Verse 5 “…because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
Paul now explains one of the major reasons that he can pray for the Philippians with joy. It also explains why he holds this church in such high esteem. According to history Philippi was not a rich church but they managed to support the missionary work of Paul and his group in their poverty. This indicates how important spreading the gospel was and is. Today, many churches spend enormous sums on buildings and projects for themselves and little on sharing the good news.
What a difference it would make in world evangelism if Christians in this century cared as much about spreading the good news of Jesus around the world as the Philippian Christians did. Like the rich man in Jesus’ story, we often build bigger barns for ourselves and neglect a lost world around us.
The Philippian church should remind us that, “If you can’t go, send.” Unfortunately, too many churches do neither. The church has one major function. That function is to go and teach. What did Jesus mean, do you think, when he said we would be his witnesses to the end of the earth? Was that just for the twelve?
Task for Today: First, I suggest that you make every effort to go. It’s what Jesus gave us orders to do. Second, I suggest that you make arrangements to help someone else go. As God prospers you, do both. It’s a matter of priorities and in our hearts we know that is true. Are you being honest when you say I can’t go? I’m not talking about next door or down the street, but you could start there.
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