Remembering God's Grace

Well, good morning to you. My name's Jon, if we've not met. And I am really looking forward to sharing God's Word with you today. And want us to just think about the idea that God's grace brings great joy. God's grace brings great joy. It was 13 years ago. It's hard to believe this, but 13 years ago this September that I was sitting in my oldest son's nursery. He was 10 days old, and he was sleeping. It was dark, the lights were dimmed, and man, I was tired. If y'all are parents, you know you don't know tired unless you've had a kid 10 days old in your house. And although I was tired and exhausted and there was chaos in the home, because, you know, when you bring a baby home and you're inexperienced and all that goes with that, you're tired. But that wasn't what was in my heart. As I was sitting in this rocking chair close to midnight, I was overwhelmed with joy. I was just staring at this little boy, and I was so grateful for the story of grace that God had already written in his life. I was remembering the journey that got us to this point, where my wife and I had struggled with the idea of, would we ever be parents? And could we ever be parents? And then remembering what it was like when we realized we would be parents. And now sitting with the joy of realizing that this boy was my son, and I was his dad. And so I wrote him a letter. And I wanna read just a little bit to you of what I wrote way back then, 13 years ago. I said this: Jackson, my son, I'm sitting in your nursery as I write this letter to you. Today's September 29th. You were only 10 days old. Yet I feel as though I have loved you my entire life. Just over a week ago, I experienced emotion like I have never felt before, when I saw your face for the very first time. I feel this new sense of responsibility on my shoulders and find myself spontaneously praying for you, thanking God for you now, and praying for your future. I'm still very new at this, but I'm trusting God for the wisdom to raise you correctly, to teach you all that I can, and to help you understand the reality of a relationship with Jesus. I'm filled with so much gratitude already in the story God's writing through your life, and filled with hope and anticipation of the incredible man God will shape you into. And then it goes on from there. You can hear the joy, can't you? Of those words that I wrote as a very inexperienced, very new, very tired, but overwhelmed-with-joy dad writing to my son, who at that point couldn't read those things. But certainly, it was my expression. And I want you to realize that I was remembering God's grace and thankful. I was rejoicing in the moment of what was happening, and I was praying for what God would do in the future. Today, as we open up God's Word, I want you to open to the Book of Philippians. And we're gonna look at another personal story. And I think we're gonna see that there is a story of grace here that also brought joy to a person. This was written by the apostle Paul. Paul, when he was writing the letter to the Philippians, he was a prisoner in Rome. He had written this letter and three other letters from this place, where he was a prisoner. He wrote to the Ephesians, to the Colossians, and to a man named Philemon. And before he got to this point, man, he had a really, really difficult journey. He had a really tough time. By this point, he had been dragged and beaten. He had had an attempt on his life, where over 40 men conspired to try to kill him. He had faced delay after delay of justice. He was finally shipped off to Rome to face the emperor, and he was shipwrecked, where he had to wait. And he was abandoned, had to work through all those things. And now he finds himself a prisoner, kind of in a house arrest situation, physically chained to the Roman guard responsible for him. And yet, despite all of that, as we dig into this letter today, I think you're gonna see that despite Paul's circumstances, he rejoiced. And specifically, he rejoiced in the grace story of the Philippians. And I want us to see today as we read through this, step by step, how our own grace story might do the same. Our own grace story might bring joy to someone else. Just look with me at the very beginning of this letter from Paul to the Church of Philippi in Philippians 1:1-11. We'll read it together. "Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus. To all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all of my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart, and whether I'm in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ Jesus, to the glory and praise of God." You can hear it, right? You can hear the joy that Paul had as he wrote to these people. I think Paul is rejoicing as he thinks about the grace story of the Philippians. As he thinks about the story of grace that existed within this church and the individuals that made it up. What's a grace story? We use that phrase from time to time here at The Chapel. A grace story is simply this. We're talking about God's grace as it's displayed in the life of a person. How God has intervened in someone's life. How he has, not by their deservedness, but by his grace and by his initiation, he's intersected their life and allowed them to understand the truth of the gospel and made them new. For the last bunch of months, really, for over a year here at The Chapel, we've had over 100 people be baptized at our church, which I'm so grateful to God for. What an incredible thing, for us to get to see and celebrate people walking through the waters of believer's baptism, even in this service. And each time somebody's been baptized here, they stand in that water and they profess their grace story. They share a component of what God has done in their life. And usually, although we hear and we think about a grace story as just being that initial moment, that time when someone understands the truth and says, "This is when I got saved. This is when I came to know Christ." that's a part of their grace story. But a grace story is way bigger than that. It begins before that moment, it includes everything about that moment, and it continues for the rest of our lives. The grace stories we've heard through baptisms usually include something about the circumstances in which God intersected with that person's life. Maybe somebody who shared the gospel with them. Maybe a place that they found themselves, where they got invited to church, or were in some other setting. And they heard the truth about Jesus. Usually, their grace story includes something about what was happening in their heart when they found themselves receptive to the gospel. And it usually also includes something about how they've been changed, how they've been transformed, about how their motives and thoughts and ideas and priorities have changed as a result of it. And maybe you say today as I'm explaining that, "I don't have one of those. I don't have a grace story. At least I don't think I do." Well, let me encourage you today that I've been praying for you. I've been praying for you that if you're here today and you don't have a grace story, that I can tell you that God's already initiated one with you. God's already taken the first step. And you're gonna hear today as we walk through this that there's an opportunity for you to have a grace story in your life. And in fact, I've been praying that today would be that day that God's intersected your life, and it'd be a pivotal moment for you to understand and celebrate, and all of us would find joy in the story God's writing in your life. Paul knew the grace story of the Philippians. At least he knew part of it. He was a part of the beginning of it, at least. He certainly was a part of ensuring that some of the founding members of this church at Philippi heard the gospel. And God did some amazing things, some miraculous things, to allow for these people to hear the gospel. So today, what I want us to explore and confirm is this statement. You can write this down. It says, "God's continuing story of grace in our lives should cause us and others to rejoice." God's continuing story of grace in our lives should cause us and others to rejoice. I think that's true for the grace story at Philippi and how Paul was responding to it. But I want us to look at that piece by piece. The first way we're gonna see that is this: Paul rejoiced in God's grace as he remembered. Paul rejoiced in God's grace as he remembered. That's how he opens this letter. Let's look again in Philippians 1:3. "I thank my God every time I remember you." "I thank my God every time I remember you." Paul is saying that he's rejoicing in God's grace as he remembered. When Paul remembered the Philippians, he remembers this miraculous story. I'm not sure if you're familiar with it, but it's recounted for us in the Book of Acts. How God intersected the lives of the Philippians. How God used Paul to accomplish his miraculous work in that way. Paul, as you might know, was a apostle to the Gentiles. He himself previously was a killer of Christians and someone who was persecuting this faith. But Jesus intersected his life, changed his mindset, changed his heart, redeemed him, and sent him out to share the gospel. And so Paul's on his second missionary journey. And he's heading in a direction, and God changes his direction. He says, "Nope, you're not going there. You're going in a different direction." And he specifically sent him to the Philippians. Let's read that in Acts 16:6-12. We read it together. "Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. From Troas we put out in the sea and sailed to Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days." I think it'd be pretty memorable, right? Have you ever taken a trip, and you're heading in one direction, and you hear the Lord Jesus say, "Nope, you're not going that direction. You're going the opposite way"? Right? And then you have a vision from the Lord that says, "Come over to Macedonia," and you know that this is where God has you headed. Man, that would be memorable, right? So Paul remembers this, but then he also remembers how God worked to open the hearts and to save the people that he had called them to preach the gospel to. Let's look at this as we continue in Acts chapter 16: On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. And when she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us. Look at what God did. I mean, God literally redirected these people to go to Philippi. Paul and his companions find themselves at this river bank. And here's Lydia, a worshiper of God, acknowledging that God is real, but far from him, and it says that God opened her heart so that she would believe. And then she and her whole household become believers in Jesus. Like, can you imagine this? She's just down there minding her business, a worshiper of God, reverent of the things of God, and Paul and his companion show up. And God starts to open her heart so that as Paul shares, she responds. And she and her whole household are saved and baptized and get involved in the work of the ministry right away. But God wasn't done in Philippi. Let's continue. As we see here, that these guys are walking through the town, and they see a woman who was demon possessed. And Paul cast that demon out in the name of Jesus. And so she's free and she's thankful, but it caused an uproar in the community. And so Paul and Silas find themselves in jail, again, not where they intended to be. They find themselves in jail. But let's read together as it continues: About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose. Can you imagine? "The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, 'Don't harm yourself! We are all here.' The jailer called for the lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' And they replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.' And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and all those others in his house. And at that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds; and then immediately he and all of his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them. He was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God, he and his whole household." Isn't this an incredible story? Like, think about what's happened since Paul and his companions have been redirected. Lydia, her heart is open to the gospel; an entire family comes to know Christ. Then Paul and Silas find themselves in jail, and they're like, "Oh my gosh, what is going on? We're not supposed to be here." But yet you see they're singing hymns and praises. They're still rejoicing in the Lord because of their confidence in what he's doing. And so then this incredible thing happens, where the doors fling open and the chains fall off, and the jailer thinks this is the end. But Paul and Silas reassure him. And then I think it's interesting that the jailer speaks these words. He says, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" I think we see the same pattern. I think we see that God was opening the hearts of these people to respond to the gospel of Jesus. And so when Paul remembers the Philippians, he remembers these stories. When Paul remembers the Philippians, he remembers Lydia, he remembers the jailer. He remembers all those in those households who came to know the truth about Jesus. And Paul says that every time he remembers them, he thanks God. Wouldn't you? Every time he remembers them, he thanks God for what God's done. So Paul rejoiced in God's grace as he remembered. But a second thing we realize here is that Paul rejoiced as their grace story continued. Paul knew the origin story of the Philippian church. He was a part of it. He got to see some early miraculous things take place. He got to see life transformation turn on a dime. It was incredible. It was amazing. But I think here we see also that Paul is encouraged, Paul is rejoicing, not just by that story of old from years ago, but also that the Philippians were continuing. Instead of stalling out, instead of stepping away, instead of growing cold, Paul's now seeing that the Philippians commit. Their commitment to the gospel continued to grow. Let's look and see this in Philippians 1:4-5: In all my prayers for you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. In all my prayers for you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. We don't know all of how this took place. We know that Paul was involved in that original origin story. And then we see Paul mention an ongoing, continued partnership, in which Paul's praying with joy because of their partnership in the gospel. We can make some assumptions in thinking that the gospel in Philippi continue to spread. Did Lydia continue to open her home, as she insisted on early in that process there? Did she continue to resource the church and host them and allow for those believers to grow so other people could come and hear the gospel? Did the jailer and his family continue to provide meals and care for needs and tend to those things so that they could minister to the region of Philippi? I don't know. We do know that the gospel continued to spread. And we do know that the church at Philippi continued to partner with Paul specifically on a number of occasions because of their commitment to the gospel. Paul tells us that in Philippians 4:14-16. He writes to the Philippians, "Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except only you; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent aid to me more than once when I was in need." So Paul's rejoicing because, obviously, this church at Philippi, they're committed to the ongoing mission of the gospel. These people weren't ashamed. They weren't ashamed of Paul's chains. They weren't hesitant by the circumstances. They were committed to seeing the gospel flourish. And because of that, Paul says that in his partnership with the gospel, he prayed for them. He always prayed with joy. I think there's actually two reasons, two areas where we can see why Paul rejoiced in the Philippians partnership. I think the first, and we can't pass over it, 'cause it is really important, is that the partnership with the Philippians met real needs. Paul actually was in need. Paul was pioneering the faith. He was traveling from place to place, and he needed resources and help. You can imagine, as you're kind of traveling from place to place, trusting the Lord for direction, that you would need help in that. Paul finds himself later in prison. And so he needs help with food and with actual care. Back in that time, that wasn't provided by the prison system. Paul needed some help in that regard, right? And the Philippians were an answer to that prayer. Paul was trusting the Lord. Paul was praying and asking God to provide. I think he was confident that the Lord would provide. But he rejoices in the fact that it's these friends, these partners in the gospel, who help to provide that need for Paul. And so their partnership was really, really helpful. And, in fact, the church at Philippi sent a man named Epaphroditus to Rome. So think about this. Philippi is 800 miles away from Rome. And so this church commissioned a person from their congregation and said, "We gotta help Paul. We wanna be involved in what he's doing. We wanna make sure he feels cared for." And so Epaphroditus travels 800 miles from Philippi to Rome to minister to Paul, to care for Paul, to bring money and resources to help Paul. In fact, he's so involved in what's happening that you see later that Epaphroditus gets sick. Really sick. And Paul is thanking God as he's writing to the Philippians, saying that Epaphroditus got better and is now able to return to them. So they had skin in the game. You can see their commitment to that. And so I think that not only were they thankful, was Paul thankful for their real needs help, for the partnership that really met needs, but I think it was bigger than that. I think Paul was also really encouraged that the Philippians were continuing. And when he saw that, he was encouraged by their continued commitment to the gospel. Not only was he encouraged by the real needs this partnership met, but also that their partnership affirmed their commitment to the gospel. They didn't stop with those baby steps, but that he was seeing their continued growth at each step along the way. When I think back to that time in the nursery, my 10-day-old baby boy, first of our four children, and I think about just the joy that I had with his existence, like, I was just thankful he was there, right? I was thankful for the new life that God provided in this. But even as I was writing that letter to him, I was praying for his future. I was thinking about his maturity and his growth and his ongoing future in that regard. And so with each step, I was joyful. Every time I saw him crawl or walk or talk. That gets old, by the way. After a while, it's like, you know, I'm thankful when they learn it, and then they have to learn... Anyways. But you're thankful for those steps, right? But I'm starting to learn a new sense of joy in kind of a different category because I'm seeing my older kids learn to take the gospel seriously themselves. I'm learning to see them take ownership themselves and initiate on their own desire, not just because their dad says they should, not just because I'm walking alongside them. But they're growing in that. My son Jackson, 10-day-old Jackson, now 13 years later, he's serving over in Chapel Kids, helping out with their tech stuff and helping in those things. My daughter Mila is doing some of the same. They're doing it of their own initiation: not because I'm making them or telling them they should, but because they want to be involved, because they wanna continue. Man, doesn't that swell a dad's heart with joy? I'm thankful for the work they're doing. I'm thankful for the help they're providing our church. But I'm way more joyful at the reality that my son and my daughter, and, Lord willing, my other kids as well, will continue to take seriously this for themselves. It's a way that I could have a window into their heart to see that this is what they desire and what they want to do as they continue to grow. And so I think it's important for us to realize that this isn't about the work that's being done, it's about the evidence of growth that Paul was taking joy in. Last month, I got to baptize my daughter. And I'm talking about my family and my kids. You'll have to just indulge me here. I'm so thankful for this. I got to baptize my daughter. And as I stood in the water and let her share her grace story to the point that God's written already, you can't imagine the joy that I have as a dad to be a part of that. And I ended up quoting what 3 John says. 3 John 1:4. "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." Those are words that the apostle John wrote to a different congregation that he was ministering to and investing in. And also repeating the same idea that there was joy not just in the work, but in seeing the evidence of growth take place. And I think Paul rejoiced with a joyful heart of a spiritual father as he saw the Philippians' grace story continue. And you can imagine that, right? You can imagine the joy being twofold. Both in the real work that was taking place, but also in seeing them continue. So we see that Paul rejoiced in God's grace as he remembered. We see Paul rejoiced as their grace story continued. But then you'll notice that there's something that's included in this introduction that I think is really important for us to pay attention to, also. It's this. That Paul prayed for God's grace through ongoing maturity. Paul prayed for God's grace through ongoing maturity. As much joy as Paul took in the story of the Philippians, as much as he was so grateful for that early work, so thankful for what got done at the very beginning, as much as he was rejoicing and seeing them continue and the evidence of that partnership and commitment flourishing, he also took time to articulate prayer. Why? Well, I think a couple reasons. I think one, it's because Paul realized that this was something that was a need for every believer, in an ongoing sense. Let's look again at what Philippians 1:4-6 says this. "And this is my prayer." This is what Paul articulates to the Philippians. "This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." Paul wants God to be glorified. Paul wants God to be praised through the story of grace in the Philippians. And so he prays that God would continue to mature him. He reminds them and he reminds us that there is no end to this maturity. And I think it's interesting, too, that we see how this was a rooted-in-God kind of work. Look again at what we see in Philippians 1:4-6 here. It says, "In all my prayers for you, I always pray with joy." Oh, sorry, next one here. I must have missed that there. Paul talks about the idea being that God began a good work, and he will continue it until the day of Christ. And I think it's important for us to realize that. Who began the good work? Who is it that began that good work? We see that God did, right? God began that good work. And who's gonna carry it on to completion? Well, God will. And then I think we see at the end, that when will he have that completed? On the day of Jesus Christ. The reminder here is this: that God is not done with our maturity, God is not done with our growth, until Jesus returns. That we will continue to grow and continue to mature, and need to continue to mature, until the day of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, you'll see this, too, in this pattern. That everything Paul's talking about is actually connected to God, not to the Philippians. That Paul doesn't express thanks to the Philippians. Hey, thank you for doing a good job with this. He doesn't express joy in the Philippians. He doesn't necessarily pray about how the Philippians or give instruction to that. Paul is rooting everything that he's talking about in God. Because he realizes that, ultimately, our joy, our hope, our strength, everything about this work that's God's done, is his. And then Paul exudes the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord. This is kind of the banner of this letter that we see here in Philippians 4:4. It says this: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Everything Paul's expressed to this point is rooted in the Lord. He thanks God. He prays with joy about what's happening, and he prays that they would continue. That's not an instruction to grow, that's a prayer that God would help them to grow. And I think that's really important, because we remember this: that God is the source of all joy. That Jesus, when we rejoice in the Lord, that is the source of our joy. Paul has a great perspective to share that, by the way. He's a prisoner, and he's saying, "Rejoice! Be joyful! Be glad! Thank God." Paul's reminded, reminding us, and reminding them that his circumstances weren't the source of joy. Relationships weren't the source of joy. We saw a minute ago there were some churches that were helpful and some churches that were not. There were some people that were faithful and some people that were not. Paul reminds the Philippians that whether he has a lot or has a little, that God is still to be praised, that Jesus is the source of our joy. And I think Paul encourages us and the Philippians to do the same. But I want us to remember, even as we understand all of this, that the stories of grace in our lives and in the lives of people around us, they can help us with this. I hope you're encouraged just by reading this story. I am. When I read through this account, and I'm like, "Man, Lord, incredible. Thank you for what you did in this. Thank you for encouraging me as I read this." I hope that does that for you as well. But I also want you to know that our stories can do the same thing. Our stories can remind us of the power of the gospel. Our stories can remind us of the life transformation that takes place in and through Jesus Christ. When we think about ourselves or we think about another person, and we think about who they were and who they are now, praise God. That's incredible. And it helps us to remember. And that's why I think Paul goes back to, and he prays for their maturity. Because ultimately, he's saying, "Lord, thank you for their faithfulness. Lord, thank you for their continued partnership. And please, Lord, continue to help them grow. Help them to continue in that regard." And I think our stories can do that as well. So again, this was the statement that we were gonna explore and confirm together. God's continuing story of grace in our lives should cause us and others to rejoice. I think in the time we just walked through the Philippians' story, we could all agree that this was true for them. That God's continuing story of grace in their lives caused them and caused Paul to rejoice. My question today for us is, what about your story? Does your story of grace cause you to rejoice? Does your story of grace cause the people around you to rejoice? Do you think this is true of you and the story of grace that God's written in your life? I wanna give us three action steps today as we are walking through this that make sure we can apply this to our own lives, and help us to confirm that this is the truth in our own lives. I'm gonna give you all three at once. You can write them down. Then we're gonna walk through them one by one. They're these. Number one, remember with thanksgiving. Remember with thanksgiving. Two, continue in gospel partnership. Continue in gospel partnership. And three, pray for ongoing maturity. First, remember with thanksgiving. Folks, do you remember what God's done in your life? When was the last time you took a moment to go back and remember? When was the opportunity you took recently to go back and thank God for what he's done in your life because you remembered? It's interesting, isn't it, how we can have a story of grace in our lives, and it can feel so normal, it can feel so regular, that we tell it like it's just what's happened, and we forget the miraculousness that God worked in and through his grace to rescue us, to redeem us. What have you seen him do by his own initiation? When did you first feel your heart opening to the gospel? Do you remember that moment? Do you remember what it felt like? Do you remember realizing that it was God that was doing that work? Who did God use in your midst? Was there a friend or a neighbor or a family member or a coworker that shared the gospel with you? Did you find yourself in a place like this, where you got invited to church? And you were hearing for the first time the truth about Jesus, and you remember your heart opening to the gospel. Do you remember? What prayer did God answer? That you just stood back in awe because you said, "Wow, he heard me. It's real." Do you remember? What did he save you from? What did he free you from? Do you remember what God's done in your life? Do you remember the story of people around you? Maybe it is someone you're related to, or someone you're friends with, or someone that you were sharing the gospel with. And you remember how God miraculously intervened in their life, and you realized the power of the gospel in that moment. Do you remember? I think remembering is really, really powerful. Remembering with thanksgiving allows us to have joy in the story of God's grace. There's two more action steps, and we're gonna get to them, but I wanna pause right here. I wanna rush past this. I think the act of remembering is really, really helpful for us. And as we remember, I'm gonna give you a moment just to reflect on what I was just asking you. And connected to that, we're gonna celebrate the Lord's Supper together. If you have those communion elements, you can take those out. And as you do, I want you to remember that our grace story is only possible because of the grand story of grace that God has shown us through Jesus Christ. If you don't have a communion element, you can just go ahead and raise your hand. Ushers are in the aisle. They'd be glad to get you one so that you can partake. If you're a believer in Jesus, I wanna encourage you to be a part of this. If you're not, you can certainly look on and realize the truth of the gospel that we're proclaiming through this today. But I want you to realize this grand story of the gospel. That God really intersected the lives of humanity. That Jesus really came born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life. He died on a cross so that we could be freed from sin. He did this because we needed it. Because without him, we were still in spiritual chains. We were in *******. But because of God's grace, because of his love for the world, he sent his son Jesus to die on a cross. And Jesus really did die. His body was really broken. His blood was really poured out. He did that for you. He did that for me. He did that because three days later he was resurrected, so that we could all have new life and new hope. For those that would put their faith and trust in Jesus, we would be saved. We'd be made new. We could have our own grace story. So while you have those communion elements, I'm gonna ask you not to open them yet. If you have, I won't look at you with judgment. That's okay. But hold them in your hand. And I just want you to take a moment and allow your heart to remember your story of grace. Take a moment and just think about the day you remember understanding the truth about Jesus. The day you remember knowing that Jesus is the Messiah, and he's the one who died for you. Remember the people that God used, the circumstances he orchestrated, to save you, to rescue you. Remember how he opened your heart. Remember the milestones after that, where God worked miraculously to grow you and shape you. Where you just know that it's his story of grace written on your lives. And as you remember that, I would encourage you to say, in your heart or out loud, if you'd like, thank you, God. Thank you, God, for what you've done, the grace you've shown me. Thank you, God. Second, I'm gonna encourage you to go ahead and peel that first layer back there. And remember that Jesus gave us this practice of communion. We see what he said here in Luke chapter 22. He says, "And he took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and he gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this.'" What? "'In remembrance of me.' In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.'" This practice of convenience should remind us that Jesus did this for us, did this knowing he was going to the cross, to die in our place, to have his body broken and his blood poured out for us. So I want you to hold that bread in your hand, take out that first layer. Hold it in your hand. And as you do, take a moment and just remember. Remember what God has done. Remember that Jesus' body was really broken, that he really was on a cross and suffered for you and for me. And this body was broken so that we could be made new, so that we could have a story of grace in our life. Let's eat together. And as you eat, I would encourage you to say in your heart or say out loud, thank you, God. Thank you, God. Go ahead and peel that last layer back there. And let's remember together that this represents the blood of Jesus. Remember that Jesus really did spill his blood. His blood was poured out as an atonement for our sins, because we needed it. Because without the shed blood of Jesus, we are hopeless; but with it, we can find new life. Let's remember that Jesus bore our sins and bled and died so that we could be made new, so we could have this grace story to bring joy to us and to others. And let's drink together. And as we do, say, thank you, God. Thank you, God. So we remember with thanksgiving. And throughout this week, I would encourage you to continue to do that. But let me tell you quickly these other two steps. Not only do we remember with thanksgiving, we continue in gospel partnership. God wants to continue our grace story in an ongoing way. He wants to help us to continue in gospel partnership because it is an evidence of what's in our heart. It's an evidence of what God's doing in our life. Ultimately, God is gonna use whatever circumstances he wants, right? Paul talks about in this letter that he's in chains for Christ, and it's a good thing. Not that he wants to be there, but that it's for God's purposes. He talks about how the palace guard is coming to know the truth, and people are more confident in sharing the gospel because of Paul's chains. He talks about these circumstances being used for God's glory and his purposes. Paul says that some people are sharing the gospel out of impure motives, out of false reasons. And look at how he concludes this in Philippians 1:8: But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice. Paul makes this incredible statement. Christ is preached, and therefore I rejoice. Christ is preached, and therefore I rejoice. My question to you is this: Is that what's at the center of your heart today? Knowing what you remember, knowing your own grace story, knowing what God's done to get your attention, to save you, to change you, because you know the truth of the gospel, is what's at the center of your heart that Christ must be preached, and then I will rejoice? That I will rejoice because of what Jesus has done and the sharing of the gospel around me? Christ has preached, and therefore I rejoice. If so, who are you partnering with? What ways is your continuing story of grace bringing joy to others? What ways are people around you experiencing your ongoing partnership in the gospel? Is there somebody that you're connected to that would say today, "I'm so thankful this person is committed to the gospel. Because as I continue in the faith, so are they. Man, they're so encouraging, they're so helpful. They're so engaged in what we're doing." Like Paul, is there somebody in your life that's saying, "I'm thankful for the partnership we share"? God's built us to be a body. God's built us to share one another's burdens and to work together toward accomplishing this mission. This isn't just Paul the Apostle doing this. This isn't just people who are working at church who are doing this. This is all of us that God's called us to. So are you a partner in the gospel? And if you're not, this isn't guilt. I don't want you to feel guilty. I want you to feel prompted. I want you to really reflect on has the seeds of the gospel, the initial evidence of the gospel, that early work that God did, has it continued? Has it grown? Or has it grown cold? I want you to ask yourself that question. If you're wondering, "How can I be a gospel partner?" maybe you say, "I'm not sure that I am," maybe, like Lydia, you're in a place where you just want to see the resources that you have further the gospel of Jesus. You remember what we read in Acts 16, right? That Lydia heard the gospel, was baptized. Her whole family's involved in the ministry now. She actually says, "I insisted." That her home was opened so those resources would allow the gospel to continue. Maybe for you it's that. It's realizing that although I'm saved, although I know Jesus, although I'm committed to him, I'm not really committed to the mission in a way that would be partner-like, right? Maybe you need to give for the very first time, not out of obligation, but because you need to reorient the way that your resources are being stewarded. Or maybe if you're giving, you need to change the mindset with which you're giving. Not to think about it in terms of tokenism or tipping God, but instead thinking about it in terms of partnership to insist that the gospel continue, and whatever God's given you, you wanna be a part of ensuring those things take place. Maybe that's your step, as you continue to figure out if you're a partner in the gospel or not. Maybe you're like the jailer. The jailer immediately started to serve meals and care for needs. Maybe you need to start involving yourself in serving and being involved in the ongoing daily work of the gospel, so that people around you who are already doing that, that when you join in, they would be joyful. They'd be overjoyed at those things. Maybe it's something else. And I trust God to tell you and show you what that is. But I wanna encourage you to ask the question, are you truly a partner in the gospel to the extent that it causes others to rejoice? Last thing we're gonna look at is not only that we would continue in gospel partnership, but that we would pray for ongoing maturity. Pray for ongoing maturity. Friends, don't get confused in thinking that you're done. If you've been a believer for any amount of time, don't get confused in thinking you don't have more room to grow. Because Paul says that this would continue in the Philippians, that what God began, he would continue, until the day of Jesus Christ. That this would be an ongoing work that takes place. And so today, I would encourage you to identify in your life, to ask God to help you identify in your life, where do you need to grow? Where do you need to mature? There's a million ways this could play out, but I'll give you a couple examples maybe to jog your mind and get you thinking. Maybe you need to grow in your knowledge of the Bible because you've never really taken the time to open it. Maybe you only open it here on Sunday morning. Maybe you only open it here when you're here in church. And maybe you need to begin the daily discipline of opening up God's Word and letting his Word mature you and change you and shape you. Maybe you need to grow in that. If that's the case, agree with God, and allow him to help you in that regard. Maybe it's related to wisdom. Maybe you love Jesus, but man, like, you make stupid decisions, right? Like, you're just not discerning, and you know it. And you keep stepping in it. Well, identify that. Ask God to help you with that. Agree you need to grow up, and ask him to help you in that regard. Maybe it's related to purity. Maybe your mindset. Although you love Jesus and you're committed to the gospel, your mindset is all wrong. Maybe you're judgmental, or maybe you're lusting, or maybe it's something else related to your mindset. Ask God to help you to grow in purity and grow in a godly mindset. Maybe you're a student and you're newer. You're growing not only in your faith, but you're growing as a person, right? You're trying to figure out how to mature as a person and also mature as a believer. Tell God that you agree with him, that you want to grow, not in the way the world wants, but in the way that he would want, so that you could stand for the gospel in the places that you're in. Whatever it is, whatever your need is, I would encourage you to ask the Lord to help you. That we would remember what he's done, that we would continue to partner in the gospel so that others would rejoice, and that we would continue to grow in maturity. Because remember that God's grace in all of this brings us great joy. Would you pray with me as we close our time? As we take a moment to pray before we're dismissed, there's one other thing that I wanna encourage us to pray for, and it's this. If you're in a place today where your need is not to grow, but instead it is to begin, then one of the greatest steps that could happen today is that you would understand the truth of the gospel. And I've been praying for you, as I said, that the Lord would open your heart today. That today would be the day that he has intersected your life. That today would be the day that you realize that all of these circumstances were orchestrated so that you would know the hope of Jesus, and that you would pray and agree with God. That you know and trust the truth of the gospel, and you wanna be made new. That you want to have a grace story. And if that is your need today, can I encourage you that, as I said in the beginning, God has already initiated a grace story with you. And he will be faithful to continue it. If you wanna know more what that looks like in a moment, we'll have some prayer partners down front. I would encourage you to come forward, that you would share with them your desire to have a grace story, to begin a relationship with Jesus, to discover what all of these people we've been talking about have discovered. What Paul discovered, what Lydia discovered, what the jailer discovered, what I have discovered. What every person being baptized over the last year discovered. That Jesus is where we can rejoice. That the hope of new life comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I would encourage you to share whatever God's storing in your heart today and allow these prayer partners to serve you in that way. Because as I've been praying, my prayer for you today is that your grace story, which is just beginning to be written, would be a joy to all of us around you, as we see God work miraculously in your life. Maybe for the rest of us, we need to pray related to one of these steps. That God would help you this week to remember what he's done in your life. That God would help you this week to reflect and have thankfulness in your heart. Not seeing it as common, but seeing it as miraculous, and praise God as a result. Maybe your prayer today would be that God would help you to become a gospel partner. That others would rejoice because you haven't just taken those early baby steps, but that you've grown into a fully fledged partner in the gospel, and that you would take a step in that regard. Or last, maybe it is something related to maturity. That you realize that you're in an area where you need to grow in maturity. And God's identified that in your heart already. I would encourage you, don't pass that off. Don't rush that past, but allow the spirit of God to speak to you in that moment. And allow him to help grow you, mature you, and shape you so that God will be praised and glorified in all of it. Whatever that need is today, I encourage you, come down, talk to one of these prayer partners. They would love to pray with you about any of those things. They're not in a rush to get out of here. They'd love to help you. They'd love to pray for you and encourage you. Father, we thank you for the truth of your Word. We thank you for the joy that it brings. We thank you for the rejoicing that we can have, not in circumstances, not in relationships, not in money, not in anything temporal, but Lord, we rejoice in the Lord always. And you say it again. Rejoice. God, would you help us to remember with thanksgiving? Would you help us to grow, that our heart would beat as yours would, that the gospel of Jesus is preached? And God, that you would continue to help us to grow in maturity so we'd look more and more like Jesus to the world around us. We pray all of this in Christ's name. Amen, amen.