2nd May 2025

2nd May 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Philippians 1:7-8)


Message (Alan Burke)


There are some ministers that I know who you just get the feeling that they are phoning it in. If you don’t know what phoning it in means it is to do what you have to do with minimal effort or enthusiasm, they are going through the motions. The origin of the phrase is reckoned to come from journalist who phoned into the office the news stories instead of returning and writing up the article for the newspaper. I’ll not name anyone but the local coffee shops get good business and they get their money out of their Netflix subscription that’s for sure. At the same time I know ministers whose congregations think that they are lazy,  and I’ve been asked by members in other places what does their minister do. In response I try to be gracious but when their minister leaves I’m going to enjoy watching looking on from afar because the place is going to have a shock when they try to get someone to do all the jobs their minister has been doing or  find another minister to give the level of attention that he has given to the congregation. 


One of the things that is most important in a minister is that he has a heart for the people. A heart that will mean he’ll call you out for being a numpty and he’ll love you and pick you up when you’ve fallen. This is something that is seen in Paul, this heart for the people of God, he’s not willing to pander to nonsense as some ministers are nor is he afraid to show his love and affection for them. In some of Paul’s letters he calls them numpties (not literally, figuratively) here in Philippians his heart for God’s people is clearly on display. These verses show the heart of a minister, of a pastor who loves the people of God in Christ. This affection isn’t seen in the same way in other letters written by Paul. This is Paul rejoicing in what the Lord has done and would do for those to whom he writes. 


Here in v8 he speaks of how he longs for them with the affection of Christ Jesus (8). I love the way the KJV translates affection, it says bowels so Paul longs after them in the bowels of Jesus Christ. He is conveying his deep affection for them. This longing, this heart that Paul had for the church in Philippi, this affection that he had is that of Christ Jesus. It has come because of the work of God within him, not because of anything that Paul has done in himself, it was God’s work within Paul that had led him to sharing affection in Christ. The Lord as he had worked in Paul had caused such affection to rise up in him, such love, such grace. 


This wasn’t just a love for the wealthy, the ones who had treated him well, this was for each one of those whom he wrote, even the old goat who couldn’t look at him without a scowl on their face. It was an affection for those who had by the world's standards everything and an affection for those who had by the world's standards nothing. With the affection of Christ Jesus Paul here has that longing for them, he has them in his heart and in this he is saying that this longing, this affection, is the same as that of Christ Jesus, it is that this longing, this affection, is because it has been produced by the work of God within him. 


May God work within us and create in us such love and such grace and such affection here in this place. That should be our desire, that should be our prayer that we would see God’s grace at work. It’s hard to love those who have rubbed us up the wrong way, who have put our noses out of joint. Just think how radically different the church would be if we had such an affection for our bothers and sisters. May God be pleased to give us such affection for his glory alone. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q73 Which is the eighth commandment? 
A. The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal.
​