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Philippians 1:3-5 "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;"
Fellowship in the Gospel
Paul was a man whose life was centered on the Gospel; it was never far from his mind. Even when he was in prison, he viewed his purpose to be "in the defence and confirmation of the gospel" (verse 7). His perspective was affected by the Gospel, so much so that he even said in verse 12 that his persecution was "unto the furtherance of the gospel." Again in verse 17, he says he was "set for the defence of the gospel."
In verse 27, Paul encourages the Philippian believers to live their lives only "as it becometh the gospel of Christ" so that he could see them "striving together for the faith of the gospel." Did you notice a repetition? The Gospel! And these statements are only in chapter one! So look back at our verse this morning, verse 5-he thanked God for their fellowship in the Gospel.
There are many things that we can use as a basis for fellowship with other people. Most of these things are superficial. For example, I can have almost instant rapport with someone who has the same interest as I do. I can spend ten minutes talking to a man about the state of Arizona, a place we both find fascinating! I love backpacking, so if I find out you do too, we immediately have a basis of fellowship, however superficial it may be.
The danger for all of us is that we can spend our lives "fellowshipping" with people over the trivial things in life, when we should be seeking out those with whom we can have fellowship in the Gospel. I have a pastor friend that is very different from me in many areas; in fact, had we been in college together at the same time, I doubt that we would have been friends. We did not come from similar backgrounds, our interests/hobbies are not the same, and he does not really have a "magnetic personality." But I have found myself repeatedly thanking God for him because he has such a passion to win the lost, because he truly believes that the Gospel can and will change lives. We must not get caught up in making judgments about other Christians solely on the basis of where they went to college, where they grew up, whether they like what we like, whether we have the same personality, etc. Those things are trivial and superficial compared to our true purpose in life-to live and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to seek out those around us that are living for this same purpose; that is where the truest and best fellowship can be found! When the Gospel is as important to us as it was to Paul, we will find that our deepest fellowship is with those who love the Gospel.
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Prayer Requests:
1. Revival services tonight in Flagstaff,AZ; Lyford, IN; Altoona, PA; and Scott, MI 2. Ranch evangelists traveling to services this weekend in Franklin, IN; Flagstaff, AZ; Kingman, AZ; and Huntingdon, PA
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