Sermon Notes
The Vital Link of Prayer & Praise
Philippians 4:4-9
(Based in part on "The Answer to Your Problems" by Jay McPhearson)
Introduction: Ever face a problem you thought would top them all?
In Budapest, a Jewish man went to his rabbi and complained, "Life is unbearable for my family & me. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?"
The rabbi thought about it for a moment and answered, "Take your goat into the room with you."
The man was overwhelmed, but the rabbi insisted: "Do as I say and come back in a week."
A week later the man came back looking even more upset than before. "We cannot stand it," he told the rabbi. "The goat is filthy."
The rabbi then told him, "Go home and let the goat out. Come back in a week."
A week later, the man returned all excited and he exclaimed, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of our lives now. There’s no goat – just the nine of us."
When we consider how to be content in this life, there are times we think like that. It could be worse!
Did you know part of the United States was occupied by the enemy during World War II? Some of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands were held by Japanese troops. To supply the war effort, the United States government hastily built the Alaska Highway through the Canadian Rockies.
Some years after the war ended, the Alcan Highway opened to the public. Little had changed along its 1523 miles of dirt, mud, and treacherous snaking curves through the mountains. Shortly after being opened to the public, someone posted the following sign: "Choose your rut carefully. You will be in it for the next 1500 miles."
Proposition: Prayer that leads to praise will get us out of life’s ruts!
1. Reasons for Joy (verses 4-5)
Paul wrote to the Christians at Philippi while lounging on a beach at an exclusive Mediterranean seaside resort. We know better than that! Paul was in prison. He was in chains for the gospel.
In Phil. 1:6 Paul wrote “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.”
What does it mean to have internal joy? First let’s figure out what it doesn’t mean.
Internal Joy IS NOT:
1. Wearing a mask
2. Living inconsistently and hypocritically
Our surroundings might bring external joy – but they won’t bring Internal Joy.
Internal Joy IS:
1. Contentment
Philippians 4:12 – I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
2. Accepting what life hands you
Horatio Gates Spafford, a 43-year-old Chicago Businessman, suffered financial disaster in the great Chicago fire of 1871. He and his wife were still grieving over the death of their son shortly before the fire, and he realized they needed to get away for a vacation. Knowing that their friend Dwight L. Moody was going to preach in evangelistic campaigns in England that fall, Spafford decided to take his entire family to England. His wife and four daughters went ahead on the SS Ville du Havre, and he planned to follow in a few days.
But on the Atlantic Ocean the ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel and sank within 12 minutes. 226 lives were lost – including the Spafford’s four daughters. When the survivors were brought to shore at Cardiff, Wales, Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband two words: “Saved alone.”
Spafford booked passage on the next ship. As they were crossing the Atlantic, the captain pointed out the place where he thought the ship had gone down. That night, Spafford penned the following words:
When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
It is well; it is well with my soul.
3. Found in the Lord
What does Paul say? – REJOICE -- in the lord. Notice he doesn’t say Rejoice in your circumstances, he doesn’t say Rejoice because everything is going well – although that might be a reason to be happy. Paul’s desire is that you not rejoice in the temporary – but rejoice in something that will NEVER go away. Rejoice in the Lord.
Our internal joy is in the Lord because of who our Lord is.
Remember the words to the song “I know who holds tomorrow”?
Riches won’t make you joyful inside, having the right family, or the right influence, having the best looking car, or the best paying job don’t bring internal joy. Jesus brings joy – because “our God is greater than the greatest problem.”
The result to our internal joy found in verse 5: Gentleness will be evident
Not just to your fellow believers – but everyone
Aristotle said that gentleness “Is a quality that keeps one from insisting on his full rights.”
Paul gives us a reason we should have internal joy and evident gentleness, and I don’t think we can have one without the other.
He says in the last part of verse 5: The Lord is near
There are two possible meanings
1. That the Lord is close to you, present with you, aware of your conduct, concerned about your attitude, available to come to your aid, and at hand to assist you. Or…
2. This is speaking about the return of Jesus – which is near. This is a source of our joy and gentleness.
Are you joyful this morning? We have many things to be joyful about; many blessings that we can understand come from God. We can also be joyful because we know that our trials and our troubles will pass.
Can you do something with me? Think of your worst problem and then repeat: “Whatever I am going through, the Lord will see me through.”
You will get through it. You will overcome. You have the power, the strength, the ability and the God who is able because “God is greater than the greatest problem.”
2. Reasons to Pray & Trust (verses 6-7)
If God is really greater than my greatest problem, I can present myself to him as I am; I can give him my worry and my fears. I can also trust that he will deal with those things in HIS time, in HIS way, and that it will be the best for me, because HE loves me.
Paul says this: Do not be anxious about anything.
Do not endure “unreasonable anxiety”.
Look at this and understand that Paul was in prison. There is evidence in Chapter 1 verse 28 that Paul understood they were being persecuted. He was in Jail – they were facing persecution – but the command, the desire, the hope, Paul has for them is “don’t be anxious.”
How do we keep ourselves from being anxious?
Pray!
Hebrews 11:6 – And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Paul understood from personal experience that the way to be anxious about nothing was to be prayerful about everything.
Pray With Thanksgiving. We can come to God because we are thankful that He is God, that we are his creation, and that he cares for us.
Not only should we pray – we should trust.
We will have peace. When we pray and give our anxieties to God – we should trust that he will take care of them. Paul says we will have peace.
Peace is not based on our understanding.
Our understanding of this world, the universe, ourselves – is incomplete at best. We still don’t understand everything there is to understand. We do not understand everything about God, or why things happen the way they do, but we don’t have to.
Peace is based on his knowledge
His complete knowledge, His perfect knowledge
Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
His knowledge keeps us from trusting ourselves and keeps us from trusting this world
His knowledge protects Our hearts and Our minds In Christ Jesus.
3. Reasons to Think & Act (verses 7-9)
A lot of non-Christians think the church is a bunch of mindless drones. They don’t believe that we think for ourselves. They reason that we need God because we lack something else in our lives. They think we are brainwashed.
Much of their understanding is false; total fiction. Here are the facts:
We have history to back our claims.
We have witnesses who wrote down what they saw.
We have archeology proving what the Bible says.
We even have science supporting Scripture. When scientific pursuit is conducted without presuppositions, it actually supports Christianity.
Paul says – Think and Act.
Think about these things. Whatever is:
1. True – means “true in the sense of truthful, and truthful in every aspect of life including thought, speech and act.
2. Noble – This word is only found in the writings of Paul. It refers to lofty things, majestic things, things that lift the mind from the cheap and immoral to that which is noble and good and of moral worth.
3. Right – this means giving to God and men their due. It involves duty and responsibility. It entails satisfying all obligations.
4. Pure – This means embracing purity in every part of life
5. Lovely – Literally means – “that which calls forth love”
6. Admirable – means expressing what is kind and likely to win people, and avoiding what is likely to give offense.
These are the excellent qualities that Paul asked the church in Philippi to not just think about. We have to put these things into action.
Let me clear the air a little.
The books we read need to fall into this list.
The music we listen to should fall into this group.
The pictures we look at, all the way down to the pictures in our homes, should fall within this list.
The chat rooms we visit on the internet should fall into this list.
The TV shows we watch should be in this group.
If they aren’t, GET RID OF THEM! Don’t trade temporary pleasure now for eternity. Something cannot be holy or admirable without being pure. Do you get what I am talking about?
If our Christianity is more important to us than the world, we need to make some changes. The Bible says you embrace one or the other – you can’t have a group hug with both the world and its temporary pleasure and the holy creator of the universe – you embrace one or the other.
Paul wrote, “The things you see have I have passed on to you – you do those things.”
Not only should we look to the lives of Christians, we should look to Christ.
Investigate what Jesus did and did not do.
How did he interact with those who on the surface looked religious and holy?
How did he react to those who were considered unclean?
Paul said we should look to him as an example. Paul preached Christ crucified, buried and resurrected. That’s what Paul was talking about when he wrote – “what I passed on.” He was speaking about the gospel message.
Conclusion: Life must be more than just going from one disaster to another. We are all going to fail – We are all going to do things we wish we hadn’t. Those are just the facts of life. It’s not the number of times that we fail that matters. What matters is how many times we get up and do better. We can’t win this race by giving up, walking off the track, and hanging up our running shoes. We win only with endurance and prayer.
Have you gotten so used to your burden that you do not know how to live without it?
Lay down the burden;
Get out of the rut; and
Run toward the One who gives us reason to offer praise!
