Focus on God’s Faithfulness!
(Philippians 1:3–11) 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 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. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
In Christ Jesus, the church’s one foundation, dear fellow Redeemed,
Over the past several weeks, Cindy and I have been packing up thirty years of life in the parsonage. As you might imagine, that has brought back a flood of memories. We’ve both spent a good deal of time reminiscing. I’ve also learned something about myself—although learned may not be the right word. Let’s just say I’ve finally admitted something that Cindy has known and noted for years: I save everything. I mean everything. Old pictorial directories, annual reports, vision documents, meeting agendas, newsletters, sermon manuscripts, you name it, if it had anything to do with ministry at Mount Olive, I held onto it.
The problem was, every time I opened another file folder, I forgot I was supposed to be packing. Instead, I’d get lost in the pages of our history together – page after page after page – each one bringing back another memory. That’s when it struck me—all those pages were really telling one story—the story of our God’s faithfulness—the story of how he has been gathering his people together in this place and blessing our work in his name by doing what he always does—by keeping every one of his promises.
As I thought about how I might share all of this with you today, I kept coming back to Paul’s inspired words in Philippians. Here is another pastor looking back on years of ministry among people he dearly loved. I’m sure Paul’s mind was filled with memories, just as mine is. But what drew me to his words was not simply the memories. It was Paul’s focus. He doesn’t invite us to dwell on the past. He directs us to fix our eyes on the God who has been and, who still is, faithfully present in every chapter of our story together. With that in mind, we’ll take as our theme today this simple encouragement: Focus on God’s Faithfulness! For it is 1) his faithfulness that makes us thankful; 2) his faithfulness that inspires our confidence; and 3) his faithfulness that keeps us praying.
Paul writes these words to Christians he had known and loved for about ten years. Imagine all the memories that decade held. Yet when Paul looks back, his very first words are not, “Remember when Lydia first came to faith?” “Remember when the jailer asked, ‘What must I do to be saved?’” “Remember all that we went through together?” Instead, he says, “I thank my God every time I remember you.” (Philippians 1:3). No doubt Paul cherished many memories of his years among the Philippians. But what made those memories so precious was the bond they shared in Christ. They were far more than acquaintances with common interests. They were brothers and sisters in the faith whom God had joined together around the gospel of Christ. Paul wasn’t simply their missionary. He wasn’t a hired preacher who came to town, did his work, and moved on. Those Christians loved one another deeply. The Philippians prayed for Paul. They cared for him. They generously supported his ministry time and again. Why? It’s obvious–the gospel had made them one in Christ and therefore partners in the Savior’s mission. No wonder Paul writes: “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now…” (Philippians 1:4-5).
By God’s grace, I have enjoyed this same partnership from my first day at Mount Olive until now, not just with the called workers and staff, but with all of you. We truly are family in Christ. We’ve shared heartaches and joys. We’ve trained up our children and grandchildren in the Lord. We’ve reached out with the gospel to our community. We’ve sought the straying and looked after the homebound. We’ve been generous with our offerings, supporting our church body and our federation’s high school. Together we’ve done things that I did not think possible. Like the apostle before me, the memories of these past decades fill me with gratitude. But did you notice the careful way in which Paul expressed his thankfulness? Although he loved them dearly, he didn’t thank the Philippians. He thanked God.
Paul knew, as we do, how good the sinful nature is at editing our memories in a way that places us at the center of the story. In sinful, damning pride, we begin to remember what we accomplished, what we taught, what we gave, what we built, how we served. Before long, the spotlight has shifted from God to us.
But Paul refused to edit God out of the story. He looked back and saw the faithful hand of God everywhere. That’s why his first words are not, “Thank you, Philippians.” They are, “I thank my God.” After all, every soul brought to faith in Philippi was the work of God. Every act of love, every gift given, every prayer offered—it was all at God’s prompting and his alone.
The same is true for us. If there has been any good accomplished here—and there has been much—it is because God has been faithful. He called us by the gospel. He joined us together in Christ. He has sustained us through joys and sorrows. He has blessed the work of our hands. And for that, like Paul, each of us will say, “I thank my God!”
So, as you can see, God’s faithfulness shapes the way that Paul views the past. It also shapes the way Paul looks ahead, inspiring in him a confident trust that God is committed to finishing what he has begun in and for the Philippians. As we focus on God’s faithfulness, it will do the same for us—his faithfulness will inspire our confidence. This is Paul’s intention when he writes “…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. (Philippians 1:6).
What made Paul so confident? It wasn’t the Philippians’ track record, as good as that was. Nor was it Paul’s leadership. It was God! Paul’s confidence was rooted in God’s promise to remain faithful to his people. Look at the verse again. God is the doer of every action. He’s the one who began his good work in us. He’s the one still carrying it out today. And he’s the one who will bring it to completion. It’s always all God! Think of your own walk with him. How did you come to know him? You certainly didn’t find him. You couldn’t have. You were blinded by unbelief. Your sin separated you from God. He is holy. You were hell-bound. But that all changed when the God of all grace found you. He called you to be his own. By the power of his Word and Sacrament he performed his good work of creating faith in your heart. By this same means of grace, he daily nourishes and strengthens your faith. When you stumble and sin, as we all do many times each day, it is God who restores you with his forgiveness full and free. When the burdens of life weigh you down, it is God who grants rest and relief through his promise to be with you and to make all things serve your good. Paul shares all this because our God wants you to live with the confidence that you are his child now and for all eternity. Just as importantly, he wants you to know that he isn’t finished with you yet. Every day he continues the good work he began in you, promising that one day he will bring it to its glorious completion, whether by calling you home to himself or by coming back for you on the Last Day. God always finishes what he begins.
What a privilege it has been to see God do exactly that here at Mount Olive. I’ve watched our gracious God make your children his own through the washing of Holy Baptism. I have seen him lead those same little lambs into the green pastures of his Word and then confirm them in the faith as they entered their teens. I’ve watched him strengthen marriages, restore sinners, comfort the grieving, and sustain believers through every season of life. And more times than I can now remember, I’ve been present to see his dear saints close their eyes in the sleep of death, knowing that they would open them again in the resurrection to life eternal.
After witnessing so much over so many years, I know exactly what Paul means when he says, “It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart…all of you share in God’s grace with me.” (Philippians 1:7). That’s our story too! We haven’t simply spent thirty years together. We’ve shared God’s grace together.
And that, my friends, isn’t going to change. A man’s ministry may come to an end, but fellowship in Christ never does. The bond that Christ has forged between us isn’t going away. It is simply taking on a new shape. Even though I will no longer serve as your pastor, I will continue to hold you dear with what Paul calls the “affection of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:8). And it’s my great hope that you will hold me with that same affection. One of the most beautiful ways to express this Christian love is to hold each other up in prayer. That’s what Paul does for the Philippians because God’s faithfulness doesn’t simply make us thankful, it doesn’t only inspire confidence, it also keeps us praying.
Paul writes: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best…” (Philippians 1:9-10). As I mentioned earlier, packing up my files has been a slow process because I keep stopping to read the very papers I should be packing. One of the treasures I unearthed this last week was the manuscript of my very first sermon here at Mount Olive. I had to smile when I realized that I preached on Philippians 1:9-11. My theme was simply, “This Is My Prayer.” It was my prayer then that God would use the time of my ministry here to grow us in the grace and knowledge of Christ – that he would make us faithful students of his Word so that our Christian love would abound more and more, always guided by God’s truth and will.
Thirty years later my prayer for you is unchanged—not because God hasn’t answered this prayer. He has. He’s been nourishing and growing us spiritually every step of the way. But as I mentioned, he isn’t finished with us yet. He has promised to bring us to completion. He does this through Word and Sacrament. So, I can’t think of a better prayer to keep praying for you, and one that I hope you will keep praying for me. That we would keep growing in our knowledge of Christ and in our understanding of his Word. That the Holy Spirit would guard us from sin and spiritual ruin by teaching us every day to rely, not on ourselves, but only on the perfect life Christ lived in our place and the full forgiveness he won for us at the cross.
My dear friends, focused on God’s faithfulness, we can know beyond all doubt that God will indeed answer this prayer of ours. He will continue to nourish us through his Word until the day of Christ, when together we will stand before him pure and blameless through faith in Jesus, to the glory and praise of God alone. Amen!