 So we will begin our epistle to the Philippians. Philippians is a rather frightening book for me personally because the Philippians were amazing believers. They were such spiritual giants. You know, when we look at, for instance, okay, when I look at Corinthians, the letters to the Corinthians, I look at them and I look at the mistakes they did. And I think, ah, see, I know better than them, you know, I'm better off than these people. But when I'm looking at these Philippian believers and what Paul says about them over here in this epistle, I'm like, wow, when Ben on earth, Lord, will I reach that level where I can be like them? So they are an amazing people. You know, the kind of words that Paul uses when he's talking about them. He really, I think, had great respect for them. So the epistle to the Philippians is a very inspiring book. And we'll try to touch upon at least the main key points that are there in the first two chapters. So just for us to kind of get a brief background, how exactly did this Philippian church even begin? For us to find out, you know, for us to know that we would have to go to Acts chapter 16, where you have the background story mentioned very briefly. So in Acts chapter 16, verse six onwards, you know, if we were to see, we learned that Paul and his companions, you know, they set out on their missionary journey. And their idea is basically to go to Asia Minor and, you know, share the gospel over there. So they're heading over there towards Asia Minor. And then the Lord does not permit it here. He does not want them to go over there. That's not the correct time for them to go there. So then they think, okay, fine, maybe we should go towards Bythena. So they move away and they change direction and they start going towards Bythena. But again, the spirit of the Lord, it says over here the spirit of Jesus would not allow them to go there. And so now they, you know, they instead head towards Truas and Paul is kind of wondering, you know, what is it that the Lord wants us to do? Where are we meant to go? And he gets this dream at that time. And so in his dream or, okay, a vision, in his vision, he sees a man of Macedonia standing over there and begging and saying, come over to Macedonia and help us. So that is the background. So based on this vision that has been given to him by the Lord, Paul and his, you know, team, they set out towards Macedonia where you basically have Philippi and all of these other cities. So they come over here. And so here in Philippi, on the Sabbath day, you know, they know that generally on the Sabbath day, you know, outside the city, people gather for prayer. So they go on the Sabbath day outside the city gate and they see this group of women who have gathered together for prayer. So they sit down among them and start sharing the gospel with them and Lydia, who is quite a wealthy merchant dealing in purple cloth. So she's a purple cloth dealer. And so she's, you know, shows a lot of, you know, eagerness regarding the gospel. And because it says over here, the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. So she and the other people who are there with her, they all choose to accept, you know, the gospel which is being shared. And in fact, it says in verse 15 over there, you know, Acts chapter 16, verse 15, it says that they all, you know, get baptized. So right there on that day, they make their commitment, you know, to become followers of the Lord. And that is basically how the Philippian church begins. It begins with people who have open, receptive hearts toward the Lord is sharing and putting in their hearts. And from that moment on, there's no looking back. They seem to have been quite a committed, you know, group of Christians. So coming to chapter one, you know, book of Epistle to the Philippians, maybe we could have someone read out Philippians chapter one verses three to seven. If someone could please read out for us, Philippians chapter one verses three to seven. Yeah. Can I get that, sir? Yeah. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you, while making my prayer of the joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I'm sure of this, that you will begin a good work and you will bring it to the completion of the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to fill this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart for you are all partakers with me in grace, both in my entrisment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. Yeah. So he says that I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Okay, so whenever he's praying for this particular church, he feels joy because he has seen the way they have just accepted, embraced the gospel and how they are really living it out in their lives. So he says right from the first day, when Lydia says, please come home. So after the baptism, it says in Acts chapter 16, she invites them, it says over there that she persuades them to come to her house. And so that's how the church begins in that place. So he says over here, Paul says over here, right from the first day until now, you have been actively partnering with me in sharing the gospel. And so he says, he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. What is the day of Christ Jesus? That would be the second coming when Jesus Christ comes back as Lord and sovereign overall. And so his rule and reign would begin. And that is the time when he will honor those who have been faithful to him. He will give them their rewards. So here, Paul is saying, because you have been so open to the work of the Lord, because you've been so open to whatever God is trying to teach you in your hearts and you have been fully involved in fulfilling the great commission, because of your openness, God will continue the good work which he began in you, because you are open towards that good work. You are receptive. You're willing to cooperate with him in furthering this good work which is being done inside your hearts. And so he says on that day, until the day of Christ Jesus, so you will be able to accomplish and fulfill all of God's purposes for your lives. And on that day of Christ Jesus, you would receive your reward. So he talks about how they have partnered with him in the gospel. And in verse seven, he also says, all of you share in God's grace with me. You know, if you remember when we were doing, was it Ephesians? When we were doing Ephesians, we were talking about how the term grace is used in four different ways. And one of the ways in which the word grace is used, it's talking about the giftings that God gives to all of us as a church, the grace giftings that God gives us, which is the gifting of apostleship, the gifting of hospitality, the gifting of prophecy and all of these giftings. So here, he is referring to the way they have been active in ministry along with him. Now, see, these are not full-time ministers. Most of them are just church members. Of course, there would be leaders among them, but most of them are just laypeople, but they have been very active in ministry. So here is one church that has actually caught the, you know, the truth about why spiritual giftings are given and how they should be used. So when we were doing Ephesians, we talked about that. We talked about how the five-fold ministry giftings have been given to certain people so that they can equip the rest of the other people, you know, to do the work of ministry because the actual ministry giftings as such, you know, have been given to the entire body of Christ, to all the believers. All the believers as the other ones who are supposed to be fully engaged in doing ministry work, wherever they are, you know, in their office places, in their neighborhoods, among their own family circles. So the entire work of ministry is actually meant to be done by the believers, by the body of Christ. These five-fold ministry leaders, what do they do? Depending on the gifting that they have been given, you know, they operate in that, they do whatever, you know, they have been blessed and anointed to do, you know, for instance, an apostle will go about planting churches, but that apostle's responsibility is also to equip the other believers for ministry. So all the others, you know, in the church who have been given this gifting to be able to start off new groups of believers, he would in fact train them, teach them, give them practical tips on how, you know, in their office, you know, how to start off a small prayer group, you know, in their office. And from that, you know, that will grow into a body of believers. So he's supposed to train them to operate as apostles at their level. You know, I mean, they would not go around, you know, the place with the title of a postal, because, you know, they're in the secular marketplace, but in their own fears of influence, they've been given this beautiful gifting to be able to start off small groups of fellowship. So they actually have this gifting of a postal ship in them, and most of them are clueless on how to go about exercising their gifting. So it is this five-fold ministers, it is their responsibility to teach the people how to move in that gifting which has been given to them. You know, I was just speaking to this person last month, who has such a burden for people who are demonized, and who are struggling with strongholds because Satan has bound them. And she has such a burden for them, and she wants to minister among them. And she was saying, I have no clue how to do a deliverance ministry. I mean, I can feel such a burden in my heart and such a leading in my heart to reach out and do something for them, but I have no clue what to do and how to do it. So you see, people who are maybe anointed and equipped in that thing, you know, in that particular gifting, they should be the ones who will train up the lay believers who are hungry and eager to do that thing, that whatever ministry that, you know, that God has been pressing upon their heart. So who's going to equip them? Who's going to train them? Who's going to show them how it is done? So the people in this five-fold ministry leadership, they are the ones who are supposed to move in their gifting, you know, on like on a 24-hour basis because they're called to, you know, a full-time posting. So they're supposed to really move in this gifting and demonstrate to the rest of the believers how they can use that same gifting, you know, if God has given that to them. So a teacher, it's his responsibility to train up other people who have that gifting and tell them, see, this is how you can actually teach and explain the gospel in your Bible study, you know, or when you're having your family devotions, you know, this is how you can make it simple and explain to your family from the scriptures. So it becomes the responsibility of the five-fold ministry leaders to equip different people in their church in the giftings that have been given to them so that they can go out and do the ministry that they are meant to. So many, many church leaders don't understand this. They think that they are supposed to be doing all the ministry work and that the congregation is supposed to stand on the sidelines and clap for them. No, the church, the body of Christ has been richly gifted with a whole bunch of giftings. And they are, in fact, many of them are hungry and eager to get involved, to do something, you know, in the places of wherever they are working and wherever they have their contacts. But many of them are clueless because the leaders have not bothered training them, showing them how to use those giftings that they have. So here it looks like in this Philippian church, Paul and Timothy and the other leaders had actually taken the effort to train them, show them how they can partner in the gospel. And so here are these people who are literally sharing in God's grace with me. He says in verse seven, all of you share in God's grace with me and they're actually using these grace gifts that have been given to them to really do the work of ministry. So in fact, when people are actively involved in ministering, in trying to serve, in trying to share the gospel with people, in building them up in the Lord, when they are doing that, it becomes easier for them in their own spiritual walk, you see, because they have to continuously keep going to the Lord and saying, Lord, how do I minister to this person? What do I say? It increases their own dependency on God. It increases their own walk with God. So the reason a lot of our congregations are so, I mean, indifferent sometimes is because they feel, what is there for me to do? All I need to do is go there on Sunday, lift up my hands and worship the Lord and I'm done. I mean, that's my role. The actual work of ministry will never be done by those leaders. But no, there are giftings which have been put inside that believer and God has a purpose for their lives. So if someone would tell them, see, I recognize these giftings in you, I want to help you to develop them. I want to start equipping you. Are you eager? I'm sure a lot of them would be like more than ready to start doing something for the Lord because they all have that hunger inside to do something for him. So they just need someone who will take the effort to equip and train them in their own areas. So an apostle will teach others how to start small believer groups, a prophet will teach the people who have that particular gifting, how they can use their gifting to speak words of encouragement into people's lives, very accurately in their time of need, God would give them the exact word, maybe or the exact scripture, which they can share with someone and really cause it to become that reema word for them, for that particular occasion. So these are things, giftings which are there in the believers and it is the responsibility of the leaders to equip people to move in those giftings. So that the work of ministry gets done effectively, powerfully and on the scale that it should be done. The reason that a lot of our countries are not yet reached with the gospel is because only the leaders are trying to do it. The congregation is not even aware that they are supposed to be participating in this great commission. So it and most of them don't even know that they have all these giftings in them. So I think it's a very, it's something that God will hold the leaders responsible for. So I mean, those of us who are doing this course among you, if any of you are holding that five-fold ministry giftings, then know that you have the responsibility of course in moving in your gifting and doing all that you can for the kingdom of God, but you also have a God-given responsibility of equipping the other believers. If you recognize that same gifting which you have in the other people who are there in your church, then go to them and point out to them and see, I can clearly see this gifting in you. Can I help you? Can I equip you? Can I guide you in moving in this gifting so that you too can start using this gifting wherever you go? In that way, the gospel would spread much faster and a lot more would be achieved and the Lord would be very happy because his entire body is actively engaged in fulfilling his purposes. Rather than just having a minor percentage doing the work of God, everyone would be engaged in that. And so throughout this letter to the Philippians, again and again he touches upon this aspect of how they are actively partnering with him in doing the gospel work. Again and again he keeps bringing up this whole idea of how they are partnering with him in the work of ministry. So I thought maybe we could spend a little time talking about this particular aspect because it is so important and that is how a healthy church grows. That is how a church stays eager and enthusiastic about the things of God because all are equally, busily engaged in the work of God. Then coming to verse 12. Okay, verses 12 to 24, we could maybe see it as one large chunk. So over here, in verse 12, Paul says, he's basically referring to the fact that the Philippians are feeling very sad that he's imprisoned in Rome and that things are kind of difficult for him over there. So he says over to them, he speaks assurance in verse 12 and he says, what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. So because he says now everybody over here in the palace and a lot of people are talking about me. They are talking about the strange man who has got imprisoned not because he's done any criminal activity or anything but because he's talking about this Jesus Christ and the Jews are very, very angry that he's talking about Jesus Christ. And that is the reason why he's imprisoned over here. So people are talking about this. So they're probably asking questions, who is this Jesus Christ? Why is this man willing to get imprisoned for the sake of this Jesus? So in that way, a lot of publicity has happened and as a result of that publicity, the gospel is getting known. People are talking about the gospel and that makes Paul very happy. And so he says, maybe we could, if we could have someone read out verses 15 to 18. Yeah, if someone could please read out, Philippians 1, 15 to 18. It is verses 15 to 18, please, yeah. Alright. Oh, I'm not able to hear. You can't hear me. Oh, I can hear you now. Okay. Okay, yeah. I'm going to say, some in this preach has given me a name and a name and some are from Buddhism. They form a preach Christ, self-efficient, not scary, but to add affection to actions. But they're just out of power. Knowing that I am part of the Christian gospel, what they're doing only in the same way as in the presence of the truth is preached. And in this rejoice, yes, and rejoice, amen. Yeah. Yeah. You see that Paul is very happy that he got imprisoned because it's leading to a lot of good publicity for the gospel. He's very happy with people who are preaching with all the wrong motives. They are preaching not because they love the Lord and because they want people to be saved. They are preaching to promote themselves, to become famous, to become rich. They're doing it with all the wrong motives. Even that also he's happy with. Why? Because he says it doesn't matter really, even though they're doing it with wrong motives, the gospel is getting preached. People are getting to know about Jesus Christ, about what he has done. So we see such a passion in this man for the gospel of Christ. And he goes on to talk about this further in verses 22 to 25. He says, he's talking about how he doesn't, at that point of time, he's still not very sure whether he will be set free or whether he would get a death sentence. So he's a little unclear on that. And it's like thinking, which would be better? Getting a death sentence and then dying and then going to be with Jesus Christ? Or should I continue to stay over here because I'm needed over here? The work is going on. And I still have a lot to contribute towards the gospel, the ministry. And so he says over here in verse 22, he says, yet what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two, he says, because he says, I would really like to go and be with Christ. So it would be nice if I'm given a death sentence, but he says in verse 24, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. And so he says in verse 25, I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith. So he says, no, no, no. It would be nice, of course, to go away and be with Christ. But then if I continue to be over here, I can continue to mentor you. I can continue to teach you. And then you will be able to grow further in the Lord. So I think maybe it would be better for me to continue over here. So if you look at this man's words, right from verse 12 up to verse 25, there's only one thing driving him. And that is his passion that the gospel should be preached. I mean, why, I was looking at this, I was meditating on this passage the other day and I was asking myself, Lord, what drove him? I mean, he was so passionate. How did he get that way? I mean, what is the key to being that passionate for the gospel? When you're actually seeing people who are preaching for all the wrong reasons, even that is okay. You're like, okay, fine, no problem. Let them preach for the wrong reasons. God will judge them when the time comes. But actually the gospel is getting preached and people are getting to know how Lord, what caused this man to have such an amazing passion for you and for the word of God and for the gospel. And I was just reflecting on that and there are a couple of verses that I would like to share in this context because it kind of helps us understand the heart of this Paul and maybe we too could choose to have that kind of a heart. So with that idea, if we could look at Romans chapter one verses 14 to 15. Romans one, 14 to 15. Hey, are any students watching? Yeah, go ahead. If you do not have the law by nature, do what the law requires. Romans one, no. Sorry, best. Romans one, Romans one, 14 to 15. Okay. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you. Also, we're in Rome. Yeah, yeah. So over here, the NIV which, you know, Asha read out says that I am obligated and I'm under obligation to preach to you Greeks. The literal word is used in the NKJV where it says, I'm a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians. He says I'm in debt. You know, when a person is in debt and they're desperately trying to repay the debt, you know, it's like a huge debt. A lot of money has to be repaid. Do you understand the desperation that there is? You know, that person is like constantly thinking every day, okay, today what can I do, you know, to repay the amount? How much can I handle? You know, so constantly they are like driven by this, this debtedness which they have. And here Paul is talking about himself in that way. He says, I'm a debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians. And so I'm more than willing to come to Rome and, you know, share the gospel with even you people because I am driven by this huge debt which I need to repay is what he says. And yeah, just to kind of clarify when it says Greek and Barbarians, you know, the term Barbarian sounds like such a rough and rude word. That's because it's talking about people who are uncivilized. You know, that's the term that is used. So that's basically how the Greeks looked at other people. It's not that Paul is regarding people as Barbarians. The Greeks, according to them, they were the civilized educated elite. And in their eyes, everyone else was a Barbarian. So, you know, they are the ones who gave the technical term Barbarian to most of the other cultures, to most of the other people groups, you know. So he says, I'm ready to preach to the Greek community. I'm ready to teach to all the people who come under the label of Barbarians. I'm ready to preach you to the people in Rome. I am doing all this because I am in deep debt and it has to be repaid. So what kind of a debt is he talking about? You know, if we were to go to Acts chapter 26 versus 15 to 18, we kind of get an idea of what he is talking about. Acts 26 versus 15 to 18, please. Acts 26, 15 to 18, Pastor? Yeah. So I said, who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but rise and stand on your feet. And for I have appeared to you for this purpose to make you a minister and a witness, both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles to whom I now send you to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive the forgiveness of sins and inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Yeah. So, you know, he asks, who are you, Lord? When he first has this encounter with Jesus and he doesn't know who it is. And then Jesus responds saying, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. And so the one that he had been persecuting, the one whose people he had been destroying, that one rather than coming to him in judgment, coming to him in broth and punishing him for what he had been doing. Instead, this Jesus says to him, you know what I'm going to appoint you as my servant and my witness to go out and share the gospel with these people and you will be able to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light. So something that was very precious to the heart of Jesus. He chose to place it in the hands of a man who had been working against him, who had been persecuting him. So rather than unleash anger and broth upon Paul, God instead chooses to place in his hands something that is very, very precious to his heart. And this is something that Paul always remembered and appreciated and was grateful for. So we need to have that same attitude. You know, he felt that he was in deep debt to the Lord. The Lord whom he had been persecuting rather than being angry with him is now placing in his hands something that is so precious to the Lord. And he's saying, I'm trusting you 100%. I know that you will do what I'm asking you to do. So I'm trusting you to go forth and do this wonderful commission that I'm placing in your hands. And so Paul always felt driven to do this, to somehow, of course, he can never repay the debt. No one could ever repay the debt which what Christ has done for us. But it was his way of saying, Lord, because you trusted someone like me and chose someone like me for a commission this great, I Lord will choose to give my very best. And that just drove him. And so in the Philippians passage, he talks about how he's so happy and he's eager to even stay continuous life here on this earth so that he can be of greater benefit to more people and all of that. His one single focus is advancing the gospel. And that's probably why he really enjoyed interacting with the Philippians because they too had the same heart as him. They too were partnering with him in advancing the gospel. Yeah, Shay, if you could, yeah, go ahead with your question, please. Thank you, Pastor. It's still on the train of what motivated Paul, concerning the spread of the gospel and preaching the gospel. I do understand that God works in diverse ways, but could you just help us explain? Why is it that many people in the likes of Paul, the persecutor, could not have a Damascus experience? Probably if Jesus never appeared to him on the way to Damascus, he would have still gone ahead to kill all the Christians. But we see that this encounter was a shift in his life, made him a complete person. Paul became a complete new person and the energy he used in persecuting the Christians was all converted to the gospel. So my question basically will be is, how do you then explain? And honestly, I'm not of the party that thinks that there are people who are predestined by God. I'm not of that party. I believe very well that God wants everyone saved. When you read the account of Paul, sometimes you just have to think and think and meditate that God, why is it that others who were born into another faith entirely, why can they also have this experience? How do you explain this to people so that they don't feel like they're only just specific people God reaches out to and some people, maybe they're just down for life because sometimes people could feel that way when particularly Christians, when they see that even when they're preaching to others, they're not even heeding to the world of the gospel. How do you then create a balance to ensure that people don't think that God is just all out for only favorites or specific people? Thank you, Basu. Yeah, it's a good question. Could I answer that after the break because I will look up those verses which talk about how God reaches out to everyone who seeks him with a sincere heart. So I'll just look up those verses and so we are breaking at 9.55. So which means maybe we could come back and log in at 10.5, all right? So 10.5, if all of us can log in, we'll continue and we'll begin by answering this question. Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Basu.