Good morning. If you have your Bibles, please turn to Philippians 1. Philippians 1, we're gonna be looking at the first 11 verses today. But before I begin, let me just say thank you so much. As a lot of you guys know, we had James recently, and a lot of you guys have poured your love and your generosity to me and Anna, and we're so grateful. We felt welcomed on our first day here, and we're still feeling that today. So thank you guys so much. You guys are a loving and generous church. Keep Calm and Carry On. Have you seen that poster before? I mean, people created all sorts of versions, but the original Keep Calm and Carry On poster has an interesting history to it. During World War II, England was under constant threat of German bombing. Sirens would ring throughout the city, and panic would ensue. I mean, those days when people would go out in public, they would often bring gas masks. with them because they were afraid of German poison gas attacks. And this went not just for days, but for weeks and months. You can imagine they were tired and weary and exhausted. Well, England's Ministry of Information created these various posters that they wanted to distribute, hoping that these posters would boost the morale of the nation and give them strength and endurance to survive and fight the war. And so they designed this poster, Keep Calm and Carry On. There are a couple of ways that the Ministry of Information tried to use these posters to boost the morale. First, they wanted to post this everywhere so that people would know whatever they were doing at that moment, it mattered. So if you're a nurse, you're grappled with fear and discouragement, keep calm and carry on and keep helping your patients. If you're a teacher, you felt the building tremble, You should keep calm and carry on and keep teaching your students. It emphasized that they were participating and achieving the same goal. Another way, if you've seen the poster, is what they printed at the very top, right, of royal crown. It was a reminder that while everyone had different roles and jobs and responsibilities, they were all one nation. They were all united. The crown reminded them of the greater reality that they're partners of greater mission, and they're able to endure and grow with one another in this trial and adversity. The poster reminded them, in the season of war and trial, that they're all one united group, that they're all participating in the same mission, and that they must work and grow together. Friends, the book of Philippians starts with this similar theme. Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Philippian church, and in the first 11 verses, he reminds his friends of the greater reality that they're all united, not through common interests or jobs or social standings, but because of their King, Jesus Christ. Let's read Philippians 1 together. You can find, if you're using a Black Pew Bible like this, you can find it on page 921. Philippians 1. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus. To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi with the overseers and deacons, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 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'm 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. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. I think the main idea of this passage is pretty simple. If I were to summarize these 11 verses, it would be this. Find joy from being united with Christ. Find joy from being united with Christ. And Paul teaches in this passage that because we are united with Christ through faith, there are three implications in which we can find joy. So if you're in Christ, you will be living in the body, and you can find joy in that. That's verses one and two. If you're in Christ, you will be participating in the same mission. That's verses three to eight. And if you're in Christ, you will be growing in maturity together. That's verses nine through 11. So three points, living in the body, participating in the same mission, and growing in maturity. So number one, living in the body. If you've read any of Paul's letters, this opening paragraph sounds very familiar. We have Paul and Timothy's self-description as servants of Christ Jesus, like he does with other letters. He also mentions who he's writing to, the Philippian church. And in verse two, we see his usual greetings. Grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, it's tempting to gloss over these two verses, but they aren't just throwaway verses that Paul just writes to get into what he's about to say. No, I think these two verses are full of Paul's theology and teaching of who the Philippian church is. But in order to do that, let me rewind to Acts 16, because that's when Paul first steps foot in Philippi. Acts 16 is a story of Paul's missionary journey where he departs from Troas and arrives at Philippi. He doesn't waste any time there. Very shortly, we see Paul sharing the gospel and God opens Lydia's eyes to her sins and she reads the scripture with new understanding. She gets baptized and becomes, as far as we know, a first convert from Paul's ministry in Philippi. So Paul and his friends, they set base at Lydia's house and continues his ministry until they are imprisoned. But that doesn't stop Paul either. We see Paul and Silas singing hymns in their cells. And God miraculously opens all the doors, frees the prisoners, and rescues Paul and Silas. And from this event, we see the jailer and his household becoming Christians. So Acts 16 tells us the fruit of Paul's faithful ministry. We see individuals from different backgrounds and jobs coming to faith and believing in Jesus Christ. So from Acts 16, we jump to the letter of Philippians, but we don't see Paul greeting. grace to you and peace from our God, to Lydia, or to the slave girl that we exercised her demon out of, or this jailer in the household. But we see Paul writing his letter to saints, overseers, and deacons. You see, what started as a church plant is now a thriving church with established positions like overseers and deacons. The word overseer is used synonymously with elders and pastors in the New Testament. In Acts 20, we see Paul addressing one and same group of men, but he addresses them as both elders and overseers. And Peter, in his letter, exhorts the elders to pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God. The Philippian church also had deacons, a position that was first started in Acts 6. Deacons are called to be of good repute, full of the spirit and of wisdom, and they were called to meet the practical needs of the church. In fact, this is the usual pattern of the New Testament. As you read through the book of Acts, you'll see as the gospel is proclaimed, people are saved. And when people are saved, churches get established. And in these churches, God ordains and establishes and places pastors, elders, and overseers to teach and lead the church and deacons to serve and help the elders by taking care of the physical needs. But you know, as I was studying this week, I kept wondering, man, what kind of emotion was Paul feeling as he was writing this? You know, it's like when we spend hours or days or weeks on projects or gardening and we look at it with joy and pride when it's finished. What would he have felt when he looked back to all the hours and days as he was writing this letter, all the hours and days he has spent discipling these new converts of what it means to be under Christ's lordship rather than the emperor's. Or as he was writing, remembering when Lydia saw the scripture with new understanding and became aware of her sins and trusted in Jesus Christ in faith and repentance. What would he have felt when he was recounting these brothers and sisters being encouraged by his example and were emboldened to give and share even more of what they had for Christ and his mission? I'm sure he welled up with joy and gladness in writing to his brothers and sisters. who are united not only with Jesus, but united with one another in this one local church. Friends, can you echo the joy that Paul had from living in the body of Christ? No church will be ever perfect, but we can and should find joy in knowing that we are all one body and one family. Not because we have the same hobbies, not because we're in the same life stage, or not because we like the same music, but because we have and love the same Savior. One of the ways we could find in living in the body, one of the ways we could find joy in living in the body is not actually look within us and find commonalities in other people, but actually is to look outside of us and look to Jesus. Friends, don't look at the foundation or the reason of our unity in this church within ourselves, but on the cross of Jesus Christ. And yes, all of us are saved by our faith. We're not justified through another's faith. But the Bible teaches that. Recipients of Jesus' sacrifice is the whole church. Jesus died for the church. In Acts 20, Christ purchased the church with his own blood. Ephesians 5, Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. Friends, do you want to grow your love for the church? Grow your love for Christ. And as you love your master, your Lord, and your Redeemer, pray that your heart will conform to love what he loves. This is a lengthy quote, but here's what Charles Spurgeon said about Christ's love for the church. He starts this quote by saying, Jesus, in all his power and might, could have just given his people his royalty, and that would be enough to save us. Or he could have just, in heaven, declared victory over evil and Satan, and that would be enough to save us. But that's not what Jesus does. Spurgeon says, Jesus would not merely leave his glory and part with his crown, but he must give himself. Here he is on earth, born of the virgin, a helpless infant. He slumbers at her breast. Throughout his life, foxes had holes, birds of the air, nests, but he had not where to lay his head. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. The thorn crown is on his brow, the lash of the scourge is on his back, the spear is at his breast, the nails are in his hands and feet. He has given you much? But now he is about to give you all he has. He is stripped naked to his shame. He gives his last garment that he may cover the nakedness of man. But when he cries, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? When having drank the last drop of the bitter cup of woe, he bows his head and says, it is finished. and gives up the ghost. He has given you all that he can give, for he has given you himself. Friends, in Christ, In Christ, you can have joy. Your joy could be found in living in the body of Christ with one another. But that's not all. Paul continues in this passage that Christians should also find joy in participating in the same mission. So number two, participating in the same mission. That's verses three to nine, three to eight, I'm sorry. In this next section, Paul opens his heart to show what kind of emotion and affection he had for his friends and vice versa. I mean, just in these short verses, he thanks God every time he remembers for the Philippians, he prays for them with joy, he holds them in his heart, and he even invokes God as his witness to tell them how much he loves them. What moves Apostle Paul who preached the gospel with boldness and courage, who was able to stand in front of officials and not cower in fear, but preach the good news of Jesus. What moved this apostle to write a love letter to these Philippian church? Well, we see that Paul thanks his God for them and prays with joy whenever he thinks of them because of their partnership in the gospel in verse five. Paul as a missionary needed money and funds to travel, and the Philippian church was one of the first to gift that money. So Paul would be free to preach the gospel and minister to people. More than that, even when Paul was imprisoned in Rome, where he is writing this letter from, this church sent gifts. through Epaphroditus. So we see in chapters 2 and 4 Philippian church continued to help Paul even in later ministry in imprisonment. You know, living in an age of Venmo or PayPal or even mailing our money in, it's hard to grasp why this meant so much to Paul. But traveling was such a hard task during Paul's time. And especially traveling long distance, it just took long, right? They didn't have cars, planes. It often involved risk of being robbed or at risk of being delayed or even getting sick. So for the church to even send someone, let alone send them with money and gifts to support him in his ministry, it meant much to Paul. Paul was joyful for the Philippians because of their partnership. But what Paul is quick to point out in this passage is that they didn't merely help Paul but they helped because they had a shared mission, right? Verse five, it doesn't just say partnership, but it says partnership in the gospel. Verse seven says that they're partakers with me of grace, and this involved imprisonment and defense of the good news of Jesus Christ. The mission that they shared is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus to those who walk in darkness, is to see people repent from their sins and turn to Christ for their salvation. Their generous giving of energy and wealth and possession allowed the apostle and his friends to preach the good news of God generously giving his son to his people. But have you noticed, why does he include verse six in the middle? In the midst of celebration and thankfulness, why does he say what he says in verse six? Paul seems to kind of just blurt out this highly theological statement, because I'm sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. I think Paul is simply stating through verse six that because of their visible and concrete display of love for Paul and for God and for the good news, he can know and can be assured that they are truly saved and united with Christ. And because they are united with Christ, they will be united until the very end. In other words, their good work in participating in the same mission proves that God has saved them and God will continue to hold them in their faith until they die. Paul uses the same words in Galatians 3, right? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected or completed by the flesh? No, the answer is no. Our spiritual life, the moment you become aware of your sins, the moment you become aware of your sins and feel the need of Jesus's sacrifice, friends, that began by and through the Spirit, and we will be completed by the Spirit. This verse teaches, along with the New Testament, that God will preserve his people in their faith. If you're not a Christian, I'm so glad you're here. You're welcome to visit us any Sunday. But I hope I just addressed a big misconception that many people have about Christians. What we read in the Bible, and even in this passage, is that by saying we're Christians, by declaring that we are Christians, or I'm a Christian, I'm also saying that there was no good in me before I became a Christian. We believe that all of us are hypocrites and liars and sinners. Friends, God didn't save Christians because they're good. God saved them because we're bad. And he saves us by sending his son to die for his enemies. And we see in this verse that we weren't able to begin believing him until God began this good work in us. But not only that, even after we become Christians, We are called continually to trust in God who will continue doing this good work in our hearts. Friends, if you're not a Christian, if you think we're hypocrites, you're right, we are. But we wanna ask to trust in this same Savior that we're trusting. If you could come as you are and believe in him and have forgiveness in his death and resurrection. So again, going back to the text, how does Paul know that God has begun his good work in them and he will bring them into completion until the day of Jesus Christ? Because they display it with their lives. Their fruit of sacrificial giving and their desire to see the gospel preached is a sign of their salvation. And Paul encourages them because they're genuinely born again by the power of God and they will be kept by the power of God. What does it mean for us Christians? We can take the broad theme here in this verse, or in these verses, because as far as I know, none of us are imprisoned or will be imprisoned for the gospel. But one practical application that I see from this passage is to celebrate those who are participating in the same mission as us. When we see fellow brothers and sisters in Christ arrange and order their lives so that they could serve in the greater mission of making Jesus known and being proclaimed, friends, we should rejoice in that. We should rejoice in seeing Jesus being proclaimed and preached. This is one of the reasons why we pray for other churches in the city. We wanna pray for other gospel preaching churches to flourish, because whether it's us or them, the gospel is being proclaimed. And as long as the gospel is being preached, our mission and message is the same as their mission and their message. And friends, we can rejoice in that. We pray every week that God will use other churches in this city to make Jesus known. But what this also means for us here in this room, we should also celebrate and encourage others as they show and live spiritually edifying and God-glorifying lives. Friends, we want to rejoice when people live their lives in service of their King Jesus and make his name known, whether that's through evangelism or hospitality or through helping other people. So, None of them advertised their actions, and I didn't tell them that I was gonna say this, but friends, I rejoice, and I am so thankful when I heard Marcus helped Adam babysit their boys when Blanche was out of town, or when I heard Courtney and Christy took time out of their busy days to help the refugees, or when Scott and John helped to attach a ceiling fan at our member's home. Friends, I rejoice when the patrons took Joshua's application seriously to invite people in their homes and show hospitality. And there are meals going on throughout the week. There are conversations that are happening in our churches that are just spiritually edifying and that are encouraging and that show that they're in love with Jesus and they're united with Christ. Friends, let's imitate Paul this week. When you see other members of the church around you help other Christians, friends, let's be slow to discern and question their motives. Let's be slow at that, but let's be quick to affirm and encourage their love for others and for God. Let's find joy in working and partnering with one another in the same mission of making Christ known and proclaiming the gospel. So number one, being united to Christ means finding joy in the living in the body of Christ. Number two, it also means finding joy and participating in the same mission. And finally, number three, being united to Christ means finding joy in growing in maturity. In verses nine through 11, number three, growing in maturity, that's verses nine through 11. In these verses, Paul continues his thanksgiving in a form of prayer, right? In verses before, Paul tells them that he prays for them. Verses nine through 11, he actually tells them that what he prays for them. So here, Paul lets them peek inside what his prayer is. And his prayer can be divided into three things. I think that is helpful. What, where, why, right? What does he pray for? He prays that their love may abound more and more. The words like abound or the words like more and more tells us that Paul is praying that their love, which he knows it already exists, will continue growing, but love for who? Who are they supposed to love? Should their love for God abound more and more, or should their love for Paul abound? The text is vague, because I think it's both. Paul knows that if they love God, they will ultimately love his people, and if they love his people, it's a sign that they truly love God. So what does he pray for? He prays that their love may abound more and more. But where should their love grow? Picture their love as a tree. If their love is a tree, what should the soil be? Their love should grow with, or more literally, in knowledge and all discernment. Paul doesn't pray that their love will grow aimlessly. No, rather Paul wants their love to be grounded and rooted in knowledge and discernment. All of us desire to grow in knowledge by reading and memorizing the word. I know a lot of you guys who love the word, who love memorizing the word, praise God for that. But brothers and sisters, use that knowledge to grow your love. Having a lot of knowledge and not love, it's like eating good food and not swallowing. You just keep it in your mouth. That's pointless. You want your food to go in your body and influence all that you are. In the same way, knowledge, as you intake knowledge, friends, you want that to help and influence your love for God and for others. Let our love grow in knowledge and let our knowledge fuel love. And finally, why? Why should their love abound more and more? Well, you see in verse 10, so that, right? Your love may abound more and more so that for the purpose with a goal in mind that you may approve what is excellent and be pure and blameless. In other words, Paul prays that their growth in love would result in growth in holiness. When your love starts to grow, Paul writes, your holiness starts to grow with it. When you're driving, right, as maybe some of you guys are like me, when you press the gas pedal really hard, what happens on your dashboard, right? Your MPH goes up, but what else goes up with it? Your RPM. In the same way, when your love grows, naturally your holiness will grow. When your love decreases, your holiness decreases. I just came across this quote recently. One Puritan said, the more godly any man is, the more merciful that man will be. In light of our passage, I think we can say, the more holy any man is, the more loving that man will be. Friends, Paul's prayer is that our love for God will grow in the knowledge of God so that we will be holy like God. Paul's prayer here is that our love for God will grow in the knowledge of God so that we will be holy like God. If we place our faith in Christ, we will surely grow in our love and in our holiness. And friends, what joy and privilege we have to come alongside and to witness fellow brothers and sisters grow in their love and their holiness. We should rejoice that not only we are vertically united with Christ, but horizontally united with other Christians. And just like Paul prays for his friends to grow in their love and holiness, friends, let us pray. for our brothers and sisters in this church to grow in their love and holiness. And just like Paul prayed this prayer out of joy and thanksgiving, friends, let us also pray and lift one another up in joy and thanksgiving. In 1936, University of Washington sent their eight-oar crew to compete in the Olympics. As you know, in a highly competitive setting like the Olympics, every detail matters. So the boat had to be perfect, the oars had to be exact, the weather had to be nice, you needed to be in good shape. But what mattered most in winning the gold medal, it didn't boil down to the specifics of the boat or the oar or the equipment but it boiled down to their chemistry and their love for one another. You see, at the end of the day, it harmed a team when one person started to roll faster than the person next to him. And similarly, it harmed the entire team when a person rode slower than the other person next to him. They all needed to be in sync. They all needed to be united. They all needed to pull together with the same goal and vision in mind. Friends, do you see Christian life that way? All of us, when we are united with Christ and in Christ, friends, we are rowing in this life together. When Christ saved us, he saved us as individuals, but he saved us into a group of people. And in that reality of being united to him and to other Christians, friends, we can find joy. We can rejoice because in Christ, we live in the same body. We can rejoice because in Christ, we participate in the same mission. And we can rejoice because in Christ we grow in maturity together. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, in your wisdom and your kindness, You didn't save us just as individuals, but you saved us into a group of believers where we could find joy, not only being united to your son, but being united to other people. Father, I pray that you would help us to see one another as saints and as partners and those who are in need of the same gospel and help us to find joy and encouragement in knowing that we will see each other in heaven. Friend, Father, I pray that you would help us to love your son more as a church, not only as individuals. We pray all these things in your name, amen.