Philippians 1:1-7
What mattered most to Paul and what matters most to God is spreading the good news of the gospel
1. What Paul Remembered then
· Paul remembered how his loving and gracious God worked in the lives of those in the church
· Acts 16:13-25
· He remembered that they were partakers of the grace of God that brings salvation
· Paul remembers how they participated together with him in the gospel
· We are partakers of the same grace of God
· They had a two-pronged partnership:
-They are supporting him extra-locally
-They lived out their partnership locally
· Their local partnership was engaging in evangelism and the mission right where God had them
· They had the same mission just different roles
Churches are planted so that those called to them can reach their local community
2. What we must consider now
· Paul was sure that God began a good work and that God would bring it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus and this is our motivation, encouragement and reward
· Question: are you assured that you are partaking of the grace of God? Are you genuinely born-again? Has God begun a good work in you? If you are not sure you simply need to respond to the news of the gospel
· Question: Am I a partner in the defense and confirmation of the gospel in my daily life?
· We have the same mission, we just have different roles
· How can we partner locally?
-We can partner as we willingly let Jim go and minister to other local churches
-Pray that God would enable you to reach out to at least one person in your life with the gospel starting now
-Faithfully spread the gospel here in Greenville, in our local mission field.
-Don’t believe the lie that our efforts are more noble if we went overseas – what we are doing here is more important and we are called right here – to reach out to where God has already called us.
Caregroup Application questions:
1. Where do you see what God is doing locally and globally? Have you had any opportunities to share the gospel or reach out to those around you in simple ways recently? (If so, share them with each other)
2. How does remembering God’s work affect how we view our partnership in the gospel?
3. How can we be partners together in the mission of the gospel locally?
4. How can we defend and confirm the gospel with our lives? How can we defend the gospel where I live and where I work and where I shop and with my neighbors?
5. What should being willing to consent to potential suffering, hardship, insult, persecution and perhaps violent death for the sake of the gospel here in our area locally look like?
