Intro: (Start w/Blank)
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 overwhelmed, 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."
Discussion:
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. “Jesus is bigger than what you are going through.”
I want to challenge you this week. The title of the sermon is “The answer to your problems.” The title assumes a few things – It assumes you are breathing, and that you have problems. Sometimes I think the two are related. We are going to talk about 5 different things this morning, and if you do these things over the course of the next month, the in-laws that are going to be at your house for Thanksgiving – they won’t seem so bad. You do these things over the course of the next month – You will love your husband or wife more, you will encourage your kids more, you will be a better parent, you will be a better child, you will have a better relationship with Jesus and be a better witness for your friends, and neighbors. If you do these things over the next month, the students that you teach won’t be so un teachable and the teachers that you have won’t be so bossy. If everyone here will do all 5 of these things over the next month, before the beginning of the year we’ll have 80 people in this church on Sunday morning. The joy will be spilling over – we won’t be able to keep people away. I don’t want you to just do it, I want you to do it with a passion.
Turn with me this morning to our text: (advance) Philippians 4:4-9 (read)
I think enclosed in this section of scripture are 5 instructions. Because I learned to preach at Ozark Christian College – this is still a 3 point sermon. The first: (advance)
I. Internalize your Joy (4-5)
As Paul was sitting on the cruise ship headed for Cancun, Mexico he wrote to the church. – that was a joke – Paul was in prison. He was in chains for the gospel. In Philippians chapter one Paul tells the same church starting with verse 6 “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” He wrote them one verse later -- (advance) Philippians 1:7 – It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. What does it mean to have eternal joy? First let’s figure out what it doesn’t mean. (advance)
a. Internal Joy DOES NOT MEAN. (advance)
i. That you smile when you are hurting (advance)
ii. Being fake
1. That you are someone part of the time and someone else another part. (advance)
iii. Enthusiasm –
1. Your surroundings might bring external joy – but they won’t bring internal.
What is Internal Joy? (advance)
b. Internal Joy – WHAT IT DOES MEAN? (advance)
i. Contentment (advance)
Philippians 4:12 – 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.
1. Being ok, in any situation
Horatio Gates Spafford, a 43 year old Chicago Businessman, suffered financial disaster in the great Chicago fire of 1871. He and his wife were still grieving over the death of their son shortly before the fire, and he realized they needed to get away for a vacation. Knowing that their friend Dwight L. Moody was going to preach in evangelistic campaigns in England that fall, Spafford decided to take his entire family to England. His wife and four daughters went ahead on the SS Ville du Havre, and he planned to follow in a few days.
But on the Atlantic Ocean the ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel and sank within 12 minutes. 226 lives were lost – including the Spafford’s four daughters. When the survivors were brought to shore at Cardiff, Wales, Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband, “saved alone”.
Spafford booked passage on the next ship. As they were crossing the Atlantic, the captain pointed out the place where he thought the ship had gone down. That night, Spafford penned the words “When sorrows like sea billows roll….It is well, it is well with my soul.” (advance)
c. Found in the Lord –
What does Paul say? – REJOICE -- in the lord. Notice he doesn’t say Rejoice in your circumstances, he doesn’t say Rejoice because everything is going well – although that might be a reason to be happy. Paul’s desire is that you not rejoice in the temporary – but rejoice in something that will NEVER go away. Rejoice in the Lord. (advance)
d. Our internal joy is in the Lord because of who our lord is.
It’s like the bumper sticker that says, “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.” Riches won’t make you joyful inside, having the right family, or the right influence, having the best looking car, or the best paying job – those things don’t bring internal joy. Jesus brings joy – because “our God is greater than the greatest problem.”
There is a result to your internal joy. Found in verse 5
e. You will have evident gentleness
i. Not just to your fellow believers – but everyone
Aristotle said this about this word gentle – “It is a quality, therefore, that keeps one from insisting on his full rights.”
Gerald Hawthorne says in his commentary “Gentleness is that considerate and courtesy and respect for the integrity of others which prompts a person not to be forever standing on their rights; and it’s the main character of Jesus.”
Paul gives us a reason we should have internal joy and evident gentleness – I don’t think you can have one without the other. He says in the last part of verse 5 -- (advance)
f. The Lord is near
This actually has two possible meanings (advance)
1. that the Lord is close to you, present with you, aware of your conduct, concerned about your attitude, available to come to your aid, and at hand to assist you.
Or (advance)
2. This is speaking about the return of Jesus – which is near, which is a source of your joy, and gentleness.
The sentence that Paul uses is vague – one commentary said that Paul actually meant both – “The Lord who will soon return is the Lord who once came so close to humanity as to actually share the human lot and who though absent now in body is still near at hand in his Spirit to guide, instruct, encourage, infuse with strength, assist, transform and renew.”
Are you joyful this morning? We have many things to be joyful about, many blessings that we can understand come from God. We can also be joyful because we know that our trials and our troubles will pass. Can you do something with me? Think of your worst problem and then repeat – (advance) “Whatever I am going through, the Lord will see me through.” You will get through it. You will overcome. You have the power, the strength, the ability and the God who is able because (advance) “God is greater than the greatest problem.” The first of the 5 is: Internalize your Joy. The next is actually 2. (advance)
II. Pray & Trust (6-7) (Read) (advance)
If God is really greater than the greatest problem – I can present myself to him as I am and give to him my worry and my fears. I can also trust that he will deal with those things in his time, in his way, and that it will be the best for me, because he loves me.
Paul says this:
a. Do not be anxious about anything
The word anxious is used another time in this book – (advance)
Philippians 2:20 – I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. This word actually means to honestly care about something. In our text this morning it has more of a negative meaning something like – “anxious harassing care” it speaks of trying “to carry the burden of the future on yourself” another way to say it is “unreasonable anxiety”.
You could look at this and understand church, he was in prison. You could see Paul as some spiritual giant and he might have been in jail but his problems weren’t real, after all Paul was always in jail – he was probably use to it. There is evidence in Chapter 1 verse 28 that Paul understood they were being persecuted. He was in Jail – they were facing persecution – but the command, the desire, the hope, Paul has for them – don’t be anxious.
He says don’t be anxious – so Paul – (advance) How do we keep ourselves from being anxious? Paul’s answer – sounds so easy it’s complicated he says (advance)
b. Pray! (advance)
Hebrews 11:6 – And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Paul understood from personal experience that the way to be anxious about nothing was to be prayerful about everything. Hawthorne’s commentary says this: “He is saying, in effect, that prayer is a conversation with, a plea directed to, a request made of, information given to a person, in this case the supreme Person of the universe who can hear, know, understand, care about and respond to the concerns that otherwise would sink you in despair.”
c. With Thanksgiving
i. We can come to God because we are thankful that he is God and we are his creation, and that he cares for us.
Not only should we pray – we should trust.
d. We will have peace (advance)
When we pray and give those things to God – we should trust that he will take care of them. Paul says we will have peace.
i. Not based on our understanding
Our understanding of this world, the universe, ourselves – is incomplete at best. We still don’t understand everything about our world there is to understand. We might not even understand everything about God, or all the why’s – but we don’t have to.
e. Based on his knowledge
i. His complete knowledge.
ii. His perfect knowledge (advance)
Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
f. His knowledge
i. Keeps us from trusting ourselves
ii. Keeps us from trusting this world
g. His knowledge protects
i. Our hearts
ii. Our minds
In Christ Jesus.
So do you mentally have the 3 things down so far? What’s the first? Internalize your joy, the second and third are together – Pray and Trust. The last two are together as well. Write this down – (advance)
III. Think & Act (7-9)
There is a whole section of society who believes that the church is a bunch of mindless drones. They don’t believe that we think for ourselves. They don’t believe that we can understand facts or think. They believe that you have a need for God because you lack something else in your life. They think you are brainwashed. Now – much of their understanding is false – totally fiction. The fact is we have history to back our claims, we have authors who were not Christians, but witnesses and they wrote down what they saw. We even have science to back our claims. Good science done without presuppositions actually supports Christianity.
Paul says – Think and Act.
a. Think about these things (advance)
i. Whatever is:
1. True – means “true in the sense of truthful, and truthful in every aspect of life including thought, speech and act.
2. Noble – This word is only found in the writings of Paul. Refers to lofty things, majestic things, things that lift the mind from the cheap and immoral to that which is noble and good and of moral worth.
3. Right – this means giving to God and men their due. It involves duty and responsibility. It entails satisfying all obligations.
4. Pure – This means embracing purity in every part of life
5. Lovely – Literally means – “that which calls forth love”
6. Admirable – means expressing what is kind and likely to win people, and avoiding what is likely to give offense.
These are the excellent qualities that Paul asked the church in Philippi to not just think about. We have to put these things into action. Let me just for a second to speak on something and kinda clear the air a little. The books that you are reading – they need to fall into this list. The music that you listen to, should fall into this group. The pictures you look at, the things you draw, all the way down to the pictures in your house – should fall within this list. The chat rooms you visit on the internet, should be found on this list. If they aren’t GET RID OF THEM! Don’t trade what seems like blessing now for eternity. Something can’t be holy/admirable without being pure. Do you get what I am talking about? This should cause some of us to make some changes, if our Christianity is more important to us than the world. The Bible says you embrace one or the other – you can’t have a group hug with both the world and it’s temporary blessing and the holy creator of the universe – you embrace one or the other.
Paul says the things you see have I have passed on to you – you do those things. So how does this translate to our times here. Do you do everything the preacher does? Is the apostle Paul and the preacher in our churches the same thing? No. My suggestion is that you do look to examples of Godly Christian men and women, hopefully your preacher qualifies. But doing so, you can always find something about their lives that doesn’t match up, and if you wanted to, you could justify your own sin, because their life didn’t match up. If you wanted to do that – I suppose you could, there’s not much stopping you. There are people in bed this morning, right now, who have done the same thing. They look, judge, they inspect whatever word you want to use, they do this to our lives and we don’t match up, so they just drop the ball. They give up, they walk off the race track. That’s lazy Christianity at best – at worst it’s eternal Hell.
Not only should you look to the lives of Christians – but look to Christ. Investigate what Jesus did, what he didn’t do. Study and find out how he interacted with those who on the surface looked religious and holy. How did he react to those who were considered unclean? Paul says that you could look to him as an example. Paul said in Corinthians that he preached Christ crucified, buried and resurrected. That’s what Paul is talking about when he says – what I passed on. He’s speaking about the gospel message.
Conclusion:
Are you ready to do these 5 things? (advance)
1. Internalize your Joy
2. Pray
3. Trust
4. Think
5. Act.
Our lives aren’t easy – I understand that. We all have problems, stresses, we all have things laid on us that we didn’t create. We might even get the blame for things we had no part of. Life is more than just going from one disaster to another. I hope that we can do these things – we can with God’s help grow as Christians, and help others grow as Christians. We are all going to fail – We are all going to do things we wish we hadn’t done. Those are just the facts of life. It’s not the amount of times that you fail that matter. In life and in our faith – it matters how many times you get up and do better. You can’t win this race by walking off the tracks. You can’t win this race by hanging up your running shoes. This race is only won with endurance, and prayer.
I hope I have encouraged you this morning to make some changes in your life. I hope that you have been encouraged to renew your faith, and take some steps that will bring you closer to Jesus. Maybe you are sitting there this morning with this load of sin. You carried it in this morning, it’s comfortable. I pray that you will leave it and allow God to deal with it for you. Your problems literally become his problems, only difference – he’s able to deal with them. I encourage you to come. Maybe you are sitting there this morning and you have taken off the shoes, maybe you don’t feel like you can win, so you step off the track, you have hung up your running shoes – come this morning as we stand and sing.
