November 18th House Church

Philippians 1:7-21 Areas we discussed.

v7 "... both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me."
Confirmation of the gospel is doing the work of the gospel. It is the response to the gospel.

v8 For God is my witness how I long for you. To minister effectively one needs to long to reach out to those who he ministers to.
with the affection of Christ Jesus. Our ability to love comes from Christ. We don't have the ability to love and care for others apart from Christ.

v9 "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,"
Love is active and the knowledge allows us to encourage. One job of the preacher is to explain the Bible and its promises for us. Another part of the preacher is to encourage others to hope in the promises that God has spoken to us.

v11 "having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."
The fruit of righteousness is talked about in James 3:13-18
It does not come from bitter jealousy, selfish ambition.
Wisdom from above is: pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering and without hypocrisy. The seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

We need to be at peace with ourselves and God and others. Turmoil within hinders the bearing of fruit.

We then went to Acts 16 and read the account of how the Philippine church started. Paul was thrown in jail for casting out an evil spirit. He found people that were interested by going to the place of prayer and sharing the gospel there. While in jail there was an earthquake, and the peace Paul and Silas showed during their imprisonment and not running when there was an earthquake brought the jailer to the Lord.

v14-21 People were preaching the gospel. Some from pure motives and others from impure motives. Paul decided that he would praise the Lord that the gospel was being preached no mater what.

Paul knew that weather he lived or died that Christ would be exalted. That was his purpose to serve Christ. Our ability to serve in trying circumstances depends on our trust in Christ and not relying on our own ability or protecting ourselves.