Philippians - A Church That Loved Their Pastor

Today,as we continue to look at the introduction to the letter of Epistle to thePhilippians from the Apostle Paul while he was in prison, we discover somethingvery beautiful about the church at Philippi. Among all the churches that Paulhelped establish, the Philippian believers seemed to have a particularly closerelationship with him. There was a deep bond of love between Paul and thiscongregation. AsI think about what we’re talking about today—the love this church had for theirpastor, the Apostle Paul, their founding pastor—it reminds me of something verypersonal in my own life. I’ve had the wonderful privilege of pastoring fourdifferent churches over the years. I can honestly say that every church made mefeel greatly loved. The congregations extended wonderful love to us on manyoccasions. Even after we had been gone from them for years, they continued toextend that love and grace to us. That’s a wonderful, wonderful feeling andvery encouraging for a pastor.  In Philippians 1:3, Paul wrote, “Ithank my God upon every remembrance of you.” Can you imagine that? Everytime Paul thought about these believers, his heart was filled with gratitude toGod. Then he goes on to say in verse 5, “Always in every prayer of minemaking request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from thefirst day until now.” And then in verse 7 he says, “Because I have youin my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmationof the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.” Inother words, this church had been partners with Paul in the ministry of thegospel from the very beginning. Their love was not just expressed in words.When Paul speaks about them being “partakers with me of grace,” it seems veryclear that they demonstrated their care in practical ways—especially throughtheir financial support of his ministry. Now remember, the Apostle Paul oftenworked to support himself. In Acts 18:3, when he was in Corinth, he worked as atentmaker. It was there that he met Aquila and Priscilla, who were alsotentmakers, and the Bible says they were of the same trade, and they worked together. Butthe church at Philippi was especially faithful in helping support his ministry.In Philippians 4:15, Paul says something remarkable. He reminds them that whenhe first left Macedonia—the northern region of Greece—no other church sharedwith him financially except them. He wrote, “Now you Philippians know alsothat in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no churchshared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only.” Now this wasnot necessarily a wealthy church, but they gave generously to help Paulcontinue preaching the gospel. Evenwhile Paul was in prison, we read that a man named Epaphroditus brought aspecial gift to him from the church. In fact, part of the reason Paul wrotethis letter was to thank them for their generosity and kindness. But their giftrevealed something even deeper. It revealed their love for the apostle who hadfirst brought them the message of Jesus Christ. This reminds us that the gospelhas always been a partnership. Some people preach. Some go. Some send. Somesupport. But we should all pray and encourage one another. When God’s peoplework together like that, the message of Christ spreads much farther than anyone person could take it alone. ThePhilippian church understood this principle very well. Their generosity andfaithfulness helped sustain Paul’s ministry and encouraged him during one ofthe most difficult seasons of his life. That is why the book of Philippians isfilled with such warmth and affection. This is a grateful pastor writing to agenerous and faithful church—thanking them and encouraging them. Myfriend, I trust today that you will be part of a church like that yourself, andthat you will be generous in your giving and in your love for your pastor andthe leadership of your church.