Series: “How To Have Joy In A Jail Cell”
Pastor: Robert E. Dyson
City of Refuge Bible Baptist Church
True Blue, VA
PHP 1:3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 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.
Subject: “Learning To Make Lemonade ”
Introduction:
Allow me this morning to reflect, recall and revisit from those days of my childhood euphoria for a moment. I am reminded of the times when on those hot, humid and sizzling summer days of my youth when my great grandmother would gather lemons from the refrigerator and make for my friends and I lemonade. I can recall that I never particularly enjoyed the taste of lemons but oh how I loved the taste of sweet, cold lemonade on those hot summer days. It was always amazing to me that my great grandmother could take something as bitter as lemons and produces something as sweet as lemonade. So, this morning I want to use that experience as a canvas and backdrop for this the first message in this series of sermons on How to Have Joy In a Jail Cell. I submit that the first thing we must learn in order to have joy in the midst of jail cell experiences is that we must learn the discipline of turning sour lemon situations into positive and productive lemonade experiences. The question is what do we do when the circumstance and the events of our lives deal us those sour lemon experiences? What do we do when we discover that our private and personal phobias have surfaced, and seek to rob us of the precious promises that we have received from the prince of peace? What do we do when things in our lives are coming up sour? When our plans are thrown off course, and our blue skies turn black, and when our hopes bust like bubbles in our faces. What, what do we do when our dreams seem to turn into nightmares. (Walk with me for a moment) When I woke up in the hospital in 1984 and was told that I was paralyzed, it was one of those moments. You know those moments when no amount of money can help you, those moments when who you know and who know’s you can’t help you, those moments when education, affiliations, and social stratifications don’t mean a thing. Those moments when we are flooded by the forces of friction, surrounded by the winds of worry, and drenched by the rains of hardships and hard ache. Those moments when difficulty and disaster sail into our lives like a bad weather. When accidents, incidents and various forms of misfortune interrupt our efforts and energies to proceed and make progress. It’s at those palm sweating, teeth biting, floor walking, and sleepless moments that we must learn how to turn those lemon experiences into lemonade. When confronted with death, divorce, and even dismay. When we have seen the lightning flashing, heard the thunder roll and felt sin breakers dashing trying to concur our soul it is there at those moments when we must learn to make lemonade out of lemons.
Transition:
Here in our text today Pastor Paul provides us with a fresh and fruitful pattern of how we can turn life’s bitter and sour lemon experiences into sweet lemonade. Paul had learned to make lemonade out of lemons and here in this text he shares with us his recipe. Pastor Paul provides us with a pattern of how to have joy in a jail cell by turning our lemon experiences into lemonade.
Body:
Pastor Paul is the penmen of this epistle, he writes to a group of believers located in the Roman providence of Macedonia in the colony of Philippi. The context of this letter of commendation written by Pastor Paul takes place while he is in under house arrest in Rome. The recipients of this letter were some 800 miles away and it had been about 10 long years since they had last seen Pastor Paul. The passing of torch of time however had not eaten away at their love or loyalty for Pastor Paul nor had distance diminished, distracted or devalued their compassion and commitment for Paul. He writes to his friends and fellow saints to console their concerns about his well-being. Let us listen in on the conversation between this pastor and these loving people.
Paul opens by first thanking God for the memories of time they he had spent with the Philippians. The original language of this text uses a word for remembrance that carries the root idea of to bring to mention or a tomb. The word used is where we get our English words memory and memorial. Memorials or tombstones are landmarks that served as visible reminders to etch in our memories the lives and legacies of the dearly departed. The writer is saying that every time he think of his friends it’s liken unto a person looking at a tombstone or the gave marker of a dearly beloved relative, and the memories of days gone by come rushing back to flood the conscience like the rising of a high tide. While our English translation does not clearly capture this matter Paul is simply saying that for him the Philippians served as kind of trip wire, and every time he was reminded of their fellowship it caused him to give thanks to God. If we are going to learn to make lemonade out of lemons …
1st Point)
We Must Learn To Remember Not To Forget.
Paul says I thank my God every time I remember you. Paul says because of you I remember what God has done for me. One of the enemies’ greatest weapons against the believer is forgetfulness. He tries to create circumstance that turns our focus from our victories to our losses; he tries to keep us focused on our failures rather than God’s favor. The enemy wants us to focus on the problem rather than the problem solver. The enemy tries to work on our focus in order to contaminate our feelings. I submit to you that the key to unlocking the doors of rocky and ruptured relationships, and difficult domestic dilemmas is remembering not to forget. In order to find joy in the midst of jail cell situations we not forget to remember. We must not forget to remember the goodness of God. We must not forget to remember how HE has guided us, and how HE has girded us, and how HE has groomed us. We must not forget to remember, how God has picked us up, and turned us around. I believe that at the core of the rebellion and disobedience of the children of Israel in the wilderness was they forgot to remember. They forgot to remember how HE made bricks out of straw for them, and they forgot to remember how HE opened the red sea for them. They forgot to remember how God fed them with fresh baked bread from heaven. Paul is under house arrest, his freedom is limited, and his future is uncertain, yet he say’s I have not forgotten. He says when I think of you it cause me to praise God for what he has already done. Next he says to us that.
2nd Point)
We Must Learn To Treasure our Fellowship Relationships. Paul continues on to give us the second element of this recipe and instruction on how to make lemonade out of lemons. Paul moves from saying I have not forgotten to saying to the church at Philippi that I treasure the fellowship relationship that we have. The original language translates the word partnership, which means participation, or fellowship that is expressed in a two-sided relationship. The basic idea of this word means to have in common and share of the substance of what the parties have in common. Here in this text Paul seems to specifically be expressing his gratitude for the recent gift that the Philippians had sent unto him. Paul says that in order to make lemonade out of lemons that we must treasure our fellowship relationships. Paul says to the Philippians I realize that you are a blessing from God and that the source of their gifts to him was their common faith. The question is do we treasure our fellowship relationships? Do we treasure the people that God uses to develop our walk faith? I submit that a fuller expression of what Paul is saying to the believers at Philippi is that you and have invested into each other. That is the question, have we invested, or have we given of ourselves for the cause Christ to develop others? I submit we live in a me and mine society. Yet Paul says the way to have joy in a jail cell and turn lemons into lemonade is to treasure our fellowship relations. Let me say it another way, Paul says you mean so much to me because our relationship is built on sacrificial love. I believe some husband; some wife or some child should join in the chorus and tell your love ones that you mean so much to me. We should treasure our fellowship relationships more than money, more than pearls, rubies and diamonds. We must remember that only what we do for Christ will last.
3rd Point).
We must have a Faith that continues to flourish. Paul moves on to share with us the third element of this recipe of how to make lemonade out of lemons. Paul says to the Philippians saints that he was thankful for the faithfulness of their fellowship of faith that continued to flourish. Paul says that from the first day of their conversion unto now the Philippians had remained faithful to the finish and continued to flourish in their faith. Paul’s language highlights his confidence in what God was doing in the lives of these Philippians. The original syntax translates the phrase being confident in the perfect tense which means Paul had come to a settled conviction earlier that had a continuing lasting impact on him. Paul says I am still confident that what I knew to be true ten years ago is still true today. Paul says I know that God will continue on to completion the good work He had begun in them. The work that Paul speaks about is the work of their salvation. I submit that if we are going to learn to have joy in a jail cell or to make lemonade out of lemons we must have a faith that continues to flourish. In spite of the winds of persecution, the floods of hurts and hindrances.
Closing:
The story is told of a dog who whom kept busy chasing a cat. One day the dog was chasing the cat, and the cat ran up a tree and then down an alley. The dog running behind the cat down the alley caught an glimpse of a beautiful red rose blossoming and blooming in the alley behind a dumpster. The Dog slammed on breaks and decided that he needs to dialog with the rose. So the dog went up to the rose and said what’s beautiful lady like you doing in a place like this? The dog said why are blossoming and blooming in alley next to a dumpster? The rose said to the dog, I did not chose to be in this situation, and I have no control over the situation so all I can do is blossom and bloom right where I am. I submit that someone here today, feels like they are a rose trapped in alley behind a dumpster spending the best years of your life. I challenged you in the words of what rose told the dog, you need not worry about things you can not change but rather spend your time blooming and blossoming right where you are. Even if you are in a jail cell situation bloom on, even if you are in a sour lemon situation bloom on, boke bloom on. Whatever the lot of your life you must learn to make lemonade out of lemons then we must remember not to forget. To turn our lemons to lemonade we must learn to treasure our fellowship relationships. If we are are going to learn to make lemonade then we must have a faith that continues to flourish.
