Philippians - Ties that Bind

One of the major messages in the book of Philippians is the joy of ministry. In chapter one, we have the joy of the message of our ministry, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In chapter two, the joy of the model for our ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ, the servant of God. In chapter three, the motives for our ministry, and in chapter four, the means of our ministry.

Chapter one. We have the message of our ministry, and this message ought to give us great joy. Just think of the privilege we have of sharing the Gospel. Whether you are a Sunday school teacher, an elder, a deacon, a trustee, a church visitor, a minister, a missionary, you sing in the choir, whatever it may be, you are helping to get out the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In chapter one, you find the Apostle Paul applying this Gospel to three different groups of people. You'll notice he talks about the fellowship of the Gospel in Philippians 1:5, because in Philippians 1:3-11, he talks about the fellowship of the Gospel. He applies the Gospel to God's people. That's going to be our subject for today. You must always look at the people of God through the heart of the Gospel.

In Philippians 1:12-26, he talks about the furtherance of the Gospel. And here he's applying the Gospel to the unbelievers. How do we get the Gospel out? And then Philippians 1:27-30, he talks about defending the faith of the Gospel. In Philippians 1:27, striving together for the faith of the Gospel. We have enemies, and nothing be terrified by your adversaries.

So here we have three different groups of people to whom the Gospel must be applied: to God's people, the fellowship of the Gospel, Philippians 1:3-11. To the unsaved, Philippians 1:12-26. That's the furtherance of the Gospel. And then even to our enemies, Philippians 1:27-30, the faith of the Gospel.

Now Philippians 1:3-11. I mentioned that the here we're dealing with the fellowship of the Gospel. Perhaps you've read in the Peanuts comic strip where Linus says that one day he wants to become a great doctor. But Lucy says, "You can't be a doctor, you don't love mankind," to which Linus replied, "I do love mankind, it's people I can't stand." And sometimes the people of God are difficult to get along with. And yet here's the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:3-11, explaining to us the ties that bind us together. Now what are they?

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always, in every prayer of mine for you all, making request with joy, for your fellowship in the Gospel from the first day until now." Philippians 1:3-5. "Being confident of this very thing, that he who hath begun a good work in you will perform it, complete it, until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6.

The first tie that was binding the hearts of the Philippians to the heart of the Apostle Paul: "I have you in my mind." He remembered them. "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you." Philippians 1:3. That means the whole remembrance.

Now there were some things about the Philippian church that when he remembered them could have brought sorrow. For example, when he was at Troas, Acts 16. He didn't know where to go. He was waiting, waiting, waiting. Then he had that vision. Well, he could say, "I want to forget about that delay at Troas." He had a vision of a man who said, "Come over and help us." And so Paul and his team went over to Philippi, and they couldn't find that man, but they did find a women's prayer meeting. Thank God for women's prayer meetings. A group of Jewish women and some Gentiles who were Jewish proselytes or Jewish followers were there having a prayer meeting by the river. And then that slave girl came along and created problems for Paul. Paul was thrown into prison, he was whipped, he was humiliated.

Now there was division in the church at Philippi. There were some people who were fighting one another. Paul could have had some memories of Philippi that would bring him sorrow. But you know what he says here? "I thank God upon every remembrance," the whole thing. You know what he's saying? He is saying, "You've got to see the total picture."

Now my preacher friend, there are people in your church who are creating problems for you, but you've got to see the total picture. Look at them through the eyes of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. Paul said, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you." Philippians 1:3. "I'm thankful for your fellowship in the Gospel." Philippians 1:5. "I'm confident that God is at work in your life." Philippians 1:6. Maybe he's not at work like he ought to be. That's not his fault, that's your fault. Maybe you're not allowing him to do everything he wants to do. But you must look at people in Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:1. "To all the saints in Christ Jesus." Every chapter in Philippians begins with "in Christ." Philippians 2:1. "If there be any consolation in Christ." Philippians 3:1. "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord." In Philippians 4, we read, Philippians 4:1, "so stand fast in the Lord." Always look at God's people in Jesus Christ.

You know, whenever you meet an unsaved person, you can love him because he's somebody for whom Christ died. Whenever you meet a Christian, you can love him. He's someone in whom Christ lives. Paul said, "I have you in my mind. I thank my God upon the whole remembrance of you." Philippians 1:3. Missionary friend, that person who's creating a problem for you right now, a hundred years from now, you'll look back and you'll say, "You know, God was taking care of that." God is at work. Be patient. God is not able to work in our lives the way he'd like to. We sometimes hinder him in his ministry in our own hearts. Let's be thankful for the fellowship of the Gospel. Let's be thankful for the people of God. "I have you in my mind." That's the first tie that binds our hearts together. But in Philippians 1:7-8, there's a second tie that binds our hearts together. Paul says, "I have you in my heart." Philippians 1:7.

"Even as it is right for me to think this of you all." I notice that nine times he talks about "you all." There was division in the church. He wants to include everybody in his message. "Even as it is right for me to think this of you all because I have you in my heart." Philippians 1:7. You know, it's one thing to have somebody in your mind and quite something else to have them in your heart. "Inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel, you all are partakers of my grace." Philippians 1:7. "For God is my witness, how greatly I long after you all in the tender mercies of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:8.

Tie number one, I have you in my mind. Is there somebody in your church you're trying to forget? Is there somebody in your Christian life you you don't want to have them in your memory? Watch out, you'll lose the joy of ministry. Secondly, I have you in my heart. This was not a normal, natural human love. This was a divinely supplied love. It was the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. "I long after you all in the tender mercies of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:8. We are taught of God to love one another. More than that, we have that gift of love in our hearts. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us. We're commanded to love one another.

Now, God doesn't command the heart to feel a certain way, he commands the will to act a certain way. What is Christian love? Christian love is an act of the will. Christian love means I treat you the way God treats me. God is patient with me, so I'll be patient with you. God is kind to me, I'll be kind to you, and you should be kind to me. God tells me the truth, I should tell you the truth and do it in love, the way God does it. Christian love is not a feeling. You say, "Well, there are folks in the church I don't like." That may be true. You might not want to spend a week's vacation with them, or even an evening with them. That doesn't make any difference. In Christian love, it's not a matter of feeling, it's a matter of willing. We treat other people the way God commands us to treat them.

I have you in my mind. I have you in my heart. The Apostle Paul loved these people. Oh, how much he had suffered for them. But these people were participants with him in the work of the Lord. Philippians 1:5, "their fellowship in the Gospel." Philippians 1:7, "your partakers of my grace." They were not spectators, they were partakers. They had participated in Paul's ministry. And you know, the more you work together, the more you stand together, the more you weep together and sacrifice together, the more you love one another.

I think one of our problems in churches today is we have too many spectators, we don't have enough participants. You see, when you love people, then you're concerned about the Gospel. Why was Paul defending the Gospel there at the Roman court? Because he loved the church. Paul was paying a tremendous price there in Rome. He was there to defend and confirm the Gospel, to get the church to be an accepted, legitimate religion in the Roman Empire. And all the price he was paying, why? Because he loved God's people.

In the Old Testament, the high priest had two stones, two precious stones, one on each shoulder, and then he had twelve stones over his heart on the breastplate. Individual stones. They represented the tribes of Israel. There were six names on the stone on his left shoulder and six names on the stone on his right shoulder, and there were twelve stones over his heart. This is the way it is in ministry. We bear God's people on our shoulders collectively, we love them individually. And those stones over the high priest's heart were a reminder to him to love the people of God.

Tie number one, I have you in my mind. I think about you. Tie number two, I have you in my heart. I love you. Tie number three, I have you in my prayers. I pray for you. Philippians 1:9-11. "And this I pray." Philippians 1:9. Now if you were going to pray for the church at Philippi, what would you ask God to do? This prayer would be good for all of our churches.

First of all, it's a prayer for maturity. "And this I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, discernment." Philippians 1:9. "That you may approve the things that are excellent." Philippians 1:10. You may prove the things that differ, approve the things that differ. "That you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ." Philippians 1:10. "Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:11.

He prays that they might have mature Christian love, a developing love. It abounds more and more. A discerning love. A love that's not blind. You know, I hear people say, "Well, if you do what you do in love, it'll be all right." Well, what kind of love? You see, love without discernment could be lust. Love that lacks discernment is blind. Christian love is not blind. Christian love is very discerning because we must have the guidance of the Spirit of God.

Now he's praying for developing love. There were some problems in the church when you read Philippians 2. Paul wrote and said, "Be likeminded, have the same love, be of one accord, be of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory." Philippians 2:2-3. My, I bet they were having some business meetings that were really interesting. What's the solution for all these problems? Love. Discerning Christian love. Abounding love and discerning love. That you may approve the things that are excellent. Mature Christian character. That you may test the things that differ. Now little children can't tell a pie from a mud pie. They don't know a tool from a toy. They use everything in confusion. But as you get older, you learn to discern. And that's what we need as Christians, to test the things that differ, to have wisdom.

To be sincere. And that word sincere means transparent, pure, tested by the sunlight. It also means tested by a sieve. You put the grain into a sieve and you whirl it around, off goes the chaff, and through the sieve comes the good grain. Sometimes God has to put you and me into the sieve of suffering. Difficulty, tribulation. Why? To build our character. That you might be sincere, "without offense." Philippians 1:10. Not causing other people to stumble until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:10.

And so we must have mature Christian love, developing love and discerning love. We must have mature Christian character, sincerity, honesty, openness. Our motives must be right until the day of Christ. And mature Christian service, being filled with the fruits of righteousness. Fruit has to come from life, doesn't it? You don't manufacture fruit, you grow it. Righteousness by Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:11. Notice please, we don't manufacture this fruit. It comes from the power of God at work in our lives.

Now here are three beautiful spiritual ties that bind God's people together. Pastor, do these ties bind your heart to the hearts of your people? Missionary friend, Sunday school teacher, church officer. Can you say, "I have you in my mind. When I think about you, I give thanks to God?" Philippians 1:3. I have you in my prayers. Philippians 1:4. I have you in my heart. Philippians 1:7. Now you see, if we have people in our minds and in our hearts, we're going to have them in our prayers. And the more you can say to people, "Look, I think about you, and I love you, and I pray for you," the stronger is going to be the bond that ties us together in Jesus Christ.

January 6th is the anniversary of the birth of John Fawcett, 1739. John Fawcett was saved under Whitfield's ministry, and he was pastoring a church in Yorkshire, and he got a call to a bigger church with a better opportunity apparently, in 1772. And he packed all of his goods, and he was going to move away, but he couldn't do it. He loved his people so much that he had to stay with them. And then it was in 1772 that he wrote that beautiful song, "Blest Be the Tie That Binds Our Hearts in Christian Love, the fellowship of kindred minds, is like to that above."

My friend, are you rejoicing in your ministry today? Are you enjoying your ministry or enduring your ministry? Well, the Lord Jesus knows 'cause he can see your heart, and you know, and before long everybody will know because we cannot hide it. In Philippians, we're looking at the joy of ministry, and in chapter one, we're focusing on the joy of the message of our ministry, Jesus Christ and the Gospel.

And Paul applies this Gospel to three different groups of people, the inner circle of the saints, Philippians 1:3-11, the fellowship in the Gospel. Philippians 1:5, he gives thanks with joy, "for your fellowship in the Gospel from the first day until now." Then in Philippians 1:12-26, he talks about the furtherance of the Gospel. "But I would you should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel." Philippians 1:12. Now he's applying the Gospel not to the believers, but to the unbelievers. Philippians 1:12-26. Then in Philippians 1:27-30, he'll be talking about how the Gospel applies to our adversaries, those who oppose the work of the Lord.

You see, if you go through life thinking only about yourself, you're going to be miserable. But if you go through life ministering because you are concerned about Christ and the Gospel, then you are going to be happy. You're going to have joy. We have the most joyful message in all the world to present. Good tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people. For Jesus Christ the Savior has died for the sins of the world. The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Now, is that why you're living? Are you living to get this message out?

Now, if you are, you'll be a happy person. If you have a single mind for Christ and the Gospel, then you're going to have Christian joy. You're going to relate as you should to God's people, and you're going to relate as you should to the unsaved. Paul's great desire was to preach the Gospel at Rome. When he wrote the letter to the Romans, he said so in Romans 1:15. That he had a great desire to come to Rome to preach the Gospel.

Well, he did come to Rome, but not as a preacher, but as a prisoner. You remember in Acts 27, you have that awful shipwreck described. And Paul finally does arrive at Rome, and then some difficulties appear even in Rome. He has some needs. The Philippian church sent him some material help to assist him in his ministry, and that's why he wrote this letter that we call Philippians.

Well, "I should have you understand," he wrote to them, "that the things which happened unto me have fallen out, they have worked out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel." Philippians 1:12.

This word "furtherance" means pioneer advance. It means to move forward in spite of obstructions and difficulties. It's the word that was used for that part of the army that went on ahead, cleared away all the debris, got rid of all that was standing in the way of the march of the army.

You know, the devil puts roadblocks in our way. Right now you may say, "Well, Brother Wiersbe, I'm facing that roadblock." Here we are in our church or our mission station or our Sunday school class or our home, and we're trying to move forward and serve the Lord, and right away we've hit a roadblock. We've hit a blank wall, we're on a dead end street. Oh, no, you're not.

When you're living to promote Christ and the Gospel, to spread the good news of the Gospel, there is no such thing as a dead end street or a wall or a roadblock along your path. You see, God wants us to take the Gospel out into new territories. That's the problem in so many churches, we keep sowing the same seed on the same soil, we keep fishing in the same pond. But God wants us to take the Gospel into new territory. Furtherance, pioneer advance. God is saying, "Let's move into some new territory." Are there areas in your town or city that have never been touched by the Gospel? How are you going to get the Gospel in there?

Well, the Apostle Paul had three very wonderful tools that God gave him to get the Gospel out to areas where it had never reached. Philippians 1:12-14, his chains. "So that my bonds in Christ are manifest." Philippians 1:13. And people are talking about this, my chains, because of his chains, Christ was known. Philippians 1:12-14.

Then Philippians 1:15-19, his critics. Oh, Paul had some critics there in the city of Rome. There were some who were not preaching the way they should preach. They were preaching out of contention and division and dissension. But Paul tells us in Philippians 1:15-19, that because of his critics, Christ is preached. Notice now, because of my chains, Christ is known. Philippians 1:13. Because of my critics, Christ is preached. Philippians 1:18.

And Philippians 1:20-26, because of my crisis, Christ is magnified. What was his crisis? He might be killed. He says, "For to me to live is Christ, to die is gain." Philippians 1:21. His great concern was not just to spare his life, but to use his life. Now get a hold of these three tools: his chains, Christ is known, Philippians 1:12-14. His critics, Christ is preached, Philippians 1:15-19. His crisis, he might be killed. Christ is magnified, Philippians 1:20-26. Yes, God is able to use a crisis to magnify Jesus Christ. You may be in a crisis today. Just say with Paul, "I want Christ to be magnified whether it's by life or by death, I want him to receive all of the glory." Philippians 1:20.