sake, and he says that they're engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. So one thing, you know, Paul, he's thanking God that they're partakers in his imprisonment. And one thing he's thinking about is they're engaged in the same conflict he is. They're suffering just like he is. Maybe not as bad, but in part. Another thing he's obviously thinking about, here he's in prison. And what sparked this letter? They sent Epaphroditus to minister to the need of Paul. And Paul's writing a letter back and sending Epaphroditus back to the church at Philippi. So part of his thanking God that they partake was just sending a messenger and helping Paul in his need. It says in chapter 2, verse 25, He says in chapter 4, verse 14, it's kind of you to share, to partake in my trouble. You think of Hebrews 13, verse 3. It says, remember those in prison. Remember them, because we're one body. And that's what they did. The church at Philippi, they remembered Paul while he was in prison. And he's remembering them while he's writing this letter and he's thankful to God for their partnership. in partaking of the grace of God in the midst of His imprisonment. So what's the next thing? We're looking at why is Paul thankful to God when he remembers Him? Why is Paul joyful always in every prayer of his? The next reason, they're partakers of grace in the midst of the defense of the gospel. To defend is to take action against a challenge. It's to maintain or support in the face of argument or hostile criticism. And that's what they did. You know what Paul told them? He said, look out for the dogs. Look out for those who put confidence in the flesh. Look out. Defend this message. No one wants a church to be like the foolish Galatians who get bewitched. And Paul was thankful these guys had some backbone. These guys were not cowards. They were defending the Gospel. Paul said, it's my eager expectation, my hope, that I won't at all be ashamed, but with full courage, now as always, Christ will be honored. in my body, whether by life or by death, for me to live as Christ and to die as gain. And Paul wanted that for them. He wanted them to honor the Lord by defending the purity of the Gospel. And it seems they were doing that in part, so when Paul remembers them in prayer, when Paul is praying with joy, one of the reasons is they're partakers of the undeserved power from God in the midst of defending the Gospel. Can this be said of us? Can we think about ourselves and say, you know what? In my life, I seek to defend the gospel. Not, you know, I seek to every conversation I have, have a debate. But defend it. I care about the purity of the gospel. That makes Paul joyful for you, over you. The next thing, he says, it's right for me to feel this way about you, joyful and thankful and confident, because I hold you in my heart. I mean, you're part of me. Why? You partake with me of the undeserved power of God. You've done this in my imprisonment. You've sent Epaphroditus. You've helped me out. You've done this in the defense of the gospel. And next, you've done it in the confirmation of the gospel. So Paul's thankful they've been partakers of undeserved power from God in confirming the Gospel. What does it mean? And I've already used the word confirm. What does it mean to confirm the Gospel? Well, this is the way it helped me to think about it. Think about medicine. This medicine is going to take away some great disease. What's the way to confirm that medicine is going to take away some great disease? Give it to someone. And once it takes away the disease, it confirmed it worked. And so, I think what Paul's saying here, what better way to confirm the power of the gospel than to preach it and see men saved. And so he's thinking of them, and they've been involved in missions. They've been involved in the gospel going forth. And as the gospel goes forth, people get swept into the kingdom by the power of God, and it just confirms the message. It confirms this really is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe. There really is no other way. Under heaven given among men by which you must be saved, Christ is it. He's the only way. You think about Acts 4.20. They said there they couldn't stop speaking what we've seen and heard. And don't you feel that as a Christian? You just can't stop speaking of what you've seen and heard. I mean, think of the Philippian jeller. You've got to imagine, this man, after almost committing suicide, and ends up rejoicing greatly in the Lord, and gets saved, and his whole household gets converted. I guarantee you, that man, he was probably seeking to confirm the gospel to the other jailers, to take it to them, to see them converted, to evangelize to them. And Paul saw that in this church. You know, what did we learn there? That's one way that can give our leadership here joy, is for all of us to partake in the confirmation of the Gospel. To take it out. To be involved in whatever way we can in missions. And remember, one way they confirmed the Gospel, one way they partook was giving money to Paul. Helping him. And he took the message out. Globally, and they stayed locally. So let's read 3-7 again. Church of Philippi, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, thinking about what happened in Acts 16, how God saved you, Lydia and Philippi and Jeller, and put you guys together in fellowship, you guys who had such diverse backgrounds. I thank you always in every prayer of mine. Making my prayer with joy. I'm just delighted. I'm so glad. Because, here my reason is, you're partners. You have fellowship in the Gospel. And you've had it from the first day in Acts 16 until now. And I'm sure of this. He who began a good work back then, twelve years earlier, He's going to bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. What a joy that day is going to be when Christ comes back. We're eagerly awaiting it. The writer of Hebrews says, Paul goes on, you know, it's right for me to feel this way, to have joy, to have thankfulness in regards to you all, to be confident of this enduring salvation. Why? I hold you in my heart. We're near, we're dear, we're not superficial. Look, you guys, you've partaked of the undeserved power of God. You've done it first, you did it in my imprisonment. Then you did it in defense of the gospel. And then you did it in the confirmation of the gospel. I'm just thankful for you all. You feel that? That's Paul. He's thankful. He's joyful. And then he goes on, and he wants to make sure they really get it. That I'm really being serious, and he says in verse 8, God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. God is my witness. What better witness to have than God? Who's the greatest witness you can have is God. And Paul's saying, look, I know you guys can't look down in my heart. You can't look in my heart, but God can. And I'm calling out to God to bear witness that this joy, this thankfulness, this love that I have for you all, God can see in my heart and He knows it's genuine. He knows it's real. That I yearn, I long, I'm burning for you with the affection of Christ Jesus. What was the love of Christ? The love of Christ drove Him to the cross where He sacrificed Himself to pay the penalty of eternal destruction. As 2 Thessalonians says, if we weren't in Christ, we'd have to pay the penalty of eternal destruction. Yet on that cross, the penalty, judicial penalty of eternal destruction, was borne by Jesus Christ. And God the Father crushed His only Son as our substitute, and He paid the debt for our sins. He took the penalty on our behalf. And so Paul is just saying, God, You're the greatest witness that this is real. So, some closing applications. You know, we started it out. Just consider Paul's diligence. I thank my God in all my remembrance of You. When you remember someone, does it lead me to thank God for them? I mean, that's a good question. When I remember, even as I look at some of you, it's like what comes to my mind? Am I being thankful? No, not for perfection. We're not going to have that completion until the day of Christ. But thankful for the fellowship and the gospel in whatever ways we have in different relationships here with one another. Paul, he said, in all my remembrance, I mean, you get this idea, Paul, when he remembered them, he was just thanking God and throwing up a prayer for them. Do I do that? Do you do that? When you remember someone, thank God, and then throw up a prayer. Not throw up a prayer. Put up a petition to God before the throne. Before them. I think Paul's subtly teaching us here to do that. You know, you think about his joy. Look at the consistency of the joy. I'm making my prayer with joy. Always, in every prayer, joy. That's amazing. I mean, you don't get the idea that they were making Paul groan. He wasn't thanking God he baptized none of them. He was thanking God he had anything to do with them. He was privileged. So, one application, again, do you have fellowship, intimate conversation? Is your life being lived around the partnership of the gospel? Is your life about the defense and the confirmation of the gospel? Whether it's in financial support, whether it's in taking it out and the furtherance of it, whether it's in defending it through suffering on the behalf of Christ, which we've been granted to do, Is that what my fellowship is about? If it's not, and you're not a Christian, you need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, just like the Philippian Jeller. If you do believe, we need to seek to imitate the Philippian church, and also Paul. You see, in verses 3-8, we see what we need to imitate as a church. We see things we need to be seeking to do that give the leader joy and thanksgiving, ultimately give God glory. That's one thing we need to do. Two, we need to look at Paul. Look at his love for them and seek to imitate that. So imitate the church, imitate Paul. You know, I didn't read Spurgeon's sermon on these verses, but I noticed the title that he had was, The Pastor's Joy. Why would Spurgeon name verses 3 through 8, The Pastor's Joy? Because this church gave Paul joy, because of their partnership. And that's the thing we want to be doing, all of us, living our lives for these things about the gospel, You know, if you live a life worthy of the Gospel, it's going to cause others to yearn with affection for you. It's just going to cause them. They're going to think of you and be yearning with affection of Jesus Christ. Others in every remembrance are going to be thankful for you. I mean, why are we so thankful? At least I feel it for the Hamiltons. What's them specifically, why is there a thankfulness? Because what partnership do we as a church have with them on the missions field? It's all about the Gospel. The focus of the ministry isn't just compassion. The emphasis is the Gospel. It's Christ being glorified. The Gospel going forth. Is there anything in my life that prevents others from praying with joy in regards to me? It's a good question to ask. Is there anything in my life, if I was in the Philippian church, that would keep Him from praying with joy always in every prayer for me? If there is, I should deal with it. Children, I know there's a funny school, but children, you know what the greatest thing that's going to give your parents joy? It's you believing on Christ. And becoming a partner with them in the Gospel. Having fellowship with your parents. That your parents could look at you and say you're a co-laborer. Not just you're my child. You're a child of God. And your life is about the Gospel. It's the greatest thing that will give your parents joy. So Paul, His thoughts here, it just shows us again that true joy and thankfulness come because of the Gospel going forth. And the truth of the Gospel. I hope you feel that. Again, remember, why did He make His prayer with joy? Partnership in the Gospel. An enduring one. First until now. Joy that God, the Gospel, teaches that God's going to persevere those whom He saved. Joy that they partook in imprisonment, defense and confirmation. If you seek to do all those things with your life, you'll have great joy. And you'll be able to say like Paul in prison, that my imprisonment has worked out to advance the gospel. You'll be able to have joy in prison. Because remember, true joy is not based on your circumstances. It's based on the Gospel. It's based on Christ. It's based on what He's done. It's based on your standing with Him. It's based on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source. He is the cistern that if we drink from, we'll never really grow thirsty. So, Lord willing, next time, I think we're going to look at verse 6 and just pick that apart. And then after that, we'll look at verse 9. In verse 9, you actually see what Paul's prayer is. Hear all this talk of joy and thankfulness and of always praying. And then His reasons, and then He gives the prayer. It's a powerful prayer. It's one we want to imitate. Let's pray. Lord, I do thank You, my God. What a thing. Paul made it so personal. You're not just the God. You're not just their God. You're my God. And I thank You, O my God, in all remembrance of the Church of Grace Community Church. Lord, just what You've done in this church. Yeah, it's true, from the first day when they were meeting in Freddie's house, even to this day where we're meeting in Hedges, Lord, what thankfulness, what joy of all that You've done. Lord, that we have been a church that's about confirming the Gospel and sending out missionaries. That we have been a church that fellowships around the things of the Gospel. Lord, thank You that that's the thing on our lips. It's the good news of Jesus Christ. Thank You. Thank You, Lord, that we have this fellowship and I pray You'd give it to us all the more that we would be able to have more fellowship, more mutual interest in all facets of our lives around the things of the good news of Your Son. And Lord, would You even today raise people from spiritual death and save them from their sins through the blood of Your Son. We ask these things in Christ's name, Amen.