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Offering Up Prayers with Joy

Philippians 1.1-11

Greeting

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.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

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. 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. 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. (ESV) 

• V3-4 who are you thankful for in your prayer time and how do you construct your prayer life in today’s world??

Paul writes in how he calls to remembrance those who have helped him in his ministry. He also mentions how he prays with joy. 

When we are in prayer we need to focus on these things, we all know how hard that can be in today’s world. Some many things pull our attention from LORD we must develop the habit of focus when it comes to our prayer life.

• V6 have you ever asked what God wants from you?

Paul writes to us that he’s sure of the work of God in the lives of the believers and that God will finish what He has begun in us. 

Jesus tells us that we have not because we ask not (Cf.Matt 7.7-11). Friends are you just as sure as Paul was about the work of God in your life?

• V7 is our life being filled up with the joy of God when it comes to prayer for others and for yourself?

Paul’s heart for the church was that they are partakers of God’s grace whether free or bound in the service of the Lord, but do we have the same heart for your brothers and sisters in the faith?

• V8 in regards to my prayer life am I yearning for the believers with “the affection of Christ Jesus”  yes or no?

If we truly believe that God is our witness shouldn’t it determine our level of service to Him. Bible teacher and commentator Adam Clarke paraphrased Paul’s idea here: “I call God to witness that I have the strongest affection for you, and that I love you with that same kind of tender concern with which Christ loved the world when he gave himself for it.” What a heart to be so in love with God that we yearn for the other believers.

I am not here yet perhaps your reading this today and thinking the same thing. We friends we can be if we will push into our prayer time with  God and push out the world we will begin the journey to yearn jealousy after the saints of God just as Paul did.

• V11 are you being filled with the fruit of righteousness by the Holy Spirit?

Being filled with righteousness ONLY comes through Jesus Christ and our response is to give [glory and praise to God]. Once we are filled by Chirst and the Holy Spirit with the righteousness our natural response is the praise and glory to and for God the Father! 

My hope and prayer that we will all desire this type of prayer life that Paul had one that is full of joy for others. Let me close with this last scripture:

Psalm 139.23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts. 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Dressed For Action

Luke 12:35-48

35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

41 Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come son a day when he does not expect him and sat an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

In today’s passage we see Jesus encouraging the disciples to remain ready. In verse 35 it reads “stay dressed for action” what a stark reminder for us today. 

Many people have to dress for the type of work they are called to firefighters, police officers, construction workers, doctors, nurses and on and on the list goes.

We can relate to the truth of being “dressed for action and [to] keep our lamps burning”; so the call to remain alert for the work is clear, but are we truly ready? 

The Apostle Paul writes to us in the Epistle to the Ephesian church about putting on the whole Armor of God to be able to “stand against the schemes of the devil” (Cf. Eph 6:11). 

Here Jesus is encouraging the disciples and thankfully due to Apostle Peter (Cf verse 41) we know it’s for us as well; that we too must remain ready for the task before us. Jesus tells them when remain faithful we shall be “blessed whom the master finds awake when he comes” (verse 37). 

Christ has called us to specific task that only we can accomplish yet there is a penalty (verses 39-40) for our refusal to serve where He has placed us.

When you realize that Christ has redeemed us from death, hell, and the grave why wouldn’t we serve Him? To many times we get into a mode where all is well and we simply let things coast by us.

Christain never let it be said that we let the work of God pass us by but instead let us remain dressed for action; ready for the Son of Man and His glorious appearing - Amen.