Right Words for a World Gone Wrong
Philippians 4:9-19
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - Sept. 12, 2010
*Where were you when the world stopped turning that September morn? (1)
-We will always remember. -- The F-15 pilot who was flying directly over one of the towers when it went down said: “It’s my generation’s Pearl Harbor.”
*So much happened so fast:
-At 7:45 a.m. (our time) American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles with 92 people slammed into the north tower of the WTC.
-8:03 a.m. About 18 minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston to Los Angeles with 65 people hit the south tower of the WTC.
-8:43 a.m. American Airlines Flight 77 from Dulles to LAX with 64 people crashed into the Pentagon. -- One of the building’s 5 sides collapsed.
-9:00 a.m. United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco with 45 people crashed 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, PA, stopped by brave passengers who gave their lives to keep that plane from hitting the White House or the Capital.
-9:05 a.m. The south tower of the WTC collapsed in a plume of ash and debris.
-9:28 a.m. The WTC’s north tower collapsed. (2)
*We live in a world that can turn upside down in a second.
-A phone call or text message can come out of the blue to shake us to the core.
*Friday morning at 7:45, Ouachita Parish deputies received a call from a witness stating that two people were dead in a home on Mount Vernon Church Road.
-At 8:15, West Ouachita High School was locked down, and for their own safety, students were placed against classroom walls.
-At 9:04, the lockdown was over with 10th grade student Dalton Fletcher in custody, charged in the murder of his parents Tammy & Johnny.
-Principal Mickey Merritt first heard about the lockdown, as he was in a staff meeting about another student, Tyler Redmond, who apparently committed suicide Thursday night. (3)
*Tyler’s great grandmother is Mary Parker, a very faithful member of our church.
-Dalton Fletcher’s grandmother lives across the street from Mary Parker, and as you can imagine the whole community is tremendously upset.
-Let’s pray for these all.
*We live in a world that can turn upside down in a second.
-But if I am a Christian, I know that what God says in Rom 8:28 is true: “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
-If I am a Christian, God will turn my trouble into a testimony. We could even see this in one of the News Star articles yesterday. A junior by the name of Natalie Rieger told the reporter that “many students were praying silently.” Natalie also told the reporter, “My friend Kelsey said, ‘this is a time when nobody needs to be an atheist.’” (3)
*That’s a great testimony, and here in Phil 4, Paul gives another great testimony.
-We can look at Paul’s words and find out what to say when our world goes wrong.
1. First: talk about your Savior.
*Paul talked about Jesus all the time. And in these verses we see two of the most famous things Paul ever said about our Savior:
13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
19. My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
*Then back in vs. 9 Paul said: “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
*“Do the things you HEARD.”
-Paul is reminding us here that people have to hear.
-People have to hear the Word of God.
-People have to hear the good news about Jesus Christ.
*And here it is in a nutshell:
-We are sinners who deserve eternal punishment, but God the Father loves us so much that He sent His only Son into the world to die for our sins.
-Jesus Christ is the Almighty, eternal Son of God, who humbled Himself to become a man.
-After living the only perfect life, Jesus took all of the punishment for all of our sins when He died on the cross for us.
-Three days later Jesus rose again from the dead.
-He has the power to forgive our sins and give us His eternal life.
-And Jesus will give His life to everyone who turns to Him and receives Him as Savior and Lord.
*People have to hear the good news about Jesus Christ, so Christians, we have to talk about our Savior.
*Jimmy and Jennifer Mauldin were missionaries from 1996 to 2000. With four small children, they went to Ghana, West Africa to serve the Lord. Jimmy was a hospital administrator at a Baptist medical center that treated 60,000 outpatients and 10,000 inpatients every year.
*The experience was rewarding but difficult. And when the couple came home to Cullman, Alabama, they were ready for a break. Jimmy worked on his master’s degree. But he began to question if he really wanted to return to the field. You know, God needs workers right here too!
*9-11 confirmed it for Jimmy. Watching TV coverage, there was no question left. Jimmy said: “I definitely was not taking my family overseas again. I surely did not want to get on a plane. Jennifer and I have four small children. How could I put them in danger?”
*But something big happened the next day, when Jimmy drove their 5-yr-old daughter to kindergarten. Her name is Katie, and during the drive she asked her daddy why all the flags were at half-mast. Jimmy told her it was because of the actions of some bad men.
*Then Katie asked, “Daddy, why didn’t someone tell them about Jesus?”
-That question hit Jimmy right in the gut. He tried to put it out of his mind, but he said, “God reminded me that there are 1.7 billion people in the world who have never heard about the love of Jesus Christ.”
*After much prayer, Jimmy and Jennifer decided that it was time to return to Africa to finish the work they started. The whole family left for Ghana the following June. God used a little girl with a big question to make it happen: “Daddy, why didn’t someone tell them about Jesus?” (4)
*Christians: talk about your Savior.
2. And talk about your strength.
*If anybody ever needed strength, it was the Apostle Paul. During his 3 missionary journeys, Paul faced many troubles.
-In 2 Cor 1:8, he said: “We do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.”
-Then in 2 Cor 11:24-28, Paul said this in the New Living Translation:
24. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes.
25. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.
26. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.
27. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.
28. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.
*Paul always needed strength. But now even more, because Paul was a prisoner in Roman chains when he wrote his letter to the Philippians. In Phil 4:10-13 Paul tells us where he got his strength. Paul said:
10. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.
11. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
12. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
*Paul was able to look back over his life and see that Jesus had given him the strength for every challenge he ever faced.
-And Christian, Jesus will do the same thing for you.
*One time I got to see some awesome feats of strength performed by Keith Davis from the Power Team. Keith took a wooden baseball bat and pushed it against his thigh until it snapped like a toothpick.
-I told Bobby Wilson I probably could have broken that bat, -- with my car!
*Then Keith took a one-inch steel bar about 6 feet long, wrapped a rag around the center, put it in his mouth, and bent it into the shape of a “U.”
*Keith then gave his Christian testimony, and he said, “My true sign of my strength is not my bench press. My true sign of strength is this.” And he held up that broken bat in the shape of a cross.
*We may not be able to break a baseball bat across our leg. But Christians, we have the same strength as Keith Davis! It’s the cross! It’s our Savior Jesus Christ! We can echo the words of Psalm 46:1-2:
1. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
2. Therefore we will not fear, Though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
*Christian: Talk about your strength.
3. And talk about your support.
*In these verses Paul had a great testimony of support from the church at Philippi.
-First in vs. 10, Paul said: “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.”
-Then starting in vs. 14:
14. Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress.
15. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only.
16. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities.
17. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.
18. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.
*Here’s the background:
-In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were with the people of Philippi for only a short time. Great things happened while they were there. People were being saved.
*Then Paul and Silas were severely beaten and thrown into prison.
-Why? -- There was a young woman in that city, a slave able to tell fortunes, because she was possessed by a demon. Paul cast the demon out. And her owners became enraged when they realized they couldn’t make any more money from her fortune-telling.
*Then there was the wonderful story of how the jailer and his household got saved:
-While Paul and Silas were in jail, God sent a miraculous earthquake that loosed their chains and opened the prison doors. Thinking the prisoners had escaped, the jailer started to kill himself. But Paul stopped him just in the nick of time.
*The jailer rushed in and asked that most important question: “What must I do to be saved?” -- And they answered: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
*Now many years later, Paul was in prison again for preaching the gospel.
-But this time there was no miraculous earthquake to set him free.
-He was chained to a guard, waiting to plead his case to case to Caesar.
*Then one day he has a visitor, a man from Philippi, named Epaphroditus.
-That long Greek word simply means “lovely” or “devoted to love.”
-We could call him Mr. Lovely.
*He brought Paul a gift of much-needed money, and it gave great joy to Paul.
-This was not the first gift he had received from Philippi.
-Verse 16 tells us that the church helped him many times.
*These verses remind us that there will be times when we need to get help.
-There’s nothing wrong with that. Paul needed help, and someday, so will you.
-If you think you can make it through life without help, you need help right now!
*I need help all the time. And I am so thankful that I have help!
-There is no way to measure how much help Mary has been in my life.
-Then here at the church there is our staff, our deacons, Sunday School Leaders, plus all of the other volunteers who are serving the Lord here at McClendon.
*We all need help. And we all need to give it. So be a giver.
-Paul helps us to see some key lessons here about giving.
[1] The first lesson is to give when we can. Vs. 10 tells us that these Christians always wanted to help Paul, but for a while, they just couldn’t.
-We need to give help when we can.
[2] The next lesson is: Don’t think your giving doesn’t matter. Vs. 15 tells us that the Philippians were the ONLY church both able and willing to help Paul. And the time may come when you are the only person who can make a difference.
[3] The third lesson on giving is that giving to others helps you. Paul talks here about the heavenly fruit it puts in our account. When we give in the name of the Lord, we put fruit in our account that will never pass away!
-Helping others helps you.
[4] And the fourth lesson is that your giving makes God happy. As Paul said in vs. 18, their gifts were “a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.” Their support made Paul happy, but much more important, it made God happy.
*So be a giver, and share your testimonies of how God’s people have given to you. Christian: Talk about your support.
4. And talk about your supply.
*It’s the supply God’s Word promises all believers in vs. 19. Here Paul said: “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
*If you are 4 or 104, God shall supply all your needs! And He can do it, because the whole universe belongs to Him! Jesus never runs out of what we need!
-If I need forgiveness.
7. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
8. which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. (Eph 1:7-8)
-If we need peace, He can give us the peace that passes understanding. (Phil 4:7)
-If I need strength, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13)
-If we need comfort, He is the God of all comfort.
3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4. who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Cor 1:3-4)
-If we need wisdom, Jesus is our supply! “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Prov 2:6)
*No wonder Paul said: “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
-But notice that our supply must come through Jesus Christ.
*Luther Bridgers knew that. Luther was born in North Carolina on Valentine’s Day in 1884. He died in Atlanta in 1948, at the age of 64.
*Luther began preaching when he was only 17. He served as a Methodist pastor and evangelist in the South, but also did mission work in Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Russia.
*Luther was also a song writer, and he wrote one of our favorite hymns. It was a song born in a time of tragedy.
-Luther came home from an evangelistic meeting to find that his wife and 3 children had died in a fire that destroyed their family home.
*The story is that Luther sat on the stone doorstep of that burnt out home and wrote:
“There’s within my heart a melody Jesus whispers sweet and low,
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still, In all of life’s ebb and flow.
All my life was wrecked by sin and strife, Discord filled my heart with pain;
Jesus swept across the broken strings; Stirred the slumbering chords again.
Though sometimes he leads through waters deep,
Trials fall across the way,
Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep,
See his footprints all the way.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. -- Sweetest name I know,
Fills my every longing, -- Keeps me singing as I go.” (5)
*What a testimony! -- Is it your testimony?
-It surely can be, and it will be, if you will open your heart to trust in Jesus.
*You can do that in a moment as we go to God in prayer.
*Then start giving your testimony.
-It’s a great thing to do anytime, but especially when things go horribly wrong.
-God gives us the right words for a world gone wrong:
-Talk about your Savior.
-Talk about your strength.
-Talk about your support.
-And talk about your supply: Our “God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
1. “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)?” - Written and recorded by Alan Jackson.
2. Source: Sermonillustrations.com illustrations for 9-11
3. Sources:
“Tragedy: Police arrest teen in double-slaying of parents” By Stacy Temple - stemple@thenewsstar.com - September 11, 2010
“Tears, fears flowed freely” By Barbara Leader - bleader@thenewsstar.com - September 11, 2010
4. Article in the “Baptist Message” 09/05/02
5. Sources:
ChristianGlobe.com sermon “Name Above Every Name” by Leonard Mann - Luke 2:21
http://nethymnal.org/htm/h/k/hkeepsme.htm
http://nethymnal.org/bio/b/r/i/bridgers_lb.htm
