WORDS FOR LIFE - The Strength of Jesus
August 19, 2018
Philippians 4:13 (p. 820)
Introduction:
How can we be strong in the midst of circumstances that make us feel so weak? How can we face the struggles of this life victoriously when we feel so defeated?
I believe with all my heart the answer is “to be content with God no matter what the circumstances are.”
It is impossible to not feel stress, or anxiety or fear in many of these circumstances…we’re human…and God gave us these emotions for a reason. But He also lets us know “without faith it is impossible to please Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Faith isn’t the absence of turmoil…Faith is trusting God in the middle of it!
Satan uses the same tools he’s always used. From the Garden of Eden until today he whispers “Look for something better and beyond God’s plan…he plants the seeds of discontentment and ungratefulness in our soul.
Every one of us has heard the statement…“The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence…”
Wayne Smith said, “Yeah, but it’s still got to be mowed…and the great theologian Ron White says…“It’s because it grows over a septic tank.”
I laughed out loud when I heard that last one…because I really believe this is the number one way Satan leads people astray…both inside and outside the church.
“I’m gonna show you greener pastures.” I’m gonna show you a more exciting relationship. I’m gonna show you shinier toys and a way to be more popular… but he never reveals the septic tank these things are planted over!
He’s so subtle, isn’t he? In the midst of a dry or barren spot in your marriage the girl you always thought was pretty asked…”Are you O.K?” “And the coffee room becomes a pasture where the grass looks greener.” And you have to make a fence crossing decision.
You’ll be happier if you have a new or different car or house… (It has nothing to do with need, but a lot to do with image), so you get it….go deeply into debt…It makes you feel good sitting behind the wheel or decorating the new living room, but underneath the fading happiness is a septic tank.
It’s the satanic carrot in front of the horse…If I can just get this, have this, love him…I’ll be happy…
But eventually something putrid starts to seep up into our soul…We discover that the promise was bogus…and we even start to long for what we once had.
We do this over and over again with struggles and difficulties in our lives and we wonder why we end up right back in a place of unhappiness and discontent…the definition of “insanity” is doing the same things over and over again expecting a different result.”
But I don’t want to take another drink! I don’t want another marriage to end! I don’t want to go into further debt trying to buy my happiness.
Well if that’s true…don’t do the same things that caused you to reach that place, over and over again…take a different path.
This path is the secret for victory and strength…
It’s found in these words:
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:11-13)
If we want to do all things through Him who gives us the strength…If we want to be content and trust God no matter what…then start with being like Him.
I. FOCUS MORE ON OTHERS THAN YOURSELF
By the way…anyone know where Paul physically is as he writes to the Philippians? He’s in prison.
Even so, he writes from behind bars. He says…“I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me…Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it”. (Phil. 4:10)
The world has a huge “I” problem…it’s caused them to be spiritually blind…but it’s also invaded the church…it’s not an “E.Y.E.” eye problem…it’s a selfish me letter, capital “I” problem.
It’s ironic that the Apostle Paul, in prison, says…what causes me to feel joyful is that you’re not thinking about yourselves anymore, but me…it’s not because I want you to think about me first, but I want you to think about others before yourselves…and evidently that had been a problem…it’s always a problem for people in the world…but that same “I” problem is huge for the church. Listen to what Paul tells them 2 chapters earlier:
PHILIPPIANS 2:1-4 (p. 819)
God’s people…those who live as Kingdom seekers first are radically different from the world who seeks “me” first.
The glue that binds us together… “encouragement” from being united with Christ…Fellowship with the Spirit…Tenderness…Compassion…all those are others focused!
While the world is driven by selfish ambition and conceit…God’s people are to be driven by a love for Jesus and others.
David Platt in the book Radical says:
It’s easy in America to be selfish…our culture shapes us to be materialistic and self satisfying…Don’t if you would be a follower of Christ…It’s Radical to deny yourself and follow in His footsteps…
Those footsteps always put others first…ALWAYS!
If we would be people living in the strength of Christ then crucifying the giant “I” must be a priority…whether you live in Philippi AD 55 or Lexington KY 2018.
It’s the first essential for contentment…and strength through Christ…
The second essential is:
II. LEARN TO TRUST HIS STRENGTH NOT YOUR OWN
Paul says, I’ve experienced the entire spectrum of circumstances…I’ve been in need…I’ve had plenty…I’ve been full and I’ve gone hungry….I’ve lived rich and I’ve lived poor.
I’ve learned a most important secret…One that helps me be content in both places…
“I can do everything through Him who gives me the strength.”
Here’s an important question…where do you think the apostle Paul learned contentment? Where, did he learn he could depend on Jesus’ provisions….
Most people would say….when he was hungry…when he was in need…when he was poor….And you’re right…Jesus was his champion in the jail cell, He promised bread when his stomach was rumbling and much, much more…but I think depending on Jesus as our strength when we’re well feed, rich and have full bank accounts is harder.
Why do I need Jehovah Jireh…God my provider…If I can provide what I need without Him? It’s the exact reason Jesus said “It’s harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.”
The Disciples are astonished when Jesus says this…after all aren’t material blessings proof God loves us?...It makes them ask “who then can be saved?”
Let me share with you unless you reach a place of humility and dependency in God, you cannot be saved…It’s harder to reach that place if you think you don’t really need Him. That’s why it takes God to convict us of spiritual bankruptcy …that’s why the poor in Spirit will inherit the Kingdom of God….It’s this attitude that will save you, whether you have a billion dollars or none.
Jesus spoke to an astonished group of followers…about God’s ability to save and He said in Matthew 19:26, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Only God can convince the rich and poor that we need Him…That only He can provide what’s really essential…That only He is strong enough for any circumstances.
May God do whatever it takes to convince us that Jesus is Lord and Savior whether we have a little or a lot…may God lead me to that narrow path that few discover…it’s so different than the one this world rushes down.
Let me end with one last essential truth for strength and contentment in Christ…
III. THERE IS STRENGTH WHEN WE SHARE OUR TROUBLES
[I remember the story of the little boy who had been tucked into bed…and a thunderstorm broke out…He called for his mommy…she came in, prayed with him and said, “Now go to sleep…God will take care of you.” And he quickly said, “I know, but right now I need someone with flesh on them!]
Right after the Apostle Paul writes “I can do all this through Him who gives me the strength” he says “yet” (I love that) “it was good of you to share in my troubles.”
Paul is simply saying… “I trust Jesus no matter what the circumstances…Yet It’s a big blessing to have you with me sharing the load.”
In a world of trouble where tons of people buy the National Enquirer or turn on the news to be informed for entertainment, or use the phone to be the first to discuss the latest church gossip….
Far few really share in people’s troubles.
[I remember getting this call a few years ago that a man named Savin’ (Sav) had been terribly burned…scalded by a giant boiling kettle of soup which fell on him when he slipped carrying it.
The burn unit isn’t my favorite place to go…I spent 3 months in one when I was 10. I remember the smell…I remember the white gauze mesh and bandages…so why did Janie call me about Sav? Because she knew I could share in his trouble…because I knew about Jesus, burn units and bandages.
There’s hope when people who have been through Hell come back carrying water for those who are still in the flames.
Be the first one in the burn unit…be the speaker of Grace and truth after the divorce papers…share the hope of forgiveness to other single moms. Instead of the finger that points out faults, be the nail scarred hand that extends grace.
By the way, then you’ll understand what greener grass is all about because “The Lord is your shepherd…you will not want for anything…He’ll make the pasture green for you to lie down in and He’ll provide quiet waters beside you…that’s the secret.
