SERMON
Story: A Quaker once posted a sign on one of the choicest fields of his farm. It stated,
"This land will be given to the first truly satisfied person who passes this way" .
No sooner had he arrived back at his house than a man knocked at his door.
“Sir," he said, "I just saw your sign and I want you to know that I am a completely satisfied man. I have a devoted family, a successful business, financial security for the future and I am in excellent health."
The old Quaker looked his visitor over very carefully and then said
"Pray tell me, friend, if thou art a completely satisfied man, why dost thou want my land?"
I would like this morning to look at the Epistle reading – from Philippians 3.
May I start by giving you a bit of the background
St Paul has been plagued by the Judaisers in the Church when he wrote the epistle to the Philippians.
The Judaisers were Christian teachers who taught that being right with God required not only coming to Christ but that you had to become a Jew too by being circumcised.
Put another way, they were saying that the Gospel was “Jesus plus…” - the plus in this case being the need to become a Jew.
Paul was very clear on this matter.
They were wrong.
A Christian is only made right with God by Jesus’ death on the Cross and not by any deeds we can do.
Gentile Christians therefore did not need to become Jews.
The matter came to a head at the first Council of Jerusalem - which you can read about in Acts 15 - and the leaders of the Early Church agree that what Paul and his fellow apostle Barnabas were teaching was correct.
Paul, though himself a Jew had no regrets in leaving Judaisim – because he was totally satisfied with "knowing Christ."
“Everything is worthless” the Apostle says in v.8 “when compared to the priceless gem of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.”
Do you think he is right?
For me, the question that comes out of reading from Philippians is this
“What counts in my life?”
What gives me self worth?
i) Are you important because of the accident
of your birth?
ii) Are you important because of what you have achieved?
iii) Or are you who you are because you know Christ?
The question is quite a leveller.
Paul had been brought up a Jew and as such had been taught that Jews were a cut above the rest as they were “the Children of God”
Humanly speaking, you could say that Paul was a success, as he had the right pedigree and his achievements were sweet.
We read in Phil. 3:5-6 of Paul’s tremendous credentials as a Jewish leader:
His Jewish background:
• Circumcised on the 8th day,
• Of the people of Israel,
• What’s more of the tribe of Benjamin,
• A Hebrew of Hebrews.
His successes:
• In regard to the law Paul was a Pharisee.
• As to zeal, he persecuted the church – before his conversion because he thought they were a false sect of Judaism. And he had been very successful
• As to legalistic righteousness, Paul was faultless.
He had studied under the famous Rabbi Gamaliel – and was probably a member of the Jewish Squirarchy – the Sanhedrin – before his Damascus road experience.
Paul had something to be proud about, in the worldly sense.
He was a success.
Yet in Phil. 3:8 he says:
……I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ.
Paul calls his worldly success: DUNG. That is the strength of the word translated in the NIV as “rubbish”.
Instead of looking to the past, Paul tells his fellow believers in Philippi to look to the future.
In our epistle reading this morning Paul wrote:
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Knowing Christ is an ongoing experience.
Paul encourages them to follow his example.
In Philippians 3:17 he says:
Join with others in following my example, brothers and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.
What was the example that Paul wanted them to follow?
He puts it very well earlier in the Letter to the Philippians
For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. (Phil: 1:21)
The paradox of the Christian life was summed up by Jesus who said “Those who find their life will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
But it wasn’t just Paul and the early church leaders who lived for Christ.
Story: This week a new Pope has been chosen – Pope Francis who has chosen his name after the famous St Francis of Assisi.
Greg Venables, former Anglican Archbishop of the Southern Cone and based in Argentina, has this to say about the new Pope
“He is much more of a Christian, Christ centered and Spirit filled, than a mere churchman.
He believes the Bible as it is written.
I have been with him on many occasions and he always makes me sit next to him and invariably makes me take part and often do what he as Cardinal should have done.
He is consistently humble and wise, outstandingly gifted yet a common man.
He is no fool and speaks out very quietly yet clearly when necessary.
…………..I consider this to be an inspired appointment not because he is a close and personal friend but because of who he is in Christ. Pray for him.”
For me this is a key phrase. Pope Francis knows “who he is IN CHRIST.”
Pope Francis’ humility is spoken about by all who know him.
One report says this about him
Pope Francis spent his first day as leader of 1.2 billion Catholics yesterday praying, paying his hotel bill and catching the bus.
Much has been made of the 76-year-old’s humility, previously winning praise for eschewing the trappings of office for a frugal life in Buenos Aires, where he was archbishop.
And what a shock it must have been to the Vatican security forces when he decided to travel by bus
May we leave Church today with Paul’s admonition in our hearts
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
We are who were are because we are adopted sons and daughters of God through Christ’s free gift – his death on the Cross.
Nothing else matters.
That is our right. But with rights come responsibilities.
We are called to live Christ like lives.
I’d like to close with a story from a book I have been reading called “The Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale.
I don’t agree with all he says but he does have some good points.
He tells this one story about the effect of Christians living the Christian life.
It is the story of Porter No 42 in the Grand Central Station in New York, a Christian called Ralston Young.
Norman Vincent Peale wrote this:
“(Ralston) carries bags for a living but his real job is living the spirit of Christ as a porter in one of the world’s greatest railway stations.
One day he was asked to take a little old lady to her train.
She was in a wheel chair so he took her down on the elevator.
As he wheeled her into the elevator, he noticed there were tears in her eyes.
Ralston Young stood there as the elevator descended, closed his eyes and asked the Lord how he could help her and the Lord give him an idea.
As he wheeled her off the elevator he said with a smile ”Ma’am, if you don’t mind me saying so, that is a mighty pretty hat you are wearing.”
She looked at him and said “Thank you”
“And may I add” he said “that sure is a pretty dress you have on. I like it so much”.
Being a woman this appealed to her, and despite the fact she wasn’t feeling well, she brightened up and asked ”Why in the world did you say those nice things to me?”
“Well” he said ”I saw how unhappy you were. I saw you were crying and I just asked the Lord how I could help you. The Lord said ‘Speak to her about the hat’. The mention of the dress he added was my own idea.”
“Don’t you feel well?” he asked.
“No” she replied “I am constantly in pain”. I am never free from it. Sometimes I can’t stand it. Do you, by any chance, know what it is like to be in pain all the time?”
Ralston had an answer: “Yes Ma’am, I do for I lost an eye and it hurts like a hot iron day and night.”
“But you seem so happy now. How did you accomplish it?”
”Just by prayer ma’am, just by prayer.”
She asked “Does prayer, just prayer take the pain away?”
“Well” replied Ralston ”perhaps it doesn’t always take it away. I can’t say it does, but it always helps to overcome it so it doesn’t seem like it burns so much. Just keep on praying, ma’am and I’ll pray for you too.”
Her tears were dried now and she looked up at him with a lovely smile, took him by the hand and said”You’ve done me so much good”.
A year passed and one night at Grand Central station Ralston Young was paged to come to the Information Booth.
A young woman was there who said: “I bring you a message from the dead. Before she died my mother told me to find you and to tell you how much you helped her last year when she took the train in her wheelchair. She will always remember you, even in eternity. She will remember you for you were so kind and loving and understanding”
Then the young woman burst into tears and sobbed in her grief.
Ralston stood quietly watching her. Then he said “Don’t cry missy, don’t cry. You shouldn’t cry. Give a prayer of thanksgiving”.
Surprised the girl said ”Why should I give a prayer of thanksgiving?”
“Because” said Ralston ”many people have become orphans much younger than you. You had your mother for a long, long time, and besides you still have her. You will see her again…….”
Peale concludes by saying:
“Ralston’s kindness had the same effect on the daughter as it had on her mother. In this huge station, with thousands of people passing by, the two of them felt the presence of (the) one who inspired this wonderful porter to go around this way, spreading love. (“The Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale p.84-86).
After all, didn’t St Paul tell us that
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:22 and 23).
Nobody is too insignifiant that he or she cannot witness to the Gospel and to Jesus Christ. We just have to be willing
