(During the Song Service, we sang “Blessed Assurance,” “Tell Me The Story,” and “Near the Cross” = and I prefaced their singing by noting that they were all written by Fanny Crosby)
OPEN: In Budapest, a Jewish man went to his rabbi and complained, "Life is unbearable for my family & I. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?"
The rabbi thought about it for a moment and answered, "Take your goat into the room with you."
The man was incredulous, but the rabbi insisted: "Do as I say and come back in a week."
A week later the man came back looking even more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he told the rabbi. "The goat is filthy."
The rabbi then told him, "Go home and let the goat out. Come back in a week."
A week later, the man returned all excited and he exclaimed, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of our lives now. There’s no goat – just the nine of us."
APPLY: When people consider how to be content in this life, there are times they think like that. They think: It could be worse. Like the poem I once read:
From the day of your birth
‘Til you ride in a hearse
There is nothing that’s happened
That couldn’t be worse.
Now there’s some value in considering that no matter what you face – it could get worse. And, if that helps you to learn to appreciate what you have, that’s great. Appreciation for what you have is one of the keys to experiencing the peace of God.
Paul writes in Philippians 4:8-9 “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. 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.”
SO - there is great value in focusing on your blessings. But I was a little surprised this week (as I was studying for this sermon) to discover that this mental exercise (of recalling and counting my blessings) was not the primary cause of Paul’s contentedness.
I. And, indeed, it would have been difficult for a man like Paul to be content just because he counted his blessings.
For example, in II Corinthians 6:4-5 he speaks of having endured “hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights II Corinthians 6:4-5
Later in that same book, when talking about imposters who were trying to discredit his ministry, he wrote:
“Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,
I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.
I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” 11:23-28
Now, I really like the song “Count Your Many Blessings.” It’s beautiful and inspiring and teaches us exactly what we should do as Christians to attain God’s joy… but I have a suspicion that, if I was experiencing things like Paul wrote about – things like:
* being beaten up
* being whipped by people who hated me
* having stones thrown at me
* And being thrown into a prison cell awaiting an unknown fate...
I have a suspicion that that song (or any other song) would not bring me a great deal of comfort. I wouldn’t feel much like singing. And yet, that’s exactly what Paul did one time: We’re told that while he was preaching in the city of Philippi - Paul, and his friend Silas were
* falsely arrested,
* beaten
* fastened in stocks
* and left to rot into the a dismal dungeon cell
Acts 16:25 tells us that about midnight while they were prisoners: “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”
Now, THAT kind of response (to THAT kind of situation) defies the imagination. It literally makes no sense. I can’t even begin to imagine how Paul & Silas could have been singing and rejoicing in the midst of that kind of hardship and injustice. AND YET, that’s precisely what they did… and more significantly, that’s what Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians telling them they should do:
In Philippians 4:4-7 he wrote: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
(pause) So, Jeff, are you saying that all I have to do - to be contented in life – is sing, pray and pretend that everything will turn out all right? Oh, no (pause) that’s not what Paul is saying here.
He’s saying that our response to life should be to sing, and to pray and to always rejoice - but there’s no pretending involved here.
II. You see, what took me by surprise as I prepared sermon was Paul’s comment in vs. 12-13
In verse 12 he says: “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 in want.” (Philippians 4:12)
So, there’s a secret to this! It’s not just a matter of putting on a brave face, putting our shoulders down and simply marching boldly on thru the hardships of life.
There’s a secret to this.
Well, what’s your secret Paul? What is it that has enabled you to do such powerful things for God and walk through the pains and miseries of life with a heart of rejoicing? What is your secret?
The secret is this: look with me again at vs. 12-13
“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 in want (pause) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:12b-13).
I used to think this passage meant that Jesus would give me overwhelming strength to do mighty things in the name of God. But now I suspect Paul meant that – when life became unbearable – it was the strength of Christ that gave him the ability to rise above his circumstances and live triumphantly.
III. You see, Paul’s life may have been filled with difficulty, but his eyes were always on God.
And it was FOCUSING on God that made all the difference in his life. Where you keep your eyes will influence how you respond to life.
ILLUS: If you were to drop a bumble bee into a drinking glass Do you know what will happen? It will buzz around at the bottom of that glass until it dies. It will never see the means of escape at the top, but will persist in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.
It will seek a way where none exists until it completely destroys itself.
Now, what was it about that situation that would destroy the bumble bee? It never looked up
- it looked around,
- and it may have looked within,
- but it never looked up
- and that’s how dies
IV. (pause) It’s WHAT you look at that will determine HOW you handle life’s problems
I don’t care if you are rich and powerful OR poor and destitute. IF you don’t look to God for your strength in this life, you will ALWAYS be defeated and depressed somewhere along the line.
I believe that’s part of the reason Thoreau once observed that most of the people he knew lived “lives of quiet desperation.”
ILLUS: There was once a (financially) poor woman named Nancy who earned her living by hard labor but who always seemed to be filled with joy because of her relationship with God.
One day a friend of hers tried to help her take a more realistic view of life
"Ah, Nancy, (she said) I know how happy you are all the time, but have you ever thought of might happen in your life? What kind of struggles you might yet face. Only suppose, for instance, you should have a spell of sickness and be unable to work, or suppose your present employer should move away, and no one would hire you. And suppose...
And about the time her friend got that far along in her advice, Nancy cried out:
"Stop that! I never suppose. The Lord is my Shepherd, and I know I shall not want.
“You know, dear, you always seem so miserable, and I think it’s all these supposings that are making you so unhappy. What you ought to do is give up those supposings - and just trust the Lord.”
Paul put it this way: If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all— how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31b-32)
It is in THAT CONFIDENCE that we gain our ability to overcome any circumstance we may encounter
It is in THAT CONFIDENCE that we have the power to “not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
Paul writes: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”
God is always near. He’ll never leave us or forsake us. And it is through His presence, …and our CONSCIOUSNESS of His presence, that we overcome.
CLOSE: 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.
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES
The Money Trap - 1 Timothy 6:6-6:19
The Envy Trap - 1 Timothy 6:6-6:10
Debtor’s Prison - Luke 15:11-15:24
We’ve Got A Secret - Philippians 4:4-4:19
