Reverend Michael Mwangi
Senior Pastor, Fedha Church, Kenya Assemblies of God
Paul gives thanks for the Philippian Christians Philippians 2:3-6
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you
When Paul remembered what all the Philippians did for him, he was extremely thankful.
He was naturally grateful to the Philippians, but more so to God who had worked such kindness through the Philippians. Our ability to do good is from God not our own. It's the working of God. Never be proud that you are doing good but be humble that God is at work in you and working through you.
Philippians 2
13. for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Naturally, we are sinful evil people by nature. We have no capacity to do good.
John 15
5. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Our natural tendency is to do evil
Romans 7:18-19 (English Standard Version 2016)
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
i. The Philippians were extremely giving towards Paul, both when he was with them (Acts 16:15, 16:32-34) and when he was apart from them (2 Corinthians 8:1-7, 9:1-4, and 11:9).
Making request for you all: Paul prayed for the Philippians and he did so with joy. This was one way Paul felt he could repay the Philippians for all they did for him.
Praying for someone is one of the greatest gift you can give to someone.
When you pray for a person, you are simply asking God to bless the person according to the heavenly measure.
You actually ask God to do according to his will and plan in unprecedented measure.
Ephesians 3
20. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
Unlike when you give someone a gift, you give him according to your ability which may be limited but when you pray for them you ask God to bless them in His abundance.
Philippians 4
19. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
Let us be in the habit of praying for one another and God will do greater things to us than we can do for each other.
Acts 12
5. So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.
7. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
8. Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him.
Prayers appeal to God and the supernatural happens.
James 5
14. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.
Unfortunately, rarely do we pray for others, most of the time our prayers are about me myself and I. We only briefly mention others. We need to learn to be intercessors.
When we are praying for others God will remember us.
Praying for others is a spiritual expression of love. It means you care and you have put others first.
When you pray for others it brings joy to you as you see them blessed.
One might simply say that when Paul prayed for the Philippians, he became happy. It is remarkable to see that Paul’s first reference to his own feelings or frame of mind in this letter is that of joy – though he wrote from prison and a possible soon execution.
For your fellowship in the gospel:
This was one reason Paul was thankful for the Philippians. The idea is that the Philippians “partnered” with Paul in his spreading of the gospel through their friendship and financial support, and they did so from the first day until now. They didn’t wait to see if Paul was a “winner” before they supported him. They got behind Paul and his ministry early.
Nothings bring so much joy than having someone who believes in you and stands with you irrespective of everything.
When you hear watu wakisema... huyu ni mtu wangu wa maana sana (this is a very important person) ...they say is with great joy. Philippians were such to Paul, that he could count on them. Are you such to someone ama wewe ni ..huyo wachana naye... ( or do they say, leave that one).
He who has begun a good work in you will complete it. It was natural that he also thought of the day when that work would be complete. Paul also expressed his confidence in God’s ability to complete the work in Philippians and in all believers.
You are a work in progress and as you continue doing good, the work continues to progress.
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