(A) Introduction

On the face of it Paul did not have much to be joyful about. He was imprisoned, chained and awaiting his probable execution. Paul's work was nearing its completion and this is not something that is always easy to accept. I can remember one of the most cheerful of the itinerant preachers who takes services at our church, in the absence of a permanent pastor, talking about being made redundant. He was very, very, depressed because he was no longer needed. It is hard to be surplus to requirements. Paul, after years of devoted service, was about to be declared redundant. That is the pessimistic way of looking at the situation and Satan will always attempt to put the worst possible gloss on our circumstances. As Paul sat in his prison cell he was able to think about the Christians at Philippi with joy. Although absent from him they were nonetheless able to minister to Paul and raise his spirits. I want to look at why this was.

(B) They provided him with happy memories. v3 I thank my God every time I remember you.

Are we the sort of people that will be remembered with pleasure? Are fond memories reserved only for those that possess charm, enthusiasm and a zest for life? As I sit at my computer on a damp, dull, day in November I cannot picture anyone in my life remarkable for these three qualities. Rather I have happy memories of individuals who put themselves out to give me a good time. I shall always remember with gratitude the efforts of Mr Takeda and Thomio to give my friend Tommy and I an unforgettable time in Japan. They knew of my interest in wild flowers and so one morning we travelled high into the mountains for breakfast. The cafe at which we purchased breakfast was set in a woodland glade that was full of spring flowers. Our Japanese hosts were amused by my obvious excitement but very gratified to have afforded me such pleasure. I never think of my uncle Stephen without remembering his visits on Good Friday to preach at our special services. In the morning he would be on the village green to play cricket with his nephews. He loved to bowl us all out - if he could! It is hard to say who enjoyed the morning most. Even my spare, gaunt, unprepossessing, grandmother Reed who had no charm, enthusiasm or zest for life put herself out to give her grandsons a bit of a treat. I can recall my brother Paul and I being taken as very small boys from Ipswich down to Shotley on the top of a double decked bus. Shotley must be one of the drabbest seaside resorts in East Anglia with nothing much for small boys to do except poke about amongst the boulders, shells and mud. That, of course, is something small boys are quite content to spend time doing and I never catch the distinct of whiff of drying seaweed without thinking of my scraggy, warm-hearted, grandmother.

The same is true for all of us. Roald Dahl was for ever grateful to his indomitable mother for taking her large family and assorted friends - a party totalling ten in all - on holiday to Norway year after year. He writes in his autobiography: ' The summer holidays! Those magic words! The mere mention of them used to send shivers of joy rippling over my skin.'

Paul had a good time in Philippi. He remembered Lydia whose heart the Lord opened by the riverside and who invited Paul and Silas into her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us. Acts16v15. It was in Philippi that the jailer was converted in the prison at which Paul and Silas were being held. He washed their wounds and brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God - he and his whole family. Acts16v34. This and doubtless many other acts of kindness were done Paul in Philippi and so he thanked God for his remembrance of them. I hope sometimes, some where, there is someone who has happy memories of me.

(C) They shared in the work Paul was doing. I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Phil2v4and5.

The Philippians supported Paul financially from the day he left their city to the day of his letter to them. He writes in Phil4v16: You sent me aid again and again when I was in need. They supported him when no one else did. The Christians at Philippi maintained consistent, regular, giving because they believed in what Paul was doing. They were his partners in the gospel. The Philippians could not preach it as Paul preached it but they could encourage him to the very best of their ability in his ministry to the Gentiles to whom he proclaimed Christ and him crucified. It was for this reason he thought of them and prayed for them with joy.

I have referred in other of these expositions to my time working with Pioneer Camp to bring boys and girls the good news of salvation. Those of us who served on the camp remember with thankfulness and pleasure the efforts of those who helped us erect the tents including the large marquee. Mr Tom Havers and his son, Peter, from Athlington Hall and Mr Denny from Earl Stonham could always be relied upon to help. They would turn out in an emergency to secure the canvas if it threatened to blow away. They were like the Philippians - partners in the gospel.

I have done much Christian work alone but I have been grateful from time to time of support. I used to run a small Bible class for young people in a neighbouring village. When my organist was no longer able to play because he was leaving home to go to college an elderly lady who was no great shakes on the instrument said, "I wont see you without an organist, John." This was a great encouragement and it also meant that she got a lot of valuable practice and improved to such an extent that she now plays for the Sunday services. On another occasion I agreed to hold classes for children in our Sunday school to prepare them for the Scripture Exam. I was very hard pressed at the time with mounting pressure of work at school. It helped when a lady said, "I will come to the sessions, John, just to give you some support."

We need to support and encourage other Christians. It is very wrong to think that capable, talented, seemingly confident servants of Jesus Christ do not need assistance. They do. Even the great apostle did. There are lots of different ways we can do this: gifts of money, letters of appreciation, prayer and words of encouragement. Nor should we overlook the importance of practical help. It would have been nice to have had such help with this web site! My father was much encouraged during his ministry by one of his deacons, Jack Bishop, servicing his car free of charge. There used to be a pastor in Suffolk who phoned up every church as and when they appeared on the prayer calendar of our Association. One year there was a short comment in our Association Handbook from the leader of a tiny, struggling, fellowship in the north of the county, 'We are thankful to Pastor M.J.Wood for his prayerful support.' That single, annual, phone call meant something to Len Goddard who worked most of his Christian life in the small Hoxne church. He did not receive much encouragement. There were even one or two pastors in the area who were unwillingly to speak at the Hoxne Sunday School Anniversary. They were not prepared to exercise a partnership with Len in the gospel! It is too late now. Len was tragically killed in a car accident and the chapel has closed.

(D) They cared for Paul personally v7. For whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.

The Philippians cared about the work that Paul did of defending and confirming the gospel - but they also cared for him. When Paul was imprisoned and in chains they sent one of their church members, Epaphroditus, to be his servant in prison. This showed a very high level of concern. It is as if a church provides a full time carer for a former pastor who is no longer able to look after himself. This is not common! However I know of individuals who have adopted abandoned ministers of the gospel. A former pastor of my own church was looked after by two well to do spinster sisters in the east of Suffolk. That was gracious service.

Paul had the Philippians in his heart. He yearned for them with the same yearning affection that Jesus the Good Shepherd has for his sheep. Paul loved the Christians at Philippi because they shared in God's grace with him, or in other words, they were part of God's goodness to him.

We are blessed when we remember those who really care about us. One of my fellow workers at Pioneer Camp was Freda the cook. I did not make a good initial impression but as the years past she was unfailingly good to me. I was the sports organiser and used to spend many, many, hours out in the boiling sun supervising games of football, softball or rounders. I sometimes used to think that the other workers had forgotten all about me - but not Freda. She cared and would invariably bring me out a cup of tea that not only quenched my thirst but raised my spirits.

Roald Dahl writes this about his mother: In 1967, when she knew she was dying, I was in hospital in Oxford having a serious operation on my spine and I was unable to write to her. So she had a telephone specially installed beside her bed in order that she might have one last conversation with me. She didn't tell me she was dying nor did anyone else for that matter because I was in a fairly serious condition myself at the time. She simply asked me how I was and hoped I would get better soon and sent me her love. I had no idea that she would die the next day, but she knew all right and she wanted to reach out and speak to me for the last time. I think love like that stays with someone all their life and can have nothing but a benificient, sweetening, influence.

I kept quiet about my approaching fiftieth birthday. My fellow cricketers had promised to celebrate it in style by arranging for me to have a roly-poly kiss gram. If you don't know what one of those is then do not worry. It is not something that the members of the Cricket Club thought I would enjoy - although I might have enjoyed it more than they expected! Anyway I thought it best to avoid publicising my birthday. Perhaps I kept it too quiet because no one remembered. Well not quite no one! Carolyn remembered; and she and her husband invited me to spend the day, a Sunday, with them. They had two teenage children and the whole family put themselves out to make it a special day for me. It could not have been a happier one. I thanked God because I believed that the family were part of God's goodness to me. He had not forgotten that it was my fiftieth birthday either. God does not often give us a little treat - but occasionally he organises one!

God knows that there are times our morale and spirits are low. He can minister to us through the love of those who care for us and then they become part of God's grace to us.

(E) They were living proof that God was at work. v6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Paul in his prison cell remembered the wonderful conversions that took place in Philippi. His heart rejoiced at the dramatic salvation of the prison jailer, the quiet transformation of the rich business women, Lydia, and the movement from darkness into the light of so many others. It was also clear that God was continuing to work in the hearts of the Philippian Christians. They had supported him in his missionary endeavours for years and the arrival of Epaphroditus was the latest evidence of their growth in grace. Epaphroditus had travelled hundreds of miles to assist Paul and almost died in the attempt.

We are not always encouraged. On the last day of one autumn term at Debenham High School I was walking with my form to the Anglican Church for the annual Christmas carol service. I was having a cheerful conversation with Victoria when up bustled Louisa, the freckled wonder. She was most indignant that she was compelled to attend the carol service. I asked her if she didn't feel at all grateful that God had visited the earth to save sinners like her. Louisa was a fairly obvious sinner! No she didn't - she didn't b..... well believe that God existed. I tried to persuade her and soon lost the pretty, blond haired, Victoria who said, "If you are going to talk religion I'm off." This all depressed me very much.

However later that same year in the summer of 1994 I read the Daily Telegraph's obituary of Denis Lemon who died aged 48. Denis Lemon was the cofounder and editor of Gay News. In 1977 he was convicted of blasphemous libel for publishing an obscene poem about Jesus in his newspaper. In later life Denis Lemon lived in Exeter and was in charge of catering at the Arts Centre. He died, a recluse, of AIDS. Now I have to admit that Denis Lemon was not my sort. I believe that his life makes a sad story. Nevertheless his obituary ended with three words that made me weep for joy: 'Debilitated by illness, he became increasingly reclusive and devoutly Christian.' I remembered the words of Jesus: "You did not choose me, but I chose you." John15v16. I would not have chosen Denis Lemon but Jesus chose him in spite of an ungodly life style and his wicked blasphemy - he chose him. I thanked God that Jesus is still the friend of publicans and sinners and I remembered: