Marks of a Faithful Follower
Can you imagine living a life of true joy, even when others may be falling apart? In the book of Philippians, Paul shows us that when we choose Christ, we have the power to choose joy, no matter what is happening around us.
Every day that we wake up, we have a choice to make. We can choose to carry the joy of Jesus Christ with us, wherever we go. This is not a fleeting happiness that comes from the world, which could be here today and gone tomorrow. This is a deep, abiding contentment in him – no matter what. This joy is available to you as a believer today, just like it has been to all believers throughout time.
The book of Philippians is a book about joy. Philippi is now known as modern-day Greece. This was a largely Gentile city, with a mix of Jewish and non-Jewish believers. Paul went to Philippi with a heart to share the gospel. Paul headed to the river and found a woman by the river whose name was Lydia.
After the Lord opened her heart, she came to faith in Jesus Christ. Paul did the sharing, but it was God that did the change. So, you may be out there pounding the streets, sharing the gospel at your school, sharing the gospel at your workplace, and you think that nobody’s coming to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Be encouraged that you’re not failing. You only fail if you don’t share. If you’re sharing, you’re already winning because the responsibility to convert the soul is not up to you. That’s God.
The first convert was a woman, Lydia. Lydia had a key influential position in the church as it started. She had a ministry in the church. We need to acknowledge this today, because we can see here that men and women are equal before God in worth. Rather than fighting that, we should celebrate that because that’s God’s plan.
Later, Paul came upon a young girl who is possessed by a demon that allowed her to tell the future. She had a handler that would make money from her ability to tell the future. It was wicked. So, Paul cast the demon out of this girl. The handler of the girl didn’t like it, and so Paul and Silas were beaten and put in jail. Yet this struggle serves as the foundation for this book that is written about joy.
Paul and Silas set an example for us, because even after being beaten and thrown in jail, they chose a display of joy by singing praises to God. Their praises reached up to heaven and caused their situation to turn around.
In that moment, an earthquake came and the chains fell off of their hands and feet. The doors flung open. Even though they were wrongfully imprisoned, and they had the chance to escape, they could feel that God wanted them to stay.
The jailer woke up, terrified to the point that he was about to kill himself until Paul says “no”. From that moment, Paul shares the gospel. After God opened the jailer’s heart, the jailer came to know faith, went home and Paul led his whole family to faith. This is how the church began.
Paul loved this church and they loved him. So, Paul wrote this letter while he was awaiting a trial to determine whether he will live or die. He writes the book to help them to know Christ more and choose joy in their situations.
The word joy is used 14 times in this book. God wants you to be a faithful follower so that you have access to the joy that awaits you.
Philippians 1:3-11
3I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, 4always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, 10so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
Selflessness and support for the gospel are the two marks we can see in a faithful follower.
Did you know that you can learn a lot about your heart from your prayer life? We can emulate Paul’s heart in that he was selfless and not selfish. His prayer was consumed not with a bunch of me theology and a bunch of me prayers.
I want you to notice the selflessness in Paul’s prayer and take an opportunity to evaluate your heart based on your prayer life.
What percentage of your prayer life do you spend praying for yourself as compared to what percentage of your prayer life do you spend praying to God for His glory with gratitude and for others?
It is critical for you to establish an active prayer life. Prayer is what unlocks the joy that Paul is speaking of in this book. This is why the book starts with prayer, to unlock the power of God and the contentment that you’re chasing.
Prayer is like air to the believer. Like water, you have to have it. And can we go a little deeper? What is the content of your prayer life? What’s your motivation? Are you motivated by love for self or by love for others? Just let the answer be what it’s going to be and then let God direct you where He wants you to be.
Paul’s prayer in these verses was full of selflessness, gratitude and intercession. In the book of Philippians and in your own life, joy is a natural byproduct of selflessness that comes from your relationship with Jesus.
Joy is a natural byproduct of your selflessness that comes from your relationship with Jesus. That’s just what I see in Paul’s life, and I want to see it more in me. He couldn’t help but be full of gratitude.
The Philippine church was also selfless in their participation with Paul in the gospel work that he did. They participated both physically and spiritually. Paul was grateful for their commitment to his survival and the love they’d shown during his time in prison. They gave money to Paul. They were faithful and sacrificial, even giving to the poor. Because of what Paul saw in them spiritually as well as how they physically supported his gospel work.
Paul’s prayer in verse six said, “I’m confident of this, that he who began a good work in you, will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Here, Paul based his future evaluation of this church based on their past performance, and he does it with confidence.
Is there evidence in your life that God is at work? Do you support the Gospel spiritually, physically and selflessly? Let’s dig in a little bit deeper. When you see people ridicule Christ in front of you at school or at work or when you know people who ridicule the gospel, do you come to the defense of your savior?
Do you stand up for the gospel message when you see somebody in your life and your family and your community that you know is desperate for the gospel? Do you step up and share it with them? Do you physically go and share the gospel when you’re called?
Do you physically give to Gospel Ministry when you’re led to? Are you growing in your hatred of sin? Are you growing in your desire to pursue the things of God? Do you find yourself praising God and thanking God more and more with time?
If so, be assured. God is at work in you. And here’s my prayer for you this week. That He would bring that work to perfection or completion until God takes you home or until Jesus Christ comes back again. Paul was a believer who was marked by his selflessness and his support for the gospel.
We can see this same fervor for the gospel every day in one another. We can see it in those who lead us in worship, and when we interact, when we show support, when we give financially. There is already see selflessness in you. This is the kind of selflessness that brings joy.
You are the ones in the nursery. You are the ones that are out there beating the streets, inviting your friends and your neighbors to church. I see the good work in you.
Let us continue to be selfless. Continue to support the gospel as more people come to faith and you will be seen as a follower of Christ by the world.
Another sure sign of a follower of Christ is that they have a prayer life that is filled with praying for others.
Philippians 1:9 says, I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment.
Paul is praying that they will have an intimate, personal knowledge that can only come through faith and through spending time with Jesus. This kind of knowledge is beautiful.
The purpose of this prayer is really the purpose of all of our lives – so that people can see your fruit. When you see a fruit tree, the fruit is not meant to stay on the tree. The fruit is meant for the benefit of others. People should see your life and see the fruit of Christ and it should be of benefit to them.
Think about living a life of righteousness in such a way that when people evaluate you and they watch you, you not only bring praise and glory to God, but it causes them to also praise God and bring glory to His name.
