Past, Present, & Future

0:06And I remember thinking about planting a church, and one of the things that I wanted to make sure that we had is a church that worships, a church that sings, a church that engages. And so just that last song, listening, I stopped and just listened to the voices, and it was super cool. It's one reason to sit up front, church. Those of you guys who like the back row, maybe move up front. You get to hear your brothers and sisters in Christ singing.

0:28Hearing the voices in this room singing Christ be magnified. It was a goosebumps moment. It was awesome. It was awesome. Well, happy birthday, Compass Bible Church.

0:41This is— we'll edit out the claps on the camera, because I know you guys were clapping in your hearts. Some of you are just— you struggle to clap outside of your hearts, and that's okay. I'm with you in that. I'm not necessarily an outside my heart kind of a clapper, but happy birthday Compass Bible Church. We are here a year later, but here's the thing.

1:06Even though August 6th, 2023 was the first time we opened our doors officially as a church, this church started way before that. And yes, I mean even before the soft launches, and I mean even before the Sunday night Bible studies. And I mean, even before being in California with our sending church and starting to talk about what it would look like to plant a church, even before I got hired by our sending pastor out in California who said one of our distinctives as a church is that we're always working to plant new churches, and would you be open to that in the future? This church started before any of that. This church was part of God's sovereign plan for this area from before the foundation of the earth.

1:45In fact, I believe firmly that it was part of God's sovereign plan for you to be a part of this church. From before the foundations of the earth, that God has brought this church here at this time in this season to reach these people because it's part of, of his plan for what he wants to do here in North Texas. And so as we gather and we look back and we celebrate on all that God has done, church, it's important that we remember that God's not done. It's not as though we're here, we've, we've got a routine, we're able to get the trailer unloaded and repacked okay, and kids ministry goes well, and We bring students back from revival without broken bones, and we've got a VBS now. It's not that we've arrived and now it's like, great, let's just enjoy being who we are.

2:29A day like this is a good day. A day like this is a day of celebration. A day like this is a day to be joyful and to, to, to encourage each other and to remember things as we look back on all God has done to get us here. And yet, church, we have to remember, as we look back and celebrate all God's done, we have to remember God's not done. And as we think about that this morning, I'd like you to open up your Bibles to Philippians chapter 1 as we look together at Paul's words from verses 3 through 11.

2:59As we turn one, we're celebrating everything God's done but remembering that God's not done. There's still so much for us to do. And along those lines, Paul begins in Philippians chapter 1, verse 3. He says, I thank my God. In all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

3:26I wonder if you have in your mind's eye that person that whenever you see them or think of them, you give thanks for that person to the Lord. Anytime you're around them, you can't help but stop and say, God, thank you for that person. I have people like that in my life. A good friend of mine, Eric Zeller, who's preached from this pulpit, is that. A good friend of mine who I get to share an office wall with, Rod Gomez, is a dear brother in Christ, my associate pastor.

3:51He's that type of person in my life. I see him, I'm thankful for him. So many faces in this room. I see you and I'm thankful for you the way that Paul was thankful for the Philippian church. When I think of so many of you who left jobs in California to move out here and family in California to move out here, I think of those of you in this room who have joined us just in the last few months and have jumped in and started serving and helping us get this stage set up or serving in kids ministry or serving in hospitality or in teardown.

4:23I'm thankful for you. For Paul, that was the Philippian church. These Philippian believers Paul held dearly in his heart, and we read about why in a passage like 2 Corinthians chapter 8. Paul says, we want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia. The Philippian church was one of those churches, the churches of Macedonia.

4:46He says, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means of their own accord. Begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. And so Paul's looking back fondly at the Philippian believers because of the way that they supported him in ministry. Paul was a tentmaker by trade, and so when he was able, he would do work on the side to be able to support his ministry.

5:21He would make tents, he would, he would do those things to be able to support the mission trips and the travel that he did. But even as an itinerant, missionary, you can imagine that he didn't have jobs just lined up everywhere he went. So there were going to be seasons where he depended on the gifts of others. And beyond that, and this is where he finds himself as he writes this letter to the church in Philippi, Paul was imprisoned. And in prison, he certainly wasn't making any money.

5:45And so for him to continue to be able to survive and meet his needs and also do ministry, he needed the gifts of the saints. And so that's what he specifically gives thanks for here. To the, the Philippian believers. In fact, in our text, if you flip over to Philippians chapter 4, beginning in verse 10, we read more about him reflecting on this season. Philippians 4:10, he says, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you've revived your concern for me.

6:11You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In every and any circumstance, I've learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

6:33Yet it was kind of you, church in Philippi, it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only. Even in Thessalonica, you sent help to me for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment and more.

7:00I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. So there in this letter, Paul's reflecting back again on that 2 Corinthians 8 season where this church in Philippi gave to meet his needs. And so all of that together led Paul to have this gratitude in his heart for what he calls their partnership in the gospel. The word partnership there is the word koinonia. Koinonia is a word that maybe you've heard before in the church.

7:31It's a word that does mean, as it's translated here, partnership, but it can also mean fellowship. As we talk about fellowshipping as brothers and sisters in Christ, as we talk about afterwards the the donuts and the coffee and enjoying fellowship together. In fact, sometimes you'll go to a church and maybe if they're, they're old school, they'll have a koinonia hall or a fellowship hall, and that's the place where the coffee and donuts are served afterwards, and it's the place where relationships form and where people engage in getting to know each other and building into each other's lives. That's the same word Paul uses here for the Philippian church and how they partnered with him. They koinonia'd with him.

8:07In the gospel. They participated with him. It's a term that's used of more than this. It's a term that implied and meant friendship. This was a friendship that Paul had with these believers.

8:21This was a bond that was different from any in the world because it was a bond that was brought about by a common concern for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so this is what overflows into his gratitude for them. And even though he's in prison, he's writing to them and encouraging them to look back as he looks back on their faithfulness in partnering with him in ministry and saying, hey, you know what, church? Be encouraged. This is not in vain.

8:48I am so thankful for your ministry. And then we come to verse 6. Look down at the text. It says, and I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Now, by show of hands— no, I'm not going to ask for hands.

9:05I'm, I'm going to guess a lot of you in this room, if not most of you in this room, have heard that verse preached on as it pertains to eternal security. That he who began a good work in you is going to bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. That you've heard a pastor stand up and preach, you know what, church? Jesus, he began a good work in you when he saved you, and you can be sure that he's going to bring you all the way to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Listen, That's a biblical doctrine, just not from this text.

9:31And you say, well, what do you— what do you mean? Well, look at the context again. We have to be careful to always interpret a text within the context. So if we back up to what we've just been talking about, we can understand what the good work that God began in this church really was. And it was what?

9:46It was their partnership in the gospel. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy. Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I'm sure of this, that he who began a good work in you— what good work? The partnership in the gospel— will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

10:11And so Paul's referring to, as he looks back with this church, he's referring to their support of him, their prayer for him, their striving side by side for the faith of the gospel with him. And he's telling them, church, Don't be discouraged by the fact that I'm in prison. Rejoice, because the one who began this good work in you is going to bring it all the way to completion at the day of Christ Jesus. Their partnership was not derailed because Paul was in jail, right? It's not as though the Philippian church was like Biden's campaign manager, right?

10:40Like, what's that guy doing right now? Not a lot anymore. Or all of his donors and everybody else. No, the, the work that's done for the gospel is work that's going to echo forward. No matter what happens, no matter what God does with the future of this church, y'all, the, the work that we put in, the labors that you have put in in serving the body of Christ here, you need to be encouraged.

11:02It will redound to the glory of God. God will bring it to completion. And so Paul writes from prison remembering fondly his partnership with this group of believers at the church in Philippi. Church, we should do the same thing. As we've been here now for a year, it's good for us to look back and to remember all that God has done and to think fondly about our partnership, our mutual participation, our fellowship in the gospel, and all that God has done here in the church.

11:33We don't know what the future holds, but we know what the past has accomplished, and we can rejoice in that and celebrate that just like Paul does with the Philippians. In our text this morning. Point number 1 is this: look back and celebrate. Look back and celebrate.

11:53Our old church that we came from, our sending church, our pastor preached a message there one time around Christmastime, and he— his first point, or one of his points, was this: celebrate by celebrating. Celebrate by celebrating. And you think, wow, I don't know if you can get less profound than that, and yet I just did. Look back and celebrate, right? Not the most profound point in the world.

12:13But Celebrate by Celebrating really is a profound point. And his, his whole argument was around Christmas time, put the lights on the house, put up a tree, play the music, enjoy the season, celebrate what it all represents. Y'all, we need to have seasons and moments in life where we as a church take time to look back and do just that and celebrate. So that's why when you walk in this morning, we've got these balloon towers. And number one, we're not going to do this every year.

12:39So we're not going to, Like next year is not going to have a 2 up there, and we're not going to have a cake with a little 2 on it and blow it out together as the church, because, you know, COVID and all that stuff, we don't want to all be blowing on a cake together. No, but, but that's why we're doing this. We're doing this to celebrate. That's why we've got hard hats that aren't going to protect anyone from anything on the back table. Have I made that clear?

12:58Don't trust those hard hats. Just use them to remember what God has done. That's why we're doing this, because we want to reflect on God's faithfulness to us as a church. Y'all, If God's not faithful to us, we're not here. If God's not faithful to us as a church, this church is standing on a house of cards.

13:16This is all about God's faithfulness. This is about Him getting the glory for where we are and what we're doing today. It's not about anything else. It's not about a pastor. It's not about pastors.

13:25It's not about a brand. It's about God and His faithfulness to us, and we're here this morning to look back on that and to give thanks for the co-laboring and the partnership and the fellowship that represents those in this room as we celebrate all that God has done. And I just want you to start to think about some of it, like this moment. Some of y'all were here. How many in the room were here?

13:44This was our early church Bible study. This was over at Frisco First Baptist Church as they graciously let us use their youth room there. And we were in there for 9 weeks in a row battling an air conditioner that couldn't keep up with the summer heat. And yet we were there and we loved it. And I think we started with 30 people total, kids included.

14:03And I've got 5 of those kids and Pastor Rod has another 5. So you can do the math on the rest. I mean, we were like, okay, God, are you gonna bring more than 15 people here this morning? But it was tonight, whatever it was. It was so great.

14:15It was awesome. It was good to gather together as the church. And that just created a hunger in us to be able to do what we're doing right now, to be able to be here. But our Sunday night Bible studies, those began May 7th, 2023. They went for 9 weeks.

14:30And then after that, we had soft launches here to figure out if we knew what we were doing and whether we could actually make church happen before we actually opened up to everybody. And so our first soft launch was July 9th, 2023. And you may notice that that visitor sign is right over there on that wall because we didn't even know which way to point ourselves on that first weekend here. We didn't have a backdrop. We didn't have— I covered that by saying, you know what?

14:52I covered it. I covered it by saying, you know what? We're aliens and strangers. We're visitors here. We're just visiting.

14:56And so we're going to face that and be reminded of that during church. I mean, that was our first soft launch Sunday. And then we moved forward. We still didn't have a backdrop, but we had balloons. And that— this is our launch Sunday.

15:06This is August 6th, 2023. This is the first Sunday as Compass Bible Church officially opening our doors. Man, it was such a great time. And we were sitting there going, God, what do you have in store for us? And not knowing, but just looking back and remembering.

15:19July 23rd, we launched community groups. August 6th, again, our first service. August 9th, launch of student ministry now known as True North, just coming back from a great week at revival. September 23rd, first women's event at the Mokes' home. September 30th, first men's event at the Smith home.

15:39November 12th, our first round of child dedications. We had that. We gathered back— by this point we were pointing in the right direction. We had our backdrop up. We were gathered back there to talk about and pray together and took that picture together.

15:49That was our first round of child dedications. December 24th, first Christmas Eve services. January 21st, first baptism services. That was a great day. Looking forward to that.

15:59We got another round of baptisms coming up in September, by the way. If you have not yet been baptized as a believer in Jesus Christ, we'd love for you to consider joining us for that service. That was our first baptism service. March 29th, first Good Friday service. March 30th extravaganza.

16:14You guys remember that? Some of you were there. At the park as we had that Easter outreach. March 31st, our first Easter service. April 19th and 20th, first men's retreat.

16:24July 15th through 19th, first VBS. Y'all, God has done so many awesome things here as a church. This is that list. Here's the second half of that list. Here's the list altogether.

16:38And there's so much more. There's so many more firsts that have taken place here over the last year. And I know that as you have been part of this group and, and you've been— maybe you've plugged into community group, you may have unique firsts that are part of your community group, your relationships with others that you look back on this year and you celebrate God's faithfulness in that context. Or maybe you're serving on a particular ministry team and you look back and you celebrate God's faithfulness to us in that context. All this to say, church, it's, it's good for us, just like Paul does with the Philippians here, to look back and say, you know what, I'm so thankful for your partnership.

17:10I'm thankful for your fellowship. I'm thankful for your koinonia. And listen, if this is your first Sunday with us, I'm thankful that you're here with us this morning. And who knows if this is going to become your church home, you're going to partner with us, you're going to engage with us, you're going to participate with us as we continue to serve the Lord. Because again, we're celebrating all God's done but remembering that God's not done.

17:30And so who knows, as we continue forward, looking back 5, 10, 15 years, what, what are we going to add to this list? As we look back and we continue to celebrate God's faithfulness. Jump back into our text though in verse 7. Paul continues, he says, it's right for me to feel this way about you all because I hold you in my heart. For you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and the confirmation of the gospel.

17:56For God is my witness how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ. Christ Jesus. Paul says it's right that I look back fondly and that I think about you all and I give thanks to God for you all because I hold you in my heart. Why? You are all, he says, partakers with me.

18:16The word partakers there in the Greek, it comes from the same root word that we get fellowship, koinonia. It's a compound word, koinonia with, sun koinonia. It's joined together. You are partakers now with me. That we together are fellowshippers.

18:30We together are participating. We together are co-laborers in engaging in the grace of God. And so he's building on that concept. And he says specifically in my imprisonment and in the defense and the confirmation of the gospel. And so his argument here, as he continues, is this: I'm thankful and I love you and I hold you in my heart because of this mutual fellowship that we have.

18:54Because we partner together. And he says, and you've partnered with me in my imprisonment by supporting me, and also in the defense and the confirmation of the gospel, striving side by side with me for the cause of the gospel. And so it works like this: sharing in the grace of the gospel produced a sharing in the ministry of the gospel. And Paul's overflowing with just a gratitude as he reflects upon his love for others because of the way that sharing together in those things knits us together. Church, that's what this does.

19:25The relationships that you will form here in this body are different than relationships that you will have anywhere else in this world. They surpass the relationships with your college buddies. They surpass the relationships that you'll have with your neighborhood and your neighbors. They surpass the relationships even with some of your blood family, because some of your blood family may not end up in eternity with you. These relationships that you are investing in right now in this room, and that you are creating through serving together and standing together as fellow partakers of the grace of God together, are eternal relationships that you are investing in.

19:58And Paul was mindful of that, and he created a love that he had with the Philippian church. Look in chapter 2 of Philippians, look down at verse 19, if you will, and listen to how Paul was so affectionate for these believers and the mutual love that they had for one another. Paul says in Ephesians 2, verse 19, he says, I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I might be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

20:30But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me. And I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also. I've thought it necessary to send you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier and your messenger and minister to my need. For he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.

20:56Indeed, he was ill, near to death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him therefore that you may rejoice at seeing him again and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. I read that so you get a glimpse into the personal relationship that Paul had with these believers. In fact, if we go back to Acts chapter 16, You may remember the story.

21:32You remember the story of Lydia there, the seller of purple goods in Acts chapter 16, how Paul happened upon her and these other women as they were studying the Bible, and Paul shared the gospel, and Lydia came to faith in Jesus along with these other ladies. And then you remember what happened. Paul got thrown in jail during that season as well, and there was a great earthquake, and the jailer awoke, and the jailer went to go kill himself because of the earthquake. He was concerned that the prisoners had escaped. And so he was going to take his life as a result.

21:59And Paul said, don't do that. We're all still here. And then you remember that the Philippian jailer went to Paul and said, what must I do to be saved? And Paul led him and his family to faith in Jesus Christ. And so as Paul's writing this letter, church, I want you to understand that he's thinking of Lydia and he's thinking of the Philippian jailer and he's thinking about these brothers and sisters in Christ that he loves and that he longs for.

22:19And I just want you to understand that the reason why is because of their fellow protection. Participation in the gospel. The reason why they cared for each other that much is because they were all part of something that was bigger than themselves. The reason why they loved each other so much is because they were striving side by side, that they were doing the work of ministry together, and that created a bond that they weren't going to find anywhere else. And Paul loved them, longed for them.

22:49Y'all, there's nothing quite like serving the Lord together to make the church start feeling like a family real fast.

22:59I promise you, if you're wanting to build relationships and feel like you're part of what's going on here, if you start serving alongside your brothers and sisters in Christ in this room, it won't take long. And so, church, we celebrate what he's done. But again, we're not kicking it back, glorying in the past, because we realize and remember that he's not done. There's still more to do. And so along those lines, as we celebrate by looking back, another thing that we need to do is we need to look around this room and appreciate what he's doing right now.

23:30Look around this room and appreciate what we have right here. And that's our second point this morning: look around and appreciate. Look back and celebrate. Look around here and appreciate. Appreciate what this is, the uniqueness of this, right?

23:43If you're like me and you've grown up going to church, man, you may be prone to just take it for granted. I go to church every week. I'm there. There's other people there. Yeah, we had a VBS.

23:54We put on this Vacation Bible School and I got to be a part of serving there. And you may take that for granted, but church, what we have here is something that the world wants and looks for so many different places. And yet this is a unique place. To find that. If you're a sports fan like me, you use we language even though you have nothing to do with the success or failure of that sport, right?

24:17When the Rangers won the World Series last year, we won the World Series, okay? We did it. I didn't throw a single pitch for the Texas Rangers. That's a good thing. That's why we won the World Series.

24:31But why do we use we terminology with sports? Because we have a sense of belonging to something that's bigger than us. And we want to do that. And we're saying, man, we want to be represented by all these other people. I'm going to identify with them.

24:43We here, church, we are part of this, which is way bigger than that. We are part of something in this room that's bigger than a World Series or a Super Bowl or an NBA championship or the Stanley Cup or anything else. We get to be a part of something that God is doing. Think about right now this morning for just a moment. We, we're gathering.

25:08It's 11 AM. There's how many other churches in this area that are gathering right now preaching the Word of God, worshiping together, singing songs together, praying together? Or think about the churches on the East Coast that are already done. They're at home. They're already done with the day.

25:23They're taking a nap on the couch already. Or think about the churches over on the West Coast that are just now getting their services started, some of them. Think about the churches internationally that are done for the day. They're going to bed tonight. We are part of something so much bigger than us, and we get to be a part of that, and we get to look around and we get to appreciate that we're part of what God is doing here.

25:44And we are partners with all of them in grace and partners with all of them in ministry. And someday we're going to get to know them because we're going to spend eternity with them.

25:54But right now we're partners here. Specifically with those in this room. And here's the thing, y'all. When you walk out those doors at the end of service, you don't stop being a part of Compass Bible Church. You're not a part of Compass Bible Church as soon as you walk in here and then stop being a part of Compass Bible Church when you leave.

26:12Throughout the week, we are part of one another. We are part of the body of Christ together. We are fellowshipping together. We are co-participants in the grace of God. And co-participants in the ministry that God is doing here at Compass Bible Church.

26:25And that's why we should say with Paul as well, man, it's right for me to feel this way about you all. It's right for me to be thankful for you. It's right for me to hold you in my heart.

26:37For God is my witness, Paul says, how I yearn for you with the affection of Jesus Christ. And we should want to be together when we're not together. The partnership in the gospel had kindled this great affection between Paul and these believers. He wanted to be with them. He longed for their presence.

26:55And notice it wasn't just because of a common background or common geography or common philanthropic interest that, that generated this love. What it was is the affection of Jesus Christ. The reason we love each other in this room is because Christ has loved us, and that overflows into how we love each other. This is the impact of doing ministry together. One of my favorite emails to get is the email that says so-and-so signed up to serve.

27:21It's one of my favorite emails to get. And it really, it's not as much about the fact that we have needs that need to be filled for people to serve in. There's that. But more so when I see that, I think, man, this is their church. They're saying, I belong, I love these people, I'm here.

27:44And I know that by them getting involved and getting serving, that they're going to build relationships and that this church is going to be stronger as a result of that mutual participation in what God is doing here at this church. I talk to anyone who served at VBS for a week here in the evenings and talk about how they got to know other people in the church during that season. And the relationships that they have with others that they didn't have before because they got to spend a week serving together. That's what happens when the church comes together. Those are the relationships that are created, and we need to look around and appreciate that that's unique here.

28:19As you become a part of this church family, your family is expanded. You're not just a siloed individual. You're not just a single person who comes to church here. You're not just a family of 2, 3, 4, 5 if you're crazy. Who comes to church here.

28:33You are a family of this body here. We are a family together, brothers and sisters in Christ. Recently there was an article written where the guy was trying to argue and said, hey, stop calling the church a family. It's weird. And my answer to that is no, that's what we are.

28:48That's what the Bible calls us, brothers and sisters in Christ. In reality, this may be more family than any earthly family you'll ever know. Lord willing, that's not the case, because Lord willing, our earthly families will bow the knee to Jesus Christ. But if they don't, this is eternity, not there. So look around and appreciate what we have here.

29:08We all come from different neighborhoods, different communities, different workplaces. And when we leave here, we do scatter into all those places. But church, hopefully we're still on one another's minds thinking about the block party that's happening. Thinking about the parents that are taking their kids to basketball practice and praying that they would be a light on that team. Thinking about this guy who said he's gonna go get his hair cut this week and praying that he'll use that 25 minutes in that chair as an opportunity to share the gospel with a captive audience.

29:38Thinking about the mom who's gonna be at the park with her kids this week and saying, man, I pray that she'll have an opportunity to share the gospel with somebody while she's there. We have all of these opportunities, all of us in these different contexts, and yet we're all part of the same thing. We're part of this church, and that's something that we should appreciate together. As we look back and we celebrate all that God has done, we remember that he's not done. We remember that we have this commitment to one another, these relationships with one another.

30:05Paul had this unique relationship with the church at Philippi, one that was different from some of the other churches that he wrote to, and he's reflecting on that and celebrating that. And thinking about their, their current ongoing ministry with him. Church, if you're here this morning and you don't feel that, either it's because you're brand new, and welcome, we hope that you do feel that eventually, but if you've been here for a while and you don't feel that, I'm going to suggest it's because you haven't truly partnered with us. Maybe you're not serving, you're not in community with other believers, and so for you this room is still a room full of strangers.

30:42But there's an opportunity for that to change. Even this week, sign up for a community group. Get plugged in. Get involved serving somewhere. And I promise you, before you know it, this place is going to start to feel like family because you're going to be known and you're going to know others.

30:56And so we can look around and appreciate what we have right now. But that's not all. Again, there's, there's, there's this reality that God's not done. We're not like, hey, we're done. We're a year.

31:05We're done. We're going to shut our doors and and now go find other churches. We trust that God is going to do more through us here. And so that's where Paul goes next. Look at verses 9 through 11.

31:13And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and the praise of God. The affection that Paul felt for these believers caused him to pray for them moving forward. And as he prays for them moving forward, he prays really 4 things for them. First, he prays for their love for one another to increase. And that's what he says there, I pray that your love may abound more and more.

31:48Well, how do we know that this is not love for God, but this is love for one another? Well, a couple things. Number one, we could allow that it is love for God, but if it's love for God, it's going to result in love for others. Yes? What did Jesus say?

31:59Hey, teacher, what's the greatest commandment? He said, the greatest commandment is love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. In other words, if my love for God isn't overflowing into my love for others, then I don't have a right love for God. But specifically in the context of Philippians, Paul's writing a lot about how they treat each other.

32:19In Philippians chapter 2, one of the most famous texts called the kenosis passage, he talks about how Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being found in the likeness of men, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Paul right before that said, have that mindset among yourselves. And right before that he said, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but consider others more important than yourselves. Look out not only for your own interests, but for the interests of others. So you see, Paul's writing about their love for one another.

32:49Philippians chapter 4, he's going to call out a couple of the ladies in the church and say, hey, I entreat Euodia and Syntyche, not to be combating with each other, not to be tense with each other anymore, but there needs to be a harmony, there needs to be a love, there needs to be a peace there. And so Paul's been writing in this letter, and he will write from this point in this letter about their love for one another. So here he's praying, church, I pray that your love will abound more and more, specifically that affection for one another that he wanted to see in them. But second, he prayed that this love that they would have for one another would be fueled by an increased knowledge and insight into the love of Christ. And that's where he goes next.

33:27He says, I pray that it would abound more and more with knowledge and discernment. Well, knowledge and discernment of what? Again, the object's not specified, but we can find it in the context. The knowledge and discernment that he wants them to increase in is a knowledge and discernment of the awareness of the love that God has poured out for them in Christ. Again, that's that model of Jesus in Philippians chapter 2.

33:49He's praying that they would know more of the love of Christ and understand, have greater insight into the love of Christ, and thereby be driven to love one another even more as a result. 1 John 4:19, we love because he first loved us. That's what Paul's praying for them. So first, he prays that their love would increase for one another. Second, he prays that that love would be rooted in a knowledge and discernment of the love of Christ.

34:11And then third, he prays that this insight and that love for one another that that would produce and allow them to maintain great and godly Christian character. And that's found in— as the verse continues, he says, so that— I want this for you— so that, with the result that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. So he prays that they would be able to approve. The word means to test. To discern.

34:41He wants them to be able to discern as they navigate this world what is excellent. The word excellent there is the Greek word for what's different. I want you to be able to see what stands out as different in a positive sense, in a godly sense. I want you to choose what's different from everything else the world is going after so that— what? So that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness.

35:06Okay, if you've been tracking with our Daily Bible Reading, if you've been listening to the Daily Bible Podcast, you've heard us talk a lot about the fact that there's sometimes near-term fulfillment and far-term fulfillment in prophecy. In fact, the book of Nahum that we're talking about, there's near-term, there's far-term. That's today's judgment— or today's reading is all about the judgment of Assyria, but there's talk about the judgment of the nations as well. That's long-term versus short-term. Here we get a short-term in the sense that Paul's praying that they would be filled with the fruit of righteousness, that is, that they would be more godly people right now.

35:38He wants them right now to be increasingly filled with the fruit of righteousness. And then he goes on and he says that they would be pure and blameless for the day of Jesus Christ. So he's also praying far-term that they will ultimately be completely filled with the fruit of righteousness on that day that they stand before Jesus. The image there is of the tree from Psalm 1 planted by streams of water. Bearing fruit in season.

35:59That's what he means to be filled with the fruit of righteousness, to— that we would be those trees that are abounding in the fruit of righteousness that will ultimately be ours when we stand before Christ. And so Paul's praying for the future of this church, both short-term, that they would grow in godliness, grow in their love for one another, born out of an understanding of the love of Jesus, and that that would increase their righteousness, that they would be more godly such that they would ultimately be brought to completion and be pure and blameless before Jesus on that final day. But finally, he prays that this would all be for the glory of God. Notice he ends his prayer by saying, to the glory and praise of God. Johann Sebastian Bach would sign all of his works SDG, which stood for Soli Deo Gloria, meaning to God be the glory alone.

36:48So here you have one of the greatest composers the world has ever known who wanted every single thing that he wrote to be for the glory of God. Paul wanted this church in Philippi to ultimately be all for the glory of God. I want this church here in Compass NTX to— in that final day when the last trumpet sounds— to have been all for the glory of God. For all of this though, to be true, this prayer of Paul's. They were going to need one another.

37:21They were going to need one another as they continued to move forward. And so Paul prayed for them, not just looking back, not just looking presently, but also looking forward and anticipating all that God would do. So our 3rd and final point, even though it says point 2, and that's me, and I'm going to hear about it afterwards, I'm sure, should be point 3: look forward and anticipate. Look forward and anticipate. And you say, well, isn't that redundant?

37:46Isn't anticipating looking forward? Yes, but I mean look forward meaning look down the timeline, look down the corridor at what, what's future in our church, and anticipate as you do that what God's going to do here. I mean, think about this room right now. Think about the potential in this room right now. Those that are in this room, the men and women in this room, the brothers and sisters in Christ in this room— church, I'm more excited today about Bible Church than I have been at any other time in the history of our church.

38:13What God is doing here, watching what God's done over the first year just makes me excited to see what he's going to continue to do. There is great potential for us in this place if we will do what Paul is talking about here. If we will have genuine love for one another from an ever-increasing understanding of God's love for us in Christ, that will transform this, this place, this, this body of believers. I want people to walk in this place and walk out wanting what we have here. And honestly, church, here's the thing.

38:44We're here in a gymnasium and your kids are over there in converted classrooms. We don't have the indoor playground. We don't have the fancy building. We don't have the fancy sound system. And so when people show up here, as so many have heard from you, and I'm so grateful for it, What's going to keep them here is the body of Christ is going to keep them here.

39:05And I'm more than okay with that. I want that to be what keeps people here. I, I love when people say this is one of the warmest churches that I've ever been a part of, or this is one of the friendliest churches that I've ever visited. Man, that is amazing to hear. And so we want that to increase.

39:20We want that to continue. Our mission here at Compass is to know Christ and make him known. So I want us to anticipate what that's going to look like in the coming years. Imagine a visitor who walks into our church who overhears a conversation in the back after service that's about more than weather and sports and more than about what's happening this next week with kids going back to school, but that's conversations where people are praying for each other right there on the spot. Imagine the transformation that could happen if we let down some of the facades that we keep up as a church and we started confessing our sins to one another and praying for one another.

39:58Encouraging one another in our pursuit of Christlikeness. Imagine the transformation that could take place not just in this room but in all of the workplaces around here as your godliness increases because of the impact of your brothers and sisters in Christ here in this room, as we have relationships with others that are going to stir us up to love and good deeds, as the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 10. Imagine the joy, church, as we— some of us, we will beat others to eternity, right? We're going to have people in this room that die and go to be with Christ before— we're not all going to go together unless the rapture happens, and if it does, praise God. But if not, we're going to have others that go before us.

40:41Picture yourself in eternity welcoming your brothers and sisters in Christ from this church when they get there, rejoicing together, rejoicing with them as they hear from their Savior. Savior, well done, good and faithful servant, and you're able to remember serving with them here at this body of Christ. You're able to remember all that God did through what we do together here in the coming years at Compass Bible Church.

41:06I think forward to that time when all of us take our crowns and cast them down at the feet of Jesus together as a body of Christ, brothers and sisters who served the Lord together here at Compass Bible Church.

41:22And what a day that will be.

41:26Church, that's what I think about this morning as I look out on this room. What God has in store for us.

41:34He's done so much, but he's not done.

41:38He's got more that he is going to do, more that I trust that he wants to do, more that I trust that, that he's able to do. The question is, are we going to be a faithful church moving forward? Are we going to say, okay, God, use us?

41:54I read the passage during our Scripture reading, but I think it's appropriate as we land the plane as well. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 3 prays this. He says, for this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. And then he ends this way, and this is my prayer for us as we move forward as a church too. Now to him who's able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think according to the power at work within us.

42:39To him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. The reason we're here, church, is because of what we're about to remember together, and that is the death of Christ. And so this being the first Sunday of the month, we take communion together, and as we do so, we remember, because that's the instructions of God given to us. Every time you gather, every time you take this meal, every time you eat of this, remember.

43:10And so that's what we're here to do as we turn to the Lord's table together. And I just want you to be careful as you do this because there's some things that we need to be careful of as the Bible instructs us. Number one is we need to be aware of and careful about a lack of conversion. The communion elements are meant for believers. They're given to the church.

43:32They're given to those that have come to faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. And so if you're here this morning and that's not you, I would just encourage you to allow the elements to pass by. The second danger we need to avoid is a lack of concentration, that this is a time for us to be serious about this, that there's a sobriety to what we're doing, a somberness. About remembering his death for us and what took place there. And then the third danger for us is that we would approach this with a lack of confession.

44:03We want to make sure that we are like David praying to the Lord, Lord, search me, know me. If there's any grievous way in me, make it known to me because I want to rid it from my life. So as the elements are passed, there's going to be some music playing in the background. That's what that time is for, for you to reflect on these elements, for you to get right before between you and the Lord to bring any unconfessed sin forward and ask for forgiveness of that before we take the elements together when I come back up here in just a moment. So the elements will be passed now.