“Living a Joy-full Life; Use Your Assets”
Phil. 1:12-30
In Acts chapter 3 John and Peter are about to enter the temple courts when a crippled beggar asks them for money. Peter’s response is fabulous! “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Peter did not focus on what he lacked; rather he utilized his asset - the power of Jesus Christ. The result was healing and rejoicing. Peter overcame the human tendency to focus on what we do not have while ignoring or minimizing what we do have - which leads to anything but joy.
The apostle Paul was also a master at using his assets – and his biggest asset, like Peter’s, was Jesus Christ. The reality is that with Jesus at the helm of his life’s ship, Paul had a bountiful supply of assets for living above his circumstances. He had, first of all, A PERSPECTIVE FROM WHICH TO LIVE. (12-14) Our perspective determines our viewpoint which determines our attitude. What we look for we tend to find. If we look for the negative we’ll find the negative; if we look for the positive we’ll find the positive. There’s an old story of a king who called two men into his presence. To the first he said, “I want you to take six months; travel the length and breadth of the kingdom and bring back a sample of every weed you can find.” The man quickly departed to carry out the king’s order. To the second man he said, “I want you to take six months; travel the length and breadth of the kingdom and bring back a sample of every flower you can find.” The second man departed to carry out the king’s order. At the end of six months both men again stood before the king. The first man said, “Sir, I have carried out your command. I didn’t realize there were so many weeds in the kingdom – in fact, I now realize there is nothing but weeds in this kingdom.” The second man said, “Sir, I have carried out your command. I didn’t realize there were so many beautiful flowers in the kingdom – in fact, I now realize there is nothing but beautiful flowers in this kingdom.” Each man found what he was looking for. Their PERSPECTIVE DETERMINED THEIR ATTITUDE.
Consider Paul’s perspective. (12) “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me…” What has happened to Paul? He’s on trial for his life. He’s awaiting the verdict. Until it comes, he’s under house arrest, chained to guards 24 hours a day. I wonder this morning – TO WHAT ARE YOU CHAINED? What binds you? Your job has been eliminated; an important relationship has broken apart; or you’ve suffered a big financial loss; or your peers are pressuring you to do what you know is wrong; maybe illness has changed your entire life; perhaps your marriage is in the tank and it’s future uncertain; or death has struck a mighty blow in your family circle; maybe you’ve taken a stand for Christ and been shot down. Whatever it is, you’re chained, held in bondage.
Listen to Paul. “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.” Paul’s perspective is that CHAINS CAN BE PULPITS. Paul points not to what he is suffering but to what is being accomplished for Jesus. Paul’s chains were pointing others to Jesus. Paul is like the eagle. Put an Eagle in a cage and he will soon make his way to the highest perch and there will spend his enforced leisure looking out toward the sun. So Paul was chained and caged but he climbed the heights and his soul was free. Because of his imprisonment, the gospel was advanced - and that’s all that mattered to him. How was the gospel advanced? Paul was chained to guards - but that meant they were also chained to him! So he dictated letters, he prayed, he preached, he sang. He wasn’t captive; they were. And the guards were changed! They became chained to Jesus! And the word spread! Talk about a chain reaction! When our chains become pulpits, PEOPLE WILL BE CHAINED TO JESUS.
Yet it’s not just that Paul was witnessing to Jesus Christ – notice verse 14: “And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” Paul’s chains ENCOURAGED AND STRENGTHENED OTHERS TO WITNESS TO JESUS. Because Paul used his assets, others began using theirs! And Jesus Christ was changing lives! Paul knew that God has a purpose behind every problem, a reason for every chain. Our problems become pulpits, and our chains become messengers that point to Jesus.
Paul’s second asset was that he had A PRIORITY BY WHICH TO LIVE. (15-18a) Priorities are the controlling factor of our ‘to do lists’, our activities, and our expenditures. Priorities are important because they DETERMINE WHAT WE STRIVE FOR IN LIFE. Consider, for example, this 1978 ad from the Quay County Sun: “Farmer with 160 irrigated acres wants marriage-minded woman with tractor. When replying, please show picture of tractor.” (i) Is there any doubt about this farmer’s priority?
Actor Denzell Washington recently gave the commencement address at Dillard University. "Number one: Put God first. Put God first in everything you do. Everything you think you see in me. Everything I’ve accomplished, everything thing you think I have – and I have a few things. Everything that I have is by the grace of God. Understand that. It’s a gift." Towards the end of his speech, Washington repeated some of the comments he has made over the years about reliance on God. He reminded that crowd that no matter how much you attain in material goods, "you will never see a U-Haul behind a hearse." He also told the graduates of the small, private, historically black college in New Orleans, "I pray that you put your slippers under your bed tonight, so that when you wake up in the morning you have to get on your knees to reach them. And while you’re down there, say thank you," he said. "Thank you for grace, thank you for mercy, thank you for understanding, thank you for wisdom, thank you for parents. ... True desire in the heart for anything good is God’s proof to you, sent beforehand, to indicate that it’s yours already."(ii) Priorities determine what we strive for in life.
PAULS’ PRIORITY WAS PREACHING CHRIST. Now Paul was not, apparently, the only one preaching in the area around Philippi. “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.” At this point, Paul raises the only question in the letter. “But what does it matter?” (Literally, ‘So What?’) “The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.” Because Paul’s priority was preaching Christ, it didn’t matter to him who was preaching or why – who got the credit wasn’t important – just as long as Jesus Christ was the subject of the preaching.
The two great English evangelists, John Wesley and George Whitefield, widely disagreed on some doctrinal matters. Yet both were very successful, preaching to thousands of people and seeing multitudes come to Christ. Someone once asked Whitefield if he expected to see John Wesley in heaven and he replied, “No, I do not.” “Then you do not think Wesley is a converted man?” “Of course he is a converted man! But I do not expect to see him in heaven – because he will be so close to the throne of God and I so far away that I will not be able to see him!” AS LONG AS JESUS CHRIST IS BEING PREACHED…
At the age of 19, Kylie Bisutti beat out 10,000 other contestants in the 2009 Victoria's Secret Model Search contest. But Bisutti said that getting married and growing in her Christian faith caused her to see her career in a different light. In an interview Kylie said, “[The modeling world] is a very hard industry to be in without falling into things you don't want to do …. It's a very tempting industry …. Victoria's Secret was my absolutely biggest goal in life, and it was all I ever wanted career-wise …. [But] I'm a Christian, and reading the Bible more, I was becoming more convicted about it …. My body should only be for my husband, and it's just a sacred thing. I didn't really want to be that kind of role model for younger girls because I had a lot of younger Christian girls that were looking up to me and then thinking that it was OK for them to walk around and show their bodies in lingerie to guys. It was pretty crazy because I finally achieved my biggest dream, the dream that I always wanted, but when I finally got it, it wasn't all that I thought it would be.”(iii) Her priority is preaching Jesus Christ.
So what is your priority? That you graduate? Get married? Find a high-paying job? Get that fat contract or that prestigious award? Buy that house by the lake? That you’ll be popular? Any of these can be worthy of pursuit – but only if you use the graduation, the marriage, the job, the contract or award, the house, the popularity to preach Jesus Christ. As long as Christ is being preached…if Christ is not being preached, then it’s time to change priorities. As Jesus said (Mt. 6:33), “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Paul’s assets were a perspective form which to live, a priority by which to live, and A POWER ON WHICH TO LIVE. (18b-20a). Verse 20: “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage…” Why was Paul so expectant? Where was he finding the inner power to be courageous? He found it through two activities. First, it flowed from his PRAISING. “I will continue to rejoice…” Since the Romans had given Paul a pulpit of chains, he rejoiced. The reality is that the same emotional channels which transmit discouragement and despair are used for praise - so why not praise? When we surrender our situations to the Lord, convinced that He will use them for His good, we move from problems to possibilities. The transition from discouragement to encouragement comes through rejoicing!
IT IS NOT OUR BUSINESS TO MAKE OURSELVES HAPPY, BUT TO REJOICE. Happiness is an emotion, and joy is an attitude. Emotions come and go, but attitudes come and grow.(iv) “For W. H. Auden, it is the praise of God that irrigates 'the deserts of the heart' and brings healing: “In the deserts of the heart, Let the healing fountain start. In the prison of his days, Teach the free man how to praise.”(v) That’s why Nehemiah told the Israelites, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Paul’s power also flowed from PRAYING – specifically from the praying of the Philippians for him: “…for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.” Notice the connection: their prayers prompt the Holy Spirit to empower Paul. PRAYER CUTS THE CHANNEL FOR THE RIVER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Greek word translated ‘turn out’ is the word from which we get the word choreography. Paul is claiming that the prayers of the Philippians will, through the Holy Spirit, choreograph his deliverance. Never underestimate the power that flows from the prayers we offer for others while they are in chains. They usher in a power on which to live.
Paul’s fourth asset was a PURPOSE FOR WHICH TO LIVE. “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Purpose is the rudder that keeps our ship of life headed in the right direction. And Paul had a purpose. Paul desired to die and be with Christ – he wanted to strike camp, loosen the ropes, and set sail for heaven. And given what he had endured as an Apostle of Jesus, it’s understandable. Death would certainly be a gain for him. But he could just as readily accept being set free – because his purpose was to EXALT JESUS. The wording means to magnify Jesus – whether he died or lived Paul wanted to magnify Jesus - make Jesus bigger, larger, greater. When we have a purpose for which to live there is never a circumstance in which there is nothing to do. Paul says we can always magnify Jesus.
So he reiterates his possibilities (23-26): “I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.” Paul can be satisfied with remaining alive because it means he would have MORE OPPORTUNITY TO MINISTER FOR JESUS to the Philippians. His love for Jesus was so great He wanted what Jesus desired more what he desired. His love for the Philippians was so great he wanted what was best for them, not best for himself; the need of the Philippians outweighed the desire of his own soul. He was willing to be left.
WHY – IN ALL THE TRIALS, CRISES, AND CLOSE CALLS IN YOUR LIFE – HAS GOD LEFT YOU HERE? A couple of weeks ago Barb and I needed to catch an early morning flight out of Grand Rapids. So @ 4:00 AM we drove onto I-196. Just a few miles north of South Haven, in the blackness of the night, we hit a deer. Amazingly – I suppose I should say ‘providentially’ – the only damage was breaking a reflector on the left front fender. No other damage – we weren’t even delayed. We obviously talked about what could have been – but fortunately was not. The incident, coupled with this message, has once again led me to consider why God has left me here. I have reaffirmed my purpose. I know I am to more forcefully exalt Christ. I am to more powerfully and clearly magnify Jesus. I need to love others so deeply that their needs outweigh the desires of my own soul. It’s been sobering and humbling, yet empowering.
It all leads me to ask you this morning, “Do you share Paul’s purpose for living? Are you ready and willing to more powerfully and clearly magnify Jesus? Does your love for, and the needs of others outweigh the desires of your soul?” Yet, there are two deeper questions: “How deeply do you love Jesus? How committed are you to Jesus?”
Many of us learned at a young age that JOY means: Jesus first, Others next, and Yourself last. But in a Christmas sermon in 1998, Pastor Phil Toole of Mountain Valley Community Church of Scottsdale, Arizona, put it differently.
Jesus
O
You
He said, “The ‘J’ stands for Jesus.” The ‘Y’ stands for you. Do you know what the ‘O’ stands for? It stands for zero. Just what it says—nothing. What I am saying here is the way to stay close to Jesus and keep joy in your heart is let nothing between Jesus and you.” (vi) Nothing between Jesus and you. No thing between Jesus and you. That’s where the assets are stored. That’s where joy-full living begins.
(i) AP release, June 1978, Tucumcari, New Mexico – from Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, edited by Michael P. Green, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI., © 1989 Michael P. Green, #1095
(ii) From cnenews.com – as reported by Michael W. Chapman
(iii) Hollie McKay, "Kylie Bisutti left lingerie modeling because it didn't mesh with her Christian values," Fox News (2-2-12) – from www.preachingtoday.com
(iv) Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson’s complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed., p. 496). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
(v) Soul Unfinished, Robert Atwell, Paraclete Press, Brewster Mass., © 2012 by Robert Atwell, p. 180
(vi) Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson’s complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed., p. 497). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
