The Challenge of Change
Philippians 4:12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
Introduction: I want to use two men this morning as examples of how quickly life can change. The first example is Job and the second is the Apostle Paul. Bible scholars tell us that Job is the oldest book of the Bible and that Moses was most likely the author. That would make this book among the oldest books in history. Job is also one of the most compelling figures in the Bible or anywhere else for that matter. We are introduced to Job in chapter one where we learn that he was a good and godly man with great substance and a large family. Job's troubles start where all trouble starts, with the Devil. Satan is a destroyer, accuser, liar, a murderer and much more. Satan asks for permission to afflict this godly man to challenge the idea that Job only loves and worships God because of the blessings in his life. As the narrative proceeds Job suffers the loss of his wealth, his family, his friends, the support of his wife and then his health. This reminds us of how quickly life can change.
Our friend Bro. Randy Wright who passed away last year after a long, protracted battle with cancer has left an insightful statement in this regard. He writes in his journal, "It's possible to go from healthy to terminal with one phone call. How quickly a person can go from employed to unemployed, from married to widowed or even divorced. The story of Job illustrates this truth. He went from enormous wealth to immense poverty in a matter of a few seconds. His health quickly deteriorated, and in the process, he buried all ten of his precious children."
Job is a perfect example of how quickly things can change.
The Apostle Paul also certainly bore witness to these abrupt changes in circumstances. Listen again to what he says in 2Co 11:23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
I. We Can Enter His Presence
What a fellowship, what a joy divine to be able to into God's presence in prayer. We are exhorted to come boldly before His throne of grace. Prayer insulates us from worry and fretfulness. Prayer gives us access to the throne room of God and all the resources of our heavenly Father.
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care
And bids me at my Father's throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter's snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
And oft escaped the tempter's snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since he bids me seek his face,
Believe his word, and trust his grace,
I'll cast on him my ev'ry care
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
I'll cast on him my ev'ry care
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Text: Attr. to William W. Walford, 1772-1850, alt. Music: William B. Bradbury, 1816-1868, alt.
2Ti 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
ILL - Max Lucado in his book "In the Eye of a Storm" talks about traveling from one speaking engagement to another. He had traveled from San Antonio to Boston and had spoken at a gathering in Boston. Then he was flying on to Edmonton, Canada to fulfill a speaking engagement there.
When his plane landed in Minneapolis and he had to change airplanes, he was thinking about how tired and hungry he was, and how crowded the airplane had been, and how his back was aching, and his mind was hurting. Try as he might, he couldn't even remember who was supposed to meet him at his destination in Canada.
As he was heading to the gate to catch his next airplane he saw a McDonald's in the distance and thought, "That looks good. Maybe I'll run over there and buy a hamburger and that will at least satisfy my hunger pains."
Then he writes, "I passed something better. I passed a telephone and decided to call home. I called and my wife answered the phone. I'm convinced that when my wife gets to heaven she's going to be at the reception desk welcoming everyone in because when she answers the phone it makes you feel so good."
He continued, "I just talked with her. We settled earth shaking issues. We talked about the weather in San Antonio vs. the weather in New England. We talked about what the girls did when they went to school that day and that one of them was going to have a friend over to spend the evening."
"We talked about earth shaking things like that," he said. "And after I had finished talking with her I really felt good. Then she passed the receiver over to one of my daughters who told me about her day. When she finished she said, `I love you, Dad.'"
And he said, "It felt good to be loved." Then the phone was passed over to the next daughter and she talked to him for a while and she said, "I miss you, Dad." And he said, "It felt good to be missed."
Then he said, "They passed the phone over to the little six month old baby, and I talked to my baby over the phone. I cooed and I talked baby talk, and the people passing by looked at me in strange ways. But it felt good to be cooed at. Then we hung up and I made my way on to the next gate."
He recalled, "I forgot how hungry I was. I forgot how tired I was because I had called home, and that made all the difference in the world." Then he adds, "Maybe we all ought to call home more often. If you do, you will find the listening ear of God so anxious to talk to you, and He will make you feel good from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. And as you grow in your love you'll find your fears disappear."
Brethren, if you want your new year to be better than in the past then you need to lean heavily on the Lord. Call home often. Call home every chance you get. You'll receive some love.
SOURCE: Steve Shepherd in "A New Year, A New Life" on www.sermoncentral.com.
FINALLY
The value of persistent prayer is not that He will hear us but that we will finally hear Him.
William McGill
II. We Can Enjoy His Peace
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
THE MOST UNHAPPY PERSON
In his latest book, Jumping Hurdles, Hitting Glitches, Overcoming Setbacks, Steve Brown writes,
"The most unhappy person in the world is not someone who didn't get what he or she wanted. The most unhappy person is the one who got what he or she wanted and then found out that it wasn't as wonderful as expected.
The secret of a happy life is not to get what you want but to live with what you've got. Most of us spend our lives concentrating on what we don't have instead of thanking God for what we do have. Then we wake up, our life is over, and we missed the beauty of the present. You think about that."
SOURCE: Servant Magazine, September, 1993, p. 8. Citation: Ted Sutherland in "The Thanksgiving Catalogue" on www.sermoncentral.com.
III. We Can Experience His Power
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
ILL - One writer (Warren Wiersbe) wrote a book called Victorious Christian about a woman named Fanny Crosby. Crosby was the author of over 8000 songs including several that we sang today. In fact she wrote so many that she had to write under pseudonymns just so she could get more of her songs into the hymnbooks.
At 6 weeks of age Fanny Crosby developed a minor eye inflammation and was taken to a local doctor for treatment. However, the doctor who treated her used the wrong medicine on her eyes and she became totally and permanently blind because of his carelessness.
Interviewed years later, Fanny Crosby said she harbored no bitterness against the physician. In fact, she once said, "If I could meet him now, I would say thank you, over and over again for making me blind." She felt that her blindness was a gift from God to help her write the hymns that flowed from her pen.
How could Fanny Crosby, blinded by a tragic failure of a careless doctor --still be filled with such joy and power in her songs? Because she kept her heart focused on God.
She looked up toward God rather than around at her disability and weaknesses.
As with Paul, she was convinced that she could do all things through Christ who gave her strength.
SOURCE: Jeff Strite in "We've Got A Secret" on www.sermoncentral.com.
IV. We Can Expect His Provision
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
I GOT CARRIED AWAY
ILL - The late Danny Thomas lost his life savings of $600.00 at a time when he was out of work. He and his wife, Rosie, had a baby on the way, and they needed money. Danny worked at part-time jobs so Rosie could buy groceries. He also borrowed money from friends. It was a tough time in his life.
A week before the baby was born, Danny had the grand total of seven dollars and eighty-five cents to his name. What would he do? "My despair led me to my first exposure to the powers of faith," Danny would later recall.
On Sunday morning Danny went to church. When the offering plate was passed he put in his "usual one dollar." But something unexpected happened that day. A special missions offering was taken. The minister explained where the mission offering would go, and Danny felt he had to give something. "I got carried away," Danny said, "and ended up giving my seven dollars."
He had given away all his money that Sunday. What in the world had he done? He walked up to the altar rail, got on his knees and prayed aloud. "Look, I've given my last seven bucks," he prayed. "I need it back tenfold because I've got a kid on the way, and I have to pay the hospital bill." He went home with a mere eighty-five cents in his pocket--all the money he had in the world.
"You won't believe this," Danny Thomas later wrote, "but the next morning the phone rang in the rooming house hall." It was a job offer. He was offered a part in a commercial. The job wasn't much but the pay was good--seventy-five dollars. "I literally dropped the telephone receiver," Danny remembered. "First I whooped with joy; then an eerie feeling came over me." He remembered what he had prayed at church the day before. "The seventy-five dollar fee," he said, "unheard of for me at that time was almost exactly ten times the amount of money I had donated to the church."
SOURCE: "Like Parent, Like Child," by Dr. Arthur G. Ferry, Jr.
Illustrations for October 20, 2002, www.eSermons.com.
Rom 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Conclusion: Philippians 4:11 provides us with the ability to deal with the changing circumstances of life.
Php 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
This word "content" is an amazing word. It means to be self-sufficient and carries with it the ability to withstand the shock of changing circumstances. If we are content in the Lord Jesus we can withstand the shock of the moment. Contentment helps us to avoid panic when our circumstances change! Can I tell you an important secret to having an effective testimony for Jesus? The world is watching Christians to see what we do when troubles, trials and temptations come. They are watching to see how we handle stress and changes in our situations and circumstances. A Christian that goes all to pieces when trouble strikes, is a poor testimony to the grace and contentment that Jesus gives.
Outline gleaned from Rev. Randy Wright from his Journal "But If Not"
