July 14, 2025 • 31 mins
In this heartfelt sermon from Rev. Ryan Gawrych, part of our Preach Your Heart Out series, the congregation is invited into the deep affection and Christ-centered joy the Apostle Paul expresses for the Philippians.Drawing from Philippians 1:3–11, Rev. Gawrych explores how gospel partnerships create lasting spiritual bonds marked by gratitude, prayer, and mutual encouragement. He emphasizes that Christian fellowship isn’t merely social, but spiritual—rooted in our shared participation in the grace of God.
Rev. Gawrych also unpacks Paul's confident prayer that God will complete the good work He began in His people. Through this lens, listeners are challenged to see themselves and others not as unfinished projects to be judged, but as beloved co-laborers in whom God is faithfully working. The sermon concludes with a call to pray for one another with affection, asking God to grow our love in knowledge and discernment so we may walk in holiness and bear fruit to the glory of Christ.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Damein Schitter (00:05):
Hello everyone.
This is Pastor Damian.
You're listening to SermonAudio from New City, orlando.
At New City, we believe all ofus need all of Jesus for all of
life.
For more resources, visit ourwebsite at newcityorlandocom.
Thanks for listening.
Rev. Dr. Michael Allen (00:20):
Join me, if you would, in this prayer of
elimination.
Heavenly Father, we bow in yourpresence.
Let your word be our rule, yourspirit, our teacher and your
greater glory our supremeconcern Through Jesus Christ,
our Lord.
Amen, please remain standing,if you're able.
(00:41):
Our scripture reading thismorning comes from Philippians,
chapter 1.
I thank my God in all myremembrance of you, always, in
every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy
because of your partnership inthe gospel, from the first day
until now, and I'm sure of this,that he who began a good work
(01:05):
in you will bring it tocompletion at the day of Jesus
Christ.
It's right for me to feel thisway about you all, because I
hold you in my heart, for you'reall partakers with me of grace,
both in my imprisonment and inthe defense and confirmation of
the gospel.
For God is my witness how Iyearn for you all, with the
(01:29):
affection of Christ Jesus, andit's my prayer that your love
may abound more and more withknowledge and all discernment,
so that you may approve what'sexcellent and so be pure and
blameless for the day of Christ,filled with the fruit of
(01:50):
righteousness that comes throughJesus Christ, to the glory and
praise of God.
This is God's word.
You may be seated.
Rev. Ryan Gawrych (02:01):
Well, good morning, when we were worshiping
, my Apple Watch went off andsaid your environment is too
loud, and so I silenced it,because I like my environment
loud, especially in this place.
It's so good to see all of youthis morning and it's only been
three months, but in some waysit feels like three years, and I
(02:21):
used to get up here everySunday.
Well, on the Sunday mornings Iwas up here.
I would say welcome to New City.
My name's Ryan.
I'm one of the pastoralresidents here, and now I get to
say my name is Ryan.
I'm the pastor of discipleshipat South Point in South
Nashville, and I think you guysshould know that that is in
(02:42):
large part because of you.
I get to say that because ofyou and it's not lost on our
family we have a home where wehave a home because of you guys.
You guys poured into us for thelast three years with such
patience and grace and we areeternally grateful for you.
So thank you.
This iPad was Gray's iPadyesterday, my three-year-old son
(03:03):
for 10 hours on the way down,and that means it was 10 hours
of Paw Patrol playing on here,and so if the Paw Patrol theme
song pops up in the middle ofthe sermon.
I think we should just pauseand sing it together and then
we'll take back All right.
Well, a number of years ago, afather was walking through the
final stages of raising his twosons, and that final stage for
(03:28):
him in that moment was collegeadmissions, walking them through
the process of applying tocolleges.
That is a stressful time.
Some of you may haveexperienced that already, some
of you may be moving quicklytowards that, but that time is
filled with essays and deadlinesand interviews and college
visits.
And while he was walking withthem on campus in one of these
(03:50):
visits he realized thatinternally he felt two things.
One was deep excitement, deepjoy for the next journey his
sons were about to go on, butalso deep sorrow.
And the reason he felt this waywas because he realized he had
(04:15):
spent the last 18 years pouringhis life into people his sons in
order that they would learn tolive without him.
That father's name was Andrew,or is Andrew Ferguson, and he
actually wrote a book about thisexperience, and this book is
titled Crazy you.
I think it came out like 15years ago and one of the most
profound insights in that bookreally has nothing to do with
(04:38):
college admissions at all.
In that book, andrew Fergusonsays you fulfill yourself by
denying yourself, preparingpeople you can't live without,
to live without you.
He's talking about what itmeans to be a parent.
That's what good parents dothey love their children and
they prepare them to livewithout them.
(04:58):
He may not have meant it forthis, but that's a great
definition of what it means tobe a disciple and a follower of
Jesus.
And it just so happens, as wecome to Philippians this morning
, we find that that's exactlywhat Paul has been doing with
the Philippians.
He's in prison, but thePhilippians that was the first
(05:19):
church Paul planted.
These were the first peoplethat he got to pour his heart
and soul into, and so he'swriting from prison and he's
separated from these people thathe loves and at this point he
doesn't know if he'll ever seethem again.
There's a possibility that hemight, but there's a good chance
he might not.
But even though he's separated,paul realizes he's not severed
(05:43):
in his relationship with thePhilippians.
What Paul discovers, and whatthe gospel reveals, is that love
rooted in Jesus doesn'tactually wither with distance.
Somehow it deepens, and I wasreflecting on this this past
week with Sierra.
There's this reality in theChristian life.
There's these tensions that weexperience, where somehow Jesus
(06:07):
is able to hold together twothings that we don't think
belong together.
I preached last week on John 15.
It was in our, I guess ourwords of assurance this morning.
Verse 10, jesus says the waythat we abide in him, he abides
in us.
The way that we abide in him isby keeping his commands.
(06:27):
Somehow Jesus holds love andobedience together.
We would normally separatethose things.
First, thessalonians 4, griefand hope.
We grieve as those not withouthope.
And as we come to Philippiansthis morning, again, somehow
Jesus is holding together,emptying ourselves and growing
(06:56):
affection, separation and deep,deep unity.
And so here's what we'll see inPhilippians this morning
there's a kind of fullness thatwe will only ever experience in
this life.
By giving ourselves away, youfulfill yourself, by denying
yourself, preparing people youcan't live without, to live
without you.
And if we're honest withourselves I just want to land
(07:17):
here for a moment this doesn'tcome naturally and it probably
doesn't even sound thatappealing.
Come naturally and it probablydoesn't even sound that
appealing.
We tend to believe the opposite, actually, that by holding
tightly to the things that we'remost afraid to lose, that's how
we can preserve our fullness,that's how we can preserve life.
But what Paul is telling usthis morning is that the
(07:41):
greatest joy you'll everexperience in life, the greatest
happiness you'll ever have inlife, doesn't come from holding
tightly and clutching, but byreleasing and loving.
Not from self-protection orpreservation, but self-giving.
And so we're going to explorethis in three parts this morning
what Paul does, what Paul knowsand what Paul feels.
(08:02):
If you want to follow along,you can open your Bibles to
Philippians 1, 3 to 11, or onyour phones and follow along.
So let's begin first with whatPaul does.
What Paul does is he emptieshimself of the desire for
recognition.
Now, some of these points thatwe're going to walk through here
(08:26):
might not be obvious, but Ithink what we can do is we can
look at Paul's words and the wayhe's speaking to the
Philippians, and what I want todo is I want to discern
different ways in which Paul isactually emptying himself.
And so the first thing we seewhat Paul does is he empties
himself of the desire forrecognition.
Verses three to five Paul says Ithank my God and all my
(08:48):
remembrance of you always inevery prayer of mine for you all
, making my prayer with joybecause of your partnership in
the gospel.
Paul was a big deal.
Actually, in Philippians 3,paul will call himself a Hebrew
of Hebrews.
Paul was a big deal, but it'sinteresting that he doesn't
(09:10):
begin with that.
He doesn't begin with his ownresume.
He actually begins by givingthanks for the Philippians,
which is remarkable given thathe's in prison.
He's not writing to remind themof all that he's done for them.
He's not reciting hissacrifices that he's made over
the years.
He's rejoicing in theirpartnership and their endurance
(09:31):
and the grace that they are nowliving out in Jesus Christ.
And there's a strange beautyhere.
Paul's joy comes from seeingthe gospel take root in someone
else's life.
The first thing he wants thePhilippians to know is that he
is so happy that the gospel hastaken root in their life.
(09:53):
It's not look at me, it's thankGod for you.
And that's not natural for mostof us.
There's a deep longing in us tobe seen, to be praised, to be
recognized for all the thingsthat we've done in life.
I think it was Tim Keller whosaid we want someone we think
the world of to think the worldof us.
And the thing is that's not asupernatural desire or, excuse
(10:19):
me, that's not an unnaturaldesire.
I actually think it is a verynatural desire and God-given
desire to be recognized.
I think we're actuallyhardwired for recognition.
The benediction that I'llpronounce over all of you at the
end of this sermon is anunbreakable promise that God
will fix his eyes on you always.
(10:39):
He's promising you will berecognized.
The problem is we tend to lookfor recognition in all the wrong
places, don't we?
You can take a child, forexample.
I have five of them.
Praise God and also ouch,they're all six and under.
Just recently, can we now saywe have five, seven and under?
(11:01):
But the soundtrack for a normalday is watch this, look at this
.
Did you see that?
Watch me again and let me tellyou I've seen some things.
I've seen a lot of things, andwhen my kids tell me to look at
them, I default.
Now it's probably not somethingI want to see.
(11:24):
Last week, for example, selah Iwas sitting in our family room,
coming around the hallway and Ihear Selah from the bedroom.
She says Daddy, come, look atthis.
She's standing on the top ofher bunk bed with her hands
touching the ceiling, gettingready to jump off.
That same day, gray who westarted potty training like six
months ago.
Boys same day, gray who westarted potty training like six
(11:45):
months ago, boys take a littlebit longer.
And he said Daddy, come look.
I wiped and I turn around thecorner and he is bent over in
the bathroom.
And it wasn't his eyes that Imade contact with.
I'll just say that the point is.
The point is the point is wecrave recognition.
(12:09):
Did I ruin the point with thatillustration?
Just get that out of your mindfor a second.
The point is we craverecognition and the reason is we
crave recognition.
And the reason is because welive by the rule that our
children live by, which is ifyou're not watching, it doesn't
(12:33):
count.
What matters isn't the actitself.
What matters is that it landson the eyes of someone that we
delight in and that we careabout, and that doesn't change
with age.
It actually gets moresophisticated and it actually
gets harder to see.
You may crave the gaze of yourboss or an employer above you
who can influence your life'soutcome, career-wise.
(12:55):
You may look for recognition onyour social media platforms,
even within the church.
We want our good work, ourright choices and the sacrifices
we make to be noticed.
But Paul isn't watching for anyof that.
He's secure and he doesn't needthe Philippians' applause.
(13:16):
And the reason is because healready has Christ's affection.
Already has Christ's affection.
And there's a freedom of all ofthis because Paul is not
chasing a recognition thatactually frees him up to love
the Philippians in ways hecouldn't otherwise.
And so he begins not with lookat me, look where I am, look at
(13:37):
all I've done, look at how I'msuffering.
He mentions that in roundaboutways.
I want to make sure to namethat, but it's never to point
back to him.
So he doesn't begin with lookat me.
He begins with thank God foryou, and I'm always thinking
about you.
Listen, if I'm not secure inhow Jesus sees me, I'll spend
(14:01):
the rest of my life trying toget anyone to notice me, and
that's a really hard place tolive.
Jesus wants to free you fromthat.
So Paul shows us whatgospel-shaped joy looks like.
It's not fueled by beingrecognized, but by others
recognizing the goodness ofJesus and rejoicing in that.
(14:22):
And so here's the irony.
I just want to mention thisbefore we get to point two.
The irony is that the more westop trying to be seen, the more
clearly we can see others, andJesus wants that for us.
He wants us to see each otherthe way he sees us.
Emptying ourselves of the needfor recognition is a critical
ingredient in community, inunity.
(14:44):
That's what Paul does.
He empties himself of the needto be recognized and he rejoices
in the growth of others.
The question is, how does he dothat?
How does he stay joyful evenwhen he's far away from the
people he loves?
Because Paul seems rather calmin these opening verses.
(15:06):
He's sitting in prison, totallycut off from any control, and
what happens next?
But there seems to be a peaceabout him, and I think it has to
do with what Paul knows.
And that's our next point.
Look again at verse 6.
And I am sure of this that hewho began a good work in you
(15:26):
will bring it to completion atthe day of Jesus Christ.
Paul's not wondering if thingsare going to turn out okay.
He's not hoping that thingswill be all right with him and
the Philippians.
He's not hedging his bets.
Paul is absolutely sure thateverything's going to be fine,
(15:50):
because Paul knows somethingthat we often forget, which is
God always finishes what hestarts.
That's a massive relief ifyou're anything like me and my
guess is you probably are,because, if you're anything like
me, some days don't feel likeprogress.
Sometimes, some days feel morelike relapse, some days feel
(16:12):
like a huge step backwards andsome days it's hard to tell if
you're making any progress atall in the spiritual life.
And, if we're honest withourselves, the Christian life
can often feel strangelyunderwhelming.
But that's exactly where thispromise meets us.
(16:32):
God doesn't start something inus or with us because he sees
something in us or with usbecause he sees something in us
promising that we're likely tofinish what he starts, not
because he sees how sincere weare.
God always moves towards us andstarts something in our hearts
because he's sincere and becausehe's faithful.
(16:53):
And I also want to say this Godwill never get tired of working
on you, he'll never get boredwith you and he's not going to
abandon you halfway through.
God loves us as we are, buthe's not content in leaving us
as we are.
He's committed, and that's howgrace works, and that's why Paul
(17:17):
can stay calm Since moving toNashville.
As you might imagine, when youbuy a new home especially if
you're not buying something new,something a bit older there's
work to be done, and so we'vehad a number of projects that
we've had our eye on since wegot to Nashville, and I don't
wait for projects, I do themright away.
(17:38):
And it's terrible for ourfamily, causes Sierra a lot of
stress, hurting rods, touch-ups,all that.
We have a deck in our backyard.
That was a big selling pointfor our house and we thought we
had to just replace a board ortwo and then repaint.
We lifted up the boards and itturns out all the joists
underneath were completelyrotted and so we had to replace
every single one of them.
A lot of extra money, a lot ofextra time.
(18:00):
But we always think when itcomes to these projects, we'll
get to them this weekend, we'lldo them this weekend.
And if you're married withchildren, don't ever assume
you'll ever finish anything withthe time that you've allotted
to finish it.
Well, a few weeks ago I neededto paint the brick behind our
house and I thought, no problem,I'm going to keep the kids busy
(18:22):
, I'm going to give them somepopsicles, I'll sit them on the
couch, I'll put a movie on, andthat should give me enough time
to finish this.
I'm not kidding you.
Five minutes later, gray isbutt naked in our front yard on
his little bicycle, running downthe street licking his lollipop
.
Thayla comes around the cornerand says Dad, you should come
out front.
And, needless to say, a lot ofprojects in our house go
(18:46):
unfinished.
But I wonder, I wonder, howoften we imagine that God works
that way, like he only has timefor us occasionally, like we're
too much for him to handle atthe moment so he just has to
pack it up and call it quits forthe day.
How often do we assume we'vebecome a side project for Jesus,
(19:09):
that he'll get to us when hehas time?
Paul is telling us somethingdifferent.
You are not Jesus's weekendproject, you are his life's
purpose.
He doesn't clock out, hedoesn't take days off, he
doesn't get distracted.
Jesus always finishes what hestarts, and so when the progress
(19:36):
you desire to see in your lifeseems invisible, or the
spiritual growth is takinglonger and it's much slower than
expected, if you belong toJesus, your unfinishedness if
that's a word, unfinishedness isnot a threat to him.
It's more like a blank canvasto an artist.
Jesus likes unfinished peopleand that should be really
(20:01):
freeing for us.
We can't stop trying, or we canstop trying to carry the burden
of our spiritual lives as ifGod is just supervising.
We're not the project manager,we are the project.
And so that's what Paul knowsand that's why, even from a
(20:25):
prison cell, he has peace,because he knows that Jesus will
finish what he started.
And I also just want to saythis Joy doesn't come I think
you and I both know, we all knowthat joy doesn't come from
seeing progress every day.
We think it does.
We think that if we seespiritual progress or whatever
progress in whatever area oflife we want to see that in, we
think if we see more of it we'llbe happier.
The more progress the better.
(20:47):
The further up and to the right, the better.
But at the end of the day we'llstill want more, we'll never be
satisfied.
But at the end of the day we'llstill want more.
We'll never be satisfied.
Joy comes from knowing thatJesus always has time for you
(21:09):
and he always finishes what hestarts.
So we've seen what Paul doesExcuse me.
We've seen what Paul does heempties himself of the desire
for recognition.
We've seen what Paul knows thatJesus always finishes what he
starts.
And now we turn to what Paulfeels.
What we find here is,unsurprisingly, paul emptying
(21:33):
himself yet again of somethingelse, and that is the desire for
self-protection.
Let me explain what I mean bythat.
Excuse me, it's one thing tolove people and it's almost
entirely another thing to letthem see that you love them.
It's another thing altogetherto let them know it.
(21:54):
That's where many of ushesitate.
We might serve people, we mightpray for others, we might be
willing to even suffer forsomebody else, but to open our
hearts to them is a completelydifferent story.
I'm just now thanking my dad.
Whenever I say thank you forsomething, I love you, he says
(22:14):
okay, sierra, and I laugh aboutthat you can laugh about that.
It's not like a pain point forme or anything.
Look at what Paul says in verse7 to 8.
It is right for me to feel thisway about you all, because I
hold you in my heart, for God ismy witness how I yearn for you
(22:37):
all with the affection of ChristJesus.
There's no mask here.
Paul's not writing.
He may have met the Philippiansas an apostle.
He's now writing to them as afriend.
There's nothing between him andthe Philippians.
There's nothing cautious herein Paul's words.
There's nothing butvulnerability, gospel
(22:58):
vulnerability and if we'rehonest with ourselves, we are
uncomfortable with this kind oftalk with one another.
We're uncomfortable with thesekinds of interactions.
Paul's words here, if you readthrough it on your own, may even
feel a bit cringy.
Maybe you hear Paul say I yearnfor you and part of you thinks
(23:19):
Paul turn the dial down just alittle bit.
It's not that big of a deal,everything's going to be fine.
But if you feel that way, ifyou feel a tension between
Paul's words and him sayingsomething like I yearn for you
and you feel like that's toomuch, that's self-protection and
self-preservation rising upwithin you.
(23:41):
For any number of reasons we'vebeen discipled to believe that
strong faith is stoic faith.
We could have real suffering inour lives that warrants that.
It could just be.
We've been culturally discipledto believe that that strong
faith is stoic faith, thataffection is weakness, that
showing your heart means losingyour grip.
(24:04):
But Paul doesn't believe that,and Paul does not want us to
believe that either.
In fact, he's doing the exactopposite of what we're tempted
to do so often.
He's emptying himself of thedesire to protect his emotional
reputation.
He's not worried about soundingtoo sentimental.
He's not worried that he'llthink he'll sound needy.
(24:26):
None of that is on his mind.
He just wants the Philippiansto know that he yearns for them,
that he loves them, that hemisses them.
Whatever that looks like,paul's okay with.
He's simply showing them whatChrist's love looks like when it
gets into a person.
(24:50):
And here's something that weneed to wrestle with on this
topic.
Many of us want to be nearJesus, but still in charge, and
that includes being in charge ofour image and our reputation
and the way that we look.
We want to follow Jesus, but wedon't want to come off to other
people as too much.
We want to be the cool Jesusfollowers, but Jesus doesn't
call us first to agree with him.
(25:10):
He calls us to follow him togive ourselves away, and that
always, that includes every partof us, even our emotional lives
, the things we can't see, thethings we feel.
And, strangely, what we find onthe other side of that kind of
vulnerability isn't humiliation.
We find what Paul has found,which is deep, deep, deep joy.
(25:33):
It's a promise of vulnerability, and so, as I mentioned in the
beginning, we see this paradoxthat exists here.
Somehow Jesus can take twothings that we don't think
belong together and put themtogether and make sense of them
Emptying, which sometimes lookslike separation, and deepening
affection and he brings themtogether and in Christ, in
(25:58):
himself, in his death andresurrection, he makes them
inseparable.
We assume vulnerability weakenslove and we assume distance
does the same, but in Christ,somehow it deepens.
And so maybe the question thatwe need to ask ourselves this
(26:19):
morning isn't just do I lovepeople, but do I let them see it
?
Because it's possible to hideyour heart and still call that
humility.
Friends you don't want to livethere, be vulnerable, trust that
(26:42):
Jesus will do something amazingwith it.
Tim Keller used to say that oneof the loneliest places in the
world is to be loved and notfully known, and Paul shows us
that real humility doesn't hide,it lives out in the open for
all to see.
We don't have to be ashamed ofthat.
And real discipleship isn'tabout controlling how much of
(27:02):
yourself people get to see.
It's about giving people thereal you, because Jesus has
given you the real him.
Let's take a step back for amoment.
Notice where we've been.
Paul shows us.
What Paul shows us is that he'spreparing a people that he
(27:29):
loves, that he can't livewithout, to live without him.
Paul empties himself of theneed for recognition, he empties
himself of the need for controland he empties himself of the
need for self-protection.
(27:50):
He risks vulnerability for thesake of love.
And all of that flows into whatPaul longs for most, which is
in the last couple verses here,and we'll conclude here, verses
9 to 11.
Paul's emptying of himself inall those ways leads to his
desire and what he longs formost, which is that the
Philippians wouldn't justsurvive, but that they would
bear fruit.
(28:11):
Look at verse 9 to 11.
I'll read just a portion of it.
His greatest concern is thattheir love would abound more and
more, filled with the fruit ofrighteousness that comes through
Jesus Christ.
With the fruit of righteousnessthat comes through Jesus Christ
.
The one thing Paul wants istheir fruitfulness.
But here's the thingFruitfulness always comes at a
(28:35):
cost.
John 15.
Jesus says that those who abidein him will bear much fruit.
That's a promise.
Those in Christ.
Jesus says that those who abidein him will bear much fruit.
That's a promise.
Those in Christ will bear muchfruit.
Jesus calls himself the vine.
He calls us the branches.
We are attached to him.
That is where life is found.
(29:01):
But not long after Jesus saysthese words, three chapters
after actually he's arrested,one chapter after he's crucified
.
And so we have to know this ifwe're going to follow Jesus, we
have to know this Ourfruitfulness will never cost us
(29:22):
more than it cost Jesus.
Our fruitfulness will nevercost us more than it costs Jesus
the fruitful life that hepromised, the fruitful life that
Paul desires for thePhilippians, the fruitful life
that Jesus desires for us, willnever cost us more than it costs
Jesus.
Jesus, as the vine was cut off,he was burned so that we could
(29:46):
be brought in.
He was emptied.
Paul will unpack this inPhilippians 2.
If you have time today, go homeand read Philippians 2.
Jesus emptied himself so thatwe might be filled.
Now fruitfulness will cost ussomething Real fruitfulness will
ask something of you.
Jesus asked a lot of Paul, buthe will never ask you to give
(30:12):
more than he was willing to give.
What he began in you, he willcomplete, and one day you and I
will stand before Jesus together, not unfinished but complete,
and not because we held ittogether, but because Jesus did.
Let's pray, father.
(30:37):
We thank you for the work thatyou've began in us, the work
that you begin and that youfinish.
We thank you that our growth,our us, the work that you begin
and that you finish.
We thank you that our growth,our joy, our fruitfulness, none
of it depends on our strengthbut on your faithfulness.
Help us to let go ofrecognition, of control,
self-protection, to trust theone who gave everything for us,
(30:59):
jesus.
We ask that our love wouldabound more and more, that we
would be ready for the day ofChrist, not because we held on
tightly, but because you neverlet go of us, and it's in your
name we pray Amen.
Hello everyone.
This is Pastor Damian.
You're listening to SermonAudio from New City, orlando.
At New City, we believe all ofus need all of Jesus for all of
life.
For more resources, visit ourwebsite at newcityorlandocom.
Thanks for listening.
Rev. Dr. Michael Allen (00:20):
Join me, if you would, in this prayer of
elimination.
Heavenly Father, we bow in yourpresence.
Let your word be our rule, yourspirit, our teacher and your
greater glory our supremeconcern Through Jesus Christ,
our Lord.
Amen, please remain standing,if you're able.
(00:41):
Our scripture reading thismorning comes from Philippians,
chapter 1.
I thank my God in all myremembrance of you, always, in
every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy
because of your partnership inthe gospel, from the first day
until now, and I'm sure of this,that he who began a good work
(01:05):
in you will bring it tocompletion at the day of Jesus
Christ.
It's right for me to feel thisway about you all, because I
hold you in my heart, for you'reall partakers with me of grace,
both in my imprisonment and inthe defense and confirmation of
the gospel.
For God is my witness how Iyearn for you all, with the
(01:29):
affection of Christ Jesus, andit's my prayer that your love
may abound more and more withknowledge and all discernment,
so that you may approve what'sexcellent and so be pure and
blameless for the day of Christ,filled with the fruit of
(01:50):
righteousness that comes throughJesus Christ, to the glory and
praise of God.
This is God's word.
You may be seated.
Rev. Ryan Gawrych (02:01):
Well, good morning, when we were worshiping
, my Apple Watch went off andsaid your environment is too
loud, and so I silenced it,because I like my environment
loud, especially in this place.
It's so good to see all of youthis morning and it's only been
three months, but in some waysit feels like three years, and I
(02:21):
used to get up here everySunday.
Well, on the Sunday mornings Iwas up here.
I would say welcome to New City.
My name's Ryan.
I'm one of the pastoralresidents here, and now I get to
say my name is Ryan.
I'm the pastor of discipleshipat South Point in South
Nashville, and I think you guysshould know that that is in
(02:42):
large part because of you.
I get to say that because ofyou and it's not lost on our
family we have a home where wehave a home because of you guys.
You guys poured into us for thelast three years with such
patience and grace and we areeternally grateful for you.
So thank you.
This iPad was Gray's iPadyesterday, my three-year-old son
(03:03):
for 10 hours on the way down,and that means it was 10 hours
of Paw Patrol playing on here,and so if the Paw Patrol theme
song pops up in the middle ofthe sermon.
I think we should just pauseand sing it together and then
we'll take back All right.
Well, a number of years ago, afather was walking through the
final stages of raising his twosons, and that final stage for
(03:28):
him in that moment was collegeadmissions, walking them through
the process of applying tocolleges.
That is a stressful time.
Some of you may haveexperienced that already, some
of you may be moving quicklytowards that, but that time is
filled with essays and deadlinesand interviews and college
visits.
And while he was walking withthem on campus in one of these
(03:50):
visits he realized thatinternally he felt two things.
One was deep excitement, deepjoy for the next journey his
sons were about to go on, butalso deep sorrow.
And the reason he felt this waywas because he realized he had
(04:15):
spent the last 18 years pouringhis life into people his sons in
order that they would learn tolive without him.
That father's name was Andrew,or is Andrew Ferguson, and he
actually wrote a book about thisexperience, and this book is
titled Crazy you.
I think it came out like 15years ago and one of the most
profound insights in that bookreally has nothing to do with
(04:38):
college admissions at all.
In that book, andrew Fergusonsays you fulfill yourself by
denying yourself, preparingpeople you can't live without,
to live without you.
He's talking about what itmeans to be a parent.
That's what good parents dothey love their children and
they prepare them to livewithout them.
(04:58):
He may not have meant it forthis, but that's a great
definition of what it means tobe a disciple and a follower of
Jesus.
And it just so happens, as wecome to Philippians this morning
, we find that that's exactlywhat Paul has been doing with
the Philippians.
He's in prison, but thePhilippians that was the first
(05:19):
church Paul planted.
These were the first peoplethat he got to pour his heart
and soul into, and so he'swriting from prison and he's
separated from these people thathe loves and at this point he
doesn't know if he'll ever seethem again.
There's a possibility that hemight, but there's a good chance
he might not.
But even though he's separated,paul realizes he's not severed
(05:43):
in his relationship with thePhilippians.
What Paul discovers, and whatthe gospel reveals, is that love
rooted in Jesus doesn'tactually wither with distance.
Somehow it deepens, and I wasreflecting on this this past
week with Sierra.
There's this reality in theChristian life.
There's these tensions that weexperience, where somehow Jesus
(06:07):
is able to hold together twothings that we don't think
belong together.
I preached last week on John 15.
It was in our, I guess ourwords of assurance this morning.
Verse 10, jesus says the waythat we abide in him, he abides
in us.
The way that we abide in him isby keeping his commands.
(06:27):
Somehow Jesus holds love andobedience together.
We would normally separatethose things.
First, thessalonians 4, griefand hope.
We grieve as those not withouthope.
And as we come to Philippiansthis morning, again, somehow
Jesus is holding together,emptying ourselves and growing
(06:56):
affection, separation and deep,deep unity.
And so here's what we'll see inPhilippians this morning
there's a kind of fullness thatwe will only ever experience in
this life.
By giving ourselves away, youfulfill yourself, by denying
yourself, preparing people youcan't live without, to live
without you.
And if we're honest withourselves I just want to land
(07:17):
here for a moment this doesn'tcome naturally and it probably
doesn't even sound thatappealing.
Come naturally and it probablydoesn't even sound that
appealing.
We tend to believe the opposite, actually, that by holding
tightly to the things that we'remost afraid to lose, that's how
we can preserve our fullness,that's how we can preserve life.
But what Paul is telling usthis morning is that the
(07:41):
greatest joy you'll everexperience in life, the greatest
happiness you'll ever have inlife, doesn't come from holding
tightly and clutching, but byreleasing and loving.
Not from self-protection orpreservation, but self-giving.
And so we're going to explorethis in three parts this morning
what Paul does, what Paul knowsand what Paul feels.
(08:02):
If you want to follow along,you can open your Bibles to
Philippians 1, 3 to 11, or onyour phones and follow along.
So let's begin first with whatPaul does.
What Paul does is he emptieshimself of the desire for
recognition.
Now, some of these points thatwe're going to walk through here
(08:26):
might not be obvious, but Ithink what we can do is we can
look at Paul's words and the wayhe's speaking to the
Philippians, and what I want todo is I want to discern
different ways in which Paul isactually emptying himself.
And so the first thing we seewhat Paul does is he empties
himself of the desire forrecognition.
Verses three to five Paul says Ithank my God and all my
(08:48):
remembrance of you always inevery prayer of mine for you all
, making my prayer with joybecause of your partnership in
the gospel.
Paul was a big deal.
Actually, in Philippians 3,paul will call himself a Hebrew
of Hebrews.
Paul was a big deal, but it'sinteresting that he doesn't
(09:10):
begin with that.
He doesn't begin with his ownresume.
He actually begins by givingthanks for the Philippians,
which is remarkable given thathe's in prison.
He's not writing to remind themof all that he's done for them.
He's not reciting hissacrifices that he's made over
the years.
He's rejoicing in theirpartnership and their endurance
(09:31):
and the grace that they are nowliving out in Jesus Christ.
And there's a strange beautyhere.
Paul's joy comes from seeingthe gospel take root in someone
else's life.
The first thing he wants thePhilippians to know is that he
is so happy that the gospel hastaken root in their life.
(09:53):
It's not look at me, it's thankGod for you.
And that's not natural for mostof us.
There's a deep longing in us tobe seen, to be praised, to be
recognized for all the thingsthat we've done in life.
I think it was Tim Keller whosaid we want someone we think
the world of to think the worldof us.
And the thing is that's not asupernatural desire or, excuse
(10:19):
me, that's not an unnaturaldesire.
I actually think it is a verynatural desire and God-given
desire to be recognized.
I think we're actuallyhardwired for recognition.
The benediction that I'llpronounce over all of you at the
end of this sermon is anunbreakable promise that God
will fix his eyes on you always.
(10:39):
He's promising you will berecognized.
The problem is we tend to lookfor recognition in all the wrong
places, don't we?
You can take a child, forexample.
I have five of them.
Praise God and also ouch,they're all six and under.
Just recently, can we now saywe have five, seven and under?
(11:01):
But the soundtrack for a normalday is watch this, look at this
.
Did you see that?
Watch me again and let me tellyou I've seen some things.
I've seen a lot of things, andwhen my kids tell me to look at
them, I default.
Now it's probably not somethingI want to see.
(11:24):
Last week, for example, selah Iwas sitting in our family room,
coming around the hallway and Ihear Selah from the bedroom.
She says Daddy, come, look atthis.
She's standing on the top ofher bunk bed with her hands
touching the ceiling, gettingready to jump off.
That same day, gray who westarted potty training like six
months ago.
Boys same day, gray who westarted potty training like six
(11:45):
months ago, boys take a littlebit longer.
And he said Daddy, come look.
I wiped and I turn around thecorner and he is bent over in
the bathroom.
And it wasn't his eyes that Imade contact with.
I'll just say that the point is.
The point is the point is wecrave recognition.
(12:09):
Did I ruin the point with thatillustration?
Just get that out of your mindfor a second.
The point is we craverecognition and the reason is we
crave recognition.
And the reason is because welive by the rule that our
children live by, which is ifyou're not watching, it doesn't
(12:33):
count.
What matters isn't the actitself.
What matters is that it landson the eyes of someone that we
delight in and that we careabout, and that doesn't change
with age.
It actually gets moresophisticated and it actually
gets harder to see.
You may crave the gaze of yourboss or an employer above you
who can influence your life'soutcome, career-wise.
(12:55):
You may look for recognition onyour social media platforms,
even within the church.
We want our good work, ourright choices and the sacrifices
we make to be noticed.
But Paul isn't watching for anyof that.
He's secure and he doesn't needthe Philippians' applause.
(13:16):
And the reason is because healready has Christ's affection.
Already has Christ's affection.
And there's a freedom of all ofthis because Paul is not
chasing a recognition thatactually frees him up to love
the Philippians in ways hecouldn't otherwise.
And so he begins not with lookat me, look where I am, look at
(13:37):
all I've done, look at how I'msuffering.
He mentions that in roundaboutways.
I want to make sure to namethat, but it's never to point
back to him.
So he doesn't begin with lookat me.
He begins with thank God foryou, and I'm always thinking
about you.
Listen, if I'm not secure inhow Jesus sees me, I'll spend
(14:01):
the rest of my life trying toget anyone to notice me, and
that's a really hard place tolive.
Jesus wants to free you fromthat.
So Paul shows us whatgospel-shaped joy looks like.
It's not fueled by beingrecognized, but by others
recognizing the goodness ofJesus and rejoicing in that.
(14:22):
And so here's the irony.
I just want to mention thisbefore we get to point two.
The irony is that the more westop trying to be seen, the more
clearly we can see others, andJesus wants that for us.
He wants us to see each otherthe way he sees us.
Emptying ourselves of the needfor recognition is a critical
ingredient in community, inunity.
(14:44):
That's what Paul does.
He empties himself of the needto be recognized and he rejoices
in the growth of others.
The question is, how does he dothat?
How does he stay joyful evenwhen he's far away from the
people he loves?
Because Paul seems rather calmin these opening verses.
(15:06):
He's sitting in prison, totallycut off from any control, and
what happens next?
But there seems to be a peaceabout him, and I think it has to
do with what Paul knows.
And that's our next point.
Look again at verse 6.
And I am sure of this that hewho began a good work in you
(15:26):
will bring it to completion atthe day of Jesus Christ.
Paul's not wondering if thingsare going to turn out okay.
He's not hoping that thingswill be all right with him and
the Philippians.
He's not hedging his bets.
Paul is absolutely sure thateverything's going to be fine,
(15:50):
because Paul knows somethingthat we often forget, which is
God always finishes what hestarts.
That's a massive relief ifyou're anything like me and my
guess is you probably are,because, if you're anything like
me, some days don't feel likeprogress.
Sometimes, some days feel morelike relapse, some days feel
(16:12):
like a huge step backwards andsome days it's hard to tell if
you're making any progress atall in the spiritual life.
And, if we're honest withourselves, the Christian life
can often feel strangelyunderwhelming.
But that's exactly where thispromise meets us.
(16:32):
God doesn't start something inus or with us because he sees
something in us or with usbecause he sees something in us
promising that we're likely tofinish what he starts, not
because he sees how sincere weare.
God always moves towards us andstarts something in our hearts
because he's sincere and becausehe's faithful.
(16:53):
And I also want to say this Godwill never get tired of working
on you, he'll never get boredwith you and he's not going to
abandon you halfway through.
God loves us as we are, buthe's not content in leaving us
as we are.
He's committed, and that's howgrace works, and that's why Paul
(17:17):
can stay calm Since moving toNashville.
As you might imagine, when youbuy a new home especially if
you're not buying something new,something a bit older there's
work to be done, and so we'vehad a number of projects that
we've had our eye on since wegot to Nashville, and I don't
wait for projects, I do themright away.
(17:38):
And it's terrible for ourfamily, causes Sierra a lot of
stress, hurting rods, touch-ups,all that.
We have a deck in our backyard.
That was a big selling pointfor our house and we thought we
had to just replace a board ortwo and then repaint.
We lifted up the boards and itturns out all the joists
underneath were completelyrotted and so we had to replace
every single one of them.
A lot of extra money, a lot ofextra time.
(18:00):
But we always think when itcomes to these projects, we'll
get to them this weekend, we'lldo them this weekend.
And if you're married withchildren, don't ever assume
you'll ever finish anything withthe time that you've allotted
to finish it.
Well, a few weeks ago I neededto paint the brick behind our
house and I thought, no problem,I'm going to keep the kids busy
(18:22):
, I'm going to give them somepopsicles, I'll sit them on the
couch, I'll put a movie on, andthat should give me enough time
to finish this.
I'm not kidding you.
Five minutes later, gray isbutt naked in our front yard on
his little bicycle, running downthe street licking his lollipop
.
Thayla comes around the cornerand says Dad, you should come
out front.
And, needless to say, a lot ofprojects in our house go
(18:46):
unfinished.
But I wonder, I wonder, howoften we imagine that God works
that way, like he only has timefor us occasionally, like we're
too much for him to handle atthe moment so he just has to
pack it up and call it quits forthe day.
How often do we assume we'vebecome a side project for Jesus,
(19:09):
that he'll get to us when hehas time?
Paul is telling us somethingdifferent.
You are not Jesus's weekendproject, you are his life's
purpose.
He doesn't clock out, hedoesn't take days off, he
doesn't get distracted.
Jesus always finishes what hestarts, and so when the progress
(19:36):
you desire to see in your lifeseems invisible, or the
spiritual growth is takinglonger and it's much slower than
expected, if you belong toJesus, your unfinishedness if
that's a word, unfinishedness isnot a threat to him.
It's more like a blank canvasto an artist.
Jesus likes unfinished peopleand that should be really
(20:01):
freeing for us.
We can't stop trying, or we canstop trying to carry the burden
of our spiritual lives as ifGod is just supervising.
We're not the project manager,we are the project.
And so that's what Paul knowsand that's why, even from a
(20:25):
prison cell, he has peace,because he knows that Jesus will
finish what he started.
And I also just want to saythis Joy doesn't come I think
you and I both know, we all knowthat joy doesn't come from
seeing progress every day.
We think it does.
We think that if we seespiritual progress or whatever
progress in whatever area oflife we want to see that in, we
think if we see more of it we'llbe happier.
The more progress the better.
(20:47):
The further up and to the right, the better.
But at the end of the day we'llstill want more, we'll never be
satisfied.
But at the end of the day we'llstill want more.
We'll never be satisfied.
Joy comes from knowing thatJesus always has time for you
(21:09):
and he always finishes what hestarts.
So we've seen what Paul doesExcuse me.
We've seen what Paul does heempties himself of the desire
for recognition.
We've seen what Paul knows thatJesus always finishes what he
starts.
And now we turn to what Paulfeels.
What we find here is,unsurprisingly, paul emptying
(21:33):
himself yet again of somethingelse, and that is the desire for
self-protection.
Let me explain what I mean bythat.
Excuse me, it's one thing tolove people and it's almost
entirely another thing to letthem see that you love them.
It's another thing altogetherto let them know it.
(21:54):
That's where many of ushesitate.
We might serve people, we mightpray for others, we might be
willing to even suffer forsomebody else, but to open our
hearts to them is a completelydifferent story.
I'm just now thanking my dad.
Whenever I say thank you forsomething, I love you, he says
(22:14):
okay, sierra, and I laugh aboutthat you can laugh about that.
It's not like a pain point forme or anything.
Look at what Paul says in verse7 to 8.
It is right for me to feel thisway about you all, because I
hold you in my heart, for God ismy witness how I yearn for you
(22:37):
all with the affection of ChristJesus.
There's no mask here.
Paul's not writing.
He may have met the Philippiansas an apostle.
He's now writing to them as afriend.
There's nothing between him andthe Philippians.
There's nothing cautious herein Paul's words.
There's nothing butvulnerability, gospel
(22:58):
vulnerability and if we'rehonest with ourselves, we are
uncomfortable with this kind oftalk with one another.
We're uncomfortable with thesekinds of interactions.
Paul's words here, if you readthrough it on your own, may even
feel a bit cringy.
Maybe you hear Paul say I yearnfor you and part of you thinks
(23:19):
Paul turn the dial down just alittle bit.
It's not that big of a deal,everything's going to be fine.
But if you feel that way, ifyou feel a tension between
Paul's words and him sayingsomething like I yearn for you
and you feel like that's toomuch, that's self-protection and
self-preservation rising upwithin you.
(23:41):
For any number of reasons we'vebeen discipled to believe that
strong faith is stoic faith.
We could have real suffering inour lives that warrants that.
It could just be.
We've been culturally discipledto believe that that strong
faith is stoic faith, thataffection is weakness, that
showing your heart means losingyour grip.
(24:04):
But Paul doesn't believe that,and Paul does not want us to
believe that either.
In fact, he's doing the exactopposite of what we're tempted
to do so often.
He's emptying himself of thedesire to protect his emotional
reputation.
He's not worried about soundingtoo sentimental.
He's not worried that he'llthink he'll sound needy.
(24:26):
None of that is on his mind.
He just wants the Philippiansto know that he yearns for them,
that he loves them, that hemisses them.
Whatever that looks like,paul's okay with.
He's simply showing them whatChrist's love looks like when it
gets into a person.
(24:50):
And here's something that weneed to wrestle with on this
topic.
Many of us want to be nearJesus, but still in charge, and
that includes being in charge ofour image and our reputation
and the way that we look.
We want to follow Jesus, but wedon't want to come off to other
people as too much.
We want to be the cool Jesusfollowers, but Jesus doesn't
call us first to agree with him.
(25:10):
He calls us to follow him togive ourselves away, and that
always, that includes every partof us, even our emotional lives
, the things we can't see, thethings we feel.
And, strangely, what we find onthe other side of that kind of
vulnerability isn't humiliation.
We find what Paul has found,which is deep, deep, deep joy.
(25:33):
It's a promise of vulnerability, and so, as I mentioned in the
beginning, we see this paradoxthat exists here.
Somehow Jesus can take twothings that we don't think
belong together and put themtogether and make sense of them
Emptying, which sometimes lookslike separation, and deepening
affection and he brings themtogether and in Christ, in
(25:58):
himself, in his death andresurrection, he makes them
inseparable.
We assume vulnerability weakenslove and we assume distance
does the same, but in Christ,somehow it deepens.
And so maybe the question thatwe need to ask ourselves this
(26:19):
morning isn't just do I lovepeople, but do I let them see it
?
Because it's possible to hideyour heart and still call that
humility.
Friends you don't want to livethere, be vulnerable, trust that
(26:42):
Jesus will do something amazingwith it.
Tim Keller used to say that oneof the loneliest places in the
world is to be loved and notfully known, and Paul shows us
that real humility doesn't hide,it lives out in the open for
all to see.
We don't have to be ashamed ofthat.
And real discipleship isn'tabout controlling how much of
(27:02):
yourself people get to see.
It's about giving people thereal you, because Jesus has
given you the real him.
Let's take a step back for amoment.
Notice where we've been.
Paul shows us.
What Paul shows us is that he'spreparing a people that he
(27:29):
loves, that he can't livewithout, to live without him.
Paul empties himself of theneed for recognition, he empties
himself of the need for controland he empties himself of the
need for self-protection.
(27:50):
He risks vulnerability for thesake of love.
And all of that flows into whatPaul longs for most, which is
in the last couple verses here,and we'll conclude here, verses
9 to 11.
Paul's emptying of himself inall those ways leads to his
desire and what he longs formost, which is that the
Philippians wouldn't justsurvive, but that they would
bear fruit.
(28:11):
Look at verse 9 to 11.
I'll read just a portion of it.
His greatest concern is thattheir love would abound more and
more, filled with the fruit ofrighteousness that comes through
Jesus Christ.
With the fruit of righteousnessthat comes through Jesus Christ
.
The one thing Paul wants istheir fruitfulness.
But here's the thingFruitfulness always comes at a
(28:35):
cost.
John 15.
Jesus says that those who abidein him will bear much fruit.
That's a promise.
Those in Christ.
Jesus says that those who abidein him will bear much fruit.
That's a promise.
Those in Christ will bear muchfruit.
Jesus calls himself the vine.
He calls us the branches.
We are attached to him.
That is where life is found.
(29:01):
But not long after Jesus saysthese words, three chapters
after actually he's arrested,one chapter after he's crucified
.
And so we have to know this ifwe're going to follow Jesus, we
have to know this Ourfruitfulness will never cost us
(29:22):
more than it cost Jesus.
Our fruitfulness will nevercost us more than it costs Jesus
the fruitful life that hepromised, the fruitful life that
Paul desires for thePhilippians, the fruitful life
that Jesus desires for us, willnever cost us more than it costs
Jesus.
Jesus, as the vine was cut off,he was burned so that we could
(29:46):
be brought in.
He was emptied.
Paul will unpack this inPhilippians 2.
If you have time today, go homeand read Philippians 2.
Jesus emptied himself so thatwe might be filled.
Now fruitfulness will cost ussomething Real fruitfulness will
ask something of you.
Jesus asked a lot of Paul, buthe will never ask you to give
(30:12):
more than he was willing to give.
What he began in you, he willcomplete, and one day you and I
will stand before Jesus together, not unfinished but complete,
and not because we held ittogether, but because Jesus did.
Let's pray, father.
(30:37):
We thank you for the work thatyou've began in us, the work
that you begin and that youfinish.
We thank you that our growth,our us, the work that you begin
and that you finish.
We thank you that our growth,our joy, our fruitfulness, none
of it depends on our strengthbut on your faithfulness.
Help us to let go ofrecognition, of control,
self-protection, to trust theone who gave everything for us,
(30:59):
jesus.
We ask that our love wouldabound more and more, that we
would be ready for the day ofChrist, not because we held on
tightly, but because you neverlet go of us, and it's in your
name we pray Amen.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com