Receive With Joy - Part 1

Host: Why do we serve? There's not a person here that could stand before the Lord and say, "God, you ought to use me because I'm just such a perfect example of Christ." No, there's not a person here that would have the capacity to say that. But we believe that when we are doing the work of the Lord, the Lord is in the work.
Guest (Male): So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. In today's episode, Pastor Brian shares a lesson from Philippians chapter 2. Dr. Chapell highlights what the Apostle Paul shares our response should be in light of the truth of Christ's great victory. You can find this lesson and many others when you visit unlimitedgrace.com. And while you're there, look for the children's book Anyway and Always, written by Pastor Brian and his wife Cathy. Through this book, the Chapells present the promise of the covenant fulfilled by Christ in a personal and meaningful way for young children to understand. Let's hear now from Dr. Bryan Chapell as he shares the lesson, "Receive With Joy."
Host: What we are being told here is a great victory that the Apostle identifies multiple times as the Gospel, which simply means good news. That's what Gospel means. And yet, it's being identified here by the victory of Jesus Christ, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing. And taking on the form of a human, he became obedient, even obedient to death on a cross. Wherefore God has highly exalted him, given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Now, that's the principle. How is it get applied in our lives? Well, the way people celebrated when there was a cause of great victory among us. I mean, you just say, "How are we supposed to respond to Christ's great victory?" Well, how did we respond just naturally to a sports team's victory? You know what happened after the Cubs won? People cheered. They hugged. They high-fived. It didn't matter what town they come from. It didn't matter what race they were. It didn't matter what income they had. They delighted in each other. They gathered together around Wrigley, marching by 5 million people, ultimately to end up in Grand Park around the parade. Not only did they cheer in that way, they went to stores. At midnight some of you went to stores after the victory to buy paraphernalia you don't need, but some of you are wearing even in the service. Because you became generous with the trophies of the victory you wanted to claim. And finally, even though you were tired and weary of your celebrating, you got up early the next day to go to work so that you could tease Cardinal fans and tell everybody about it. I mean, it all makes sense. When there's been a great victory, you you you want to express it in ways that are true to the reality that you are now experiencing. And that's precisely what the Apostle Paul is doing in this passage. He is just celebrated the great victory of the Gospel. And now in the details with which he begins to talk about what people are doing in response, we begin to see what our response should be. What what should we do in the light of this great victory of Jesus? We should love beyond all borders. I mean, just kind of think when when the great victory was declared in our neighborhood, fireworks started going off. And we turned on the TV and we saw people from large town and small town, and black, and white, and rich, and poor, pouring out into the streets, going around Wrigley Field. Everybody was gathering together to celebrate. And what they were celebrating is what Paul mentions in just the opening words of this passage, verse 19. "I hope in the Lord Jesus." Now that that language of being in the Lord Jesus is is the closest capsule of the Gospel you get in all the Bible. This notion that we are now united to Christ. We are in Christ Jesus. I mean, what I've tried to put in your minds the image for this book of the Bible is the Russian nesting dolls, that you have one inside another, inside another, that we are in Christ Jesus, which means we are surrounded by his righteousness. His identity has become ours. And the Apostle says, "My hope is in Christ Jesus." As though hope is not hope against hope, it is it is future confidence. It is faith forward. I actually have faith in my union with Christ. And why is that so important? Because he knows what's behind him. I was a persecutor of Christians. I murdered people thinking I was doing something for the Lord. I recognized there is much of shame and problem and difficulty in my life, but I'm in Christ Jesus. And that that's my hope going forward. And Paul does not just celebrate his own union with Christ. He begins to celebrate God's union with those that are part of the union with him. After all, he says in verse 19, "I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you." Who is Timothy? The Philippians knew, verse 22. "You know Timothy's proven worth. How as a son with a father he has served with me in the Gospel." Timothy? Don't you remember who Timothy was? His mother was a Jew. His father a Gentile Greek. He was a half-breed in the thinking of the time. Not acceptable in the Jewish community, not acceptable in the Greek community. A man without a country, a man without a home, a man without a family. And yet here is the Apostle Paul saying, "He became as a son to me, and I his father." So that what we have celebrated already this day, the the notion of adoption that one without the ability to deserve it, without the ability to claim it, is made part of the family of God, is what Paul is doing when he says, "You know Timothy? He's proven his worth, though people think he's worth nothing. He's my son." In Christ Jesus, I'm united to to God, and and he's united to God, so we're part of the same family. And it's not just Timothy. I mean, if you think of the opening words, "You hope to see Timothy soon?" Why? So that I too may be cheered by news of you. He's writing to the Philippians. Here are Greeks. They are Greeks who at long time were by their religion and by their armies the opponents of the Jews. And now Paul is saying, "I want to be one who cheers, brings cheer into your life, and knowing good about you, bringing cheer into my life. I I care about you now." Our love is crossing all boundaries because of the unity that they have in Christ, and the trophy that we share together of the Gospel. Does that real? Does it make sense? It makes sense by what the Apostle is going to say in verse 25. He said, "I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker, and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need." Epaphroditus apparently has been sent by the church at Philippi, who's a long way distant from Paul who's in prison in Rome, to take a gift. Do you remember that Paul, even while he was in prison, had to pay for his own welfare? And so the Greek church, even though Paul hasn't been there in a long time, sends Epaphroditus, one of their leaders, with a gift to take care of Paul in Rome. Epaphroditus. Names strange to us, but more strange to any Jew who would have thought that an Epaphroditus follower would come to Paul. Epaphroditus is the male version of the Greek god Aphrodite. Epaphroditus is named after a pagan deity, a deity of love and immorality. And now that same Epaphroditus is coming to Paul. And and what we begin to see is Paul is receiving him and and gives him these these words of honor. Verse 25, he's my brother. The words in the Greek actually mean "from the same womb." We we come from the same place now. We were sinners, but we are now in Christ Jesus. We are of the same family. We are brothers together. And not just brothers, but he's my fellow worker. He's working with me in the sake of the Gospel. Not only that, he's willing to suffer and fight for the Gospel. He's my fellow soldier. Those who study these words say that this is wording of ascending importance. As though, he was my brother, but more than that, he has the status to work with me. More than that, he goes to war with me. I value him that much. But after these words of ascending importance, there are words of increasing intimacy. And he's your messenger to me. But he's also been my minister. You sent him, but he's caring for me. As though what Paul is recognizing is, here is one who would normally have nothing to do with the Christian world. Nothing to do with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And yet here he is out of the same womb, working for the sake of the Gospel, gathering together. And Paul is rejoicing in that. And with that is his concern even for Epaphroditus's health. Remember verse 30? He nearly died for the work of Christ, but God saved him so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. And even though he's been ministering to me, I'm going to send him back to you because I I I want you not to be anxious about him. So Paul begins to subvert his own interest to care for those at Philippi. Over and over again he is saying, "I'm going to love beyond boundaries. I want you to love beyond boundaries." Why would we do that? Because we're all rejoicing in the same thing. We have been made in Christ Jesus. He surrounds us now. He's our hope. He's our claim. And what we are about to do in just a few minutes is we are going to partake of this communion together. And when we do so, do you recognize what we are doing? We are gathering around communally as the same family saying, "I need this. I'm in Christ Jesus." It's it's not my righteousness. It's not my provision that makes me right before God, but his. And everyone who gathers for the same provision is working across boundaries to express love for one another. As each of us claims before one another, "This is my hope, too. This is what I claim, too, not my goodness, not my accomplishment, but what Jesus has done."
Guest (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. Raising children to love the Lord can sometimes feel like a daunting task. The physical, mental, and emotional energy needed to engage with a child can also lead to feelings of inadequacy and doubt for parents. How then can you effectively talk with children about Jesus or demonstrate to them his love? Written by Pastor Brian and his wife Cathy, Anyway and Always is a heartwarming children's book designed to help explain the love of Christ to a child. The Chapells present the promise of the covenant fulfilled by Christ in a personal and meaningful way for young children to understand. Page after page of beautiful illustrations complement Brian and Cathy's captivating storytelling. Whether you read this as a bedtime story or share it around the family dinner table, this book is sure to become a favorite of children and parents alike. You can request your copy of Anyway and Always when you go online to unlimitedgrace.com, or by calling 844-41Grace. That's 844-414-7223. And now, more from Bryan Chapell on today's Unlimited Grace.
Host: I have a friend in Florida, a pastor named Ray Cortez. And uh he enjoys telling the account of the trainer that he works with at the local gym, who doesn't just train pastors. He said, my trainer also has the job of training a prostitute and a nun. The prostitute, going through a substance abuse program, became a believer and now worships in Ray's church. And Ray said, as the once prostitute began to experience what it meant to be in Christ Jesus, to recognize it was God's provision covering all of her shame, all of her sin, all the past, all the awkwardness, all the difficulty, that because she was in Christ Jesus, she wanted to tell more people. And the person that she most wanted to tell was the nun, who was also working out in the gym. But the trainer said, even though she was a nun and had given her life to the work of Christ, she was constantly anxious, constantly afraid that she could not do enough, constantly aware that God had every right to judge her because of what was in her heart, if not what was in her actions. And so the former prostitute began to witness over and over again about the peace of God that came from being in Christ Jesus. Now, Ray told that story with joy. But as he was telling it, what I began to recognize was, I am much more like the nun than I am like the prostitute. This is my job. My life given to the work of God. And yet so many times I get anxious and concerned. Have I done enough? Have I met people's expectations? Am I doing everything that's required? Is God going to be mad at me? And what helps me so much is that all of us gather around this table together and we keep reminding one another, "It's okay, Brian. You can be at peace. We are in Christ Jesus. Me, you, every single one of us." And we testify that to one another. We not only say we are united to Christ, we're united to one another. And the purpose for that is that we would recognize we are adopted into the same family and we only have provision by the work of Jesus Christ. And we claim that before one another to give each other peace and hope and deep reminder that it's only by the work of Christ, nothing in us, but in Christ I got everything. Everything I need for hope and future, because he has put me in union with him. If you begin to celebrate that, what happens? You you become remarkably generous. I mean, do you see how it happened with those at Philippi? How that happened with Epaphroditus? He's way away in Greece. The church could say to Paul, "Man, he's in prison, out of sight, out of mind." But instead, the church at Philippi begins to say, "We want to send some money to the Apostle Paul. After all, he's our brother in Christ, and he's doing ministry for the Lord, and he needs to be taken care of." And so they take one of their own leaders. I mean, this will be to their own deprivation, funds that will be to their own hurt, and they begin to send them to Paul far away from them because they simply delight to do so. There's been a great victory. We want more people to know, because I become so generous when I think there's been a great victory that I want to be a part of. I want people to know about it. I want to tell people about. I want more to know about this. And it is the victory of Christ Jesus. And every time somebody comes into this church and recognizes God has made a way for me, not by my doing, but by his doing, we are celebrating that Gospel, and that becomes a trophy of the grace of God as heart after heart after heart claims the goodness that shall never pass away as people have generosity, having children in their homes, adopting children from across the seas, having foster kids, caring for those that they have no obligation to care for. But it is the joy of the Gospel that's moving them. "I want to show this trophy. I want to show what God has done in my heart." And we become generous beyond measure, generous beyond obligation because we simply say, "He has done great things for me. I want the world to see." And when we share in that way, that becomes the trophy that's wondrous because it never fades away, as it is in the heart of a child, eternity preserved. And not only do we become generous beyond obligation, we begin to serve without strength. I mean, think what is happening here if you look at every person that is mentioned in this passage, there is some great incapacity that is obvious. And yet people are serving nonetheless. The Apostle Paul? Listen, he was a murderer. I mean, he he is now in his own circles without any honor. And yet he believes that God is going to work in him. Timothy? A man who all his life experienced only prejudice, shame, intolerance for his mixed heritage. Epaphroditus. Somebody whose name is identified with a pagan Greek deity. And and and yet he comes to minister to Paul. The Philippians. You remember that church made up of of Romans and Greeks, and and perhaps even a a girl who used to be indwelt by a demon? And and all of these people are united in wanting to serve now for the purposes of Christ. Why is that? Well, we know why that is. I mean, from the Cubs management the day after the clinching game, there there went out a tweet to all their fans, which says, according to the Cubs management, "You now have an excused absence from work." Which of course meant absolutely nothing because everybody's going to work. Why are they going to work? They have to tease the Cardinal fans. They they want to tell everybody, "I'm going to work. I've got something great to do. I've got something great to tell." And so when we see Paul, and we see Timothy, and Epaphroditus, and the Philippians, who are in the harness wanting to serve the Lord, it's because they say, "We want other people to know. We've got a great message to tell. We've got victory to make known." Well, if they're so incapacitated, where does that victory come from? Well, the words are so clear. Verse 19, Paul says, "I hope in the Lord Jesus." Verse 24, "I trust in the Lord." Verse 29, "Receive Epaphroditus in the Lord, for he nearly died for the work of Christ." Every single person identified is in the work of the Lord because they believe the Lord is in the work. Why do we serve? There's not a person here that could stand before the Lord and say, "God, you ought to use me because I'm just such a perfect example of Christ." No, there's not a person here that would have the capacity to say that. But we believe that when we are doing the work of the Lord, the Lord is in the work. And for that reason, I rejoice to see over and over again the people who come week after week after week to serve in the Sunday schools, the people who are part of Heartbeat Ministry who are trying to help our church and couples in our whole community know what it means to express the love of God through adoption. There there are the the Monday morning crew who come here Monday after Monday after Monday to keep this church functioning. There are people who go down to Peoria Rescue Mission. There are people who are serving simply by having children in their own homes that they are nurturing with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And that that for moms is is their own calling to be faithful to the work of God to say, "I'm nurturing an eternal soul right here." And in believing that, to believe that there is wonderful, good work to do as we are called into service by the joy of our hearts and the celebration of the victory that is ours in Christ Jesus. I I couldn't help but think of it this past week when I was I was listening to an interview with a a church leader who is one of the Christian towns outside of Mosul. Do you remember where now there are troops going in to try to rescue from ISIS? And as that church leader was being interviewed, he identified that when ISIS, the radical Muslims, the terrorist Muslims had come into their village, that they had put on every Christian home in Arabic the letter 'N'. Do you know what it stands for? Nazarene. One who follows the Nazarene, which actually is a wonderful Gospel message. His identity is on my home. His identity is on my life. I am in the Nazarene. Nobody meant that. And in some ways, you recognize great suffering was happening through all the time of the occupation of ISIS. And so the the interviewer said to the church leader, "What was the most significant moment for you when you reclaimed your church from ISIS and were able to worship there again?" The answer? "The most significant and meaningful moment is when we raised the cross again." You know, something a little bit cynical in me said, "Well, why is that so great? I mean, after all, that's the sign of Jesus' death." Why is that hopeful? Said the man, "Because it reminds us that death and evil shall not have the final victory." Why is raising the cross that sign? Because the cross is empty. Because there's been a great victory. Because Christ has risen. Because he has provided. And because he has provided, we are in Christ Jesus for all eternity.
Guest (Male): That's Pastor Bryan Chapell, and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If you've missed anything that you'd like to hear once again, just visit unlimitedgrace.com. And when you do so, you can sign up for Pastor Brian's daily devotional sent right to your inbox. While you're there, also be sure to request a copy of the book from Dr. Bryan Chapell and his wife Cathy, called Anyway and Always. We'll send you a copy right away as our way of saying thank you for your most generous financial support. Please be sure to join us next time as once again we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by his unlimited grace. This ministry is brought to you by Unlimited Grace Media and continues to be made possible with your generous financial support.