Welcome to our Tagalog-English Worship Service. We had our first worship service two weeks ago. Today is our third Sunday together. Why did we begin this new worship service? We have many reasons. Our number one reason is to make disciples. We believe that the best way to disciple followers of Christ is through the weekly worship service. Christians grow in the faith by gathering as a church, worshipping God, hearing his word, and applying his word in our individual lives and as a church. No matter how many attendees we have, nor how much money we receive, if we are not making true disciples, then we are not fulfilling our purpose. Our goal in these worship services is to see true disciples grow in their Christian faith.
But how do we know if we are making true disciples? How do we know if we are doing true discipleship? In today’s passage, Paul commends the disciples at Philippi by expressing his thanksgiving for them. From these verses, we will learn three truths about true discipleship.
Truth #1: Discipleship is God’s work.
“I thank my God every time I remember you.” (Philippians 1:3)
Like many letters in the ancient world, Paul often began his letters with thanksgiving. This was Paul’s way of commending the Christians. He gives thanks to let them know they are doing well. But notice to whom Paul gave thanks: “I thank my God every time I remember you.” Paul thanked God. He did not give thanks directly to the Christians. This is interesting. Why? Usually, if we are grateful for a gift, we thank the person who gave us that gift. Paul is grateful for the faith of the Christians. He is thankful that they are growing in their walk with Christ. He rejoices that these Philippian Christians chose to become true disciples of Jesus. Therefore, would it not have made more sense if Paul thanked the Christians instead of thanking God? No.
Paul thanked God because faith is a gift from God. Christians grow in their faith in Christ because God makes them grow in their faith. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that the Philippians don’t deserve praise for their faithfulness. They chose to believe, chose to abide in Christ, and chose to give sacrificially to support Paul’s ministry. But the one who deserves the highest praise for their faith is not them but God. God is the one who planned everything and accomplished everything. The Father is the one who sent the Son. The Son is the one who died on the cross to save us from our sins. The Spirit is the one who indwells us and empowers us to live lives worthy of this gospel. None of us can boast about our faith and salvation, because our faith and salvation come entirely from God. As Paul wrote elsewhere, “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
This is the first truth about discipleship Scripture is teaching us today: Discipleship is God’s work. We don’t make disciples through our own efforts. We don’t build God’s kingdom with human hands. God builds his kingdom. In his wisdom, he uses us as his instruments.
Just last Friday, I delivered my last chapel sermon for the school year to the Grade 10 students at JCA. I preached fourteen sermons through the Sermon on the Mount. As I prepared that last sermon, I wrestled with two emotions in my heart. A part of me felt proud that I preached well throughout the series. But another part of me felt worried that my pride was unacceptable to God. I was afraid that I may have been trying too hard to do well, and that I was making the sermon all about me, instead of making it the way it should be made—all about Christ. But then, the Lord spoke to me while I was reading Jeremiah. In chapter 3, Yahweh was speaking to the people of Israel and calling them into repentance. Then he told them,
“I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.” (Jeremiah 3:15)
This verse reminded me that God is the one who sends shepherds. He is the one who sends pastors. He is the one who equips leaders with knowledge and understanding. The spiritual gifts we receive in church aren’t for us to just enjoy and lord over other people, nor should they be gifts we keep to ourselves. God gives us gifts so we can serve His people. God trains, equips, and sends gifted disciple makers out of love for His people. Yes, God loves pastors and leaders. God loves me. But he didn’t give me the gift of preaching and teaching, so I can receive praises. He didn’t give me a deep love for the Scriptures just so I would be shy about this passion and hide it from others. God gives us spiritual gifts in the church so we can serve His people.
Church, let us not be ashamed to use the gifts God gave us to build his kingdom and make disciples. Some of you are gifted teachers. Some are gifted singers and musicians. Others have the gift of kindness and of service. Some have the gift of leadership. Some have the gift of faith and the gift of giving. Perhaps you are hesitant to use those gifts because you’re afraid that people will think you’re showing off. But remember, God gave you those gifts not to hide them, but to do His work. God wants to bless His people. And He is calling you to do your part in blessing them and discipling them. Therefore, you have no reason to feel proud about your gifts nor to feel ashamed of them. Because discipleship is God’s work. And His will is to use you.
The first truth that we discover from today’s passage is that discipleship is God’s work. This means that we disciple people by earnestly praying to God and using the spiritual gifts God gave us. What’s the second truth these verses are teaching us today?
Truth #2: Discipleship produces joy.
“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy” (Philippians 1:4)
Paul didn’t just remember the Christians at Philippi (v. 3). He also prayed for them. But notice how he prayed for them: “with joy.” Let’s think about this for a moment. Why was Paul praying joyfully? What was he happy about? Was he happy about being a preacher, a church planter, or a writer of books in the Bible? Was he happy to receive money from the Philippians? No. Paul wasn’t happy for himself. His ministry is not about him. Instead, what was he joyful about? “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.” Paul was joyful to see the Philippian Christians growing in faith. In the same way that parents have immense joy seeing their children take their first steps, Paul had great joy seeing his disciples grow in their walk with Christ. Paul celebrated their saving faith in Jesus and how they were proving themselves to be true disciples.
This is the second truth about discipleship we learn from today’s passage: Discipleship produces joy. What gave Paul joy was not his vocation nor its material benefits. What gave him the greatest pleasure was seeing the fruits of his labor—his disciples growing in the faith.
We have plenty of ministry workers in church. We have ACCESS Group leaders, worship leaders, devotional writers, preachers, worship presiders, etc. When we do these ministries, we tend to be concerned about our appearance and our “performance.” We sometimes worry about what other people in the church will think and say about us after we “perform” our ministries. It’s understandable to have these concerns for a season, especially when we’re starting. We all need to develop the skills to do our ministries well. But part of growing in spiritual maturity is learning that ministry is not about us. We don’t disciple people, so we can become known as great disciple makers. We don’t strive to preach the best sermons, to write the best devotionals, to teach the best Bible study lessons, or to sing the most spiritually edifying worship songs so that we can be happy about ourselves and our own performance. Our joy as ministers, workers, and disciple makers is not in ourselves, but in the people we are discipling. We disciple because we want to see our disciples grow. We don’t disciple to establish our own value in society or to establish our identity as ministers or disciple makers. We don’t disciple to give ourselves a sense of meaning and purpose. We get our value, identity, and purpose from what Christ has already accomplished on the cross for us. We disciple because seeing our disciples grow in their faith in Christ gives us joy. We work hard in the ministry, not to earn status points. If we truly believe in Christ as our Lord and Savior, then we already have infinite status in the eyes of our infinite God because we are united with Jesus Christ through faith. We serve in ministry for the joy of seeing Christ’s disciples grow in faith.
Church, I invite you. If you are a worship leader, an ACCESS group leader, a preacher, a teacher, or a worker in the church, try this: The next time you do your ministry think about the people you are serving and pray to God,
“Lord, show me how much you love these people. Help me look at these people the same way you look at them. Help me forget about myself, how I would appear, and what I might gain from others for doing this ministry. Give me the gift of self-forgetfulness, so that my joy would be in seeing your people grow in their faith.”
If you pray this prayer honestly and earnestly, you will soon discover the true joy of ministry.
The first truth we discovered is that discipleship is God’s work. This means that we depend on God to do the ministry. The second truth is that discipleship produces joy. This means that we do our ministries for the joy of seeing our disciples grow in Christ. What is the third truth about discipleship that we can learn from today’s passage?
Truth #3: Discipleship creates gospel partners.
“because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,” (Philippians 1:5)
Paul gives here the reason why he is thanking God for the Philippians and why he is praying for them with joy. He is grateful and joyful because, as we’ve already discussed, the Philippian Christians are growing in their faith. They are proving themselves to be true disciples. But notice how Paul described their maturity as disciples: “your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” The Philippian Christians have proven themselves to be true disciples by partnering with Paul in the gospel. For Paul, the goal of his ministry is to create gospel partners. Producing gospel partners is the ultimate aim of true discipleship and ministry.
This is the third truth about discipleship that Scripture is teaching us today: Discipleship creates gospel partners. This is why we have ACCESS Groups, fellowships, and outreaches here in Jubilee. This is why we offer worship services in church, and why we started this new Tagalog English worship service. We sing worship songs, teach the Bible, and pray for one another in fellowship, not so that we can simply hear God’s word and go about our day. We want God’s word to transform us from the inside out. We want the gospel of Jesus Christ to take root in our hearts and shape us. We don’t want this gospel to be mere head knowledge—something we just listen to on Sunday and perhaps recite whenever people ask us about what we think of Jesus. We want the gospel to consume every aspect of our being.
We might ask, then, how do we do it? If the goal of discipleship is creating gospel partners in the ministry who are shaped and transformed by the good news of Jesus Christ, then how do we create those people? How do we create true disciples who are gospel partners? Again, going back to the first truth we learned today, discipleship is God’s work. We don’t produce true gospel partners on our own. God is the one who calls, trains, and equips them to grow as true disciples. Therefore, to make gospel partners, we must rely on God and use the spiritual gifts God gave us. More importantly, we should pray. We can’t make disciples without prayer because we can’t make disciples without God. To make disciples, we must seek God’s help.
With that in mind, we will close in prayer, asking God to do what only He can do. And as we pray, let us remember the three truths we’ve learned today from God’s word.
- Discipleship is God’s work.
- Discipleship produces joy.
- Discipleship creates gospel partners.