Fellowship of Joy in Prayer

As you know, I'm preaching through a particular New Testament book of the Bible, a letter, one of Paul's letters.

! In fact, it would be difficult to preach out of any letter in the New Testament and not have it be Paul's. He wrote most of them. And of course, you know, it's Philippians. Philippians. So you can be turning to that if you'd like to.

I've said that it's a love letter and I'm very convinced of that. And I think you will be if you're not already as we work our way through this marvelous book of the Bible.

Philippians. And we're going to be reading here in a moment. Not yet, but in a moment. Philippians chapter 1 verses 3 through 11. Philippians 1, 3 through 11. So you find that and just hold that. We'll get to that. But there's a little bit of introduction, more introduction to this book that I need to do.

Really, I've spent a couple of weeks introducing the book in a sense. But we've not talked very much about the theme of this book. You may already know what it is or believe you know what it is. And you're probably right. It's not that much of a mystery.

Let's say just a few words about the theme. The theme of this book, this love letter. Now, we've already, of course, considered the events surrounding the birth of this church at Philippi.

Talked about that and read a little bit about that in the book of Acts, Acts chapter 16. We've covered that ground. And I spent two Sundays identifying the original readers of this letter, both in the physical, historical sense, but importantly, more significantly, the spiritual sense, the spiritual features of the original recipients of the book.

We've spent some time doing these things. And now I think we ought to consider the theme. What can we say about the theme of this letter?

Generally, and this applies to really any book of the Bible and really applies to any analysis of a writing, a person's writing, the best way to approach it is to identify repeated words or phrases or concepts or ideas.

You know, when a person writes, you know, that person writes a certain theme. And so there is the repetition, the reoccurring words and themes and such.

So that would be a good way to approach this book, the book of Philippians, this letter. What do we see repeated? Well, that said, and I think it's interesting that Paul refers to Jesus Christ approximately 50 times in this four and a half page letter.

50 times. That's a bunch, isn't it? And, of course, you know, one could argue that Jesus is the theme of every book in the Bible. In fact, it's kind of we say it jokingly that Jesus is the answer to every biblical question.

You know, like the Sunday school teacher that was quizzing her students and she asked, now, children, who or who can tell me the name of the man in the Bible who was swallowed by a great fish?

Well, she expected the answer immediately, but her class, her students just sat there quietly, didn't respond. And finally, one little boy raised his hand.

He said, teacher, I think the answer is Jonah, but I'm going to say Jesus anyway. Well, is Jesus the theme of this letter?

The letter to the Philippians? Well, the answer is yes, of course. And no. Or maybe I should say kind of, sort of.

He's the theme of this book. There is another word that Paul uses quite often here in the letter, and it is the word joy. In fact, joy in its various forms, Greek forms, constructions, the word joy appears 18 times in this letter.

That's quite a few. 18 times. And by far, Paul's favorite form of the word joy is the word rejoice. That appears 10 times of the 18.

Rejoice. And, of course, that famous passage, you know, that we all know in Philippians 4.4. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice.

You know, that's very familiar to us. So, the word rejoice appears twice in that verse. And so, that's repeated quite often. And so, those two together, considering these two repeated key words, key concepts, then what can we say about the letter to the Philippians?

Well, this is what I will say. Philippians is Christocentric. That's the technical way of putting it. That is, Paul never, never strays from Jesus Christ in this letter.

He mentions him 50 times at least. Never strays very far from, it doesn't stray at all, from Jesus Christ. Paul never disconnects any of his very subjects from Jesus.

Not one time. That's what it means to be Christocentric. And this letter certainly is that. In fact, we could again argue that the entire Bible is, of course, Christocentric.

That's why all preaching ought to be Christocentric. And really, why our lives ought to be Christocentric. We'll get to that in just a minute. But let me take another step here.

If, as most scholars agree, the theme of this letter is joy. And I would agree with that. Then let's put this together.

Paul's Christocentric approach to writing makes perfect sense. Because when Christ is at the center of your life.

Or to put it another way, when your life revolves around your relationship and fellowship with Jesus Christ, then joy and more joy and greater abounding joy is going to be the result.

Not happiness. Not talking about happiness. That's something different. And part of our problem is we have difficulty making a distinction between the two.

Joy and happiness. We're not talking about happiness here. At all. The origin of the word happiness, by the way, is happenstance. Happenstance. That is, life's circumstances dictate one's level of happiness.

So we're not always happy, are we? In fact, happiness is often elusive. Because happiness is based upon circumstances.

Happiness is then conditional. It's temporary. But joy, true joy, real joy, biblical joy, if you have it.

And you don't necessarily have it. Even as a believer, sometimes we don't have it. But true biblical joy does not change with the ups and downs and the ins and outs and ebb and flow of life's circumstances.

It does not change. It remains the same, consistent. Well, I say it changes, it gets more and more. But it's not affected by circumstances.

Because by definition, and I'll just use John MacArthur's definition, I like it. So why make up my own? Here's his. Biblical joy is the settled conviction that God sovereignly controls the events of life for the believer's good and for God's glory, His glory.

So, true joy, biblical joy, is available to all who obey God. That's a good definition.

And by the way, that introduces the only condition of joy. Obedience. An obedient fellowship with God.

So, the difference, there's a difference between happiness and joy. And by the way, the difference between happiness and joy is made crystal clear by both the writer and the recipients of this letter when you analyze their lives.

And we know quite a bit about Paul's life. Just consider Paul. See, from day one, the apostle Paul, from the first day of his conversion, Paul was persecuted for his faith.

In Acts chapter 9, verse 20, just to give you an example, this is right after Paul's conversion, his glorious conversion to Christ. In Acts chapter 9, verse 20, we read about the Jews of Damascus seeking to kill Paul and his only salvation was for some believers to lower him down over the rope of the city in a basket.

And that really set the stage or set the norm for Paul's life. And, you know, just listen to how Paul summed up his life as an apostle.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 23, three, four more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death, five times I received from the Jews 39 lashes, three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep, in the ocean, in the water, I have been on frequent journeys, done a lot of traveling, and that's been hard, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, the Jews, danger from wilderness, in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren, I have been in labor and hardship through my sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food and cold and exposure.

what a litany of his persecutions of life, events of his life, terrible.

Now let me ask you something, do you think Paul experienced what we would call today, a happy life? not by our definition of it, not in the truest sense of the word happy.

And this is the apostle who wrote in Philippians 4.4, again, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. By the way, where was Paul when he wrote this letter to the Philippians?

in a prison, in Rome. Isn't that interesting? So, see, almost anything can rob you of happiness.

Anything can, if that's what you're living for. But nothing can rob you of joy. Nothing. Joy is not dependent upon circumstances.

Joy is rooted in your fellowship with God. And listen, by the way, it was no picnic in the park for the church at Philippi.

The people, the believers there in Philippi, they endured a great deal. The Philippian believers were poor. We learned that from the Bible. Very poor. Many of them slaves.

The Philippian believers were persecuted for their faith. We're going to find that out as we study this book, this letter. The Philippian believers were dealt within their body.

They dealt with power struggles among their congregation. We're going to read about that a little bit later. And the Philippian believers were attacked from within by false teachers who had crept in.

So things were not easy there either. But what did Paul tell them? He told them that joy must always rule the day. And that is what he says to us as well.

And so the theme of Philippians is joy. And since joy is only condition is obedient fellowship with God, and since this joy, true joy, was something Paul shared with the believers there at Philippi, then the theme really is the fellowship of joy.

That's the theme. The fellowship of joy. Rooted, a joy that's rooted in fellowship with Christ. A joy shared, shared in our fellowship with one another.

The fellowship of joy. But that is the letter to the Philippians. Now that's a rather lengthy introduction, I know, but necessary because we are now ready, I think, to see this letter through a proper lens.

And here's what we shall see as we move throughout this book. They'll give you a little heads up on where we're going. The fellowship of joy in prayer.

That's our focus this morning. The fellowship of joy in persecution. We'll get to that in a couple of Sundays. The fellowship of joy in perfection.

The fellowship of joy in the person of Christ. And then finally, the fellowship of joy in the practical matters of life. And this is what we shall see in our study of Philippians.

Now we're ready to read the text. Okay? Philippians chapter 1 and starting with verse 3. Do you still have it there or have you forgotten all about it? Paul wrote, That I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.

Always in every prayer of mine. Making requests for you all with joy. For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. 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. Just as it is right for me to think this of you all. Because I have you in my heart.

Inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. You all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness.

How greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray. That your love may abound still more and more in the knowledge and all discernment.

That you may approve the things that are excellent. That you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. Being confident with or filled rather with the fruits of righteousness.

Which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. Alright, there's the paragraph. Entire paragraph of Paul's letter. And what is the subject?

It's prayer. Prayer is the subject or more specifically Paul's prayer life. As it was connected when it was connected to the church at Philippi.

His prayer life for them. That's the subject here in this paragraph. Now, what are we to learn from this text?

If this is about prayer. And then Paul's going to go on to say. Tell us what the what's and the wherefores of his prayer life for them. If that's the subject here. Then what should we learn?

About prayer. Specifically our prayers for one another. Here's what we should learn.

The way Paul prayed for this church at Philippi. Should challenge us to pray the same way for one another.

That's it in a nutshell. How did Paul pray? Well, first. Like Paul prayed for the Philippian church. We should, number one, pray thankfully.

It's right there in the text, isn't it? What did Paul say? Verse 3. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.

Now, the word thank is the Greek word from which we get our English word, Eucharist. And maybe you've heard that word before. It might be familiar to you. It is a word that's often used to refer to the Lord's Supper.

The Eucharist. And it means the thank supper in that sense. And next Sunday morning we shall observe the, quote, Eucharist. Though that's not normally the way that we refer to it as Baptist.

But we're going to observe the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, next Sunday morning. As we remember Christ's sacrificial death upon the cross for us. And that's going to lead us to thank Him.

To thank Him. That's why it's called the Eucharist. The Apostle Paul then thanked God for the church at Philippi. He thanked them. Thanked Him for them.

And he did so constantly. And he thanked God for each and every member of this church. Remember how Paul addressed this letter way back there in verse 1?

Well, not very far back there in verse 1. He said, To all the saints along with or with the bishops, that is the pastors, elders, the bishops and the deacons.

And so Paul was thanking God for the laity, the members of the church. And he was thanking God for the leadership in the church. Now let me ask you something.

In your prayers for Highland Park, your church, Do you genuinely thank God for the laity, the members of the church, and for the leadership of the church?

The elders, pastor, deacons. Do you thank God for that? And by the way, Paul made no qualification here, did he? I pray for certain ones.

He didn't make any qualification. Except if you could call this a qualification, That he thanked God upon every remembrance of them.

For everything. That is, there was no memory of them that caused him to cease praying for them. That's the only qualification we have.

And also, Paul made no exception. The word you here is plural. He prayed for all of them in the church.

What an example. Now, was the Philippian church perfect? Well, certainly not. No church is. Is our church perfect? Well, yes.

No, actually it's not. Is it? I had a deacon at my church in Mississippi. I started to say Philippi. I didn't pastor at Philippi.

I might after this sermon. But I had a deacon in my church in Mississippi. Who used to say all the time. He said it numerous times.

He said, Pastor, I know our church is not perfect because I'm a member of it. And actually, he said more than he knew. More than he was willing to admit. But anyway.

No church is perfect because it's made up of us. And we're not perfect. And so the church of Philippi was not perfect at all. That's not the point, is it? And also, were all the members of this church, this church of Philippi, were they worthy of thanks?

Well, no. We're going to discover that later on in our study. And yet, Paul constantly, he said, thank God for the members of the church at Philippi.

So here's the lesson for us. Pray thankfully. Secondly. Second, pray reflectively. Pray reflectively.

Verse 1, or verse 3 rather. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. Remembrance of you.

Now, the implication here is that Paul spent a great deal of time reflecting in his thoughts upon the church of Philippi. He thought about them a lot. And I think two things were true of Paul.

And ought to be true of us. Two things. His thoughts about them, his memories of them, initiated his prayers for them.

That is, he just thought about them and that led to prayer for them. But also, his thoughts saturated his prayers for them.

And so here, in two contexts. As he thought about them, and he thought about them often, it led him to prayer. It initiated prayer. And when he was praying, every time he got on his knees to pray, every day, probably multiple times through the day.

When he's praying, he's not just praying for the church at Philippi. But the thoughts come and his thoughts saturate his prayer time and he prays for them. And so our prayers ought to initiate prayers.

And our prayers ought to be saturated with our thoughts of one another. Now, other than on Sundays, and possibly for some of you on Wednesdays, how often do you think about your church?

Do you think about your church? And do your thoughts initiate your prayers for Highland Park? And do your thoughts saturate your prayers for Highland Park?

And what are your thoughts about Highland Park Baptist Church and the members of this church? What are your thoughts? I'm not asking you to respond, except to yourself and in your own heart.

Whatever they are, whether they're good or bad, positive or negative, and there's likely a mixture of both. Hopefully, there's some good there. Whatever they are, they should prompt you to pray.

But I would say that there's nothing wrong with determining to think good thoughts about your church. Nothing wrong with that.

To be determined about that. To look for the good things. To reflect upon the positive thing. Paul did. I'm convinced. So pray thankfully.

Pray reflectively. Third, pray frequently. Pray frequently. Verses 3 and 4. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.

Always in every prayer of mine. Always in every prayer of mine. Now, the word always points to two realities, I think.

First, Paul always remembered the church at Philippi. Always remembered. Never forgot them. And he had reason never to forget them. Good, positive reason. He remembered how God sovereignly led him there in the first place.

We can read about that in Acts 16. He also remembered how God saved Lydia and her family. And how God saved the demon-possessed slave girl.

And how God saved the jailer and his family. He remembered how God moved this church to support Paul financially in his ministry.

And probably many, many other things he remembered about them that we're not privy to. Paul always remembered them. But it also suggests this reality.

That Paul always prayed for them. He did. Always. In fact, what he said here could literally be rendered this way.

Every time I pray. And you know Paul prayed every day. Every time I pray, I put in a prayer for the church at Philippi.

Every time I pray. And let me ask you. And this is a challenge. Not only to you, but to me. How often do you pray for your church?

How often do you pray for specific members in the church? This is not a rebuke. This is a challenge, okay? You're all looking at me like, you're mad at us, aren't you?

No, this is a challenge to all of us. How often do you pray for the members of your church? How often do you pray for me? Me. My family.

And for the other ministers of our church and the leadership of our church. How often do you do that? What a challenge Paul's prayer life is to us. To pray thankfully.

To pray reflectively. To pray frequently. Number four, pray unselfishly. Pray unselfishly. Verse four, making requests for you all with joy.

In southern parlance, Paul said, you know, making requests for y'all. Now, he said it. He must have been from L.A. Lower Alabama.

Pray for y'all. Pray all the time for y'all. That's what Paul said. And it's unselfish. See, it was a joy for Paul to pray for the people of Philippi and to pray with a selfless joy.

Now, without a doubt, and we learn this from Scripture, that Paul greatly benefited from his relationship with the church at Philippi. Greatly benefited from them. First of all, they loved him. Vocally loved him.

Publicly loved him. They also furnished a traveling companion for Paul to help him in his journeys, his missionary journeys. The Pastor Ditus. He's going to mention him later in the letter.

They also supported him, as I've already said, supported him financially, though they were a very poor church. And they also responded positively, favorably, to his teaching.

And that, by the way, I assure you, is a real point of fulfillment for any preacher. But Paul's prayers for the church at Philippi were in no way dependent upon or connected to or conditioned upon what he thought he could get out of them.

So let me ask you, do you pray for your church without any thought of self? Now think about that.

That is how you might benefit from your church. How you might get what you like. How you might get what you want. Do you pray without any thought of those things?

That is what your church can do for you. Do you pray for Highland Park unselfishly? Unselfishly. Fifth, pray communally.

Pray communally. Let me explain. Verse 5. For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. That is an incredible statement.

Testimony of this church. For your fellowship. Your communion. In the gospel from the first day until now.

The word translated fellowship. Or participation in some versions. Maybe even communion in some versions. That word is the Greek word koinonia. It's a very famous word.

Very well known Greek word. Koinonia. And what does it mean? It means fellowship. It means fellowship. It means fellowship. Or communion. It's speaking of a oneness that we have in Christ.

A communion that we enjoy in our worship of Him. A commonality that we all share in ministry. In our focus. In our ministry as a church.

Koinonia. Koinonia. Now I think Paul is expressing both a reality. That is what is really true there. At the church of Philippi. But also a hope.

That is what he would like to be true. As well. And this ought to be our prayers. Now in regard to Philippi. Clearly the incredible reality was. That the majority of the believers in this church in Philippi.

Were committed. Actively sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. First Paul said. From the first day. That is the first day of your conversion. I mean you hit the ground running.

This was true. Of the majority of the believers in Philippi. I'm convinced. This is what Paul is saying. And he goes on to say. And that you have continued this until now. That is. You did not.

It was not a flash in the pan. You know. That you started out. You know. Hot. And going. And then you just kind of. You know. Kind of. You know. There was a lull.

No. You kept on. And you are still going. Even today. You hit the ground running. And you have never stopped. This was the reality of Philippi.

In fact. We have some sense of that in verse 7. If you look at it real quickly. Just as it is right for me to think this of you all. There's y'all again. Because I have you in my heart.

In as much as both in my chains. And in the defense of the confirmation of the gospel. You are partakers. All of you are partakers with me of grace. And as you are with me on this thing.

There was this communion. And many of the believers. They were with Paul. And they were serving the Lord with him. They were doing that at their church.

In their community. And Paul was doing that everywhere he was. They were in communion together. This was the reality. But Paul I think also is expressing a hope.

In this prayer. A hope. That every. Every member would be as active. That every member would get on board.

That every member would participate in the fellowship of the gospel. You know. Some believers. Seem to get a late start. Just doesn't happen right away.

Some believers. Haven't even left the gate. When it comes to. The gospel. Fellowship in the ministry. Now if either of those describes you.

Then. I've got. To admit to you. That. It's impossible. For you to pray the way Paul prayed. Because. For you to pray.

Communally. In this way. You need to get on board first. In the ministry. In some way. That is being followed. In fellowship with the gospel. To.

To. Participate. In the ministry. Of this church. And there are. Many. Many. Different ways. To do that. Many ways. Get on board. So.

Pray. Communally. Number six. Very quickly. Pray. Confidently. Confidently. Verse six. 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. Now. Understand here. That the thing. Of which Paul. Was confident. Was the Philippian believers.

Salvation. That's what he's confident. About. Their salvation. And their salvation. In the. Fullest sense. Of that word. Past. Present. And future. Past.

Initiating. He said. He has begun. A good work in you. Present. Ongoing. He will. Complete it. It's a process. And future. In all of its fullness. It's future.

Until the day. Of Jesus Christ. All that's right here. In this verse. Now. Next Sunday. We're going to consider. Verse six. I'll just give you a heads up. We're going to go. And just look at verse six. And our great salvation.

As we prepare. Ourselves. For the Lord's Supper. So let me move on. And just say that. Here's what we need to learn. Here about praying. For one another. Confidently.

Spiritually speaking. We need to admit. That none of us. Have arrived. Spiritually. We've not arrived yet. But we all will. One day. That's. The wondrous. Grace of God.

In salvation. Every believer. Is going to make it. All right. Now. We can. And should. Pray. For the members of our church.

With this confidence. We will not. Give up. On any. Member. In this church. Not give up. No matter. Regardless. Of failures. Regardless.

Of weaknesses. Regardless. Of any. Level. Of spiritual. Immaturity. We're not going to give up. Because we're confident.

That what God began. He will complete. All the way. Till Jesus comes. And so. God's not going to give up. Why should we? On any member.

In the church. This is the fellowship. Of joy. In prayer. Be. Pray. Thankfully. Reflectively. Frequently. Unselfishly. Communally. Confidently. And number seven.

And there's just two more. So hold on. Number seven. Pray. Affectionately. Verse eight.

For God is my witness. That is. I'm telling the truth. Telling you straight. Just ask God. God's my witness. How greatly. I long.

For you. All. There's y'all again. Long. For y'all. With the affection. Of Jesus Christ. What. What a statement.

The word affection. Is. A rather interesting word. In the Greek language. To pronounce it. It's not real easy.

It's. Splach non. Okay. What does it mean? It means. It refers. To the inward parts. Of a person. The.

Inward. Inside organs. The ugly part of us. It's on the inside. You know. I'm talking about. Like. The. Liver. The. The. The. The. Stomach.

The. Intestines. And. That's why. The King James. Translates it. Bowels. What. A disgusting word.

Bowels. That's. That's what the word means. But it refers. Of course. It's figurative. It refers. To. Gut.

Feeling. You know. The emotion. The affections. That are deep. Deep. Inside of you. You know. You just. Ugh.

I feel. I love you. So. Deeply. It's just. It's this gut. Wrenching. Emotion. Not in a negative sense. But in a very positive sense. He's referring to a deep.

Emotional. Love. And affection. That Paul has for them. And so here's what he's saying. He's saying he shares. The same. Affection.

And deep love. For the believers. At Philippi. That Jesus. Has. For them. This is. This is something.

He loves them. With the same. Love. That Jesus. Has for them. Let me ask you.

What. What. Would that do. To your. Prayers. For your church. For Highland Park. If you genuinely.

Deeply. Love. The people. With the same love. That Jesus. Has. For every member. Of this church. That would make a difference. Big difference.

The fellowship. Of love. In prayer. One more. Pray. Substantively. Your prayers.

Need to have substance. Not that. Everything. He has said. This far. Is. Somehow. Not. Substantive. But. We need to pray. Substantively. And I'm sure. That Paul.

Prayed. For many. Specific. Things. For the. Church. Of Philippi. Probably. Had a list. Of things. That they needed. He prayed. For all those things. I'm sure. Specific. Things. He tell things.

As he learned. But. Here. In verses. Nine. Through eleven. Paul. Prays. For. Three. Things. Three.

Very. Substantive. Things. That I sure. Wish. You'd pray. For me. And. That we all. Ought. To pray.

For each. Other. Three. Substantive. Things. I only have time. To identify them. Paul said. There. In verse nine. This.

Is. My. Prayer. For you. He's not saying. This is my only prayer. The only thing I ever pray about. This. Is. Chiefly. What I pray about. For you. Three things.

Number one. That. You. Would have. An. Abounding. Love. For one another. A love. That knows. No bound. He said.

That your love. May abound. Still more. And more. Literally. More. And more. And more. And more. According to. Knowledge. That is the truth. Of God's word.

And. All discernment. That is. The guidance. Of the Holy Spirit. And the enablement. Empowering. Of the Holy Spirit. So. Abounding. Love. That you would have.

An abounding. Love. For one another. That's what he prayed. That's what we need to pray. For ourselves to have. As well as. For all the membership of our church.

Abounding love. Our church has. Been through a lot over the last several years. Huh? Some struggles.

That God has been gracious to see us through. And we. Need to capitalize. On what God is. Has done.

And how he has. Brought such unity. And fellowship. We ought to have. An abounding. Love. For one another. This is what he prayed. I said.

I was just going to identify them. I can't help talking about them. Here's number two. Second thing he prayed. That you would have. An approved. Life. An approved.

Life. Before one another. In clear view of one another. An approved. Life. That you may. He says. That you may approve. The things that are excellent.

That is. Prove what is right. And good. And best. That you may be sincere. That is no hypocrisy. And without offense.

That is. Nothing in your life. That would bring. Disgrace. Or shame. To Christ. Or his church. And. How long are you supposed to do this? Till. The day of Christ.

That is. No end to this here. That's what he prayed. An abounding. Love. For one another. And approved.

Life. Life. Before. In plain view. Of one another. And then third. An acceptable. Legacy. An acceptable.

Legacy. With. One another. Acceptable. To God. Of course. He said. Being filled. With the fruits. Of righteousness. That is.

The good. Works. The fruits. As a result. Of your righteousness. Which he says. Are. In. Jesus. Christ. Or. By him. Through him. And then. He. He concludes.

By saying. To the glory. And praise. Of God. Dear people. That's a worthy. Legacy. Would. To God.

That. We could come. To the end. Of our lives. As individual. Believers. And as a church. Collectively. And say. It was all. For God. Glory.

And praise. All of it. For him. That's a legacy. So these things. Represent. Some of the most. Substantive. Things. That you and I.

Could. Ever pray. For one another. And so let me ask you. Will you pray. For your church.

Will you pray. For your church. The way Paul prayed. For the church. At Philippi. Will you? Thank you.