Prayer from Prison

In Philippians chapter 1, the apostle Paul makes it clear that God is the one who began the good work in us.

It's not a superficial work that lays on the outside of a person's life. It's down in the depth of the soul. It is down in the interior of a person's spirit.

That's where God does His work in us, and He says He will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Paul's letter to the church in Philippi is known as the Epistle of Joy. Paul encouraged the church there to rejoice in the Lord despite their circumstances. And when we consider Paul's circumstances when he wrote this letter, well, let's just say it carries a great deal of credibility.

Here's Dr. Stephen Lawson. I want you to take your Bible and turn with me again to the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter 1, and I want to begin reading in verse 3. My goal is to get through verse 8.

We'll see how we do. The apostle Paul writes, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all. Paul was a southerner, by the way, you all. In view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

For it is only right for me to feel this way about you, because I have you in my heart. Since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you with all the affection of Christ Jesus. This is one of four prison prayers that Paul wrote during this first Roman imprisonment. During this time of confinement in Rome, he wrote four prison epistles, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. And the first three of these were written to churches, the last to an individual, and in these three prison epistles written to churches, there are four prison prayers. There's one in Ephesians 1, another in Ephesians 3, another in Philippians 1 right here, and then in Colossians 1. And each of these prison prayers gives a remarkable insight into the heart of the Apostle Paul.

In fact, it really gives us insight into being a pattern for our prayer life. We would do well to emulate what we see here and what Paul expresses concerning his prayers for the Philippians. Now, we know Paul had a towering intellect.

We've already discussed that. I mean, he was a brilliant theologian, towering intellect, teacher, author of 13 epistles. However, in these prison prayers, we learn something more about Paul. We discover the great heart that he had for people, the great affection that he had for God's people. There wasn't just a depth about him of brilliant intellect, but there was also a breadth of him being open-armed and putting his arms around other believers. He was a great lover of people, and that comes through loud and clear in this prison prayer. He tells them that he has them in his mind, that he has them in his heart, that he feels deeply for them and longs for them with the affections of Christ. That's a real and genuine assessment, as Paul writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

This is no exaggeration. His heart is welded to these Philippians. So let's look at this prison prayer in verses 3 through 8. It'll extend really through verse 11, but time does not permit us to go that far. But I want to set several headings in front of you to help us walk through this prison prayer, and the first is a thankful heart.

That's in verse 3. Paul had a very thankful heart. He begins by saying, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.

That's an important distinction. He thanks God for them, knowing that it is God who is at work in them. The verb thank is in the present tense, meaning I'm continually, always, thanking God for you in all of my remembrance of you.

They are separated by 800 miles, the distance from Rome to Philippi. Nevertheless, he has them in his mind, in his remembrance. We could put it this way, I just can't get you out of my mind.

My thoughts are continually coming back to you. I can just see you in my mind's eye responding to the gospel, and I can see you in prayer and living for the Lord. Paul always had a thankful heart. This is a mark of someone who is filled with the Spirit.

They are always looking for the good in other people. And Paul, for example, in Romans 1.8 says, I thank my God for you all. He even says this to the Corinthians, the most carnal church.

They push the outer limits on how carnal can you be and actually be regenerate and be saved. And Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1.4, I thank my God always concerning you. That's a mark of someone who is under the governance of the Holy Spirit. He says the same to the Ephesians, to the Colossians, to the Thessalonians.

I don't need to read all of those cross-references, but here's the point. If you want to emulate the greatest Christian who ever lived, be a thankful person. Be one who sees what God is doing in the lives of others, despite their flaws, despite their weaknesses, and affirm them by saying, I thank God for you, for what I see Him doing in your life. Second, not only a thankful heart, but a joyful spirit.

We see that in verse 4, the next verse. He says, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you. Paul was just filled with joy, and you know why he was filled with joy? The most thankful people are the most joyful people.

If you need more joy, then be more thankful. And Paul was so thankful that his heart was just overflowing also with joy. Joy and thankfulness are twin sisters. In fact, they're Siamese twins.

They're just attached together, and wherever you find thankfulness, you will find joy. He says, let's look at this, always offering prayer. This tells us how important prayer was in the life of the apostle Paul. Now, Paul was a doer. Paul was a project man. Paul was missions-oriented.

Paul had goals and aims and ambitions for the Lord, and Paul was a make-it-happen man. Nevertheless, he's always in prayer, always praying, and he says, with joy. Now this is the first mention of joy in the book of Philippians, and he is saying that his heart is just filled with gladness and jubilation as he prays for the Philippians. And let's remind ourselves, again, Paul's not in a palace, he's in a prison, and yet he has more joy than what Caesar has as he is in Caesar's palace.

He says, in my every prayer for you. So, we see here what a joyful spirit the apostle Paul had, and that is a testimony to me that I need to strive to be more like Paul, that the Lord would bear joy in my own heart as I serve him. It's a distinguishing mark of a Christian, is joy. Now, we come to verse 5, and the third heading I want to set in front of you is a gospel focus. Paul was always measuring people and circumstances in light of the gospel. He saw people as either those who were advancing the gospel or those who are in desperate need of the gospel.

Either in essence you're a missionary or you're a mission field, one of the two. And as Paul thinks of the Philippians, he is so joyful and so thankful because of their participation in the gospel. That's what excites Paul's heart for them. They're in the game. They're not up in the stands just watching.

They're not on the bench. They're in the game with the Lord, and their life is counting for the gospel. So, look at verse 5, he says, in view of your participation in the gospel. The word participation here is the word that's translated elsewhere in the New Testament, fellowship.

And it means partnership or to share a common interest or a common enterprise together. And what Paul is saying is, is we're in business together for the gospel. I mean, we are putting our shoulders to the same plow, and we are pushing in the same direction, and that is to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he says they began this participation in the gospel. Notice he says from the first day, the moment they were saved, they were participating in the gospel. The moment they believed the gospel, they became witnesses for the gospel. They became those who lived for the gospel from day one.

And then he adds, until now. So, that was over ten years ago when they first believed and began to participate in the gospel. And here really is the perseverance of the saints, that they have continued to be faithful to God and to God's work over a decade, and even to this very day, they are spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ there in Philippi. So, they had fellowship in the gospel. I do want to say this, there is no fellowship with someone else outside of the gospel. If someone doesn't believe the gospel, we have nothing in common at any deep, meaningful level. That's why a believer should only marry another believer. If you marry someone who's not a believer, you have no capacity to have fellowship with them.

You're like ships passing in the night. There's no common connection. There's friendship, which is more on the surface, but there is no fellowship at a deep level. All fellowship is in the gospel, which is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why a church should be made up of members who are born again, who know the Lord. We're not just looking for joiners in the church.

That will delude the church and compromise the church. We're looking for bona fide believers, true followers of Christ, those who have repented of their sins and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I can have fellowship with someone like that. And so Paul rejoices in their gospel focus as they've had participation, fellowship in the gospel. I would dare say that we will have more fellowship as we are serving the gospel together than if we set out to try to have fellowship.

Then if we met in fellowship Paul and just ate a meal together, we will have more fellowship as we are spreading the gospel together side by side. Oh, this leads us to verse 6, a confident hope. And Paul had a positive hope and certain expectation regarding the future of these Philippians. Notice what he says in verse 6, for I am confident of this very thing. I like someone who's confident about spiritual realities and Paul is confident that he, referring to God the Father, who is distinguished from Christ Jesus at the end of the verse. And before I go any further, I just want to say, I'm sad to say, I think the forgotten person of the Trinity has become God the Father. We have much focus on God the Son, rightly so. We preach Christ and Him crucified. There's much focus on the Holy Spirit and His ministries. But unfortunately, left over in the shadows of the corner of the room is God the Father.

We've taken our eyes off of Him. We need to be reminded that everything is flowing from God the Father. He's the one who sent Jesus Christ.

He's the one who sent the Holy Spirit. God the Father is the architect of the gospel. God the Father is the one who justifies. God the Father is the one who elects. God the Father is the one who predestines. God the Father is the one who calls. God the Father is the one who glorifies. And so we see here, I'm confident of this very thing, that He, God the Father, who began a good work in you. That refers to two things.

That refers, number one, to sovereign regeneration. That it was God the Father who opened Lydia's heart. It was God the Father who began the work in the Philippian jailer's heart.

And then the second aspect is the granting of saving faith. And Paul will write about that in chapter 1, verse 29. And all of this is being directed by God the Father. It may be carried out by the Son, it may be applied by the Holy Spirit, but directing it all is God the Father. In fact, we even saw in chapter 1, verse 2, grace to you and peace from whom? From God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. So notice, He began a good work in you.

It's not a superficial work that lays on the outside of a person's life. It's down in the depth of the soul. It is down in the interior of a person's spirit. That's where God does His work in us. And He says He will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

To perfect it means to bring it to full and final completion. And He will see us all through to the very end. God always finishes what He starts. And God always finishes the good work in a person.

He will carry them through all the way to the end. None of us will ever fall from grace. None of us will ever fail to make it to the other side of Jordan. We will all cross over into His presence one day. We who know the Lord.

We who are believers in Jesus Christ. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said that Noah fell down many times in the ark, but he never once fell out of the ark. And we will trip and fall at times in this world, but the Lord will never let go of us. And He will uphold us all the way to the end. And Paul says, I am confident of this. Paul's not just dogmatic about this, he's bulldogmatic about this. He is confident that God will complete this all the way to the end.

Now, I want you to note last a fifth heading, an affectionate love. And Paul really just pulls back the veil and allows the Philippians to peer into his heart and soul. And he just gushes out expressions of his affection and his love for the Philippians and how they must have, their hearts must have melted as this was read to their congregation. That Paul would have such tender-hearted sympathies and compassion for them. So note verse 7, he says, for it is only right, meaning only proper, for me to feel this way.

Again, please note, feel. Paul was more than an intellectual. He also had deep emotions. This word feel actually means, translated means to think, but in this context, it's really referring to the deep-seated preoccupation that Paul has for them in his mind that factors down to his heart. And he goes on to say that, notice, because I have you in my heart.

Isn't that a beautiful expression? Paul carries them with him wherever he goes in his heart. His heart is the main spring of his inner life.

It's the source of his whole life. Everything is flowing out of the heart. Watch over your heart, Solomon says, for from it flows the issues of life. So if you pull back the layers of Paul's psyche and you come to the very epicenter of his soul, there you see his love for the Lord and there you see his love for the Philippians. You see his love for other believers as well, but there's just a special place in his heart that the Philippians have. He says, since both in my imprisonment and in the confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. And what Paul means by that is, I know you're standing with me, though I am about to stand trial before Caesar, I know in your heart you're standing with me.

Though absent physically, you are present with me spiritually. You are partakers of grace with me in my defense and confirmation of the gospel. That's how Paul sees his situation. It is an opportunity for a defense of the gospel. It's not about Paul. It's always about the gospel and about Christ.

Well, he wraps this up in verse 8. He says, for God is my witness, and that's Paul's way of stressing how sincere he is as he says this, how authentic and genuine what he is saying is, as if to say, I always tell you the truth, but I just want you to know God is my witness as I say this, how I long for you all. This word long means to intensely yearn for. It means to crave.

It means to strongly desire something or someone. And Paul just says, almost like a magnet drawing a piece of metal, my heart is just drawn to you and I long for you, for you all, how openhearted Paul was. Some people are easy to love, quite frankly, and other people are a challenge to love. And Paul just says, I long for you all.

Whether you have been a blessing or whether you've been a challenge, I love you all. He says, with the affection of Christ Jesus. Now this word affection is a very specific word in the original Greek language, and it actually means intestines, bowels, spleen. And what Paul is saying is, I love you from the very depth of my being.

We would say in our culture, I love you with all my heart. I love you from the depth of my soul. And sometimes we say something like, I have a pit in my stomach.

I mean, I mean, just something that I feel deep down inside, it's like a pit in my stomach. That's the idea here with the word affection down in my intestines, I mean, in the bottom of my being. I have strong feelings for you.

I have tender affections for you. He says, with the affections of Christ Jesus. And he says, of Christ Jesus, he's referring to the source of these affections, that it is the Lord himself who has poured out this affection into my heart for you. And the more Paul loves Jesus Christ, the more Paul's heart is enlarged for other people. The more his heart is enlarged for Christ, the more his heart is therefore enlarged for other people.

And he has for them the affections of Christ himself that is just flowing out of the depth of his being for them. Just as I conclude this, I think we can draw from this how necessary it is that we love the people that we serve, other believers. That without love, our ministry is just rendered ineffective. We're just going through empty motions. We're just cranking it out without love for others. I think of Paul who said, if I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

I'm just a bunch of hot air. I'm just a noise that's going off as I preach. If I don't truly long for God's best for you as I serve and minister to you. And I would also add, this really is one of the key components to having a contagious Christianity in your life. That your influence and your witness is shed abroad as we are seen to have love for other people.

Otherwise, we're just in it for ourselves, right? So may God enlarge your heart as He did Paul's. For the Philippians and for us, for those who are in our church and in our circles of fellowship and friendship, may love be the tip of the spear that leads the way as we reach out to others.

May God bless us in this. Paul's epistle of joy, encouraging us to love Jesus more so that our hearts can be enlarged for others. We're glad you've joined us today for Renewing Your Mind as we continue Dr. Lawson's series, Rejoice in the Lord, Paul's letter to the Philippians. In 24 messages, Dr. Lawson covers every verse in this letter, and we'd like to send you this six-DVD set. Just give a donation of any amount to Ligonier Ministries when you call us at 800-435-4343.

If you prefer, you can give your gift and make your request online at renewingyourmind.org. We'll return to Dr. Lawson's series tomorrow as he encourages us to increase our love. I hope you'll join us for Renewing Your Mind. God bless you. We'll see you next time.