Part 01

Looking at Philippians over the next few months. This series is called “A church with Vitality”. Paul in Philippians is describing what it means to be a church with vitality.

The discussion about vitality, always seems to take place when there is some kind of struggle. So we talk about vitality, because we know we live in a world, where we get tired. So we talk about diet and exercise, because if we don’t intentionally do certain things there’ll be a lack of vitality. Vitality requires action, it requires intentionality. Because there are obstacles to vitality. There are things that we can use as excuses. Would you like to be a church with vitality? If so, let’s look closely at Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

So you’ve got this church which Paul had planted nearly 10 years prior. You can read about it in Acts. And now he’s writing to this church, and he’s encouraging them. And as we go through this letter, you’ll see that there are a number of issues that he addresses. There are a number of things that he needs to tell them, in order for them to be a church with vitality. So when you read this, you see that Paul is very positive about them as a church, they seem to be a model church in many respects but they’re not a perfect church.  

And by the way this is an important thing for us to take note of today. On a regular basis I meet people who have been disappointed by the church. They’ve been let down in some way or another by a church. There are a whole number of reasons why people could leave the church.  And sometimes there are valid reasons for leaving a church, and being disappointed in a church. But at the same time we do need to be realistic. And we need to understand that the church will disappoint you. Because there is no perfect church. Even a church like Philippians that the apostle Paul himself had planted, was a church that wasn’t perfect.  

If you’re at St Matthews for long enough, we will disappoint you. We will let you down at some point. There will be some expectation that you may have of church that we won’t meet. It’s because we’re not perfect. In fact we’re far from perfect. The church is made up of people that the Bible calls sinners.

We are a bunch of sinners who have been rescued. We are a bunch of sinners who have been saved. So if we’re going to be looking at vitality. In order to show vitality, there’s something very fundamental that needs to be in place. If we are going to show vitality, there firstly needs to be some vital signs. We need to a check of our vital signs.  

If you get rushed to hospital for whatever reason. What is the first thing they normally do if they’re not sure what’s wrong? They check your vitals. They check the basics, which will help them with a further diagnosis. I’m no authority on this subject, but (according to this thing we have called the internet) they check your body temperature, your pulse rate, your respiration rate (the rate at which you’re breathing) and then they check your blood pressure (which I believe is not actually a vital sign, but they check it as well when they do the vital signs). And so they know what to do to try and get you healthy again. To a point where you’re showing vitality. And even more importantly, these vital signs, show that you’re alive.

So as we go through this letter to the Philippians hopefully we’ll catch some of the vitals that need to be in place, and check ourselves to make sure that we can be a church with vitality.

We’re just going to look at the first 2 verses this morning.

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with with the overseers and deacons: (2) Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

So here, just like at the beginning of most New Testament letters you have a greeting at the beginning. If you’re familiar with letters that were written and included as part of the New Testament, you’ll notice that there’s a similar format to all of them. And this wasn’t just the case for letters that were included in the Bible. This is the formal or the standard format. When I was at school, in English and Afrikaans, we were taught a format that you write a letter. And this is how you greet, and this is how you end off.  

But the point is, here’s a standard greeting by Paul and Timothy. But although it’s a standard formal greeting. It has a very Christian tone. It has very Christian content. The words that Paul uses here, although the greeting style and format would have been familiar, and standard. The words would have been distinctly Christian. So I’ve received emails and letters from people, even some who are complete strangers. But the greeting at the end says: “Yours in Christ”. Do you see it’s still a formal greeting or standard format, but distinctly Christian.

That shows us that this is an ordinary letter to ordinary people. Although we hold this letter up in high regard. Although we see this letter as part of God’s word to His people. Part of Scripture that is God breathed. It’s a letter written in a very ordinary way, to very ordinary people, so that they could understand. In other words, it’s not a letter written where you to have some sort of mystical understanding. Or where you need special spectacles in order to see what is being written. Or you need a special code and secret to decipher what is being written. It’s written so that you and I can understand it.

The whole Bible is like that. It was written to ordinary men and woman, so that they could understand. God has chosen that means to relate to us. Which should be a great encouragement to you and I. That we can open the pages of scripture, and we should be able to read it. Now one of the obstacles that you may find to reading the Bible, is that it was written a few thousand years ago. It was written into a context that we don’t live in. and in order to get a better grasp of what the scriptures are saying, it’s of course helpful to try and understand the background into which it was written. So it’s helpful to try and understand the culture of the day and the various customs. It’s helpful to try and understand the world into which these letters and books of the Bible was written. But at a very basic level, even without understanding too much, there are truths on these pages that stand out.

The main obstacle to us understanding the Bible, isn’t our intellect, or our knowledge of the History or understanding the literature or the context. Our main obstacle to understanding the scripture is our hearts. Our main obstacle to understanding God as he has revealed himself to us in the Bible is that our hearts are hard. Is that we don’t want to receive him. We’re too self involved. We have blinkers on in terms of our perspective. A perspective which makes my life all about me. And that’s what the Bible calls sin.

I know that there are some hard passages. There are a number of passages I struggle to understand. There are some passages that top theologians who know a lot more about the Bible than I do and have debated these things and yet still they disagree. So I understand there are difficulties. But as a whole, the message of Scripture is actually quite clear. The message of the gospel is there for all to understand. And if you’re struggling to understand the gospel message. If you’re struggling to believe the gospel message. Pray that God will help you. Pray that he will open your eyes. Pray that he will reveal himself to you.

The next thing I want you to notice about this letter is that is from servants in Christ Jesus to saints in Christ Jesus. verse 1. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons. So you see Paul here referring to himself and Timothy as servants of Christ Jesus. In some letters that he writes Paul refers to himself as a servant. And in others he refers to himself as an apostle. And in Romans, I’m not sure if he does this elsewhere, he refers to himself as a servant and an apostle.

But we need to take note of the fact that he is an apostle who serves. And he is a servant of Christ Jesus. Timothy whose name has been included as one of the authors, is also a servant of Christ Jesus. In other words, they’re writing this letter as servants of Christ Jesus. They’re not just sending their own thoughts. They’re not just giving their own helpful advice. They are sending this letter because they are serving the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not about them. There’s no hidden agenda behind what they are doing, or why they are writing this letter. They are sending this letter as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And they are sending this letter to fellow saints in the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s an interesting term saints. Now you may have certain preconceived ideas when it comes to saints. You may think of someone who is super holy. “Oh you know, that guy or that girl is a saint, they never do anything wrong.” Or maybe you think of people who’ve been sainted. Especially if you’re from a more Catholic background. Eg. Mother Theresa, who was sainted. Maybe you think of St. Matthews or some other church names. But the word that Paul is using here for Saint basically means someone who is set apart or holy or separate.

But note it’s not just saints. It’s saints in Christ Jesus. They are holy ones, or set apart ones in Christ Jesus. Meaning that they are holy, they are saints, they are alive, they have access to God, through Jesus Christ. Because Jesus was holy. Jesus lived a life that was holy. Jesus lived a life that was perfect. In fact, Jesus was the only one who’s lived a holy life. Which gives him a sinless status. Now because someone who had a sinless status paid for our sin, we can have that sinless status. we just need to repent.  

We cannot be a church with vitality, if we don’t have that life. And it’s only the life that Jesus can give. The question that needs to be asked of any church is, is there life? Does your church consist of people who’s hearts and lives have been changed by Jesus? If Paul had to write a letter to St Matthews (even though the word Saint is in our name). Would he be able to address it to the ‘Saints’ in Table View? Would he able to address the letter to a group of people who’s lives have been changed by Jesus. They’ve been transformed by the gospel.

If that isn’t your starting point, then you will be motivated by all sorts of other things. Anything that we do as St Matthews, needs to be motivated by our hearts that have been changed. We are a gospel organization. If you’re a member you’ll know that one thing that is vital if you want to be part of the church is that you are a Christian. Why? Because as a member, you’re going to be involved in making decisions in the life of this church. You’re going to be involved in discussions about this church and where it’s headed. And if those decisions are being made by people who don’t care about the transforming power of the gospel or aren’t governed by people who want what God wants, then we can’t be a vital church. In our very DNA is the fact that we believe in Jesus, who died and rose again (and as some of you celebrated this past week) ascended into heaven. and we believe the gospel. That Jesus’ death paid for our sin. and Jesus gives us life. And we need to have that life here as a church. If we want to even think about being a church with vitality. 2898wc

Which is why in verse 2 he says: Grace and peace to you from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. What Paul is doing here is he is reminding them of the grace of God. The fact that their salvation is a gift. And their salvation is given to them with an attitude of Grace. We have salvation because God is gracious. God has given us this amazing gift. And one of the benefits of that gift is peace. There’s peace with God, which of course Jesus has made possible. But not only with God, but with each other.

Could we be a church with vitality if we were fighting with each other the whole time? We would get so caught up in these issues. And our egos. Whereas if we’re all on the same page. where there’s an urgency for the gospel. And Paul addresses this issue of disunity in the church later on in Philippians.

So, if we are going to be a church that has life. A church that has vitality. Have we covered that first bit? If we check our vitals. Are you right with God? Have you been given life? Do you love Jesus? Do we love Jesus as a church?

Charles Spurgeon. The great preacher in the 19^th Century in London. He is quoted as saying: As a church, we must love Jesus, otherwise we have lost our reason for existence.

Something you can think about during the week, is what does this look like? A church that loves Jesus? A church that consists of people who have been saved by grace.

 

Home Group Questions:

Philippians 1:1-2

1. How do Paul & Timothy describe themselves and what do you think they mean by that?
2. How do they describe the ones they’re writing to and what do you think they mean by that?
3. What is the significance of ‘grace and peace’ to Christians?
4. If you were looking for a team of people to help you to plant a church, what would be the most important thing to look for in those people?
5. Charles Spurgeon is quoted as saying: As a church, we must love Jesus, otherwise we have lost our reason for existence. What do you think a church that loves Jesus looks like? give examples