J.o.y. in Unity through Humility

Dear friend in Christ,

We continue our meditations today in Paul’s letter to the Philippian congregation by placing before us the three statements that were before us when we began this series a month ago. As we have been proceeding through this letter is it becoming increasingly evident that joy is an integral part of Paul’s life.  Joy is in integral part of our life as God’s children, for joy is what enhances our relationships and keeps them growing in closeness. 

Joy is a reality that is ours through the knowledge that God has reconciled us to Himself through the cross, by His gracious gift we trust in that reality, and even if circumstances change in our lives, our relationship with Him now and forever cannot be shaken.

Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.

Christian joy is shared, it is confident and it is increasing.

Let us review the references that he has been giving to us concerning the joy flowing out of his being.

KJV Philippians 1:4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,

KJV Philippians 1:18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

KJV Philippians 1:25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;

KJV Philippians 1:26 That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

Did Apostle Paul have hardships in his life because he preached the gospel? Yes (2 Cor 11:20-33)

Did those hardships take away his joy? No! (Acts 20:24)

What brought joy to Paul? What brings joy to the Spirit? What brings joy within the body of Christ? Paul writes that unity in the body of Christ brings him joy. Let us learn from the Spirit today of how unity in the body brings joy to all believers.

As Children of God, we live in Unity

KJV Philippians 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

 2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

The Apostle John wrote  in 3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

We all know what that is referring to as we have all experienced and do experience the reality of what John is saying. When our relationships are at peace and we are living in unity and harmony with our Lord, with ourselves and with others, life is great!  On the contrary, when there is strife and disunity, life is not much fun.

Paul speaks to the importance of unity within the fellowship of believers by asking them to demonstrate through attitudes and actions of that which has been done for them in Christ and through Christ.  He begins the chapter with the word “if” which actually means “since.”

He is coming forth to them with a question, but he is rather saying to them more like this: “Now that you have peace through Christ and in Christ, you have the comfort of His love, you are living in the fellowship with and in the Holy Spirit and Christ is the center of your seat of emotions, fulfill my joy through allowing the mind of Christ and the love of Christ flow between yourselves in the congregation.

Paul recognizes that they are under the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit, as he does not say, “give me joy” but he uses the word “fulfill”. They are already giving him joy in their Christian lives, so he affirms them in their walk and also encourages them to increase his joy through their relationships that are being lived in unity.

 3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

He speaks in general terms, but then gives more specifics by contrasting that which should not be done vs that which should be done. The desire that lies within us to promote self has not died out completely, and will continually work to get back into control of our lives. He calls upon them/us to have the mind of Christ……..

Jesus the Christ is our Example and Model

 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Paul now moves from the focus of unity to the humility that was in Jesus Christ, who was God and man, but willingly laid aside all the privileges of God in order to become sin for us, so that we might be brought back into relationship with our Father.

The most selfless man in history: He became like us so that we could become like Him.  For there never can be true unity without humility, and the greatest example of humility is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He had all the authority, He had the right and He had the ability to refuse the greatest act of humility, but He chose to humble Himself for humanity’s saving……..

From Humility to Exaltation

 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Much much could be said about these three verses which speak of the exaltation of our Saviour by His Father. He has given Him a name, which is above every name, the name of Saviour which describes His mission from the Father for us. It is the will of the Father that none would perish but that all would come to repentance and faith. He wants that all would come to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Can there be any greater desire of our Father, that all would bow before Him in time in confession of Christ as Lord and Saviour? I think not!

He want us to live in our restored relationship with Him through the cross of Christ, but He also want us to be as Christ to the world. In another letter this is illustrated in the life of Paul who wrote a letter to Philemon.

The letter is only one chapter and it is about how Paul is calling upon Philemon to take back Philemon's slave who had run away from him. The slave had been converted through Paul's ministry and so Paul is urging Philemon to receive him back and if there are damages as the result of Onesimus running away, Paul himself agrees to pay him out of his pocket. Paul doesn't demand that Philemon him back, but he urges him to do so on the basis of love. Paul asks him to receive Onesimus as he would receive Paul himself. Then we get to place that always penetrates into my heart when Paul says the following in verses 20-21: "Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say."

Christ lived in Apostle Paul, he lives in each of you in this gathering here this morning, and he lives in all those who have come to know and to experience His saving grace.  Just consider how Apostle Paul through the Spirit viewed people as through the eyes of Christ which means that He/we look at people through the redemptive work of Christ. It also means that we speak of them in  a positive manner, not concentrating on their fallen nature, but knowing that only through their coming to know and experience Christ's grace will they be able to live in the newness of the Holy Spirit which is rrighteousness, peace and joy. Like Paul, I get excited and refreshed in the Lord when I see you beloved people living your lives for the sake of others within our blessed congregation!

Philemon 17 If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.

 18 If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;

 19 I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.

 20 Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.

 21 Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.

Yes, Christ humbled Himself to save us, but He also infected us to the end that we would be like Him in our lives. May He bless us to the end, Amen.

Pastor Orval Wirkkala

J.o.y. through Adversity

Dear friend,

This week as I visited our Brother Doug Saukkola at the Watkins Hilltop Care Center where he is on the mend after being hospitalized for a few days, I visited with two people who shared with me of their current life. One man told me that he was in the care center because his wife of many years “wants to have time to do things with her friends” and by his attitude and demeanor it was clear that he felt left aside by her.  The other person was a woman who had lost her husband of 70 years two years ago  and she said how she missed him so much for they had done everything together.  And then I thought about our dear Doug and of how his loving wife Sue (and their family) take care of him in such a loving and dedicated manner.  

Life is about relationships, when they are loving, healthy and growing, it is wonderful, but when they are broken life is very difficult and trying.  We recognize that all relationships are designed to work, to grow and to flourish as they are patterned after the relationship that we have with our Lord and Saviour, who came here to bring us back into relationship with our Heavenly Father.  According to 2 Corinthians 5:19 God is now friendly toward us and wants to have a loving and growing relationship with us in fellowship, we yet retain our sinful nature which has difficulty in yielding control of our life into His ways. Putting it simply, even though we no longer are under the penalty of sin or under the controlling power of it, yet there is within us remaining the presence of sin. This reality causes real difficulty for us in our relationships…….Need I say more?? I don’t think so.

My wife is great at writing things down that she hears or reads and in passing, I noticed a question that she had jotted down on a piece of paper that went something like this: “What is the mission of your life?” I have not been able to stop thinking about that question ever since I read it and especially as I have been reading and praying over the life of Apostle Paul and the letter of J.o.y. that he wrote to his beloved congregation at Philippi. The Apostle always had a mission in his life, but it got drastically changed as the result of an encounter with Jesus while he, Paul, was fulfilling his mission: persecuting Christians. He was transformed through that encounter and as a result his mission was changed from persecuting Christ in his followers to being one who was himself persecuted for truly following and preaching Christ to even his persecutors. In this letter, we will be told by the Apostle himself of how his thinking (and his mission in life) were drastically changed and how he now looked at what his true mission was. 

What is our mission in life? Is it to serve others?  What if we become unpopular by serving others for the cause of Christ? What if our stand with Jesus and truth is resisted? Who is our example? Well, Jesus, of course, and we will see Him set before us in the next chapter. So far we have been observing the Apostle Paul and his example of one who is not only a follower of Christ, is an imitator of Christ but more than that he is one in whom Christ dwells so deeply that one sees and hears Christ through his mission in life.              

We also have other current examples of those who have been transformed through life’s changed circumstances. Listen to this poem which speaks to the our lesson for today.

                                                                 A Journey Not My Own

As a youth with plans and dreams, I set my course ahead.

I owned the world and all its worth. Not following, I led.

I often sought new travelers and helped them find the way.

So strong was I, they did not know my vessel of clay.

Not one was more prepared than I for raging storms at sea.

But I ignored small leaks and cracks within that vessel-me.

I drifted in deep waters far away from those I love,

Convinced that I was all alone and God somewhere above.

And in the darkness of my sea I heard a soft voice say,

“I’m by your side to mend your ship, my precious one of clay.”

It’s then I realized thought God was at my side,

I was the one who set the course with all my senseless pride.

I have found an inner peace—my journey’s not my own

With Jesus at the helm I have a joy I’d never known.

Now let us listen to how the Apostle Paul looked at life after his transformation.

J.o.y. through Adversity

1:12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;

 13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;

 14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

 15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:

 16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:

 17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.

 18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

Paul recognized that opportunities to preach the gospel are opened up that he could not have had if he was not in prison, for barriers are removed. How many soldiers heard the gospel as they walked along chained to Paul as he shared the gospel? His chains emboldened others to preach the gospel, even if they were doing it with the wrong motive.

J.o.y. of serving others

 19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.

 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

 22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.

 23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

 24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

 25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;

 26 That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

Christ’s love was so embedded in Paul that Christ shone and acted through him,  his appetite to be with Him in heaven was great, but nevertheless he saw that necessity to stay  here to serve for the sake of the gospel was better than his desire to be with Christ.  That is quite a struggle for many in their later years, especially when they are suffering and they are wanting to see Christ.  Many struggle with this question: Is it okay to want to see Jesus in His fullness or is it necessary for us to remain here for the sake of our family, others?

J.oy. of Suffering for Christ

 27 Only let your conversation (life) be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

 28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.

 29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

 30 Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

He closes this section by reminding them to keep their outer life as becoming to their true identity in Christ, whether he is with them or not. He encourages them to stand fast and to stand together. Don’t be afraid of those who are against you, for they are resisting the gospel of God in Christ and in so doing, they are revealing whose children they are: children of the Liar and Deceiver. But you are children of God, and by your standing together for truth, you give witness to them whose you are.  And finally he says that just as Christ suffered, just as I suffered, you will have the same experience.

Suffering… What does that mean? In the context of our text, we understand that it is being persecuted for the sake of the Gospel. Persecuted for letting people know that their sins are forgiven! We yet live in a time when our religious freedom is yet guarded by our government and so we thank God for that blessing. No one in their right mind would wish persecution such as Paul experienced or such as is going on in many countries across the world.

It is difficult for us to learn of how there can be joy in suffering of the outward bodily type where the gospel is resisted to the point that there are attempts to shut a person from publicly testifying of Christ’s saving work. We have more in common with people being brought into joy through personal tragedies and disappointment of life, such as Dave and Jan Dravecky experienced in their lives.

I am reading two books in relation to this sermon series through the letter to the Philippians. One is by Dave Dravecky himself, “entitled Comeback”  and the other is by his wife, Jan Dravecky, with the title, “A Joy I’d Never Known. They each give account of their journey to where they are now as a result of Dave’s baseball career as a pitcher being brought to a halt due to cancer in his arm, which resulted in the amputation of his pitching arm.  It is not often that one is able to read such a story from the perspective of both the sufferer and the co sufferer. It is my hope that through reading these accounts of the journey that I will be able to better understand to sympathize with those who are co sufferers, or as we call them “caregivers.”

We will watch a short video to go along with this message today, in which Dave Dravecky gives an overview of his journey which led to his understand of what his true mission is in life.  It can be found n CBN under Dave Dravecky’s last pitch.

Grace and Peace to you as you journey  fulfilling your purpose here on this earth.

Pastor Orval Wirkkala

The J.o.y. of Fellowship

Grace and Peace to you!

The Apostle Paul planted a church at Philippi.  Acts 16 gives an account of Paul's missionary journey to that area as a result of the call of the Holy Spirit to go minister in that area. As they gathered at the riverside on the Sabbath for prayer, they spoke to some women there and as a result of their sharing, the Lord opened the heart of a business woman named Lydia. Later as they journeyed, Paul cast out an evil spirit of a young girl, the after effects which caused Paul and Silas to be imprisoned. While in prison, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God in the hearing of the prisoners, an earthquake occurred which initiated events through which the jailer asked the all important question: "What must I do to be saved?" He was told, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house."

After leaving the congregation, he had returned at least once (Acts 20:1-6) and then was imprisoned in Rome, at least 700 miles from Philippi. While in prison a member of the Philippian congregation, a man name Epaphroditus came to visit Paul to bring him encouragement. Paul, having a heart for the people in the Philippian congregation, sent a letter back with his beloved friend which was to be read to the congregation.  Last week we gave an overview of the letter, and today we will consider the first 11 verses of his letter to his beloved people whom he cared for deeply.

But first a little reintroduction to the Apostle Paul, who grew up in the Jewish religion, was converted to Christianity and became an amazing vessel for the Lord. (We will hear of his testimony in chapter 3) He grew in his knowledge of the love and the grace of God, which can be seen by recounting three statements that he made concerning how he recognized more and more of his need of God’s grace. Paul understood grace!!! Do we understand grace?

1 Corinthians 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  Written 55 A.D.

Ephesians 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; Written 60 A.D.

1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.  Written 62 A.D.

Here is the beginning of his letter to his beloved people, a letter from which is oozing the grace and love of God in Christ Jesus. Oh, that our preaching and sharing would be from the same Spirit………

ESV Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

  4. always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,

 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

6 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.

The two Apostles lived in humility before God as they recognized that their calling to minister to the congregation was of privilege. They loved and served all the saints of the congregation, without any favoritism being showed, thanking God for them and praying for them with joy.  He recognized and applauded their partnership/unity in the Gospel which they had been connected together in right up to the current time.  He than gave additional encouragement by pointing out the the same Lord who had begun the work of grace in them would continue it until the day when faith becomes sight!! This was a stable congregation, for the power to keep and to preserve a congregation is God’s power.

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.

 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

He then with all sincerity and intimacy pours out his heart, which is the heart of Christ for them, saying that his affection for them is not some earthly love, but it is the love of Christ. It is the seat of our tenderest affections which have been stimulated and made alive by the Holy Spirit, so that we love one another as Christ has loved us.

He  speaks somewhat openly of the intimacy that they share, not because of any outward characteristics, but because they are joined together through the grace of God which they have all received. Just because they are separated in a physical sense does not mean that they are not still in communion with one another, or that they have stopped working together, for the bonds of the grace of God are not earthly bonds, but heavenly and spiritual bonds. In addition, Since the love which abides in the heart of all believers as the result of receiving the gospel cares about their neighbor, Paul used his imprisonment as an opportunity to defend and confirm the gospel by defending and in so doing sharing it with his captors.

He then closes this first part of his letter with a prayer for them, that their love would continue to grow, like a flower going from a bud to a blossom to the fruit.

The Fruit of the Knowledge of God: Love

 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,

 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

He prays for them, asking for an increase more and more of their knowledge and discernment in love, for he knows that the future unity of their congregation hangs on whether they are living in and growing in the giving love of Christ.....There is no way that this point can be overstated........

Briefly stating a conclusion to the three verses, it is clear that the growth of our knowledge and discernment of the love of God will determine and govern our ability to rightly approve things that are excellent, to be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ, and to be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of God.

"Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. Grace is love coming at you that has nothing to do with you. Grace is being loved when you are unlovable…. The cliché definition of grace is “unconditional love.” It is a true cliché, for it is a good description of the thing. Let’s go a little further, though. Grace is a love that has nothing to do with you, the beloved. It has everything and only to do with the lover. Grace is irrational in the sense that it has nothing to do with weights and measures. It has nothing to do with my intrinsic qualities or so-called “gifts” (whatever they may be). It reflects a decision on the part of the giver, the one who loves, in relation to the receiver, the one who is loved, that negates any qualifications the receiver may personally hold…. Grace is one-way love.

Grace doesn’t make demands. It just gives. And from our vantage point, it always gives to the wrong person. We see this over and over again in the Gospels: Jesus is always giving to the wrong people—prostitutes, tax collectors, half-breeds. The most extravagant sinners of Jesus’s day receive his most compassionate welcome. Grace is a divine vulgarity that stands caution on its head. It refuses to play it safe and lay it up. Grace is recklessly generous, uncomfortably promiscuous. It doesn’t use sticks, carrots, or time cards. It doesn’t keep score. As Robert Capon puts it, “Grace works without requiring anything on our part. It’s not expensive. It’s not even cheap. It’s free.” It refuses to be controlled by our innate sense of fairness, reciprocity, and evenhandedness. It defies logic. It has nothing to do with earning, merit, or deservedness. It is opposed to what is owed. It doesn’t expect a return on investments. Grace is unconditional acceptance given to an undeserving person by an unobligated giver.

It is one-way love.   (Written by Paul Zahl)

This past week we had the joy of having VBS with the theme of Running the Race, and we hosted the Spoke Folk on Wednesday and Thursday. Thanks to all who joined together in this fellowship by offering their gifts which collectively worked to bless all, including those who served. It is truly a joy to be partaker of the continuing work of encouraging, affirming and inspiring.

Many were encouraged by teachings, the crafts, the games and the pizza and the video which was shown on Friday night. Some were inspired by the presentation done by Spoke Folk to the end that they might be one of the Spoke Folk of the future.  

May the grace that pours itself out upon us and into us each and every day, so fill us with love and longing for the saving of all souls of all ages that we have the response of Isaiah. For when Isaiah experienced the grace of God towards him, and when the question came forth as to Whom will be the messenger, He replied, “Here I am, send me.”

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be upon us, now and forever, Amen.

God’s abundant grace upon you today,

Pastor Orval