Ill:
• At a nursing home, a resident group was discussing ailments.
• One man said: "My arms are so weak I can hardly life this cup of coffee,"
• An old lady added:
• "Yes I know, my cataracts are so bad I can't even see my coffee,"
• Then a third person said:
• "I can't turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck,"
• Then an elderly man spoke up:
• "My blood pressure pills make me dizzy, but I guess that's the price we pay for getting old,"
• They all nodded enthusiastically and someone added:
• "Well, it sure beats the alternative."
• The one woman said cheerfully;
• "Well, it's not that bad, thank goodness we can all still drive!"
• TRANSITION: It is good to be thankful!
• It is good to ‘give thanks’ for all the good things God has given us to enjoy!
Ill:
• Someone wrote a little monologue called; ‘I am Thankful for.........’
• It goes; ‘I am Thankful for.........’
• the taxes I pay
• because it means I’m employed.
• the clothes that fit a little too snug
• because it means I have enough to eat.
• my shadow who watches me work
• because it means I am out in the sunshine.
• a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing
• because it means I have a home.
• the spot I find at the far end of the car parking,
• because it means I am capable of walking.
• my huge heating bill
• because it means I am warm.
• all the complaining I hear about our government
• because it means we have freedom of speech.
• the lady behind me in church who sings off key.
• because it means that I can hear.
• the piles of laundry and ironing
• because it means my loved ones are nearby.
• the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours
• because it means that I’m alive.
• weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day
• because it means I have been productive.
• TRANSITION: It is good to be thankful!
• It is good to ‘give thanks’ for all the good things God has given us to enjoy!
• Quote the hymn: “Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice”
Now harvest is a time of reflection and thanksgiving:
• We take time to reflect to ‘count our blessings’.
• To ‘give thanks’ to God for all the good things he has given us to enjoy!
• Now some of you might be wondering;
• What these verses in Philippians chapter 4 have to do with harvest.
• Well if I had the power to plant five seeds in my own life;
• They would be the five things mentioned in these eleven verses of this chapter.
Seed #1: Stability (vs 1:
“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!”
• Paul’s first request is that these Christians "Stand fast." Or "Stand firm."
• Quote: How stable are you?
• Answer: Some of us suffer from what has been called malarial Christianity;
• That is hot, cold, hot, cold - one week keen to win the world for Christ;
• The next day can’t even get out of bed, a quiet time…forget it!
Seed #2: Harmony (vs 2):
“I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.”
• Paul’s second request is that these Christians have the "Same mind" or "to agree."
• If I could plant a seed to produce some quality in me it would be for harmony.
• Question: How many conflicts have you had this week?
• Question: How many conflicts have you had this month, this year?
• Answer: We might be out and out arguing:
• But we gossip, talk about people, we speak negative things about them.
• And gossip and negative speaking are all visible signs of disunity.
Ill:
• Stephen Hawkings is considered one of the great thinkers of this century.
• He inherited the modern mantle of Albert Einstein.
• Yet he can't even tie his own shoes, brush his teeth or comb his hair,
• Even though these are simple tasks that millions of youngsters do form an early age.
• The reason Stephen Hawkins cannot do these tasks;
• Is because Stephen Hawkings's body has been twisted and crippled;
• By an affliction commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
• This disease causes Stephen Hawkings's nerves to "disconnect" from each other;
• So that the messages from his incredible brain;
• Cannot pass through the nerve pathways to his body.
• There is nothing wrong with Stephen Hawkings's mind.
• He is able to hold and handle huge mathematical equations in his mind.
• He can do all of his thinking without the aid of notes;
• And/or the convenience of penning things down.
• Typing is laboriously done through methods;
• That only a handicapped person could appreciate.
• He cannot use his fingers;
• He cannot even use an apparatus to be held in his teeth.
• All Stephen Hawkin’s can do is blow into a tube.
• Now here is my point:
• There is nothing wrong with Stephen Hawkings's head.
• It is his body that is dysfunctional.
• TRANSITION: The New Testament makes it very clear that:
• Christ is the head and we (the Church) are the body.
• But like Stephen Hawkin’s so often God has struggled with a crippled Body.
• For to long has God has been troubled by cells wanting to disconnect from each other;
• Or refusing to connect in the first place!
• And every time we gossip or slander or speak negatively about a person;
• It is like introducing Lou Gehrig's disease into the body.
• There is nothing wrong with the head but so often we make the body dysfunctional.
Seed #3: Joy. (vs 4):
• Paul’s third request is that these Christians;
• "Rejoice in the Lord always" - "Always be full of joy."
Ill:
• A man walked by a table in a hotel and noticed three men and a dog playing cards.
• The dog appeared to be winning.
• Noticing this unusual sight, the man stopped and commented;
• "That must be a very smart dog,"
• One of the players replied: "He ain't so smart,
• Every time he gets a good hand he wags his tail!"
• TRANSITION:
• When we have joy in our hearts, it will be obvious to everyone!
• Quote: Proverbs chapter 15 verse 13:
• "A joyful heart makes a cheerful face"
Question: How much laughter you had this week, month, year?
• We want joy, we want happiness, we want laughter;
• But if we are honest so often it is missing!
• If we were able to plant a seed of happiness, of joy;
• I guess we would all plant one!
Seed #4: Purity (vs 8):
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”.
The Message:
”Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse”.
• Paul’s fourth request is that these Christians have pure hearts & minds.
• Question: How clean / pure / wholesome your mind this week?
Quote: D.L. Moody:
“Invented a camera that photographs the heart;
We would all have our pictures taken but we wouldn’t dare show it to anyone!”
ill:
• If you knew my thoughts I have had this week;
• You would not want me to be your speaker this morning!
• And if I knew the thoughts you all have had;
• I would not want to be your speaker!
Seed #5: Consistency (vs 9):
9”Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
• Paul’s fifth request is that these Christians "Put into practice" or "Do it!"
• But if we are honest we are so inconsistent.
• This is not a modern problem – Christians have always struggled with consistency;
• They have always struggled with practicing their faith.
Quote: James chapter 1 verse 22:
"With the tongue we praise our father and Lord,
And with it we curse men,
Out of the same mouth comes both praise and cursing,
My brothers this should not be,
Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?"
• James went onto say:
• "Be doers of the word and not just hearers."
• It can make us feel failures, and rob us of our reality.
• And even cause anxiety (worry, “if I am a Christian why do I do these things?”):
Note: I left out verse 6 & 7 on purpose. It is central to the rest.
Ill:
• A bicycle wheel is solid, strong and useful;
• But of you remove the spindle, it suddenly becomes useless.
• The spindle gives the wheel centrality and makes it strong and solid and useful.
• TRANSITION: To know these qualities we need centrality.
• We need to make sure God is at the centre of our lives!
• Notice that verse 6 & 7 are a command:
• "Do not be anxious about anything."
• “But”.......... in its place "Pray"
• And the result is verse 7: “And”…something happens!
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, WILL guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”.
• When done right prayer is the answer to knowing:
• Stability. Harmony. Joy. Purity. Consistency in our lives
Notice: The apostle gives us further instruction regarding prayer:
• He tells us to keep praying (vs 6-7):
• “But in every situation, by prayer…”
• ill: What petrol is to a car, prayer is to the Christian.
• ill: What food is to the body, so prayer is to the soul!
• Paul tells these Christians not only to pray but he tells them how to pray.
• Notice that he uses three different words.
FIRST Word: Prayer.
Ill:
• A pilot was flying a plane-load of passengers to their destination,
• When suddenly the rudder malfunctioned.
• He radioed the control tower in panic, and shouted,
• "The RUDDER has malfunctioned! What shall I DO?"
• The air traffic controller radioed back, "Keep calm, Captain. Just repeat after me:
• Wings flap... check. Velocity... check. Altitude check."
• The pilot made the appropriate adjustments,
• And the aircraft continued on course.
Not five minutes later, however, the STARBOARD ENGINE stalled:
• The pilot radioed the control tower and shouted,
• "The STARBOARD ENGINE has stalled! What shall I DO?"
• The air traffic controller radioed back, "Keep calm, Captain.
• Just repeat after me: Wings flap... check. Velocity... check. Altitude check."
• The pilot made the appropriate adjustments,
• And again the aeroplane continued on course.
However, not five minutes later, the pilot radioed the control tower a THIRD time:
• This time he shouted, "MAYDAY! MAYDAY! BOTH the engines have gone!
• What shall I DO?
• The air traffic controller radioed back, "Keep calm, Captain. Just repeat after me:
• Our Father... Which art in heaven... Hallowed be Thy name..."
The word ‘Prayer’:
• It is the general word we use for speaking to God.
• Notice in verse 6 Paul says; “In everything”.
• Every problem large or small we should try to take it to God.
• The word conveys the thought of going to one greater than ourselves!
Ill:
• The words ‘Our Father’ remind us of God’s concern.
• The words ‘In Heaven’ remind us of God’s power.
• We have a great God and when we pray we are asking him to get involved.
• These things may be mountains to us but compared to God they are just molehills!
Quote:
• I like the tongue in cheek quotation that says:
• “Why pray when you can worry!”
• If we want to be victorious Christians.
• If we want to know God’s power at work in our lives.
• We need to start to pray;
• And to develop that prayer.
ill:
• J. Sidlow Baxter.
• “Running on batteries when they should be running on the mains”
Second Word: Petitions.
• Specific requests.
• ill: We can be like a shotgun or a sniper.
• We can pray generally or we can pray specificly.
Ill:
• (1st). The closest finger to you is the thumb.
• Pray for those that are closest to you. Pray for your parents & your brothers or sisters.
• (2nd). The next finger is called your index finger. It is used for pointing.
• Let this finger remind you to pray for those that point you in the right direction.
• Pray for your teachers at school, your Sunday School teacher, and your pastor.
• (3rd).The next finger is the tallest finger.
• This finger reminds us to pray for our leaders.
• Pray for the prime minister and other leaders in our government;
• And those who are leaders in our town.
• (4th). The fourth finger is the called the ring finger.
• Did you know that this is the weakest of all the fingers?
• Just ask anyone who plays the piano and they will tell you that is true.
• Let this finger remind you to pray for those who are sick.
• (5). The next finger is the smallest finger.
• The Bible says, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought."
• Let the little finger remind you to pray for yourself.
• So the next time you are talking to God, and you can't think of anything to say,
• Let the "Five Finger Prayer" help you.
Third Word: Thanksgiving.
• Appreciation to God for his concern and love & his goodness..
• ill: As a parent I am forever telling my kids; “...and what do you say?”
• ill: One of the saddest stories in the gospels;
• Is the miracles of Jesus the healing of the 10 leapers
• (Luke chapter 17 verses 11-19).
• If you know the story ten leapers were healed;
• But only one came back to say thank you!
• Jesus said: “He was a foreigner!”
• In other words the others were good religious Jews who should have known better!
• But they failed to show gratitude, to return thanks to the one who had saved them!
• Question: Are we any better?
• Have we returned thanks to the one who has saved us!
Ill:
• In the book ‘Miracle On The River Kwai’.
• Ernest Gordon's Tells the true story of some Scottish soldiers,
• Who were forced by their Japanese captors to work on a jungle railroad.
• Under the strain of imprisonment they had degenerated to cruel behaviour,
• But one afternoon something happened.
• "A shovel was missing. The officer in charge became enraged.
• He demanded that the missing shovel be produced, or else.
• When nobody in the squadron budged,
• The officer got his gun and threatened to kill them all on the spot!
• It was obvious the officer meant what he had said.
• Then, finally, one man stepped forward.
• The officer put away his gun, picked up a shovel, and beat the man to death.
• When it was over, the survivors picked up the bloody corpse;
• And carried it with them to the second tool check.
• This time, no shovel was missing.
• Which meant that there had been a miscount at the first check point.
• The word spread like wildfire through the whole camp.
• An innocent man had been willing to die to save the others!
• The incident had a profound effect on all the prisoners;
• From that moment on they began to treat each other like brothers”
• TRANSITION: An innocent man sacrificed his life on behalf of others;
• Sadly in that case it was all in vain!
• The Bible teaches that Jesus would give his life as a sacrifice:
• “The just for the unjust, the righteous for the unrighteous”;
• Than he might bring us, reconcile us to God!
sermon audio:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=MCIFqI0OA2P1TkMjYxtgcXIvxxsEeiZz&forceSave=Harvest_2014_-_Philippians_ch4v1-9_-_sermon_by_Gordon_Curley.mp3
