God’s work in progress

Have you ever noticed that when people who have something in common get together bizarre things happen? Take Star Trek fans – Trekkies. Their whole appearance changes, their language changes, the way they relate to one another changes! I remember the first time my wife met me when I was with my friends who are also dentists. We talked a bizarre language of retrograde root fillings, angles of convergence, cusps of Carrabelle and Taurus Mandibularis. The problem is – very often these type of communities - groups of people who have something in common end up alienating others by the language they use or the way they communicate.

So, a question. What happens when people who know Jesus get together -people who know him authentically?   What does a real Christian community look like and how does it behave? What is an authentic experience of church really like?  How do we at City Church measure up?

If you are here looking in and wondering, out of all the variety of church on the market, which is the best. What should you look for in a church?

As we look at these first verses of Philippians, we are eavesdropping on a letter Paul wrote to a church he knew well and had spent a fair amount of time with. Well, I say eavesdropping, it was written with a view to other people reading it, people like you and me. And it is very revealing.

Grace

One trait that should stand out in an authentic Christian community is this – Grace.

Read through Philippian 1:1-11 and you will notice how much Paul speaks of his love for the Philippians? What is going on? Is Paul on happy gas, sat in some Roman emporium enjoying himself?

No, actually, as we will think about in a few weeks time he is in chains, probably in Rome. He is perfectly sober, not looking with rose tinted glasses, but with reality specs. But he remembers something absolutely fundamental to Christians, but something we so often forget. He remembers what God has done for him – God’s grace.

Speaking of his credentials as a good Jew – Paul couldn’t do better -

“Everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as rubbish, so that I may have Christ and become one with him” Phil 3:8

Paul knows grace; he has embraced it and allowed it to run rampant in his life. Before meeting Jesus he thought his behaviour made him acceptable before God. But then he learnt that counting on his own ability to obey and please God got him nowhere. Trusting the perfect life and death of Jesus means all those attempts at pleasing God are now rubbish - to be thrown away – and God’s love through Jesus on the cross is to be embraced.

But receiving God’s grace is more than a ticket to heaven. It is more than just knowing Christ Jesus – it is becoming one with him, to be ‘found in Christ’.

¹ I heard of an Imam (an Islamic Cleric) in Egypt who discovered and met Jesus. Because of his conversion he was now a man in trouble - where did he turn to flee his own people? The embassy? No – he ran to a church – they would rescue him. He put his faith in them to rescue him. Did they ask him to change before they rescued him? No.

Becoming one with Jesus means changing allegiance, throwing your lot in with him and inevitably produces a changed heart because grace is a transforming force in the life of every Christian.

What does a grace driven community look like?

1. A grace driven community will have a deep and radical love for one another.

It is obvious at a first glance that Paul knew the people in Philippi well. Just reading v3-4 makes that very clear.

What makes a community, community rather than a bunch of individuals shoved together is a sense of respect or love for one another. It is the glue that sticks people together.

And when it comes to Christians, the Bible is clear – that glue is distinctive.  Jesus once told his disciples

“ Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples .” John 13:35

But where does that love come from? Christians are not special people with an inbuilt and inate human ability to love well are they? Looking at the church certainly makes that clear!

This doesn’t mean that Paul isn’t trying – but he is trusting in Christ to enable him to do what he naturally can’t.

“I keep working towards the day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be.” Phil 3:12

Imagine what a dynamic community this could be, where people who have God’s grace running rampant in their lives are loving one another with the love that Jesus has for them. It would be so distinctive in the world we live in it would stand out like a sore thumb! Can we say that of us as a church here that meets in the Stadium?

God’s grace is as real, and dangerous today as it was in Paul’s day.

Do you remember the discussion about TV – whether what we watch affects our behaviour. One thing is for sure – if in our minds eye we keep our eyes fixed on God’s grace towards us. If we read about it, pray about it, sing about it, it will affect you. Are you prepared for it? Does the church need it? Boy - does the church need it!

And it is this love, prompted by God’s grace which acts as the scaffolding that builds a community. It is a love that causes Paul to give thanks to God for the Philippians because they have a special place in his heart and to pray for them with a heart full of joy.

So – what does a community of people who know Jesus look like? Well the first is that they will love one another radically.

2. A grace driven community will experience the adventure of spreading the gospel together

The second is that they will experience spreading the gospel together.

I love the way Paul speaks about this – this is the adventure of real church.

Paul prays with a heart full of joy because - “ you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heart it until now. ” The adventure of the church is partnership in spreading the gospel. The word Paul uses is fellowship. Real church fellowship is the adventure of together spreading the gospel - the good news about Jesus Christ

Paul tells us what that meant for him and the Philippians.

“We have shared together the blessings of God, both when I was out, defending the truth and telling others the good news.” Phil 1:7

The Philippians had joined Paul in his task – and he knew they had done it not only when things were going well. Even when he in prison in Philippi – they had continued the work. Because that is real church – thisis what the grace of God does when it is set free in peoples lives.

But notice – it is a partnership – team effort. Fellowship. No doubt some people loved the buzz of being with Paul, in the public forum and busy market place, debating, lecturing and discussing why Jesus was so relevant to 1st century life. Some people would have been much happier chatting with friends over a glass of wine.

Some people couldn’t keep up with Paul’s intellectual arguments. They preferred the simple message of the cross (…so did Paul really!). But it was a team effort – and an adventure!

For us it is the same!

Sometimes it will mean telling people about Jesus – that is what the Alpha Course is all about. Some people have questions but are relatively open to hearing the message. Did you know, in recent research carried out by Tearfund in the UK, the general population said they would be interested in coming to church if only they were asked!

Sometimes it will mean defending the truth. The message is under attack – and if the message is under attack, the church is under attack! Media, film, government policy. But real church defends the truth.

Real Church sharing the gospel like this is an adventure. Everyone has a different role or part to play. Sometimes it is fun, sometimes it is tough. Sometimes it can feel edgy and dangerous, sometimes it can feel dull. But it is an adventure! Some people respond to the danger and the ‘edginess’ with a wholehearted “I’m up for that”, some people are drawn to the ‘settled-ness’. That is why it is to be done together – as we experience church together!

And do you know what the best thing is? By doing this, we experience God’s grace and his blessing.

“We have shared together the blessings of God, both when I was out, defending the truth and telling others the good news.” Phil 1:7

It really is a gift from God, a blessing. Do we get that. Who wants to be blessed. Join the team, the fellowship, the church in defending the truth and spreading the good news! It’s the sure fire way to receiving God’s grace and enjoying God.

In Philemon 6 Paul puts it like this

“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ”

3. In a grace driven community, people expect to grow!

It’s interesting how the question – ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ stops when you hit about 20.

I think, as church it should be a core question we ask one another. Remember what we read earlier

“I keep working towards the day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be.”

Paul wants to be something – and he expects the same of his friends in Philippi.

Who do you want to be? How are you going to get there?

“And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again” Phil 1:6

The great thing is that it is not down to you. Just look at v9-11. God’s grace is active changing and working to make us the people that we were saved for and God wants us to be.

Paul expects God to continue to make the Philippians a community that is involved in the adventure of spreading the gospel together - God’s grace bubbling away in their lives had made them partners with Paul – and he anticipates the same of all Christians until Jesus returns and raps up the universe.

And in this prayer(v9-11), he asks God for what they need to keep growing as a community.

He asks for 2 things - a growing love and a growing understanding. There is a real tension here. These things come from God, but Paul keeps on working towards being who he should be. How is your trusting God for them?  How hard are you working  for them?

How is your love for the community God has put you in? Do you spend more time moaning about it or investing in it?  Ask for a growing love that will be more passionate, dynamic, radical - a love that will draw people to Christ as they see something that they find no-where else.

Like any child, a loving family is central for healthy growth to be the people Jesus has saved us for.

And our part – reflecting on the grace of God towards us!

But how is your growing in understanding? How are you learning? Lets ask God that we would grow in our knowledge and understanding. Not be satisfied with what we think. Lets invest ourselves in asking God for growth.

What is needed? Fertile soil, healthy food, plenty of sunshine and fresh air - Sunday mornings, cell groups, Bible, a teachable spirit. These are fundamental for us to be growing.

But notice too that these are all for a purpose – to change us, as individuals and as a community.

• By doing these things we will understand what really matters. God’s grace giving us clear vision. His grace will shape our priorities, and help us to live for what matters – which we will think about in a few weeks time.
• By doing these things we will live pure and blameless lives. God’s grace will give us the strength to leave alone the things we know are unhealthy for us and those around us. God’s grace will begin to keep us from sin and help us to make wise and right moral decisions.
• By doing these things we will produce fruit. God’s grace will produce fruit in your life – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control.

You are God’s work in progress. We are God’s work in progress! He has started doing something special in yours and my life. He has started doing something special in our lives as a community. But he hasn’t finished.

Lets commit ourselves to working hard at letting him do his work in our lives.

¹ I was told this story but asked not to tell people who I was speaking of - to protect the man who had converted in what can be a tough environment to be a christian!