INTRO.- Things that go together, work together, and often work well together.
ILL.- Love and marriage. A horse and carriage. Hot dogs and picnics. Hamburgers and hot dogs. Baseball and hot dogs. Hot dogs and mustard. Hamburgers and French fries. Reading and writing. Food and fellowship. Peanut butter and jelly. Hammer and nails. Salt and pepper. Christmas and caroling. Birthdays and cakes. Easter and the resurrection. Thanksgiving and food.
Most of these are good. Very good.
ILL.- Here are some people-pairs, people-partners. Romeo and Juliet. Bert and Ernie. (Sesame Street). Fred and Wilma (Flintstone). Laurel and Hardy. Abbott and Costello. Martin and Lewis. Ozzie and Harriett. Astaire and Rodgers. Fibber McGee and Molly. Amos and Andy. Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. Jack Benny and Rochester. Matt Dillion and Chester. The Lone Ranger and Tonto. Batman and Robin. Desi and Lucy. The Captain and Tennille. George Burns and Gracie Allen. Sonny and Cher. Donny and Marie Osmond. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Simon and Garfunkel. JFK and Jackie. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday. Brooks and Dunn.
ILL.- Consider, for example, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. They were known as one of the greatest comedy teams in the history of show business. In my book, they were. One great thing about Abbott and Costello is that they “clean” comedians! Today’s comedians could learn from them.
What’s so great about pairs or things that go together? Just this. We were not made to go it alone in life! Why do you think God made Eve for Adam?
ILL.- Someone wrote: HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOU?
More than you think.
A rooster minus a hen equals no baby chicks.
Kellogg minus a farmer equals no corn flakes.
If the nail factory closes what good is the hammer factory?
Paderewski’s genius wouldn’t have amounted to much if the piano tuner hadn’t shown up.
A cracker maker will do better if there’s a cheese maker.
The most skillful surgeon needs the ambulance driver who delivers the patient.
Just as Rodgers needed Hammerstein you need someone and someone needs you.
Brothers and sisters, we need one another! We need one another for support, encouragement, help, etc!
John 13:34 "A new command I give you: LOVE ONE ANOTHER. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
Rom. 12:10 “BE DEVOTED TO ONE ANOTHER in brotherly love. HONOR ONE ANOTHER above yourselves.”
Rom. 15:7 “ACCEPT ONE ANOTHER, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
Gal. 5:13 “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature rather, SERVE ONE ANOTHER in love.”
Eph. 4:2 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, BEARING WITH ONE ANOTHER in love.”
I Thess. 5:11 “Therefore ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
These scriptures and a whole lot more tell us that we need one another for help and encouragement in life. We’re in this thing together! Let’s be together! Let’s be here for one another!
PROP.- In our text, there are four groups of things that go together, which will do us a great deal of good if we let them work together.
1- Grace and peace
2- Prayer and joy
3- Preaching and giving
4- Starting and finishing
I. GRACE AND PEACE
V. 2 “Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul’s greeting and wish for the saints at Philippi was grace and peace. God’s grace and peace.
ILL.- A lady said, “One Sunday I was teaching my Junior Church kids, ages 7 through 12, the story of Abraham pleading with the Lord not to destroy Sodom and the righteous people living there. I explained how Abraham started by asking that the city be spared if there were 50 righteous folks there, then 45, then 30, then 20.
“I continued, ‘Finally, Abraham asked that Sodom be spared if there were only ten who loved the Lord there. And what do you think God said?’ When I paused for their answer, one little boy raised his hand and said, ‘I think God said, ’Don’t push your luck!’”
We all know that God did destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. They did “push their luck” and were destroyed.
Brothers and sisters, most of us, if not all of us, “push our luck” with God. We push the limit. We test His patience. But God is the god of all grace!
I Pet. 5:10 “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
Our God is the god of all grace. This is something that can’t be said about us.
We are occasionally gracious, but not all the time. We will stand for just so much! There is a limit to our grace. But God is the god of “all” grace. He is always gracious or else we wouldn’t be here.
Ps. 103:8 “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”
Ps. 103:10 “He does not treat us as our sins deserve…”
HOW TRUE! God does not treat us as we deserve. And it’s all because He is gracious! Full of grace. Rich in mercy.
ILL.- When Billy Graham was driving through a small southern town, he was stopped by a policeman and charged with speeding. Graham admitted his quilt, but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court. The judge asked, "Guilty, or not guilty?" When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied, "That’ll be ten dollars -- a dollar for every mile you went over the limit."
Suddenly the judge recognized the famous preacher. "You have violated the law," he said. "The fine must be paid, but I am going to pay it for you."
He took a ten-dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner! "That," said Billy Graham, "is how God treats repentant sinners!" And I might add, it’s called God’s grace!
Christ paid the price for us instead of allowing us to pay the price for our sins. That’s grace.
II Cor. 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
And we need God’s grace continually in our lives. We need His grace to be saved and to live each day. No one can be saved or survive or succeed without God’s grace.
I Cor. 15:9-10 “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”
Paul was saved by the grace of God and he was empowered to serve by the grace of God. God’s grace overcomes our past and empowers us for the future.
It’s a miracle that the Jew, the Pharisee, the persecutor of Christians could become a preacher of the gospel! It could only happen because God was gracious to him. And so in our lives.
ILL.- Consider Max Lucado, for example. Despite having sold 15 million books, syndicating a one-minute radio show in 900 markets, and pastoring a church of over 3,000 in weekly attendance, Max Lucado has not always been so “angelic.”
He actually made some poor decisions in life. From his sophomore to senior year in high school, in his words, he "walked the path of the prodigal." He hid it, for the most part, from his mother by faking religion.
He said, "I spent three years drinking and partying…. During that stretch, I probably abandoned every single value that I’d been taught. I’d go to church, but I would not listen. I wouldn’t sing. I led a dual life."
Max could down a six-pack of beer without feeling anything, and his drinking quickly led to womanizing and worse. His carousing upset Max’s father, who was a teetotaler. Jack came from a family of nine siblings, some of whom were alcoholics, so for him; Max’s drinking was "the ultimate act of rebellion."
Now, how in the world did Max Lucado, the one-time prodigal because such a famous writer/author/preacher? IT’S CALLED GOD’S GRACE!
Max Lucado is no better or no worse than us. But he has been blessed and gifted with spiritual insight and writing ability by God’s grace. It’s a gift of God’s grace.
All the good things that come to us in life: physical, material, spiritual, etc. are a gift of God’s grace.
And it is only through His grace that we receive peace within. Grace and peace go together. Inner peace, assurance of our salvation, etc. whatever you want to call it is the gift of God’s grace.
Don’t ever try to figure out God’s grace, because you can’t. Just be thankful for it. Be thankful often. Be thankful in big chunks.
II. PRAYER AND JOY
V. 3-4 “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you. I always pray with joy.”
Paul couldn’t help but pray for his brothers and sisters every time he remembered them and these prayers brought joy to his heart.
ILL.- Mary Chase, Atlanta, Georgia, said, “Our area had been suffering weeks of drought. “I appealed to my 4-year-old granddaughter, Chandler, to pray that we would get some badly needed rain to help the trees and flowers.
“That evening, my daughter overheard Chandler praying, ‘God, Grandma wants some rain, and you have to do what Grandma says.’”
As we all know, God doesn’t have to do whatever we ask, whether it’s grandma asking or anyone else asking. However, I tend to believe that the prayers of children do have more sway with God than the prayers of adults. The reason I feel this way is because are often more pure than we adults. They haven’t become tainted by the world. And purity has its privileges.
But what a privilege we have to be able to talk to God anywhere, any time, instantly, etc.
ILL.- If you wanted to talk to the Governor of this state you’d probably have to go through certain people to get to him and even then I don’t know if you’d get a personal audience with the governor. And the higher up you go, the harder it is. As in getting an audience with the President of United States. You just don’t go there and get to see him.
Thank God, it’s not this way with our God! He is approachable and right now.
Heb. 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
The door to the throne of God is open 24/7. And to everyone. And we need to be knocking on that door and in that room as often as needed.
ILL.- William Carey was once reproached for spending so much time in prayer that he neglected his business. He replied that supplication, thanksgiving, and intercession were much more important in his life than laying up treasures on earth. “Prayer is my real business!” he said. “Cobbling shoes is a sideline; it just helps me pay expenses.”
Prayer is our business as Christians.
ILL.- A minister asked a little boy, “Do you say your prayers every night?” He replied, “No, not every night. Some nights I don’t want anything.”
Prayer is more than just asking God for something. Although we are told to ask. We can ask. We should ask. But prayer is more than just asking God to give us something.
Eph. 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
We are admonished in Scripture to pray for one another. And Paul speaks of “praying in the Spirit.” Praying for one another may well be the most spiritual kind of praying that we do.
Also, praying for one another is where the joy comes in. Someone has well said that the letters, j-o-y, stand for: Jesus first, others second and ourselves last. Simple but true.
ILL.- Someone has well said, “When we bring sunshine into someone’s life we can’t keep it from our own.” When we seek to bless others, we will be blessed.
Prov. 11:17 “A kind man benefits himself…”
Prov. 11:25 “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”
When you minister to others, you are blessed. Who said something about this? Jesus. Acts 20:35 “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
ILL.- Some of my greatest times spent in prayer have been on the road, driving. When Elaine and I lived in Illinois it was 420 miles to Joplin, MO, where my mother resided at the National Healthcare nursing home. It took me approximately seven hours of driving. And there were times when I prayed most of those seven hours to and from Joplin. Now what in the world could a person find to pray about for seven hours? IN A WORD. PEOPLE!
I believe the more time we spend in prayer for others, the greater our joy will be! Prayer and joy go together, that is, when we spend much time praying for others! It’s a joy to pray for others!
III. PREACHING AND GIVING
V. 5 “Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now…” Paul spoke of their partnership with him in the preaching of the gospel.
ILL.- When heavy rain flooded the homes of several residents the minister sent his son down to the basement to check for damage. His father asked, “Did the water destroy my files?” “No.” “How about my books?” “No, they’re okay.” “And that special file cabinet where I keep my sermons, are they wet?” “NO, DAD, THEY’RE DRY AS EVER.”
ILL.- Someone said, “Preaching that isn’t paid for, isn’t good.” I have known some that was paid for that wasn’t any good either!
ILL.- A preacher who was in the habit of writing every word of his sermons found himself at church one Sunday morning without his manuscript.
He said, “As I have forgotten my notes, I will have to rely on the Lord for guidance. TONIGHT I SHALL COME BETTER PREPARED.”
Brothers and sisters, there are preachers and people who believe that a preacher should never have to study or write out notes for his sermons. It has been my experience, however, that the preacher who prepares best, preaches best!
I would love it if I never had to study in order to preach. I would love it if God gave me instantaneous inspiration, that is, if the Lord instantly implanted every word in my head to preach and these words just flowed out of my mouth. BUT IT DOESN’T WORK THIS WAY!
I am not thrilled with much of the gospel preaching I hear on TV. There are only a few preachers I like to listen to on TV and it is obvious to me that they have done their homework.
WHO SAYS GOD CAN’T HELP A PREACHER PREPARE HIS SERMONS IN HIS STUDY? Those who study best, preach best. And those who study and labor over the Word and their words are open to God’s message and leading.
Preaching of the gospel is the name of the game that we’re supposed to be playing. Preaching Christ. Preaching salvation through Christ. Preaching forgiveness, etc.
When the gospel is preached at home, abroad, on TV, on the radio, etc. it must be supported. This is where giving comes in. Anything of value costs money. Preaching the gospel requires giving.
ILL.- Tony Campolo tells a story of a homeless man who offered to share his coffee with Tony. Tony said the coffee must have been swimming with bacteria but he took a drink. Then he said “that’s very generous of you to share your coffee with me.”
And the man said “I believe that when God gives you something extra special you should share it.”
Brothers and sisters, someone shared something extra special with us (the gospel of Christ) and it’s only right that we share it as best we can with others. We do this through our giving.
If we don’t personally go then we must send someone to preach for us and that requires partnership in the gospel. That requires giving.
IV. STARTING AND FINISHING
V. 6 “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Paul knew that God had started a good work in them and would finish that work.
ILL.- A little girl went fishing one time with her daddy. After a period of time she threw down her fishing pole. Her daddy asked, “What’s the matter, honey?” She said, “Nothing, except I can’t seem to get waited on.”
Some people stop fishing before the fish start biting. They quit before it’s quitting time. Starting and finishing a project can be two different matters.
ILL.- Many years ago when I was about 18 years ago I bought a 1935 Ford, five-window coupe from a friend. I was going to make a hot rod out of it. I worked mainly on the mechanical end of the car. I didn’t know anything about bodywork. After a period of time I found out I didn’t know as much about cars as I thought I did. Project started but unfinished. I ended up selling it at a loss. Did you ever do anything like that?
ILL.- Preacher Charles Swindoll said, “Dieting is a discipline, so when it gets tough, we quit. Finishing school is a hassle, so we bail out. Sticking with a job is sometimes very hard, so we start looking for a new job. Going to church gets to be a drag, so we just go when it’s convenient. Daily Bible study and prayer require some discipline, so we quit after a few days. Working through conflicts with people is rough, so we quit.”
ILL.- In the book, A LONG OBEDIENCE IN THE SAME DIRECTION, Eugene Peterson wrote, “It is not difficult today to get a person interested in the message of the gospel, but it is terrifically different to sustain that interest. Millions of people in our culture make decisions for Christ, but there is a dreadful attrition or dropout rate.
“In our culture, anything, even news about God, can be sold if it packaged freshly, but when it loses its novelty, it goes on the garbage heap. There is a great market for religious experiences in our world, but there is little enthusiasm to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness.” POWERFUL WORDS!
ILL.- Mark Hatfield tells of touring Calcutta with Mother Teresa and visiting the so-called "House of Dying," where sick children are cared for in their last days, and the dispensary, where the poor line up by the hundreds to receive medical attention. Watching Mother Teresa minister to these people, feeding and nursing those left by others to die, Hatfield was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the suffering she and her co-workers faced daily. "How can you bear the load without being crushed by it?" he asked. Mother Teresa replied, "My dear Senator, I am not called to be successful, I am called to be faithful."
II Tim. 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness…” I have finished the race.
There is something to be said for finishing anything, especially, the Christian life. However, we must realize that we don’t have to go it alone in this life, this race.
ILL.- Mary Beth Stevenson of Eagle, Wisconsin, said, “My five-year-old nephew Joshua and I were watching the animated movie The Prince of Egypt about the life of Moses. After the Israelites successfully cross the Red Sea and are praising God, Josh also got caught up in the moment.
Pumping his fist in the air, he added enthusiastically, ‘Hooray for God! Hooray for God and Moses! Teamwork! Teamwork!’”
Paul said, “He who began a good work in you will carry it to completion…”
God gives the increase in our hearts. He also gives us the strength and grace to live each day for Him. And He will “team up” with us to finish the job!
ILL.- At the First Christian Church of Anna, IL, one time we used a jackhammer to tear up some concrete in our church basement in order to install an elevator. Our men threw the chunks of cement in our dumpster. WRONG MOVE. We heard from the trash company on that one. They were not going pick up our dumpster until we removed those chunks of cement.
One Saturday morning, after our men’s prayer breakfast, I announced that the cement in that dumpster had to removed and we needed help after the breakfast to do the work. When the breakfast was over everyone got in their cars and drove away and I was left alone with that dumpster.
I was not a happy camper. It was summertime and very hot. I climbed in that dumpster and start pitching out those chunks of concrete. In no time, I was sweating like…you know what.
Of course, I was also getting hotter on the inside because everyone drove away.
After a period of time, one of our men came back to help me. He went home and changed his clothes because he knew it would be hot and sweaty work. IT WAS NOT AN EASY JOB OR A FUN JOB. BUT WE DID IT. We did it together. He made it possible to finish the job. He was my helper, my savior, in a sense.
Life is not an easy job. We really can’t do it alone. But God has promised that we don’t have to go it alone or do it alone.
Jesus said, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt. 28:20
“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.”
CONCLUSION--------------------------------------
ILL.- In 1886 Nevada had a State Fair. They decided to have a mule team pulling contest. The first place team pulled 14,000 pounds. The second place team pulled 13,000 pounds.
Someone said, “I wonder how much they could pull together? Could they pull 27,000 pounds?”
They hitched up both teams and together they pulled, not 27,000 but 35,000 pounds! Generally, things that go together also work together. Together we can always accomplish more in life than we can by ourselves. Two things are generally better than one, if they are good things. Two heads are generally better than one.
Thank God for things that go together and work together to make beautiful things happen in life!
