Today we’re looking at a wonderfully positive passage of Scripture written by a man who, apart from his relationship with Jesus, had every reason not to rejoice, every reason to be anxious.
The author of this passage, the Apostle Paul, lived as a hunted man. Having initially come on the scene as the One Guy who would wipe out the church, Paul, after an encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, became the One Guy who God would use to bring the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles.
I wanted to focus on this passage today, in what will be my last message to you for the better part of 6 months, because I truly believe that God wants us to live in its principles.
Among hundreds of beloved passages, this is one that stands out for me, that crystalizes how I chose to live. And it might be of some encouragement to you as well.
So…let’s look at our passage today again more closely.
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
I think when I started reading the Bible, it was so overwhelming that I glossed over a lot of it. It was so unfamiliar and it described a way of living that was so alien and new to me, that I spent a lot of my Bible-reading time gobsmacked, to use a word that Barb introduced me to.
By the time I read this for the first time, I had already read the Book of Acts, much of it a fairly nerve-wracking account of the Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys.
In the book of 2nd Corinthians, a book Barb and I are reading right now in our devotions, Paul recounts a lot of what happened to him in his missionary journeys.
2 Cor 11:24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
This was the life of Paul; this Paul…same guy who writes, while in prison (Paul was in prison by the way, in a cold, miserable Roman jail when he wrote the book of Philippians)…this is Paul who writes:
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
I remember my first response to this exhortation to live at all times in a mode of rejoicing was: what? either this guy is nuts, not too smart, sharp as a sack of wet mice…OR… he has something remarkable and wonderful in his life; something amazing in his heart; something fascinating in mind.
In a world where sadness and injustice and despair are everywhere how can this be even reasonable to suggest, to rejoice always in the Lord?
The author of Hebrews, who to me sounds an awful lot like the Apostle Paul himself, writes:
Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
It is easy to be happy when everything is going our way. There is no pressure then, there is nothing butting up against our lives or our faith or our comfort.
It is easy, brothers and sisters, to be content when everything’s going good: “God is in his heaven and all’s right with the world”, or so they use to say.
But you and I know that it’s rare thing when everything external to us is as it should be. Who here doesn’t know someone we love who is sick, who is fighting cancer, who is struggling with addictions?
Who isn’t affected by a world economy that 4 years after the recession started is still kind of circling the drain? For Paul, everything external WASN’T going his way. Messy and chaotic and violent and downright scary are better descriptors of normal life for Paul.
But he knew something. He knew something that the Christians who were fed to the lions in Rome knew. He knew something that the early persecuted church knew.
He knew something that a great many Christians today who are living persecuted lives know. He knew something many of us here at CATM know.
Each one knew or knows to fix their eyes upon Jesus, to think about Jesus who endured the worst that life and humanity had to offer, and yet endured.
To enter into and be in a relationship with this same Jesus who is The Anchor in life for so very many people.
Think of the biggest challenges you’ve faced, or maybe are facing today. Think of that loss that stung so badly. Think of that person who is absent now from your life who you miss so dearly.
When my brother died of cancer, when my father died last year, when the worst of the worst has hit me, I always knew that I had a choice.
It’s easy when it’s good. But when it’s bad, do we turn from God…or do we cleave to Him; do we say: “God…you are THE ONE GOOD THING I have going for me”.
Do we believe that and say that? When the waters are rough do we recommit to never, ever…by God’s grace, let go of Him?
So Paul’s encouragement here is not to live life with blinders on, not to be oblivious to pain and to hurt around us and in us, not to be blindly happy. But his encouragement is to “rejoice”. In what? “Rejoice in the Lord always”.
May we remember, when external stuff is going haywire, that we have inside us in the Holy Spirit the presence of Christ.
To a parched tongue desperate for living waters, Christ is THE ONE who will satisfy when everything and everyone else fails us. Amen? Amen.
Next Paul says:
5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
When a person is freaked out. Anxious. Upset. Are they liable to be gentle or brash? Kind or thoughtless? Often we hold in our minds and hearts things that are bothering us. This offense, that annoyance. This grievance, that complaint.
Barb will nod when I say that when I’m unsettled about something, I’m not particularly attentive to her. I’m distracted, easily annoyed. I can be kind of robotic in my responses when I’m upset about something, before I bring that thing that’s bothering me to God. Just being honest.
This beautiful thing that God has given us…this ability to choose to present our request to God…this is an awesome thing. We can cast our cares upon Jesus. We can discipline ourselves to entrust our worries to the One Person who can actually do something about those worries.
Rick Warren says, "Worry is the warning light that God is really not first in my life at this particular moment." Because worry says that God is not big enough to handle my troubles. Jesus says in Mt. 6:33: "Set your heart first on God’s kingdom and His goodness.." And He said that at the conclusion of an entire sermon on worry. The antidote to worry? Put God first!
The word worry in the Greek, merimnaō, means to be divided. The Greek word is formed by two root words "divided" and "mind." To worry means to be pulled in many different directions.
Usually we worry and fret over things we have zero control over. That’s a truly vicious circle. But Paul says here, and, wow, do we ever know that this was so real for him;
Paul says that we can give all those things to God…and when we do, we will have God’s peace, and God’s peace will keep us. Keep us calm. Keep us safe. It will guard and hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. I love that.
And finally, Paul says:
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
{{We’ve spent time today praying for Dwight Catanus who is launching into a new ministry that has deep roots in what he has actually been doing for a number of years.
Dwight, for you this is an opportunity for you to apply the truth of this Scripture. When you assess situations, when you build into young people, when you face challenges or hardships; even when you are evaluating how you think you’re doing…THINK on these things.
I believe it will help you as your ministry grows. It will help you maintain vital balance between your ministry and your family.
One of the biggest challenges for those in ministry is this: because ministry COULD take nearly ALL your time, you need to guard against that happening by always putting God and family first. If a plan or an idea that’s great in itself doesn’t pass the Philippians 4:8 test, don’t do it.
If your wife, your best and closest and most important ministry partner, affirms your plans and vision, that’s a strong endorsement of which way to go. If she doesn’t, that’s a great reason to pause and reassess.
Together you will discern the way forward for your family and your ministry. Together you’ll discern what is true, noble, right and pure; what is admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.}}
Let’s get back to our subject.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
What would life would be like if you and I thought this way? If we didn’t dwell on what is hard, of frustrating, or annoying. To focus our thoughts and our mental energy instead on only what is true and noble and right and pure and lovely and admirable. Does that sound boring to you?
Don’t we like controversy? Don’t we like gossip? Don’t we like to read the National Enquirer and other such reputable media sources? Don’t a lot of people love horror movies.
Honestly, I’ve never understood that. Wouldn’t we make different choices if we really sought to live the way the Word of God instructs? Wouldn’t we say "no!" as a matter of principal to darkness, in all its forms, no matter what our practice has been?
I think we would. Our conversation would not seek to titillate others with juicy gossip about others. Our words would not be complaints and anger. Our words would be life.
We would be encouragers of each other. We would seek to bring out the best in each other. We would delight in good news. And we would empathize with others. We would weep with those who weep and sing for joy with those are joyful.
Let me try something. While I’m gone, if you hear anyone who comes to this church gossiping or criticizing others, you have permission to say: "Hey…I’m not going to participate in gossip”. That simple. Is that too much to ask? Hmm.
Once in a while like to use a good acronym to help remember something important. Even just regarding speaking with someone, deciding whether to say something to another person.
Here’s one:
• T - Is it true?
• H - Is it helpful?
• I - Is it inspiring?
• N - Is it necessary?
• K - Is it kind?
If what we are about to say does not pass these tests, we should choose not to say it.
Can you imagine how the tone of things would change?
It excites me to think of us as a congregation walking in such maturity, living in such freedom, being people who imparted to others life, and only life with our words.
So. Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Excellent words to leave you with.
I wanted to look at this passage today because I believe that God wants us to live in its principles. May we choose to live rejoicing in Jesus Christ, eyes fixed firmly on Him, lives anchored to Him, the strongest foundation on this planet.
May we know the peace of God that comes only from walking in right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. May we turn from gossip, even challenge each other gently and kindly to refrain from negative words and gossip.
May we seek to build one another up in the most holy faith. May we choose to set our thoughts on only the best things and encourage one another to walk transparently and openly.
May God continue to use each one here in his transforming reconciling work in this city. Amen? Amen.
