Study the Word

Guest (Male): Listen, can you imagine a dear friend that you haven't seen for months hugging you and saying, "Carl, Juan, I thank God for you every time I remember you. Every time I think of you, I thank God for you"?

How would that feel to hear that? Wouldn't that be amazing? Then maybe if we want to begin saying that to people, we should start praying that way. That when we think of them, we do thank God for them, so that when we see them, we can say, "Every time I think of you, I thank God for you."

Guest (Male): Just imagine if we greeted our brothers and sisters in Christ the way Paul did. This is Study the Word, a time of teaching and application featuring Thom Keller, the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

One of the great benefits of studying God's Word verse by verse is a more robust understanding of scripture, even the mundane and seemingly ordinary parts of the Bible. Today, Pastor Thom zooms in and unpacks Paul's greeting to the Philippians. You may ask, what does it matter? Well, we learn today that these godly instructions to Paul's writing is evidence for the Holy Spirit at work. Let's turn now to Philippians chapter 1, verse 3, and get started.

Pastor Thom Keller: As you're turning to Philippians 1, I greeted someone at the front of the church this morning and they told me they lost their job on Friday. I said, "Oh my goodness, I'm sorry. What happened?" They said, "Well, my boss told me I'm supposed to leave my problems at the door when I come to work." I said, "And what happened?" They said, "I told him to go stay outside the door."

So the cause of that person's problem is that what was in his heart came out of his mouth. And isn't that what ultimately happens eventually? What's in our heart comes out of our mouths. So today in our lesson, we're going to discover some ways to set our hearts toward others in ways that allow the right words to come out of our hearts: kind words, gentle words, affirming words, grace-filled words, instead of words of very different nature.

Philippians 1, verse 3: "Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my request for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the good news about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

Paul says every time I think of you, I give thanks to God. Wow, isn't that a beautiful statement? Think about it. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had such loving hearts toward those who come to our minds that when they came to our mind, our very first thought would be to thank God for that person? Isn't that a great goal? That when a person comes to mind, our very first thought is to thank God for them.

So how do we apply this practically in our lives? So you're at work and God brings your coworker Jim into your mind, and you say, "God, thank you for Jim." Or your boss: "God, thank you for my boss who's now standing outside the door because I told him to stand there." Or maybe on your prayer list. Instead of saying, "God, make my husband less self-centered," instead say, "God, thank you for my husband. Please help both of us be less self-centered."

Instead of, "Father, make my uncle leave his girlfriend and go back to his family," maybe instead, "Father, thank you for my uncle. He's a good man deep inside who's lost his way. Please lead him back to his wife and children." Because I suspect that if we start our prayers by thanking God for that person, it will help us formulate our prayer in a more loving, more honoring way. Just think about that. If every prayer is "God, I thank you for Jerry," and then the prayer, how differently it would come out.

You know, there are some greetings in the Bible that are just so Holy Spirit-breathed that no human being could ever have come up with it. They're just amazing. An example is Jude verse 24: "Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy in his glorious presence without a single fault." What human writes things like that? That's so obviously God-breathed.

And the same is true here, I think, in Philippians 1:3: "Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God." How could that not be breathed by the Holy Spirit? That's so God. Listen, can you imagine a dear friend that you haven't seen for months hugging you and saying, "Carl, Juan, I thank God for you every time I remember you. Every time I think of you, I thank God for you"? How would that feel to hear that? Wouldn't that be amazing?

Then maybe if we want to begin saying that to people, we should start praying that way. That when we think of them, we do thank God for them, so that when we see them, we can say, "Every time I think of you, I thank God for you." Listen, there's some of your friends that they don't think anybody could thank God for them. Maybe you'll be that person.

And one reason Paul thanked God for the members of the Philippian church is found in verse 5. He says, "For you have been my partners in spreading the good news about Christ from the time you first heard it until now." And you know, if you are personally involved in spreading the good news, if you're personally involved in evangelism, sharing the gospel with others, you are also, even today, one of Paul's partners in spreading the good news.

And if you're not personally involved in spreading the good news, if it's something you've never shared with someone or never led anyone to Christ, I have some really good news for you. We're working on developing the Office of Evangelism. Many of you know that, and we are very excited about the varied opportunities that will be coming for training and practice in this area of leading others to Christ.

I've said this before, but if you've never led anyone to Christ, and don't feel bad about that, it's an opportunity. But there is no high like the high you get when you pray with someone to receive Christ. There's nothing like it because you know you've just touched eternity. You know you've just walked right across the other side with this person in hand, and they're going to be there someday. Nothing gets close to that.

And verse 6 is a keeper. Maybe mark this as a memory verse. Philippians 1:6 in the New King James: "Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." He who has begun this work in you, being confident in this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Have you ever known someone who was maybe really great at starting projects but not so great at finishing them? Don't look left or right. Did you ever know anybody like that? A 15-year-old came home from school one day and said to his father, "Pop, my teacher told me I'd never amount to much because I procrastinate so much." I told him, "Just you wait."

Procrastination—that is a real weakness in some people, isn't it? But procrastination is not something that Jesus struggles with. If Jesus has begun his work in you by granting you salvation, you have God's promise here—his promise—that he will complete that work, that God will complete your salvation, finalize your salvation, fulfill his promise to save you on the day of Jesus Christ, on the day you close your eyes and depart this world.

Paul says, "being confident." In Greek, these are strong words. It means to be fully and firmly persuaded or convinced. It means that Paul was entirely convinced of the truth of what he said. It is the language of a man that has absolutely no doubt about the subject of which he is speaking.

And then it says, "that he which hath begun a good work in you." Paul states here that this work, your salvation, was begun by God. It was not accomplished by the will of man, by your decision to draw close to God. It was begun by God. And as a result, Paul's firm conviction is that our salvation would be permanent. He's saying, in essence, God began it; he will see it through to the end.

But if our salvation is the result of man's action, if the perseverance of the Christian depends wholly on the person himself, then there could be no sure confidence that you will ever reach heaven if it depends on you. Paul says here that he is confident in this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it, will complete it, will perform it on the day of Jesus Christ.

And the Bible confirms this over and over. 1 Corinthians 1: "Who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." To the end. 2 Timothy: "For this reason, I also suffer these things; nevertheless, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day."

2 Timothy 4: "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing." And 1 Timothy 1, strong words: "We have a priceless inheritance, an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay."

And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. It says he will complete this work. In Greek, the word is *epiteleō*. It means to bring to an end, to finish, to accomplish, to perfect, to execute, to complete. He will bring your salvation to completion.

And why does Paul, really why does God, want you to be fully persuaded that God will complete your salvation on the day you depart Earth? That it's guaranteed? Because until you are fully persuaded of the fact that your salvation is entirely based on what Jesus did rather than on what you did for Jesus, you will only ever experience conditional acceptance from God, leading to doubts of salvation.

Because here's the truth: if your salvation is based upon your performance, doubts will always abound. Listen again: because if your salvation is based on your performance, you will always doubt your salvation. Because I've said this before: whenever performance enters a relationship, that relationship becomes conditional. Whenever performance enters a relationship—husband-wife, child-son, mother-daughter—whenever performance enters a relationship, that relationship becomes conditional.

You don't want a conditional relationship with the Lord. Now, some use this verse to say that Paul is making a case for sanctification, that God promises to keep watching us, to clean us up, to sanctify us right up until our dying breath. You could make an application of that, but I'm not sure it's the primary point.

Because although we know that this is his will and plan for us—sanctification—it requires our cooperation. And the truth is, some don't cooperate with his sanctification process. And what makes sanctification not probably Paul's intended point here is that sanctification will not be completed by the time your earthly life is over, which it says here it is.

It will not be completed by the time you leave this earth, for that would require you to reach perfection right before you leave. And that's not what it says. The Greek says to finish, to bring to an end, to accomplish, to execute, to complete, to perfect. You're not going to be perfected the day before you leave this earth as far as sanctification goes. Salvation? Perfected. Could it be a side application? Certainly. I don't think it's a primary. It doesn't quite own that.

Now moving on to verse 7, it says this: "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 with all the affection of Christ Jesus."

Paul held the Philippian church in a very special place in his heart relative to the other churches because these saints in Philippi shared in Paul's trials and because they also supported him materially when he was in prison. Philippians 4, verse 15, moving ahead four chapters, it says this: "As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the good news and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this."

Verse 7 says "both in my bonds and in my defense of the gospel." And most believe that he's referring to help that they gave him while he was in Rome awaiting trial before Nero. And then going on to verse 9 to 11: "I pray that your love will overflow more and more and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return."

"May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation, the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ, for this will bring much glory and praise to God." What a beautiful prayer this is and for our church too—that our love as a church would overflow more and more and that we would keep growing in our knowledge and understanding.

Some of your translations say knowledge and insight, most say knowledge and discernment. And this echoes Paul's prayer to the church in Colossae. As a pastor, I've shared this before, this is my life verse as a pastor of this church, Colossians 2:2 and 3: "I want them, I want you, to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want you to have complete confidence that you understand God's mysterious plan, which is Christ himself."

"In him, in Christ, lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." In Christ lie all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You know, I've said this before, but the older I get, the more you know, it's said about the apostle John that when he got old and couldn't walk, they carried him around on a stretcher from church to church.

And what he would say over and over when he got to the churches was this simple statement: "My little children, love one another. My little children, love one another. My little children, love one another." Three years with Jesus. The apostle that lived longer than any of the other apostles, the only one that wasn't martyred.

As he distilled his ministry and theology down to one sentence: "My little children, love one another." And here's my point. You know, you distill all this down, folks, this is what it comes down to. This is the essence of life. It's all about Jesus and Jesus is all about love. If you get that right—people say, "Well, that's a mushy love." No, love includes discipline.

It's mushy love that doesn't discipline. But true love, when needed, disciplines. So that's a part of that equation, but listen to it again. It's all about Jesus and Jesus is all about love. Folks, if you get that right in your marriage, in your family, in the work setting, you're going to have a lot right.

And you know that God answers prayers prayed with pure motives and right hearts. He just does. I say most every Sunday that our prayer would be on a Sunday morning that you would sense the love of Jesus in this place: the love that he has for you and the love that the body has for one another.

And I know that God has answered that prayer. That's why I pray it every Sunday. It's such an incredibly important, significant prayer. How do I know that he's answered that prayer? Because I have so many people come to the back of the church and tell me, "When I first came to this church, I felt such a sense of love when I came in and sat down."

And here's the truth: in a world where genuine, unconditional love has become an increasingly rare commodity, the love of our fellowship on a Sunday morning feels like heaven to someone who lives in a loveless existence. Listen again: the love of our fellowship on a Sunday morning feels like heaven to someone who is living a loveless existence.

Listen, you think of all the settings where there are loveless existences. In some couples, that's the case. In some families, that's the case. In some work settings, it's nothing but conflict and envy and self-seeking. They may not get that love anywhere until they come in here and sense that love. It's so critically important, folks, that this be what we're about.

So on a Sunday morning, before you come to church, as you walk to work, as you drive to church, may I encourage you to pray a prayer something like this: "Father God, I choose to love others today. Would you help, please help me to move outside of my comfort zone, push me beyond what I'm comfortable with, and reach out and express Christian love to others?"

"To many today, even to those who are hard to love." Because there are some people that are hard to love. That guy right there. You know, my grandfather died when he was 49 in 1949 before I was born. I have heard so many stories about him—an amazing man, a man of faith, a godly man.

I've had when I ran the dealership, I had people would come to me who used to work for him. They were old, of course, but they were younger then and they came to me and said, "I still have dreams about your grandfather. He so impacted my life. I still dream about him." I thought, who—where do you hear stories like that? A godly man.

Well, years after I got into the dealership, a man who had my grandfather's Bible, an uncle, gave it to me and said, "I want you to have this." And inside the Bible, I found this note. It says, "Prayer: Show me ways of being friendly to lonely people, God. Help me to show others how to be friendly too."

Talk about the essence of life. I think Grandpa had it. Listen: "Show me ways of being friendly to lonely people, God. Help me to show others how to be friendly too." That's what we're to be about, isn't it? Showing love to lonely people and then helping other people to do that same thing to others as well.

And Paul's second request is that the Philippian church would continue to grow in knowledge and understanding. Knowledge in Greek means precise and correct knowledge; understanding in Greek means perception and discernment. That the church is to grow in perception and discernment.

Folks, I think this is an area where the church is so lacking today. We so lack discernment. We get schnookered into so many things. You know what schnookered means? Tricked, trapped, conned into believing things are of God, but they're really not of God.

You know, I give an example, I've shared this in the other but slain in the spirit. I do not believe the slain in the spirit is of God. When someone's slain in the spirit, they lose control of their faculties, and the Holy Spirit will never make you a robot. The Holy Spirit will never take away your faculties, your ability to choice and to free will. Never, never, never. He's a gentleman. He won't do that.

Satan, on the other hand, wants to make a robot out of you and would try to force and make you do certain things. But when you talk to someone who was slain in the spirit, this is always a response. I'll say, "Well, do you think there's any possibility that wasn't God?" And they'll say, "Oh no, that was God. I know it." And I'll say, "How do you know it?" "Because it felt so good."

That's our level of discernment? We discern things being of God, the test is: did it feel good? You don't think Satan can make you feel good? Really? That's our level of discernment? So there are people that go to church services and there's holy laughter, and they start laughing like crazy and they say it's of God. Why? It felt so good.

There are people that start clucking like chickens. You know that goes on? They go around clucking like chickens on the floor and they say this is of the Holy Spirit. There are people that get twitches like this, and they can't stop doing it, and they say it's of God. And you say, "Well, how you know it's God?" "Oh, it feels really good."

Really? Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, feels really good, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck. And that's of God. Jessie Penn-Lewis said this, speaking of discernment: "How little many believers understand what is spirit and how many live in the soul or sensual realm and call it spirit. There are experiences in the soul life which appear to be spiritual, but are sensuous and wholly in the realm of the body."

"The counterfeits of today are generally wrought on the soul life of believers who have not yet learned to distinguish between soul and spirit. The church is not only carnal, fleshly, but it is calling soulish things spiritual. The deceiving spirits work upon this ignorance." They end by saying, "Nothing supernatural should be felt by the senses."

Guest (Male): We're going through Philippians one verse at a time on Study the Word with Pastor Thom Keller. You can hear this message again anytime of the day or night online at ccleb.com or subscribe to our YouTube channel at Calvary Chapel Lebanon. If you'd rather have a CD copy, call us at 717-273-5633.

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